Olivia looked up. A strong body had appeared before her. Ethan was grabbing Chloe's hand.If he had been respectful of Chloe before, he wasn't now. He didn't bother to hide the coldness in his eyes. "Aren't you going too far, Ms. Parker?"Chloe had always lived in a pampered environment. Ethan's grip was hurting her wrist so much that she frowned. "Ethan, I'm helping you here. What are you doing?""Helping me?" Ethan sneered, but he didn't let go. Instead, he tightened his grip.He said, "I don't like anyone meddling in my affairs, understand?"Chloe was in so much pain that tears welled up in her eyes. She nodded repeatedly. "Yes, I get it now. Just let go of me.""Ms. Parker, look properly at the person in front of you. She's your real daughter!" With that, Ethan pushed her hand away.Two trails of tears appeared on Chloe's face. It was all because of Ethan.She looked at Olivia with an even fiercer expression. She transferred the pain Ethan caused her onto Olivia."Look, it

When Chloe heard that, her expression softened considerably. "I knew it. This woman was indeed pestering you. You hear that, Liv? Now gather your things and go home with me."Chloe reached out to grab Olivia's hand. "I was a little worked up just now, so don't take my words to heart. I'm doing this for your good."Since you're already divorced, you should completely cut ties with him. Clinging on will only hurt everyone …"Olivia pushed her hand away. "You're right, you should completely cut ties after a divorce. When your ex-husband is about to die on the sick bed, you don't have to visit him—not even once."Chloe froze. When she thought about it, she truly hadn't taken the initiative to visit Jeff since her return."Are you blaming me? When I came back, your dad was in the ICU, so outsiders weren't allowed to visit."Olivia found her explanation pathetic. "Ms. Parker, I'm seriously doubting your sincerity. When the Parker family was almost going bankrupt, Dad was the one who sa

Olivia walked toward the elevator with her cardboard box in hand. An imposing woman walked toward her. The woman was the leader of Team B.The woman crossed her arms as a look of disdain appeared on her face."What did I say? The position you get from sleeping around won't last."People showed their ugliest sides to those they had never talked to before. With just a few words, they could show the greatest malice toward strangers.Clara was one such person. Olivia achieved something she couldn't. So, she tried to harm Olivia on several occasions.Olivia was mad at the moment. Straightening herself, she retorted, "Did you forget to brush your teeth before leaving the house today? It stinks.""What did you say?" Clara's sleek eyebrows creased as the look in her eyes turned sharp.Olivia met her gaze coldly. "Of all the skills you could pick up, you decided to have a sharp and nasty tongue. Do I even know you? Why do you keep insulting me?"Can you hear me this time? If not, I'll g

Olivia and Dr. Scott confirmed the time. The surgery would be held on that Friday.Holding an umbrella, Olivia watched the rain as she dialed Everly's number.Everly sounded exhausted. As soon as the call went through, she started complaining. "Goodness, I've been staying up for two nights in a row. What's wrong with the new boss? What a workaholic."Covering her mouth, Olivia chuckled. "I remember you telling me how handsome he was just a few days ago.""So what if he is? He's not my boyfriend, anyway. I shouldn't have switched jobs. It wasn't too bad to laze around in my previous company."After Everly broke up, Josh went to her previous company every day to beg for forgiveness. In her fury, Everly resigned from her job.She didn't want to work for people anymore. Declining Ethan's offer, she went to work at an outstanding real estate company.As a result, she cursed her boss every day for being nitpicky. He was extremely harsh toward his employees."By the way, Eve, are yo

Colin didn't look like he noticed the disappointment in Olivia's eyes. He reached out to her. "I was passing by when I spotted you, Olivia. Did you get lost, or did you sprain your ankle?"Declining his offer to help, Olivia got up on her own. Then, she smiled helplessly. "I was just thinking about something. I stopped here without realizing it.""My house is nearby. If you don't mind, Olivia, you can go visit Snowball. Snowball misses you."Because of this reason, Olivia couldn't bring herself to decline.The warm interior of the car formed a stark contrast to the cold outside. Colin passed to Olivia an untouched cup of coffee."I was thinking of drinking it when I got home. Here, it'll warm you up."Olivia looked down. It was spiced coffee."Thank you.""No need for thanks." Smiling, Colin turned the steering wheel with one hand.Olivia felt that something was off. She had the feeling that the spiced coffee was bought specially for her, and he didn't run into her by accident

Olivia felt that human hearts were quite simple. Colin's cooking managed to heal the hurt she received from Ethan and Chloe.The more she needed love, the easier she was touched by small acts of kindness.In the end, Colin still noticed her sorrow. He asked, "Olivia, is there something you're upset about?""I need to undergo surgery, but when I look back in my life, I realize that I have no one to sign the risk acknowledgment letter for me. Am I a failure?"Olivia spoke nonchalantly, but a pained look flashed across Colin's eyes."Olivia, everyone has a different definition of failure. To me, you're an outstanding woman, so you're not a failure. An unhappy marriage can only be a mistake at most."But we have long lives. No one can predict the future and avoid making mistakes."Olivia frowned a little. "You know about what happened to me?""Back on the cruise, I knew that Mr. Miller was holding you. I was among the crowd at the hospital that day, so I overheard your fight. Sorry

Ethan stared quietly at Olivia. She hadn't done anything out of the ordinary in the past few days.The most she did was spend long hours at the hospital a few days ago. Jeff was getting weaker by the day. It was only reasonable for Olivia to want to spend as much time with him as possible.For the past few days, she didn't go anywhere outside of the residential area. Everly didn't come over either.She was wearing a beige lace dress. The breeze caressed her face as flower petals danced around her. She was exceedingly beautiful.Ethan realized how gentle Olivia could be when she kept her distance from him.Olivia looked him in the eye from a distance away. She nodded in place of a greeting. Then, she left without even turning back.Ethan felt upset. He had made a decision and given her a promise, but he kept breaking his own rules for Olivia's sake.Seeing that she was about to leave, he stepped forward and grabbed her wrist.Olivia looked at him calmly, then sounded a warning.

The person standing at the door was none other than Chloe. She was once the person Olivia longed the most for, but now, even a glance at her hurt Olivia's heart.Ethan was simply getting engaged. But because of that, Olivia managed to meet all the people she didn't want to see in one go."Liv, just give me five minutes.""You're not getting even five seconds." Olivia's expression was cold.Coincidentally, a neighbor was leaving their house. Olivia didn't want to be criticized, so she had no choice but to open the door and let Chloe in.This was Chloe's first time coming to Olivia's house after returning to the country.If it were before, Olivia would've welcomed her with open arms. But today, she didn't do that. She changed her shoes calmly, then got a glass of water for herself. Her throat was dry."Go ahead."Chloe looked around her. The apartment wasn't too big. She could see the whole place in just a glance."Liv, I heard from Marina that she bought the Fordham residence f

Olivia didn't know how Chris managed to charm Chloe. She thought, "She's already so old, so how can she still be so naive?"She replied, "Why should I bless them? Marina is the reason I ended up like this today. I haven't even made her pay for what she's done to me, but I'm supposed to give her my blessing now? What's the logic behind this?"Chloe said, "I also heard about what happened between you two. Liv, what happened to your child was an accident."Marina also fell into the sea, and she almost ended up like you. But she was fortunate enough to have given birth to the child. You can't blame her."Olivia knew that Marina had been spinning tales in front of Chloe again.No matter what Marina said, Chloe would believe her and reprimand Olivia instead."Mrs. Carlton, your generosity knows no bounds. Have you considered doing charity work?"Chloe said in exasperation, "Liv, I'm sincerely inviting you to attend their engagement ceremony. What's with your attitude? Why are you stil

Olivia had also thought about talking to Ryan these days. She could continue the investigation through his case.But she feared that it might alert the mastermind, so she never took action.She didn't expect Ryan to reach out to her first.Olivia pressed the button to answer the call. "Hello, Ryan.""Ms. Fordham, where are you right now? You asked me to investigate Jodie, remember? I found something!"Ryan's voice sounded anxious, and there was no trace of him faking it.Olivia probed, "What is it?""Jodie's phone! But it's already broken. I remember you being interested, so I'm calling to ask if you want it.""I heard that her original home has been rented to someone else. Her body was found in the ocean. Where did the phone come from? If it's already broken, how can you be sure that it's Jodie's?"Olivia was smart, and she soon found the key point.Ryan thought that she would latch onto the clue without hesitation. He didn't expect her to figure out the flaw so soon.While