The rest of the journey was smooth and the group soon got to Salt City. There was heavy rain on top of the earthquake. Salt City was a worrying sight. Hesper handed the supplies to the association that was helping. The person in charge at Salt City was already having a tough time because there was no way to prevent natural disasters, but since Salt City wasn’t a big city, they didn’t know how many people were displaced and it was difficult to ensure that there were enough basic necessities to go around. Hesper’s batch of supplies was a huge help. “Ms. Lane, since you got here safely, we’ll be on our way.”The people from Duval Group spoke to Hesper before leaving because Rickard’s attitude toward her was unique. They might be a family soon!Hesper was friendlier because they need to work together in the future so there was no point making their relationship sour. “This batch of supplies means so much to us. We’ll always remember Lane Holdings and Duval Group for your assist
He was an outsider observing Rickard and Hesper’s relationship. The Hesper who was meek and pitiful would probably never have thought that this day would come. Suddenly, someone came into the office. “No, I won’t agree to it!” Julie walked in and grabbed Rickard’s arms. “Mom, why are you here?” When he remembered what Julie did to Hesper, his expression turned cold. They all kept saying that it was ‘for his own good’ when they got involved in his marriage and bullied his wife. The truth is, they never respected him. Julie glared at him but was still fearful of Rickard’s cold expression, so she let him go and pretended to cry. “You remember that I’m your mom? Hesper’s life is important but my son’s isn’t?” Julie wiped away her nonexistent tears and continued. “How could you go to such a dangerous place because of a woman? Have you thought about your grandpa?”Rickard’s expression softened when his grandpa was mentioned but he didn’t cancel his plan to go to Salt City. “
The car that was following them really was sent by Juniper. She was in Genecity and already received the text from the assassin. “Hesper went to Salt City at a time like this? Even the heavens are on my side.”Juniper put her phone away and admired herself in the mirror. When she imagined how shocked the head of the station and her colleagues would look, she couldn’t help but feel proud. All the work that she had to let go of would naturally return to her. There was no way she could get happier. “Salt City is in chaos, so even if Hesper dies here, no one would find out the truth…”Once Hesper died and disappeared from Rickard’s world just like how she did in the past, Juniper would have all the time in the world to win him back. The assassin that she hired from the dark web was scary because he was able to track Hesper down so quickly. Juniper was a little regretful—If she posted this there previously, even Rickard wouldn’t be able to find any traces.It wasn’t too late!
Isaac’s voice came from her side but the scaffolding fell quickly. Hesper closed her eyes, but a hand pulled her aside. There was a loud noise and the floor shook. A corner of the building roof that was standing dangerously finally collapsed.“It’s the aftershock! Move away quickly!”“Ma’am!” Isaac wanted to rush over but the people next to him pulled him back as he watched her become engulfed by the falling building. “Ma’am—” The scaffolding fell on her back, but thanks to that hand that pulled her away, she wasn’t hit in the important parts. She couldn’t speak because of the pain in her back. Isaac’s voice got dimmer and dimmer outside of the fallen building. “Are… are you alright? Are you alright?”The corner of the roof that fell blocked the area in front of Hesper. She raised her head up despite the pain and realized she was trapped in a tight space that looked like a house. However, only a small triangular space was left after it caved in. There was a source of hea
Hesper already decided to give up on this man when her heart went cold in the past, but she didn’t know why the moment pained hit her. Her mind kept going back to him. She remembered how he changed his arrogant gaze at the aquarium like he was looking at her as an equal and was gentle as if protecting a flower in the wind. “Hesper, give me another chance to make it up to you.”Hesper’s tears started falling like pearls from a necklace that snapped. The woman next to her frantically wiped her tears away. The noises outside faded away and Hesper cried there in silence. Hesper didn’t have a lot of time left to go down memory lane. She couldn’t repay Matthew for what he did for her, so she tried her best to quickly get into her role as Ms. Lane and start helping with managing the company. All these memories that she had suppressed came back out. The first time she saw Rickard was when Hesper was brought out from the orphanage by Ernest. The government-run orphanage wasn’t a gr
“I came to bring you out. If you want to die here, just sit there.”He ignored everyone and carried Hesper in his arms. The pain in the back of his head reminded her that if they couldn’t go back the way he came in, he would probably be trapped there with Hesper. He rushed into this place that had collapsed. Before the aftershock ended, the emergency response team wouldn’t be able to come in. Only Isaac, his team, and Rickard came in. After digging through the rubble, the roof was loosened and might collapse further, and a piece of the collapsed wall hit the back of his head. The cut behind Hesper’s back was still bleeding and it didn’t look promising. She had to be sent to the hospital to stop it as soon as possible. Rickard’s tone scared the woman who didn’t dare speak up again. He didn’t seem to want to hurt Hesper, so she just quietly followed him. The sky was turning brighter and the way out wasn’t blocked. Rickard managed to bring her out from the rubble. “Ma’am!
Her eyes went to the last message which made Hesper feel like something in her heart broke. She placed her phone back on the table and closed her eyes, trying to delete everything from her mind. The pain was seared into her memories, but what was a few messages and phone calls compared to that?She must not repeat her mistakes. The doctors gave her a full checkup. It had been three days and her body had mostly recovered. As long as she didn’t do anything too drastic, there wouldn’t be any issues. Hesper listened to Matthew chew her ears off. She wasn’t very responsible for going to Salt City just because Wilfred provoked her. “As long as Wilfred is still at Emperion, I’ll keep pressuring him, so it’s not something you need to worry about, and it shouldn’t be an excuse for you to make such a decision like that.”When Matthew found out she was hurt and went into a coma, he hadn’t rested well for a few days and his voice was hoarse. “If you do this again, at least tell me first
“Mr. Duval… you can hand her over to us.”Isaac stood behind Rickard and said, “The ambulance is here and the Lanes will take good care of her. You’re overstepping.”Rickard didn’t want to let go after hearing that, but he looked like he was struggling. “I said that I would repay her.” Rickard brushed the dust off her hair. “Don’t tell her that I found her when she wakes up. I want to repay her, so she doesn’t have to know.”Hesper listened as Isaac told her what happened and didn’t know how to react. Isaac could tell that she was feeling complicated. He had never heard anyone who had lived a lavish life say something like that. Hesper’s past was just words printed on a document. He couldn’t resonate with her, but she could tell that she was a strong woman by the way she handled work.“Thank you. So is he still in a coma?”Hesper’s tone was calm and there were no extra emotions behind it, so Isaac told her, “Mr. Duval was hurt in the head, so he hasn’t woken up yet. However,
He had never anticipated that he would end up loving her so deeply.It could be said that amidst all the misunderstandings and complexities, their journey together had taken many winding paths."I wouldn't risk getting into trouble just to set off fireworks for someone I didn't even like," Rickard said, his voice gentle. "You dummy."His words were soft, but as Hesper listened to his explanation, she cleared her throat, and her eyes turned bloodshot. She had never imagined that the person she had loved so intensely in her youth had, at some point in their lives, secretly admired her.Hesper attempted to smile but ended up with teary eyes. Seeing this, Rickard reached out and affectionately ruffled her hair. "If it's going to make you cry, I won't say anything more."Hesper pursed her lips. "If you don't want to talk about it, then don't."Rickard, despite understanding her reluctance, couldn't help but reflect on the past and openly admitted to the emotions he had felt in his you
They were flooded with memories, and Hesper couldn't help but admit that she had been through so much with Rickard. Her eyes welled up with emotion.The livestream ended, as they couldn't maintain constant surveillance of their lives. Even though they hadn't gone home yet, the crew had left.In the past two days, people had gotten to know them quite well, so the crew decided to give them some alone time.Hesper sat in the passenger seat and stole a glance at Rickard. She couldn't help but say, "I never expected that the only time you were seen as making a mistake in Grandpa's eyes was because of me.""There are many things you don't know," he replied. Hesper raised an eyebrow and asked, "Like what? Tell me."Suddenly, Hesper recalled the countless times Rickard had looked at her. Yet, during those moments, Rickard had always had feelings for Juniper. She knew that was the reality, so she never expected that Rickard might have had the same strong feelings for her as she had for h
Hesper glanced at Rickard, who remained emotionless, but she still reached out to hold his hand.[This is tough to see. Both of Rickard's parents are no longer here… Sigh.][Hesper immediately checked on Rickard. If I were Rickard, I'd love her so much.]Ernest shook his head and remained silent as he flipped to the next page. Most of the pictures were of Hesper after that. She hadn't realized she had so many childhood photos. Julian appeared in some of them, too.Before everything went sour.Rickard didn't have many pictures. As he grew older, he became quieter.Most of them showed Hesper standing next to Julian, but there was something off about them.[Did you notice... In many of those pictures, Hesper was looking at Rickard, and in others, Rickard was looking at her.][Oh my god, is this puppy love? I had no idea!][I remember Rickard had another lover.]Hesper had noticed, too, but there was no need to remind people that Rickard used to hate her, so she dismissed it as a
Hesper and Rickard entered the room and awkwardly informed Ernest that everything had been live-streamed just now. Ernest was shocked, but upon hearing that it was something people do, he nodded."It's fine. There's nothing that others can't hear."Hesper pursed her lips and glanced at Rickard before saying, "We didn't expect the Summers to come and see you. You should move in with us so these people will leave you alone."If Ernest lived with them, no one would dare intrude because they represented power and influence.Who would dare challenge them?"I don't want to get involved in your life. Renfew and Renarie would keep you occupied enough."Hesper understood that he had already made up his mind not to live with them, so she didn't press the matter further.She could understand his concerns, as many things might become inconvenient. Besides, Ernest didn't want to disrupt their lives either."We'll be heading to Fredonia soon, so even though we have filming to do, we wanted t
So what if the cameras were still recording?"Was my son's life not as valuable as your son's?"If he had grasped this earlier, recent events might not have unfolded. Jade had a point.The live chat fell silent. Though they lacked the full backstory, they could deduce what had transpired in the past.[I heard Rickard lost his parents when he was a child. I feel sorry for him.][His parents died because of that incident. It's no surprise if he harbors resentment.][Truthfully, this old man has no shame. If my child were responsible for another child's death, I'd beg for forgiveness.]Everything unfolding before their eyes was purely coincidental, and no one had control over the situation. They could only watch and terminate the livestream immediately if anything escalated.Fortunately, Jade received a stern talking-to and refrained from discussing the matter further, but Mrs. Summers did not fare as well. Hesper and the others bore witness to her irrational behavior.[This is e
"We've known each other for years, Ernest. I saved your life once, and now your descendants want to take my son's life!"As they approached, Jade Summers was angrily berating Ernest before him. Hesper's countenance immediately turned frosty as she walked over to Ernest."You should conduct yourself more appropriately, Mr. Summers Sr."Jade was taken aback to see Hesper, but he composed himself, took a deep breath, and fixed her with a hatred-filled gaze."If it weren't for you, none of this would have happened. You're just a woman. Since when do you get a say in the Duval family matters?"In the 21st century, people were all for equality. Besides, Hesper was no ordinary or unintelligent woman. Naturally, she had a voice in these matters.The viewers were inundated with comments when they heard Jade's words, and the live chat exploded.[Who is this guy? He looks old but lacks respect.][What's the argument about?][I sense some drama.]Rickard walked over. Jade had thought he
[Didn't Hesper mention that Mr. Duval Sr. took care of her? Maybe she did grow up well.][I'm certain she did. Hesper doesn't strike me as someone who would tolerate mistreatment.]Hesper and Rickard were under constant surveillance throughout the journey, and they hadn't allowed Benji to accompany them. Rickard was behind the wheel, with Hesper in the passenger seat.During the drive, they remained silent, but to observers, it appeared as though they were in harmony.Upon arriving at the ancestral mansion, Hesper noticed other cars parked around and cast a curious glance at Rickard. Visitors to Ernest's home were a rarity."Sir, Ma'am, you're back," a young housekeeper greeted them. It was the same person who had assisted Wendy earlier, but they couldn't recall her name. Nevertheless, Hesper had faith in her.Noticing the housekeeper's troubled demeanor, Hesper deduced that the guest inside was likely unwelcome. However, she couldn't fathom who would disrupt Ernest's life. Given
Rickard noticed something in Hesper's expression, prompting him to ask, "Is there something else you haven't told me?"Being intimately familiar with each other wasn't always without its challenges. Hesper could never conceal anything from him.She sighed and replied, "It's nothing. Just that Pennleigh will also be on the list."Rickard fell silent.Hesper was aware that sometimes Rickard might not appear bothered, but Pennleigh's presence did bother him.Observing Hesper's awkward expression, Rickard lowered his gaze and suddenly took on a pitiful appearance, like a big dog caught in the rain.Yet, she knew he was merely putting on an act. Still, every time she saw him like that, she couldn't help but miss the Rickard who didn't engage in such playful antics. His character had undergone a change.Hesper found it amusing but didn't quite know how to express it. She sighed and added, "It's a fantastic opportunity. I know you'll let me go, right?"Rickard had no intention of inte
"Sullivan lied to her. He had her parents quietly killed. She found out after she turned her back on you."Benji lowered his gaze. "She was already dead when you came back. It was suicide."The conclusion lacked the weight necessary for such a betrayal. Hesper shut her eyes. The person she had trusted most was Renee. They had shared countless years together.Hesper acknowledged that their bond might not have been a genuine friendship. Renee had abandoned her when given the choice.However, Hesper had faced such situations before.Thankfully, there had been someone who had placed her first in their heart, reassuring her that she wasn't always relegated to being an option. Hesper stood in silence for a while before simply nodding.There was nothing she could do to aid Renee now. Renee had entered and departed alone, leaving no trace behind with Hesper.When the topic was broached, it weighed heavily on her heart. Hesper understood the situation but found herself at a loss for word