"Macie and Alice are close friends, but you probably haven't met Macie before since you didn't recognize her," Mira continued.After hearing that, Diana plastered a smile on her face and forced herself to speak. "That's right… I hadn't seen her before."Mira didn't catch the change in her tone. Lost in her own emotions, she went on, "I kept wondering why I couldn't dig up anything about her during the rest of the banquet. I even asked Elias to look into her. "It turned out that Elias had also run into his sister that night. But before he could dig any deeper, my daughter had already been set up by Sharon…"Mira's voice cracked every time she spoke. Diana listened and could only murmur hollow reassurances while her own mind churned. How was she supposed to smooth over her lies, salvage her relationship with the Hales, and make Macie forgive her for the cruel things she had said?Diana had once dreamed of binding the Harts and Hales together through marriage. Yet now, it turned out
The phone rang for over ten seconds before Mira finally picked up. Diana chirped, "Mira, it's me, Diana! Do you have any plans today? "We're hosting a product launch at 2:00 pm. Why don't you bring your daughter along? It'll be fun!"Mira's voice out scratchy as she declined. "I'm sorry, Diana. I won't be able to make it. My daughter had been abducted and assaulted. She's still lying in the hospital right now."Diana froze for a moment when she heard that. Then, she fretted, "Sharon was abducted? Who did it? Have you found the culprit?"Which hospital is she in? I'll drop by later to see her!" Diana rose from her seat and was about to head upstairs to change her clothes. However, she'd only taken a few steps when Mira's next words left her stunned and rooted to the spot."My daughter's not Sharon. She's the culprit, the vile woman who tried to harm my daughter! My daughter is Macie. "Sharon has tried to have her killed more than once. This time was no different… Macie almost
"How could it not be Macie, Sean? At this point, you don't have to hide it from me," Diana said sternly. "I've already made myself clear. You can't be with a commoner! The sooner you let go of that idea, the better.""Nothing is going on between Macie and me!" Sean said through gritted teeth."I know, but that's only temporary. You don't look at her the same way as you do with others, and as your mom, I'd be blind not to notice!" Diana fumed. "I don't think I've done anything wrong. I'm simply nipping problems in the bud." Sean listened to his mother's cold, indifferent words. Usually, he would've thought that she was just being unreasonable and paranoid. Yet, at that moment, there was one thing he could no longer deny—his feelings for Macie were far from ordinary. The problem was, he still hadn't figured out why yet. He wasn't even sure if he liked her."So, you admit you went to see Macie and threatened her," he said lowly. "I did not threaten her! She was cooperative and se
"How many times has this happened? How many times have you reported my whereabouts to her?" Sean demanded. As soon as his words fell, hesitation flickered across the driver's face. When Sean noticed that, his eyes widened. He had popped the question without much thought, yet to his surprise, this genuinely wasn't the first time. "You'd better come clean while I still have patience," he snapped.The driver panicked, his composure breaking. Fear took over, and he spilled everything without another moment of hesitation. "Mrs. Hart instructed me to inform her anytime you met with Ms. Smith. She never questioned me about anything else. But I told her when Ms. Smith brought you meals, when you drove her home, and when you carried her into the apartment complex…" Sean started connecting the dots and mapping out the timeline based on what his driver had described. To his astonishment, it had started much earlier than he ever imagined."Mrs. Hart never gave me any other orders. She just w
"That's everything that's happened between Macie and me all these years. She's the only friend I have outside of our circle, the only one who I was close to without any ulterior motives," Alice said sincerely. She continued, "Macie's qualities really drew me in, and I always felt at ease and happy around her. I had no idea she had married Edward behind my back and kept it from me for two years. If I'd known, I would've done everything I could to stop her."He never deserved her, and let's not forget all the terrible things he put her through." In the end, her hands were balled into fists, her jaw clenched tight. Looking at her, Edmund and Mira felt relieved and grateful, knowing that she was truly a friend who cared about Macie. After getting everything off her chest and taking a jab at Edward, Alice whipped her head around and looked up, meeting Elias' gaze. "That night at my birthday party, when you asked me about May, was it because you suspected she was your younger sister
After hearing that, Elias turned his attention to the frail figure lying by the window.He wondered if this really were a happy ending. Would Macie ever forgive the Hales for what they had done to her? His hands curled into fists as guilt and pain tore at him.Macie had endured so much suffering, yet he had chosen to cover for the one who hurt her. He feared that she might never forgive them. Lowering his head slightly, he clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white, his heart pounding with unease and dread. Sean walked up to the window and looked at Macie's figure inside. The sight was all too familiar. It hadn't been long since he last looked at her frail body from that same angle. However, her condition was far worse this time. If she had seemed like a broken doll barely holding together last time, she now looked like a lifeless puppet, barely hanging on to life.His brows knitted as he gazed at Macie, his emotions a tangled mess. He felt suffocated, weighed