David looked at the crazed woman before him. "Deborah, it's been so many years. Have you ever felt joy? What have you gotten from all this plotting? In the end, it's a lose-lose situation.""You're wrong. I was disfigured, disowned, and driven out of my family. I lost everything. Why should Shana have everything?""She was just a country bumpkin. How could she take my place? I might've lost, but you don't get to celebrate my defeat. A lose-lose situation is a win in my books!"She looked down at David. "Look at you now. You're beaten and battered. You look pitiful. I'll have you know that this is just the beginning. Soon, the entire Fordham family will be destroyed. I will destroy you and the Fordham family!""You really have lost your mind.""Yes, I've lost my mind. I lost my mind because of you. David, it's time you experienced the pain I felt. Do you know that Shana, the woman you care so much about, has become Brandon's woman now? "Does it hurt? Oh, right. You don't know yet
Olivia revealed her and Avery's plan to Troy when he was involved in an accident to comfort him.Avery and Troy acted together. Avery hid in the dark to not attract attention while Troy showed himself. David ran an investigation within a scope, and every clue led him to suspect Deborah. He volunteered to be the bait to lure her out.Avery lost contact with David after the plane crash, after which he spent days worrying about David.Fortunately, Avery managed to track David's whereabouts. Avery shared the news with Olivia immediately.That was when Olivia knew her true identity. It was mind-blowing, and she had mixed feelings about it.Emotions churned in her, but she couldn't say a word."What's wrong, Olivia?" asked Troy as he received zero response from her. "Did something happen?"She tried to hold herself together. "No, I'm just…"Her choking voice worried him more. "You don't have to hide anything from me. We're your godbrothers; we're a family. Even if many things are h
Still, Olivia was one step ahead of him in knowing the truth."Where are you?" she asked. Was he involved in this?"Zelotria. Many things have happened to the Fordham family lately. It took me a while to find out who the mastermind was. Don't worry, I'll seize my chance to eliminate her amidst this mess."A wave of relief washed over her. She thought he knew of her whereabouts and had seen through her plan. Fortunately, it seemed like he didn't know that she was in Zelotria."Don't kill her.""Why not? She wants you dead. You'll be in greater danger if she's alive."Olivia made up an excuse. "Ms. Jacqueline has tried to assassinate me several times. I met her before. We're of the same age. We're miles apart, and there's no bad blood between us. Why would she want me dead? I think there's someone else who wants me dead. "She's just a chess piece. Killing her won't solve the problem. We have to kill the actual mastermind…"Now, Olivia had become the manipulator instead of the
Olivia was stunned. She looked at Kelvin and repeated, "She had plastic surgeries?""Yes, that's right."Before this, Olivia wondered why Jacqueline looked similar to her. Did David have something to do with this?Now, Olivia finally knew why.She flipped through the records. Jacqueline had her first plastic surgery at 13 years old. Following that, she fixed her features once every year. Then, she began to maintain the results in her 20s.No wonder no one had suspected her. It all happened during her school days when she used to stay at the dorm. She returned home half a year later, and everyone simply thought that she was blooming in age. They said she took after David more as she aged. Who would've known that it was the result of medical technology?Perhaps Olivia was still safe at that time because Jacqueline had to fix her face according to Olivia's.Once Olivia was deemed useless, the assassination began.Olivia smirked. "I'm going to skin her alive.""Mrs. Miller
At this point, the smile on Deborah's face was crazed with obsession. "Stay alive. Make sure to witness it all."She gave David a supplement injection as he shut his eyes, lying in bed. It took up all of his strength just to talk to her.Actually, his silence and sickly state weren't the picture she had in mind. This wasn't what she wanted.While setting this up behind the scenes, she imagined he would get on his knees to beg for mercy or get on her good side.Even though he was caught and his family was in trouble, unlike her expectations, he was reluctant to cave in. He even attempted suicide!So what if she spent so much time orchestrating the whole plan? At the end of the day, she couldn't gain what she wanted.Despite her deep resentment for him and his sickly state, she didn't want him to die. Deep love would come with deep hatred sometimes. Why would she want him dead when he was the man she desperately yearned for? All she wished for was for him to beg her and return
Leia obviously sounded flustered as she stammered, "Please tell me what to do. You saved me. You basically own my life. I'm willing to die for you."Avery wasn't surprised by her answer.Be it years ago or during their most recent reunion, she was careful around him. It was different from the way she usually acted around people.Despite his zero experience in dating, he had encountered all kinds of women in the business world.He could tell that, other than gratification, Leia had feelings for him. Deep feelings.Even though she was Ms. Miller, her self-esteem would drop every time she saw him. She couldn't even face him properly.Avery roughly recounted the whole story."You want me to save your dad?""Yes, can you do that?" Avery lost his confidence after telling her the story because it was undeniably a difficult request.Surprisingly, she answered, "It'll be kinda difficult, but I can do it."She was young but decisive.Her promise comforted him. "You can tell me if you
Leia was still quite young, but she had been through a lot. So, she was able to hide her emotions very well. "This is my first time here. I couldn't sleep, so I decided to walk around for a bit." Janice replied, "You know that Ethan's here, too. If he sees you out there, he'll definitely…"Leia cut her off immediately, "Do you think he doesn't know that my limbs are healed? If he really wanted to kill me, he would've done it three years ago. In the end, he's just like you—delusional about love and weak-minded."Back then, Ethan didn't choose to kill her. He only severed her tendons. That was his way of avenging Olivia. Moreover, Olivia was still alive. Ethan probably wouldn't hurt her anymore. "You're not like us at all, Leia."Leia smiled bitterly. "Who says I'm not like the two of you?"The delusional way of thinking seemed to run in the family. Her parents and Ethan were like that, and she was the same. She knew that her life belonged to Avery the moment he saved her
Leia smiled softly. "Yeah. I'm fine as long as I know that you love me."The two of them finally reconciled at that moment. Leia pushed Janice away to get a good look at her.It was probably because Janice was back at her home. She looked way better than when she was living in the Miller residence."Mom, you have a long road ahead of you. You should find a man who loves you and live out the rest of your life in happiness. Don't waste anymore of your time on people who don't matter.""Silly girl, why are you suddenly talking about that? My biggest joy is that you're back by my side. My biggest wish will be to see you and Ethan living happy lives."Leia's resolve was starting to crumble. She was afraid that she wouldn't have it in herself to leave if they kept talking."Mr. Fordham Senior's death just made me a little emotional. Mom, you're probably tired after the trip. You should get some rest. I'll just be taking a stroll nearby.""Alright. Don't stay out too late."Janice pat