"If you won’t tell me, I’ll go ask Howard Geoffrey."
"Miss, please don’t..." As expected, Aunt Clare was terrified and quickly said, "Since you and Mr. Geoffrey are already together, there’s no need to hesitate. I’ll tell you."
Aunt Clare slowly began, "This all started more than twenty years ago..."
After hearing Aunt Clare’s account, Rebecca Quentin finally understood completely all the grievances and grudges of the previous generation.
It turned out that when her father was young, he met Monica Landon in Malaysia. Later, because Rebecca’s mother interfered, her father gave up his relationship with Monica Landon. Then, wanting to provide Rebecca’s mother with a wealthy and stable life, he defrauded Monica Landon’s family of their one-billion fortune...
Later, her father and mother came to T City. They were very much in love, and soon Rebecca was born. But their happiness was short-lived, as her mother soon fell in love with an ordinary businessman in T City, Stephen Geoffrey.
Stephen Geoffrey loved her mother dearly, and to be with her, he chose to divorce his first wife. Her mother then abandoned her father and young Rebecca, wanting only to be with Stephen Geoffrey.
Outraged by her mother’s infidelity and abandonment, her father paid someone to tamper with Stephen Geoffrey’s car, causing the traffic accident that killed both Stephen Geoffrey and her mother. Because the sabotage was done flawlessly, leaving no trace, the incident was officially ruled an accident.
Initially, her father had intended for everyone to perish together in a mutual destruction. But just as he resolved to end his own life, he suddenly came to his senses, his thoughts turning to young Rebecca...
Her father eventually chose to live for her and brought Aunt Clare to care for her, as a substitute for her mother.
For the next ten-plus years, her father lived in constant pain and self-blame...
He regretted giving up the woman he had loved in Malaysia for Rebecca’s mother. He suffered from the pain of having deeply loved such a promiscuous and shameless woman. He even repented falling into an irreparable state of despair over a woman so unworthy of his affection...
Who would have thought that when Rebecca turned twenty, Howard Geoffrey would appear with Christine Quinn...
At that time, her father did not know Christine Quinn was his daughter, and Christine refused to meet him. Since Howard Geoffrey handled all discussions with him, her father declined Howard’s request.
Her father refused, not because he was cold-blooded, but because he was already ill. Surgery would worsen his condition and likely wouldn’t save Christine Quinn either. Moreover, her father believed Howard Geoffrey merely wanted him to save a girl who shared his rare blood type, unaware she was his biological daughter.
Ultimately, what her father never anticipated was that Howard Geoffrey would record his refusal to treat Christine Quinn and play it for her. This led a grief-stricken Christine to confront her father, and only then did he learn of this daughter’s existence. By then, however, Christine Quinn could never forgive him.
Her father never understood why Howard Geoffrey had framed him until Howard confronted him directly, revealing he was Stephen Geoffrey’s son.
Only then did her father understand: Howard Geoffrey had come seeking revenge for his own father’s death, intending to settle the score.
On the surface, Howard Geoffrey claimed to be helping Christine Quinn, but in reality, he was creating misunderstandings between Christine and her father to achieve his goal of destroying the harmony within the Quentin family.
This confrontation made her father realize Howard Geoffrey was an extremely dangerous person who likely wouldn’t spare anyone in the Quentin family...
Fortunately, though ruthless, Howard Geoffrey seemed genuinely fond of Christine Quinn and demanded that her father save her.
Knowing he wouldn’t live much longer and desperate to protect Rebecca, her father made a deal with Howard Geoffrey.
Her father knew this act would destroy Christine Quinn’s happiness, but he had no other choice. He wanted Howard Geoffrey to spare Rebecca’s life as well, hoping to protect both his daughters.
Leaning against the window and gazing into the distance, Rebecca Quentin’s thoughts swirled like a tide.
Her feeling now was as if she were struggling to breathe, yet someone was still pushing her underwater. She was flailing, barely hanging on, and felt she might suffocate at any moment.
She had no time to dwell on the grievances of the previous generation; the most important thing now was to find a way to leave this place.
Amidst such hatred, how could there possibly be a future between them?
It turned out their love had been strangled in its cradle by the animosity between them from the very beginning; it was never destined to blossom or bear fruit.
No wonder he had been so resolute when they divorced four years ago. No wonder he never seemed to care for her, yet always appeared in her world...