If Renfrew really had leukemia… "Ma'am… Ma'am?"Hesper fainted and slid to the floor next to Renee, who immediately tried to grab her and called Matthew. Even though Emperion and the Tucker household were a mess, Matthew had to get over there to handle the situation. Meanwhile, Professor Miles ran some tests and confirmed that what Hesper gave him was an antidote. He immediately called her but no one picked up. "Where did the girl go…"Even though there was no news from Hesper, they had the antidote, so the doctor rushed back to give it to Rickard. Things would finally be okay. Professor Miles took a deep breath and looked at Rickard, then sighed. "I don't know what I've done to deserve this. I was supposed to leave after healing her legs, but now I have more issues."***After a few hours, Matthew, who received Renee's call, finally got to Genecity and found Hesper and Renfrew through location tracking. Hesper had fainted because she was just too anxious and tired. When
The doctor told him the same thing that Renee did. The best way to get through this was a transplant surgery before his condition worsened. If they took a safer approach and his condition worsened to the point when the transplant was the only option, he might not be able to handle it. However, the question was, who could donate some of their bone marrow to Renfrew?There was no matching marrow in storage. Hesper and Rickard, who had a higher chance of being matched, weren't able to provide it. "Julie and Sophia." Matthew looked at Renee, who nodded. "I'll grab them."***When Hesper woke up again, Matthew and Renee were by her side. She didn't immediately open her eyes but instead listened to their conversation. "Julie and Sophia aren't matches either, and Ms. Rivera has no relatives… What's left is to find a stranger who is a match." Renee sighed. "I don't know how we should tell her.""There's no need to lie to me." Hesper stopped pretending to be asleep. She opened her eyes
Hesper told Ariana Wight everything. "Even though I made a promise, in such a situation, I couldn't help Juniper. Furthermore, she brought it on herself."Juniper was brought overseas, and no one knew if she was alive. Hesper didn't have time to waste on her. Ariana's face was covered in tears, but she knew she couldn't blame Hesper. It was all Juniper's own fault. After Hesper spoke to Ariana, Matthew walked in and said, "Emperion and Genecity are very chaotic right now. Grandpa is worried that Rachael won't be able to deal with what's going on in Genecity and might be in danger herself, so he asked her to return home."Hesper nodded. There was no reason for Matthew to tell her that, so she knew something else was coming. Matthew hesitated, then continued. "No one is managing the branch in Genecity. I know that this is unfair to you… but would you be willing to come back and work there?"Before Hesper said anything, Renee scoffed and cut him off. "Mr. Lane, you've always be
Benji was stunned. Before he had even said anything, Rickard noticed that something happened to Hesper… However, it wasn't Hesper who was in trouble this time. "It's the young master… Young master has been diagnosed with leukemia."Rickard frowned. The first thought in his mind was that it was impossible, but Benji had no reason to lie. "Both you and Ms. Rivera are unqualified to provide marrow even if you were matched. We, along with the Lanes, are looking for a match for the bone marrow transplant."Hearing bad news immediately after he woke up, Rickard realized that a lot had happened while he was unconscious. Benji told him everything while he read the documents. "The leader of Daybreak is Nathaniel?"Rickard paused. From the information, Hesper and Nathaniel seemed to have a good relationship. If Nathaniel had been manipulating her, she wouldn't be alright learning about it. There was betrayal, and there was Renfrew's condition. It was a huge mess. However, he didn't
Hesper started to regret agreeing to work there, but there was no time for regrets. Furthermore, what was more important was that Hesper knew everyone who used to work alongside her needed their jobs. Rachael could toy with the company and leave it because, to the Lanes, it was a loss that they could recover from. However, to the employees, they might lose the job they needed to feed their families. "Get all the reports for this season and send them to me in half a day." Hesper turned and got into the private elevator. "Tell all the departments that we'll have a meeting in half an hour.""Yes, ma'am." Isaac was excited, he replied loudly, like a school kid answering a question he knew the answer to. Hesper shook her head, then closed her eyes to rest. The report was soon sent to her. She knew that this was made ready beforehand. Based on her old habits, Isaac had known she was going to ask for it. "You know I'm not very good at this. I had to ask the secretary a few times befo
"Do you know anything about this project?"Hesper went straightforward. Isaac hesitated when he saw the name of the project, then chuckled. "This doesn't seem to be something Rachael closed… Do you remember the bunch of agreements signed with Mr. Duval? This is one of them. Rachael secretly started it while ignoring Mr. Lane Sr., who was sick."Isaac's words stirred Hesper's memory. Rickard gave her so many agreements, she didn't even have time to start them all, so she didn't see it. "Now that it's started, we should finish it. This is a good project; we might need it to rebuild the company."Isaac cleared her throat when he saw Hesper being so honest, but he didn't leave. Hesper didn't notice anything, but when she saw him, she knew there was more to what he said. Her curiosity was picked. "What?... Is there something I don't know about in this agreement?"Isaac nodded. "Rachael started the project without approval because she was worried that Matthew Lane would find out.
Renfrew being in stable condition was the best news Hesper had heard. Ever since they escaped, Hesper knew that she couldn't break down. Firstly because Nathaniel and Daybreak were waiting for her, and secondly, because of Renfrew's condition. If she broke down, neither of the issues would be solved. "I also heard Mr. Lane talk about Nate. He has some clues, but he's busy with work in Emperion and can't come over. You should go back to Emperion, if you can."Hesper planned to do that, so she nodded. "I'll go back this weekend.""Alright."After padding the message, Renee awkwardly spoke again. "Sophia and Julie kept coming to visit young master while you weren't around, but I've sent them away."Sophia and Julie?Hesper frowned. "Don't let them see him."When Renfrew stayed with them, Julie and Sophia never treated him nicely. Now that he was sick, they had come over to visit him. It looked like they were planning something. "Rickard came over too."That was expected, bu
"Okay, go then."This was not Hesper’s first visit to Arthur’s room. Hesper thought of the moments she shared with Arthur back then and felt that fate really had its own way of playing with people.After all, familial affection was something she thought she didn't deserve, and she had always reminded herself that, sooner or later, she would have to return everything that she owed to someone else.Thinking of this, Hesper suddenly hesitated to open the door, but she still made up her mind and knocked on the door."Is that Hesper? Come in."Hesper was a little surprised. Hearing Arthur’s voice, it seemed that he had been waiting for her for a long time. Without much hesitation, Hesper quietly opened the door and walked in after obtaining Arthur’s permission."You’ve lost a lot of weight." Arthur was laying on his bed. He took a closer look at Hesper and then sighed. "Life must be very difficult out there. You look much thinner than you did a year ago. You’re now almost as thin as y
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