The next day, Charles left Genecity. It seemed that he had only come to look for Hestie and make sure she was safe. "Miss, don't you want to go back? Madam misses you very much at home," Sylvie asked as she followed behind Hesper, who turned around to examine the assistant she had never really observed before. She always wore black-framed glasses and looked quite ordinary. She seemed like she could easily be lost in a crowd.To be fair, she always managed to handle all the troubles Hestia caused, but there was one thing that confounded her. Why Charles trusted Sylvie so much, given the fact that he was someone who would not believe in someone so easily. "Miss?" Hesper shook her head and said, "I'm just a bit tired. I haven't been feeling well since I came back, and I didn't dare tell my father."Sylvie looked at Hesper with concern and said, "You shouldn't go there alone. It's too dangerous. Fortunately, nothing happened! Otherwise, I'd have to clean up your mess again!" Hesp
Never in Sylvie's wildest dream would Hesper be thinking about turning her over to her side. However, after Hesper returned, she did not hesitate or delay and quickly dealt with things there. Her style of doing things was not very similar to Hestia's.It was just that Sylvie dispelled the thought as soon as it rose in her head. 'So what if she's a little different? I still have to watch over her anyway. Without evidence, I'll just pretend that there's nothing unusual!' she thought inwardly.*Meanwhile, Rachael and Celine seemed a bit flustered when they heard that Hestia had been found and had returned. "It doesn't matter. She's lost her memories, and there's nothing she can do even if she remembers," Rachael spoke. "It's true that we used the drafts she drew, but maybe she herself doesn't even know it now."Celine hesitated. She knew Hesper, and if she really recovered her memories and realized her betrayal, things would go really bad for her. "What's there to hesitate abou
Celine could not help herself and let out a sigh.Hesper continued, "I heard something at the door just now. Both of you said something like "it's all thanks to Rach that you're living this kind of life now."Hesper emphasized on the word "Rach," just like how Rachael used to call her "Hessy" in the past before they had fallen out yet. When the realization hit her, Rachael's face turned pale with fear as she took a few steps back. She looked at Hesper with suspicion and asked, "You… You remembered everything?"Sylvie was waiting outside, so it went without saying that Hesper could not reveal that she had regained her memories. She sighed regretfully, "Although I really want to remember the sweet moments with my little sister, it seems I don't have that luck yet."Upon hearing Hesper say that she had not regained her memories, both of them breathed a sigh of relief."What did you come here for?"Rachael did not want to play any more guessing games with Hesper and knew she could
Hesper did not say anything and just looked at Rachael. Rachael felt like there were ants in her pants and swallowed her saliva before speaking again. "So, are you up for the challenge? Do you dare to compete with me in a fair and upright manner?""Hah!" Hesper sneered. "First of all, you want to compete with me with my own work, which is a despicable, shameless, and low action in itself. How can it be considered fair and upright?"Hesper made Rachael speechless and then raised her eyebrows. "But sure, I can compete with you. But what if you lose? What can you offer me, Rachael?"This was quite impolite, and Rachael clenched her fists."If you win, I'll go back and admit to the Lanes that I'm not the real Racheal and you are! Is that enough?""Of course, it is not." Hesper shook her head and her long, feathery eyelashes pressed down, making her look somewhat unfathomable.Then she sighed, "Do you have any misunderstandings? I don't need you to prove that I'm a true member of th
After confronting Rachael, Hesper went home. Hestia moved there because she wanted to make Rickard fall for her, but everything that happened after that was in her control. Hesper was left standing in this familiar yet unfamiliar place feeling complicated. Since the two villas were next to each other, the layout of their homes was the same. Although the decor was absolutely different, everywhere Hesper looked reminded of her 'home' that she lived in a long time ago on the other side of the wall. Hestia suddenly looked at the house next to her. She never had time to 'visit' Julie since her memories recovered. Hestia hadn't made her pay for kidnapping Renfrew. The past was in the past, yet Julie kept showing up in her life. "Julie McCall…"Kenji wasn't surprised when he saw Hesper because it was something Rickard expected. He told everyone that if Hesper came back, they were to not block her way. Hesper could tell that Rickard gave orders, so she nodded at Kenji. When she
Hesper was a little surprised to see that Rickard was serious about that. However, she could understand. Renfrew was his son, yet Julie kept challenging his patience. He wasn't going to just let it slide. "He won't allow anyone to speak to her but I can see her?"Hesper mumbled to herself but Kenji heard it. He didn't know how to reply to that, so he just pretended he didn't hear. Hesper opened the door and Julie immediately looked over. When she saw who was there, her eyes widened. "You bitch!"Kenji wanted to say something but Hesper waved to tell him to not speak, then calmly looked over. "Can I have a word with Madam Duval please? I don't think Mr. Duval had any special requests about that."Mr. Duval didn't say she couldn't, but he did't say she could either! Kenji was put on the spot and wanted to call Rickard to ask, but Hesper kept her eyes on him as if she was telling him that she would keep glaring at him if he didn't allow it."...Help yourself." Not able to handle
"I was wrong for abducting Ren and I know my mistake now. Ren is fine anyway, so just let me go!""...Ren?" Hesper walked closer with even more with coldness in her eyes. She grabbed Julie's pampered hands. "You don't deserve to call him Ren. You're the one who kept putting my child in danger, so how dare you say his name?"Julie wanted to pull her hand away but didn't have the energy to do it. She was afraid of how strong Hesper was. A few years ago it was so easy to grab Hesper, but how could Hesper so easily hold her down now? Did she really change so much in so short a time?Yes. That was when Julie suddenly realized that she was a completely different person now. "Alright, we're done catching up. I'm here to ask…" Hesper frowned but stopped talking when they heard footsteps. It would definitely be Rickard showing up at the door. "Rickard!" Julie called out as if she was asking for help. The door opened but before Julie could celebrate, she saw Hesper falling down while sh
"Thanks for not calling me out!" Hesper's eyes smiled but it was more because she got her way. She smiled like a well-fed cat.Rickard shook his head. "You do whatever comes to mind, don't you?"They both realized the situation was turning romantic, so Hesper stopped smiling and Rickard's hand froze. "How's the investigation with the hallucinogenic drugs case?"Hearing her bring it up, curiosity flashed across Rickard's eyes, but Hesper didn't notice that. "No news yet. What we're investigating is just the surface, so we're still far from the conclusion," Rickard calmly said and hid all his curiosity. "You went to see Rachael today? I thought you stayed at Genecity because you had more pressing matters."Even though Hesper couldn't find any problems with his tone, she had had feelings for Rickard since she was a teenager and she followed him around. She knew him too well to know he was hiding something. Hesper looked extremely calm and even looked cold. However, Rickard has
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