Irvin understood how Julianne felt. Even so, he couldn't reciprocate her romantic feelings."It doesn't matter how much you hate her, Lianne. You can't do something like this," he scolded her. "You know I've only ever loved you like a sister. It doesn't matter what Emi did. We will never be together regardless. Don't hate her even more over this, okay?"Julianne's birth mother was the Sawyers' housekeeper, Diana Sinclair.After Irvin's mother—Lizzie Windsor—gave birth to him, her body became frail. She had been too weak to raise him. Thus, Diana had practically raised him on her own.Diana had raised both Irvin and Julianne. As such, they had done everything together from a young age. So naturally, they had formed a deep bond.For Irvin, Julianne was like his own younger sister. Hence, he trusted her intrinsically and had always been indulgent toward her. It was to the point where he would always look at things from her perspective. When he found out she was behind Emilia's b
Mr. Holland seemed to read my mind."Put away thoughts about your love life from now on," he said as he gently patted my shoulder. "Focus on your studies and research and become someone useful to society and the nation. That's the best way to repay me."I didn't know what to say. More tears welled up in my eyes."You were feeling hopeless and afraid, weren't you?" Mr. Holland continued. "Although you believed in your innocence, you thought this couldn't possibly be solved so quickly. You were even prepared to spend time in prison. Am I right?"I wasn't sure why he was suddenly asking me all this. But I nodded in agreement and replied, "Yes.""You thought that way because you had given up on yourself to support Irvin. This left you with no support and no connections." He pointed out."If you hadn't given up on your studies back then, you would have become an indispensable person in your field," he said with such conviction. "No one would have been able to bring you down so easily.
Dad did so to stop Mom from confronting me. According to the fake medical record, I would keep forgetting anything that I had done to Julianne. Therefore, when the drugging video was released, she simply believed I had done it.Because of this, her hatred for me grew despite the fact that I was her own flesh and blood.As for Julianne, she had accidentally discovered that Phillip didn't intend for Irvin to inherit the family business. He also wanted to disown Irvin. Coincidentally, Irvin just happened to be pursuing the person she despised most—me.Because of this, she decided to become the new Mrs. Sawyer. She intended to give birth to a new heir so that she could take over the Sawyer family. She would also make Irvin regret his choice in the process.Thus, she slept with Phillip. She thought he had lusted after her for a long time. Plus, she was also much younger than him. Hence, she was sure he would be in the palm of her hand.However, things went against her expectations. Phi
Irvin's gaze met mine. He looked as though he was in emotional turmoil. It was possible that even he didn't know how to describe what he was feeling at that moment.After all, he had always resolutely believed I had harmed Julianne out of sheer maliciousness. And now, he was experiencing a rude awakening.He also looked like he hadn't rested much these past few days. His eyes were dull and bloodshot. He also didn't look as dashing or energetic as he usually was.The old me would probably be heartbroken at this sight. Unfortunately, I was no longer that person. I didn't feel anything for him. In fact, I thought Irvin owed me an apology.He had marched up to me as this thought came to mind.Gripping my arm, he asked, "There has to be some sort of misunderstanding. Right, Emi?"I couldn't help laughing when I heard his question. I pitied my former self.When Julianne accused me of drugging her, he immediately believed her. When she said I was the reason Phillip had assaulted her, I
"You evil witch! What are you trying to do now!" Mom shouted as she hit me. "Was harming Lianne not enough? Now, you want to harm your father too? He's your birth father! What sin did I commit to end up giving birth to a wretched child like you!"Mark—who had been standing to the side—stepped in front of me to shield me from her.A few officers standing nearby had also rushed over and intervened. One of them gave her a stern warning to refrain from making a scene or assaulting someone at a police station. His name tag read "Gordon".However, Mom didn't seem to care where she was or who she was talking to. Her rage had probably blinded her."What's the issue?" she continued shouting. "Is it against the law for me to discipline my daughter? I gave her life! So what if I hit her a few times?"She thought she had the right to beat me to death since she had given birth to me. She also probably thought no one had the right to criticize her for doing so since she was my mom.I had been
Dad was also adamant that he knew nothing about the drugging incident.He admitted he had brought me to the lounge. He also admitted to drugging me with Abyde. He said he had given me an improved version. Hence, he wanted to see if I could make it home while under its effects.He denied having any knowledge of why I ran into Julianne there, let alone her whole scheme to frame me. He declared that he didn't know anything about what had transpired that day.He also said that Julianne had only shown him the video when she returned two years ago. By then, five years had passed since the incident occurred. That was the reason he hadn't connected the two together.Besides, I had never gotten along with Julianne and couldn't stand to see her doing well. Thus, he professed this was why he had immediately believed I had drugged her. He also claimed he didn't remember that was the day he had fed me with Abyde.To put it simply, Dad was saying he was only guilty of drugging me with Abyde as
Irvin instinctively smiled when he saw me. Or rather, he tried to. Unfortunately, his facial muscles were stiff from the cold and weren't cooperating.It seemed he wanted me to pity him. It was probably all part of his strategy to win me over.My past self couldn't stand seeing him in any pain. It was agonizing to her if he wasn't even the slightest bit uncomfortable.But now? My current self merely looked at him indifferently. I didn't feel anything for him, not even the least bit of attachment. My heart didn't ache. I didn't feel any love or any hate toward him. There wasn't even anger. There was only detachment.My feeling toward him was colder than the winter frost.He started panicking when he saw this. So much so, that he looked as though he could barely breathe."You must be feeling very disappointed in me. Right, Emi?" he asked.Perhaps he finally had time to reflect after placating Julianne. It seemed he remembered how he had misjudged me over the drugging incident.
I hadn't slept much when I was in the detention center. Now that I was back home, I could finally be completely at ease. I was even able to sleep that night without taking any sleeping pills.I wasn't sure how long I had been asleep. Suddenly, I was rudely awakened by the banging on my door. Before I could even open my eyes, I heard Mom's angry voice outside.Given what had happened, it was expected that she would come looking for me. So, it didn't surprise me.I intentionally took my time getting dressed. Mom's temper was starting to flare as she continued banging on the door. She had been doing so for quite some time yet I hadn't answered the door.Just as she was about to bang harder, I finally opened it."Were you dead or something? What took you so long to answer the door? I've been knocking for ages!" she yelled.I glanced coolly at her. "I know you very badly want to see me dead. But too bad, I'm still alive. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to answer the door."Mom was furi
"Ms. Quill, you—" Grace sputtered.From her expression, I could tell she wanted to say, "You really will say anything to save your pride. How will you get in if you won't follow us?"Just then, a few people walked out of the hall. At the lead was an elderly man with white hair.Upon seeing me, the elderly man's stern expression morphed into a smile. "Emilia! You're here!"I returned the smile and walked up to greet him, "Hello, Professor Weiss."I had met several influential figures during the Global Technology Forum in Lestoria. Among them, I had gotten along best with this man, Professor Richard Weiss.After exchanging pleasantries, Professor Weiss turned to Mitchell and asked, "Who is this man? What gives him the right to bar you from attending the conference and call you an academic fraud?"Professor Weiss was the biggest name in the physics field. He was someone everyone respected and dared not offend.Hearing this, Mitchell quickly explained, "It was a misunderstanding! I
"Of course!" Grace said.Moving to my side, she linked her arm with mine in a friendly gesture. It was as though we were on very good terms.She continued, "Not only is she an incredibly skilled researcher, but she's also my sister-in-law—which means she's also a member of the Hardwell family. So, Mr. Slate, any accusations of her being an academic fraud must be a misunderstanding!"Upon hearing how solemn Grace was, Mitchell couldn't help but look at me."If you aren't an academic fraud, then why would Ms. Calder say that about you?" he asked.I coolly returned his gaze. "That's a question for Ms. Calder, not me."Mitchell frowned and looked displeased. He clearly hadn't expected that answer.Grace turned to me and said, "Alright, Emi. Let's go inside together!"Her expression read, "Come on. I'll bring you in."Irvin didn't understand why I hadn't been allowed in despite having an invitation. He also didn't know why I had been mistaken for an academic fraud and was being bar
I looked down at my phone and was zooming in on the image of the data. But before I could even take a good look at it, Emma squeezed my arm."Holy crap! Emilia. Isn't that your ex-husband's brother!" she exclaimed.I instinctively looked up—just in time to see Irvin opening the car door and courteously helping Grace get down.Grace flashed a gentle smile at Irvin, then linked arms with him. To onlookers, that intimate gesture made them look like a loving married couple.I thought back to how Irvin had been near tears when we had met on the first snowfall of the season. Yet now, he was holding another woman's arm and playing the role of her devoted husband.I couldn't even describe how I felt at that moment.Then, I recalled how much Irvin had despised Grace before. Yet, in just a month, he managed to make it look like they were happily married. I feared it wouldn't be long before he began to feel sympathy for her. And then, per Grace's scheme, Irvin would eventually truly becom
William wasn't the type to repay a life-saving favor. So, for the past two years, Julianne had always wondered why he treated her so well and was especially attentive to her health.It was only after she returned to Claudeville that she finally understood.It turned out William had a sickly niece he cherished dearly—one whose survival depended on Julianne. Upon learning this, she suddenly felt she had the upper hand again.While she still couldn't figure William out entirely, she had come to understand him somewhat. She knew he would continue to tolerate her—for the sake of his sickly niece—as long as she didn't do anything out of line.To be clear, Julianne made my life difficult because she hated me. But as long as she didn't harm me, she knew no one would hold it against her. After all, William's niece needed her blood to live.The more she thought about this, the more pleased she became.I could see it plainly in her eyes. Her expression seemed to say that even after all thes
Seeing how determined I was, Emma didn't press any further.Just as we were about to leave in the car, another car pulled up beside ours. When I saw who stepped out of it, my eyes widened in shock.Emma saw them too and tugged at my sleeve in surprise. "Emilia, isn't that your ex-husband's brother and sister-in-law?"I was just about to say yes when Grace suddenly collapsed into Irvin's arms. He picked her up and rushed toward the hospital.Seeing this reminded me of how I had wished that Irvin would come and save me when I was drowning.I chuckled mockingly.Noticing something was off with me, Emma turned to me. "Emilia, what's wrong?"I withdrew my gaze. "Nothing."Then I told the driver to start driving.As the car drove out of the hospital, Emma stared at me. She hesitated at first, but then curiosity got the better of her "Emilia, looking at how you reacted to your ex-husband's brother… Is it true that he's actually not Timothy, but Irvin?" she asked.She had been with
Only after our car had driven far into the distance did William finally withdraw his gaze from Noah's car."Was Ms. Quill's assistant rescued?" he asked.Matthew immediately replied, "Yes, she's been taken to the hospital. She's out of danger."William hummed indifferently in response, then got into the car and left.…By the time I woke up in the hospital, night had already fallen.I was surprised to see Noah sitting at my bedside—surprised that I was still alive and that it was Noah who had come to save me.Seeing me awake, Noah stood up excitedly. "Emi, how are you feeling? I'll get the doctor!"I wanted to tell him I was fine, but my voice came out hoarse when I opened my mouth.Suddenly, I remembered something and quickly reached out to grab Noah before he could leave to call the doctor.Before I could even ask, he already knew what I was going to ask. "Your assistant's fine. She woke up even earlier than you," he said. Hearing that, I breathed a sigh of relief.Noah
Emma was also quite smart. Once she calmed down, she immediately understood what I meant. She wanted to say something, but I had already opened the car door and pushed her out.Seeing several people swimming toward us, I shoved her again, urging her to leave quickly.In the face of life and death, survival would become an instinct for everyone. So even though she didn't wish me harm or want to leave me behind, she swam away with tears in her eyes. Not long after she left, those so-called "rescuers" surrounded me.When they noticed someone had swum away, they exchanged hand signals underwater, planning to send some after her and others to capture me. Realizing this, I quickly pointed at myself, trying to tell them that I was the one they were looking for. Then I turned and swam in the opposite direction, hoping to lure them away and buy her more time to escape. But even though they understood my gesture, they didn't believe me. They still sent people after her.They were very
There was only one road from the airport to the city, and William's car was right behind ours.Matthew, who was driving, immediately sensed something was wrong when he saw our car suddenly accelerating at an alarming speed.He quickly said, "Mr. Ashford, something's wrong with Ms. Quill's car!"William, who was busy reading the documents, immediately looked up. His gaze darkened when he saw how recklessly the car in front was moving."Catch up with them!" he ordered. At that moment, his phone rang. It was Noah calling, and he sounded anxious on the other end. "Uncle Will, are you with Emi right now? I just heard that Madeleine is planning to kill her! "I don't know the exact plan, but I heard they're making a move on the way from the airport to the city. You need to be careful! I'm heading to the airport right now!"Noah's words made William's expression grow even darker. …While Emma was still processing the situation, I noticed something strange about the driver. If the
Just like that, we came back alive from the brink of death in an instant. It felt like we were in hell one moment and in heaven the next.Perhaps I was still too scared. So scared that even after the plane had stabilized for a while, I still couldn't find any strength in my body. I was still shaken by the fear and couldn't fully snap out of it.William was also holding me tightly the entire time, not letting go. The softness of my body in his arms stirred something in him that he couldn't describe. He instinctively didn't want to let go.It wasn't until a flight attendant knocked on the door to check on us that I finally returned to my senses.William also let go of me instantly. The sudden emptiness in his arms left him feeling rather hollow.He came to realize something, and his already deep gaze darkened even more, making it even harder to read.After the flight attendant tidied up the cabin and left, William, who had been perfectly fine and warm just moments ago, suddenly tur