At 10:00 pm, Candice was waiting in the airport lounge. She stood at the exit holding a bouquet of flowers.Not far away, Mervyn was stylishly dressed in athletic wear. He pulled a suitcase as he walked out briskly.From a distance, Candice saw him and then waved at him.Mervyn excitedly dragged his suitcase and hurried toward her. He opened his arms as he intended to embrace her.However, Candice pushed the flowers into his arms to block his hug.Mervyn frowned. He looked down at the flowers in her hands and said, "Thanks, but I'd rather have your hug than these flowers."Candice sighed resignedly and smiled. Then, she put down her hands.Mervyn came closer to hug her. As he patted her back, he muttered, "I missed you so much, Candice.""Why did you come back all of a sudden?""I got my PhD and received my certificate. The first thing I wanted to do was come back to see you because I missed you so much."Candice slowly pushed him away. She smiled as she replied, "Stop joking
Jasper felt helpless and embarrassed at Ryan's retort. He said, "Mr. Campbell, I don't mean that. I just—""Mrs. Campbell will take good care of her. Candice is drunk, so why put her through the hassle of moving around? Go, go, go. Go back home and sleep."Jasper said, "Candice is engaged now. It's inappropriate for her to stay overnight at your house."Ryan was well aware of her engagement.The sudden news had caught them off guard, which was why they had Ryan return quickly. Otherwise, his daughter-in-law would be taken away."Being engaged doesn't mean she has no freedom.""That's not what I meant, I—" Before Jasper could finish speaking, Ryan interrupted, "Just go home. Good night."With that, the door was shut.Feeling disappointed, Jasper left. As he walked, he pulled out his phone to call Elio.As the phone rang, he thought to himself, "Uncle Elio, I've done my part."Elio's groggy voice came from the phone. "It's late, what's going on?""Mervyn is back," Jasper sai
Elio asked, "Candice doesn't drink. Did you purposely get her drunk?"Mervyn sneered, "She won't drink with you, but she will with me. Besides, she's happy that I'm back."Elio clenched his fist.Mervyn continued, "Candice is the innocent type. I don't know what tactics you used to get her, but they must have been underhanded."I was already suspicious when you took her abroad last time. Elio, a twisted man like you, doesn't deserve her. I won't let her fall into your trap."Ignoring him, Elio pushed him aside and walked past him. Then, he continue his way in further into the house.Mervyn caught up to grab Elio's arm, but Elio turned and threw him off.Elio grabbed his collar and pinned him against the wall.With a chilling aura and a gaze full of menace, Elio warned, "Listen carefully. Candice is my fiancée now, so whatever relationship you had with her is in the past. From now on, keep your distance because she's mine."Mervyn said through gritted teeth, "I will tear off th
The morning light flooded the balcony, filling the room with warmth.Candice slowly woke up from her sleep.As she opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was the handsome face that had haunted her dreams throughout her youth.The man was lying on his side. He was fast asleep next to her with his face facing her.She blinked, feeling like she was dreaming. How was it possible that she would wake up to find Elio beside her?She thought she was still dreaming, so she closed her eyes to adjust. After opening her eyes again, she found that the man in front of her was real.She recalled that she was at the Campbell Residence last night. After welcoming Mervyn back and having a few drinks, she drunkenly fell asleep.Drunk?Candice suddenly realized that she had indeed gotten drunk, but why was she in Elio's bed right now? How did she end up here? Who had brought her to Elio's house?The more she thought about it, the more nervous she became. She felt restless and uneasy for some re
She had always been desperate to know why Elio was so eager to marry her.At that moment, Elio didn't explain. He let go of Candice then got out of bed and walked into the bathroom.Candice looked at his retreating back with disappointment.She suddenly remembered what Josie had tried to tell her before.At that time Josie wanted to tell her the truth, but she was afraid it would be bad news, so she chose not to listen.She had been waiting for Elio to tell her the reason, but it seemed Elio had his own reasons for staying silent.After getting out of bed, Candice stood barefoot on the floor and looked around for her shoes.Only then did she realize that her phone and shoes were still at the Campbell Residence.She sat back on the bed, lost in thought.Moments later, Elio came out of the bathroom after washing up. He went to the wardrobe to take out a new pair of slippers. Then, he placed them in front of Candice and knelt down to put them on for her.Candice gazed at his han
Candice shook her head.As Elio looked at her back, he clenched his fists to suppress his emotions. His eyes reddened and his heart ached.Was his impending happiness about to be shattered? He was starting to panic.Mervyn said earnestly, "Candice, I really don't want you to be deceived by him."This was the same thing Josie had tried to tell her.Her curiosity about how Elio had deceived her grew stronger. "Then tell me, what did he do?"Just as Mervyn was about to speak, Elio walked over and grabbed Candice's hand. He said anxiously, "Candice, I'll drop you at work. You're going to be late."Mervyn pushed Elio away. He yelled, "Stop pretending! Are you scared now? Why weren't you scared when you were deceiving Candice?"Elio angrily growled, "What did I deceive her about?"Mervyn pushed Candice aside and rushed forward to grab Elio by the collar. He growled through gritted teeth, "Don't think I don't know about your dirty tricks. I've investigated everything."In the year o
Candice gazed at Elio with teary eyes as she waited for his answer.Elio felt very guilty. As he looked at her forlornly, he said in a low voice, "Everything Mervyn said is true."Candice was shocked. She demanded a reason from him because she couldn't believe it.Elio clenched his fists to suppress his emotions.Mervyn walked over and grabbed Candice's wrist. As he was about to leave, he said, "Let's go. There's nothing more to say to him."Although Candice was still in shock, she let herself be dragged away by Mervyn.Watching the woman he was about to marry left in front of him, Elio was heartbroken. He wondered how could someone as pure and kind as Candice ever understand or forgive his past actions?"He walked to the sofa and sat on it. He leaned back against the sofa, looking up at the ceiling. He used his arms to cover his eyes as if to block out the sorrow.He was suffering from a mixture of sadness, loneliness, and heartbreak.In just a few days, he went from having
After getting out of the car, Candice strode toward the villa.Mervyn got out of the car as well and chased after her.Candice quickly ran into the villa. She slammed the door shut and locked it.Mervyn banged on the door from outside.Candice didn't open the door but slowly walked into the house.Hearing the commotion, Elio lowered his arm and looked toward the entrance.He hadn't expected Candice to come back. His sorrowful eyes showed a glimmer of hope. He sat up straight and stared at her with teary eyes.At that moment, the knocking outside ceased.Candice stood before him and looked down at Elio who was seated on the sofa. She said, "Mervyn said you've coveted me for a long time. Is that true?"Elio nodded reluctantly.Candice nervously clenched her fists. She asked, "Do you know what 'covet' means?"Elio replied, "Yes, I know. It means desiring something that doesn't belong to you."Candice asked sadly, "Why can't you use a different word? For example, you can say yo