Irvin didn't answer Gideon. He picked up the bottle and poured himself another drink."Irvin, honestly, I can't feel your love for her at all. If you truly love someone, you'd never bear to see them hurt. But all you've done is hurt Emilia," Gideon said. "Then again, if you don't love her, why are you so tormented now?"Gideon didn't understand him at all. Did he love me or not? If he did, then why did he hurt me all the time? If he didn't, what was he agonizing over now?The contradiction baffled him.Irvin remained silent. He didn't know what to say.Just then, his phone rang. It was Julianne calling.As soon as he answered, Julianne's soft voice came from the other end of the line. "Irvin, my chest hurts so much I can't sleep. Every time I fall asleep, the pain wakes me up. Do you think it's because I caught a chill after falling into the water last night? Could you come over for a bit?"In the past, Irvin would've dropped everything and rushed to Julianne's side without hesi
Cordelia gave me a sidelong glance. "Don't play the pity card. It won't work on me. My heart is as cold as stone right now!"Cordelia had been really scarred by my past lovesick antics. She could no longer trust me now.I felt the same as well. After getting to know all the brainless things I'd done in the past, I, too, felt that I didn't deserve forgiveness.I leaned in and looked at her pitifully. "What do I have to do for you to forgive me, baby?""Come with me to a place, and I'll consider forgiving you."My eyes brightened at that. "I would follow you to the ends of the world if that's what it takes!"Cordelia snorted. "No need for that. Just one place will do.""Where?" I asked curiously, wondering what kind of place could possibly make her consider forgiving me, especially since she had been so angry with me."You'll know when we get there!"Throughout the journey, I racked my brain trying to guess where we were going. Where could Cordelia have wanted to go right after
The one who truly loved me would think of the pain I've suffered first and foremost and feel sorry for me.Seeing Cordelia crying made my heart ache; I just wanted to hold her and cry with her. These past few days I had spent in the hospital had been unbearably painful and lonely.Every night, I couldn't sleep without painkillers or sleeping pills, and even then, I still had trouble falling asleep.I would see others who only suffered minor injuries surrounded by their families and fussed over by their loved ones. Meanwhile, I couldn't even move, and there was no one by my side at all.Nobody cared about me. In fact, they were all hoping that I would die. I was in so much pain, both physically and emotionally.I was so tired.All I wanted to do was have a nice, good cry.But I didn't cry with her. If I did, it would make her feel even worse. She would feel even guiltier.So, I waved over a few of the strippers.The past was the past now. We didn't need to relive the pain; all
While Cordelia and I were having the time of our lives, I received a call. It was from the hospital. "Hello, is this Ms. Quill? Your husband, Mr. Sawyer, is currently undergoing emergency treatment at our hospital for a stomach bleed," said the nurse. "Please come as soon as you can."I raised my eyebrows. A stomach bleed? I might've considered going if he were dying—after all, I would inherit everything if he died, so the least I could do was show up to collect his body.Leaning back leisurely against the couch, I opened my mouth and let one of the strippers feed me a grape. "Sorry, I'm too busy to leave right now. Besides, I'm not a doctor. What's the point of me being there? I won't bother."With that, I hung up before the nurse on the other end could say anything.Cordelia withdrew her hand from the stripper she was feeling up. "Who's in the hospital?""Irvin."Cordelia was momentarily stunned, but then she gave me a thumbs-up. She now completely believed that I'd truly los
Like a wild animal, Irvin lunged at me and grabbed my wrist. "What do you think you're doing, Emilia?"Seeing him, the smile on my face vanished instantly. I frowned and said impatiently, "Why are you shouting? We're in public. You're acting like a lunatic!"Irvin paused as if he couldn't understand how I was still acting so bold and guiltless when I'd refused to see him when he was hospitalized for gastric bleeding, opting instead to enjoy myself at the strip club.However, he soon realized that my words sounded eerily familiar. Then, it hit him—he had said the same thing to me after I had caught him shopping with Julianne and acting intimate with her. At the time, I had just recovered from taking a stabbing for him and was still suffering from physical and emotional torment from Julianne. I had lost my cool and yelled at them in public; in return, he had said those exact words to me coldly and callously.Irvin blanched.After a long silence, he finally said, "Emi, you can be a
After getting over the initial shock, Irvin looked hurt."Emi…" he barely managed to get the word out before his body collapsed to the side weakly.I watched him fall coldly, feeling nothing at all.Darkness crept around the edges of Irvin's vision, threatening to swallow him into oblivion. Everything was blurry around him. The only thing he could see clearly was me.I used to love him more than anything in the world, but now, I was just watching coldly as he collapsed. Then, without hesitation, without even the slightest reluctance, I walked away without looking back.It felt as though his heart was being slowly and painfully carved away with a dull knife. Overwhelmed by pain, he lost consciousness.…Unconscious, Irvin dreamed—a terrifying nightmare. He dreamed that I, who had once loved him, was looking at him with utter indifference.In his nightmare, he was utterly irrelevant to me. He could die right then and there, and he felt that I wouldn't care one bit. In fact, I wou
Shaun was a good man. Knowing how much I wanted to see Mr. Holland, he soon found an excuse to invite him out."Are you sure you don't want to join us for a meal?" he asked. He wanted me to meet Mr. Holland openly, but I did not dare.I felt scared and guilty.He had probably worked really hard to forget about me; I didn't want him to remember how disappointed he was in me or feel regret over what I had turned out to be."Don't overthink it. Mr. Holland has brought you up many times over the past few years. He did sound regretful about you, but I can tell that he still misses you," Shaun told me. "When a teacher genuinely likes a student, they wouldn't stay mad for long. Trust me, I'm a teacher now, too."After returning from a research institute aboard, Shaun had begun taking on his own students.I knew that he had only the best intentions for me, but I still declined his kind offer. Apart from gear, I also didn't know how to face Mr. Holland.All I wanted was to catch a glimps
Mr. Holland had trusted me so much and supported me wholeheartedly. For the sake of my research, he had lowered his pride and went around building connections to secure a lab for me, despite his usual dislike for dealing with people.But I had abandoned everything just as our research was finally showing some promising results. For Irvin, I had left everything behind, betraying my original aspirations and the trust and support Mr. Holland had placed in me.I owed him. I owed him so much."If you can get in touch with her, tell her that the lab is still here for her. If she wants to come back, it's not too late," Mr. Holland said.Hearing this, my tears began to fall in earnest.Long after Mr. Holland left, I still sat there, unable to lift my head from the table. Guilt and shame overwhelmed me, threatening to drown me.I had been so blinded by love back then. I had been so foolish. All that blind love was now turned into regret.How could I have been so stupid to have given eve
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