Irvin remembered it all.He remembered how immensely shocked his twin brother, Timothy, had been when they saw each other onboard the cruise ship. Irvin also remembered how Timothy had sacrificed himself for him.Before, when Irvin still had amnesia, he had judged the situation like any ordinary person would.Despite being twins, he had believed Timothy would be unfeeling toward him, given that they had never met. As such, Irvin had assumed Timothy couldn't have possibly died to save him.He had also been convinced there was something off about the story when the Hardwells' staff claimed Timothy had really saved him.However, now that Irvin had recalled what had happened, he felt ashamed for being so petty and suspicious.The two of them weren't just brothers but twins. And despite having never met, Timothy had unhesitatingly given his life for Irvin.Irvin also recalled Timothy's final words before he died. In his last moments, Timothy had entrusted Grace and his unborn child t
Oddly enough, I calmed down and was no longer overwhelmed by panic.Maybe it was because I had racked my brains, but I still couldn't find a way to prove my innocence. Perhaps it was also because I had reached an absolute dead end and had no way forward. Or maybe it was because I realized this was already the worst-case scenario.When my lawyer came to see me, I gave him someone's contact information and asked him to get in touch. It was a road I wasn't willing to take, but if it came down to it, I would have no choice but to do so.…Early next morning, I had a visitor.I thought it was Irvin, but unexpectedly, it was William.In all honesty, William was frighteningly perceptive. I hadn't said a thing when he entered, yet with just one glance, he already knew what I was thinking."Didn't expect it was me instead of your beloved ex-husband, did you?" he said.I sat there dumbly in a detainee uniform.William clicked his tongue after taking in my appearance."I told you to be
Hearing that William shared the same thought as me, I asked, "Are we able to find out more about the baby's condition prior?"If we could uncover that the baby's health had already been in jeopardy and that Grace had to terminate the pregnancy either way, we might be able to prove my innocence."I already have people looking into it, but don't get your hopes up," he replied."For starters, Hardwell Group is the largest medical conglomerate in the country. All of Grace's prenatal care was done in their own hospitals," William explained. "So, there's almost no way for us to get her real medical records."He added, "And even if we do manage to, and there's proof that there was something wrong with her baby, it still won't prove that Grace tried to frame you, let alone that you didn't push her."The key to this case is whether or not you push her. You're in police custody right now. So, in order to be released, you either need solid evidence that you didn't do so, or the victim drops
"Don't worry. There's no way I will let you go to prison!" William declared.He froze as soon as the words left his mouth.William had always been cold and detached. He was the kind of man who would step over a dying person and simply continue on his way. Aside from his niece and nephew, he had never helped anyone. To him, everyone else was expendable.Yet now, upon hearing I was in trouble, William had rushed back to Lestoria without leaving word behind. Not only that, he had even made me that promise.Realizing his emotions had slipped, William's gaze turned frosty."I'll help you one last time, for Noah's sake. And I hope after this, you'll stay away from your ex-husband. Otherwise, don't say I didn't warn you if you end up in a worse situation next time," he added.Then, he got up and left without waiting for a reply.His words were harsh, but I knew he meant well. I also knew he was a good uncle.William was willing to help me out of my current situation because his love f
Grace knew William had been attending to something important in Redwood. That was why she had chosen this time to make her move. However, she hadn't expected him to drop everything and return to Lestoria when he learned what had transpired.William's reaction didn't seem proportionate when I was just the apple of Noah's eye.Catching the veiled meaning behind Grace's words, William's gaze darkened, but he didn't take the bait. Instead, he coldly said, "I believe I told you you're not allowed to harm her."Grace chuckled again, but this time, it sounded bitter."Did I, though? Can't you see I'm the one that's in a hospital bed? Surely you spoke to the doctors before coming in? So you should know I almost bled to death yesterday, Mr. Ashford," she replied.William scoffed icily. "Didn't you bring that upon yourself?"Grace should have admitted herself to the hospital if her baby had issues. If she had stayed and followed through with the induced termination procedure, then none of
After discovering their hypnosis attempts had failed, Grace had started thinking about how to make Irvin willingly stay. She had also tried to figure out how to convince him to assume Timothy's identity and play her husband.Grace needed him to do so so that she could keep her status as a Hardwell.While she did say all those things to garner William's sympathy, the things she said were also all true.She was born into a prestigious family in Lestoria—one that was second only to the Hardwells. However, Grace's father had brought his mistress home after her mother had passed away. Then, once this mistress became her stepmother, Grace could no longer call her house her home. Additionally, her brother had died because of her stepmother.Grace had to keep her status as a Hardwell for her and her brother's sake. She needed to do so to seize back everything that rightfully belonged to them. That was why she was adamant on remaining as Mrs. Hardwell.While she was racking her brain to
Irvin felt conflicted as he looked at Grace.Moments before Timothy had died, he had entrusted Irvin to take good care of her and his son. And from Timothy's reluctance to leave them behind, Irvin could tell how much he had loved them.Yet, Grace was so ruthless and had even used her own child just to harm me.After sending Dorothy out of the room, Irvin placed the examination report in front of her.Given that they were both intelligent, Irvin got straight to the point."Withdraw the lawsuit," he demanded.Placing her bowl down, Grace dabbed her mouth before responding with, "Why should I?"It seemed she had chosen to be obstinate until her hand was forced.Seeing this, Irvin replied, "You knew your baby had a heart defect, and you didn't intend to keep him. So you decided to use the child to frame my wife! Emilia never pushed you! Also, you know very well that I'm her husband—not yours!"Grace stared at him blankly.Irvin frowned and was about to say something when she star
Grace looked utterly weak, hurt, and innocent. However, Irvin knew how terrifying she actually was.Despite her fragile and sorrowful appearance, he knew what she truly meant by her words was, "So what if you have evidence that my child needed to be terminated? What does it matter that you can prove I had intentionally tried to frame Emilia Quill? "Can you sue me with that evidence? Can you use it to prove Emilia didn't push me and that she's innocent?"Irvin forced himself to calm down before asking, "What do you want?"Grace knew his patience was running out. She was also aware that her innocent and pitiful act might backfire if she kept it up.She stopped pretending and plainly said, "I believe you've already looked into me thoroughly by now and know about my family situation."Yes, Irvin did.Grace continued, "My husband is dead, and I've lost my child. So, I can forget about being the future matriarch of the Hardwell family because very soon, I will mean nothing to them, g
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
The flight attendant knocked on the entrance to the suite to signal her arrival and served our meal. Then, she left swiftly.William and I were eating and discussing our AI chip factory when his face suddenly turned red. He couldn't say a word.The moment I saw that, I immediately realized what was happening and rushed over to him.I moved behind him, wrapped my arms around his abdomen, and clenched my fists. With my palm facing upward, I tightened my arms and pressed my left fist forcefully into his upper abdomen again and again, until he finally spat out the seed of a fruit.He had accidentally swallowed the seed while eating dried fruit, and it had gotten stuck in his throat.William stared at the seed he'd just coughed up, looking flustered. A man like him, who was so strong and composed, had choked while eating. He couldn't believe it had actually happened.Especially in front of me!William, who was usually composed no matter the circumstances, now had a face flushed wit
William handed me a glass of champagne and said, "I heard Grace gave you a hard time again at the airport lounge."I hummed in response, confirming it. At the mention of Grace, a thought struck me, and I turned to him. "Mr. Ashford, many of your company's products seem to compete directly with the Hardwells'."Although most of my focus had been on research, I did know a little about the business world. After all, I had a company myself. "Yes, why?" William raised an eyebrow at me."If you're planning to enter the mainland market, wouldn't the Hardwells be your biggest competitor?" I asked.Upon hearing that, William's dark eyes lit up with interest. "Are you trying to join forces with me against the Hardwells?"I knew that I couldn't hide my intentions from someone like William, so I answered honestly, "I'm just thinking ahead. I wanted to see if you had similar plans. If so, maybe we could work together in the future."Going against the Hardwells alone was definitely impossi
At the same time, the same video was also delivered to Noah's grandfather, Mr. Hull Senior."This is the woman Noah's interested in? He refused a marriage alliance with Ms. Charter because of her?" Mr. Hull Senior questioned incredulously.His butler, who had been by his side for decades, lowered his head respectfully and answered, "Yes."Mr. Hull Senior scoffed. "What kind of judgment does he have? It's no wonder he doesn't measure up to his uncle."Noah might be excellent, but at his age, William had already built up the Ashfords into the wealthiest family in Redwood. In terms of cunning or any other aspect, he was still far behind William.The loyal butler remained silent as he respectfully stood off to the side."If anyone else was still left in this family, I'd never even consider passing it to Noah!" Mr. Hull Senior exclaimed, pounding his cane hard against the floor.The Hulls had built their fortune from casinos. Their business had shady beginnings, which meant they also
Lowering her head, Grace forcibly suppressed the murderous impulse rising in her chest. When she lifted it back up, her gaze was utterly apologetic."I'm truly sorry, Ms. Quill. My friend really did misunderstand you. Tim actually dropped me off earlier—that was why he was here," she said.Then, she turned to Lisa and said, "There's really nothing going on between Ms. Quill and Tim, Lisa. Tim was just dropping me off earlier. "When I went to the restroom, he happened to run into Ms. Quill. And because she was his brother's ex-wife, they exchanged greetings. That's all it was, so you jumped to the wrong conclusion."Plus, Ms. Quill is the one who cured Tim's legs, so we Hardwells owe her a great debt. She's definitely not a homewrecker! So, if you ever call her that again or anything of the sort, our friendship will be over!"Catching the message in Grace's gaze, Lisa immediately put on a sincere expression and apologized to me. "I'm so sorry, Ms. Quill, for completely misundersta
"Well? Say something!" the woman yelled. "If he wasn't Timothy, and you're not a homewrecker, then who was he? Can't say it, can you? Since you can't, it just proves you're a homewrecker!"You're just a social-climbing snake! You saw that the Hardwells were wealthier, so you used your dead ex-husband's likeness with Timothy as an excuse to try and latch onto them! You're so outrageous and vile!"I had never been insulted or cursed like this in my entire life. But I also didn't know how to fight back. This was yet another trouble Irvin had brought upon me, and the thought of this only made me resent him even more.Hearing the certainty in the woman's tone, the people around us began casting strange glances in my direction. After all, I hadn't said anything to defend myself, either.Just then, Grace walked over, looking regal and elegant."Stop it, Lisa. Ms. Quill isn't a homewrecker. Back then, she was just still in too much grief over the death of her ex-husband and mistook Tim fo
Irvin waited for the little boy to pick up his ball and waddle away.Then, he looked at me and said, "Let me take you to the airport first, Emi. Then, as promised, I won't appear in front of you unless absolutely necessary. We'll leave everything up to time and let it wear down the feelings we're clinging to."Things can change quickly, after all. So, why don't we just set aside what we can't solve right now? And who knows—maybe some time later, we'll both be able to work through these feelings again."I knew someone as stubborn as Irvin wouldn't let go of his fixation on getting back together with me over a simple plea. And since it really was time for me to leave for the airport, I didn't argue with him any further."There's no need for you to take me—my driver is already waiting," I said.With that, I walked past him and got into my car. However, Irvin didn't leave. Instead, he followed behind my car the entire way.The sheer size of the Hardwells' affairs kept Irvin incredibl