Nolan fell from this exact spot. I stood at the edge of the cliff, staring into the churning sea below, and I made my decision. “Come back, Miss Lauren. Please, don’t do anything stupid.
”
I didn’t listen. I couldn’t. Ten days without him, ten days of searching, and nothing. Not a trace.
If Nolan wasn’t coming back, then I had no reason to stay in this world either. “Adeline, snap out of it. Come with me,” my assistant begged. “I’ll show you something before you decide whether to die with him or not.
”
I should have known better. I should have trusted the pit in my stomach. Because Nolan wasn’t dead. He was at a party, drinking champagne and laughing with his first love, Kaylee.
“You’ve been with me for so long by faking your death. Will Adeline be mad at you? ” Kaylee asked him. “She’s always nagging me, so dominating.
She left me no freedom at all. Though I plan to go back in a month, I actually don’t want to see her for my life,” Nolan replied. “Only you can give me freedom and pleasure. But she’s so devoted to me that she definitely won’t be mad.
Right now she’s probably planning to jump into the sea. ”
He laughed. He actually laughed while I was standing on a cliff, ready to die for him. He’d been lying to me from the very start.
“You wanted to fake your death, huh? ” I whispered to myself. “Then I’ll fulfill your wish. I’ll make you disappear from this world completely.
”
I went to see my lawyer. “Mr. Warren, all the paperwork is done. But are you sure you want to freeze all Mr.
Reed’s cards? What if he comes back and needs money? ”
“The authorities have confirmed there is no way he could survive. I need to accept reality.
Freeze all his accounts and file his death certificate. ”
Nolan was busy shopping. He bought several luxury cars at once with his black card, acting like a king. But when he went to pay for the hundred-million-dollar total, the card was declined.
“Insufficient funds. ”
“Impossible! ” he shouted. “This machine is broken.
It must be the machine. ”
It wasn’t the machine. When he called the bank, he learned everything was gone. All his accounts, his properties, his stocks.
Everything was canceled or transferred. “Who authorized this? ” he demanded. “The account holder authorized the operation.
Your debit card ending in 3456 has been canceled. Your ownership of 18 properties has been transferred. ”
“It’s Adeline! ” he screamed.
“I see now. It must be her. ”
His friend, the one from the party, offered to go talk to me. He came to my office, feigning concern.
“Adeline, he’s only missing. His death hasn’t been confirmed. How could you cancel his cards already? You’re so heartless.
”
“Do I need your permission to cancel my own husband’s card? ”
“I’m his best friend. ”
I didn’t believe him. I knew he was lying.
So I played along. I told him I’d raise a hundred million dollars to fund the search for Nolan. He ran back to Nolan. “She said she’d spend $100 million to find you.
She’s still completely devoted to you. ”
“I knew it. She can’t live without me. ”
They thought they had me.
They thought I was still the lovesick wife who would do anything for Nolan. But I was just buying time. I held the funeral. Nolan showed up, furious.
“What are you doing? I’m not dead! How dare you hold a funeral for me? ”
I looked at him.
“Who the hell are you? How dare you impersonate my husband? ”
He couldn’t believe it. His own mother and sister initially believed him, but I showed them proof.
I showed them his will, which left half his assets to his mother and half to his fiancée. I told them he was a con artist. “If he were really Nolan, who cared about his family, how could he have purposely disappeared for 10 whole days with the knowledge of your heart disease? He’s just an impostor.
”
His mother turned on him. His sister turned on him. They chose money over blood. They chose me.
Nolan was thrown out of his own funeral. He tried to get his cars back, but they were gone. He tried to get his identity back, but I had already won. He was left with nothing.
The divorce papers were signed. Nolan was bankrupt, humiliated, and homeless. He moved into his old, dilapidated family house with his mother, sister, and Kaylee. And then he came to find me.
“Adeline, you can’t marry anyone else! ” He was screaming at my wedding. But I wasn’t alone. I had Neil Gibson, the man who truly loved me.
“I left you because you’re selfish, cold-hearted, and stupid,” I told Nolan. “But Neil respects me. He gives me a sense of security and being loved. You couldn’t give me that.
Please leave now. Don’t ruin my wedding. ”
But Nolan wouldn’t give up. His mother started wailing, threatening to kill herself.
Kaylee showed up, claiming she was pregnant with Nolan’s child. I brought out his medical report. “This clearly states he has a severe case of oligozoospermia. ”
Kaylee was exposed as a liar.
Nolan beat her, leaving her bleeding on the floor. He denied everything, claiming he was a victim. I gave his family five million dollars just to leave. “If you insist on ruining my wedding, you won’t get a single penny from me.
But if you leave now, I’ll give you $5 million. ”
They took the money. Nolan immediately invested it all, thinking he could make it big. But I’d planted the investment information, and his greed ruined him.
He lost everything again. He came back to me one last time, begging for money. “Adeline, give me one more chance. ”
I was done with him.
But then, out of nowhere, Kaylee stabbed him. “You made me lose my baby. Now I can’t get pregnant again. Go to hell.
”
Nolan was bleeding on the ground, screaming for help. “Adeline, help me. Give me one more chance. ”
I looked at him.
“Back then, I begged you to take me to the hospital too. But what did you do? Nothing. ”
I walked away.
Neil held my hand. “Before we leave for our honeymoon, please sign this first. ”
“What is it? ”
“This is a stock transfer agreement and a property deed transfer contract.
You’re transferring all your assets under your name to me? ” I asked, surprised. “Yeah. What’s mine is all yours.
From the moment I met you, I wanted to give you the best the world has to offer. From now on, the Warren Group is yours, and the Gibson Group is also yours. And I am yours, too. ”
I smiled.
“Anywhere is fine, as long as you’re by my side. ”
Let’s set off now.
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