"Ah!" The person cried out in surprise, collapsing to the ground, scattering the contents they were holding all over. Aveline stumbled a few steps before regaining her balance. Looking closely, she saw it was a young girl with only one arm, dressed in tattered clothes, with visible scars on her face. "Hey, are you okay?" Seeing this, Aveline's heart tightened with concern, and she quickly rushed to help the girl up. However, as soon as the young girl moved, she cried out in pain, indicating she was hurt somewhere. Noticing this, Aveline hesitated to touch her further and instead asked, "Where does it hurt?"Tears welled up in the girl's eyes as she looked at her only arm and replied, "My arm... it hurts so much..."When she had fallen earlier, she instinctively tried to support herself with her arm, and a sharp pain shot through it. Aveline glanced at her arm and saw a protrusion. It was clearly a fracture! She immediately called for an ambulance. "Don't move. I've called an
Aveline couldn't help but sigh before answering the call. "Hello?"Lucas' deep, magnetic voice came through, his tone revealing no emotion. "Aveline, it's been two hours already. Where are you?"Aveline cast a glance towards the ward before responding, "Something unexpected has come up on my end. I won't be able to make it today. Let's reschedule our visit to the lawyer's office for tomorrow instead.""You wish." Lucas scoffed lightly. "I already agreed to your request, but you're the one who didn't show up, Aveline. Not everyone has time to wait for you."Aveline closed her eyes briefly. She had anticipated this outcome.After a pause, she asked, "Then what about the court session?"Lucas let out a cold laugh. "Even if you bring it up to court, I won't attend. Aveline, I have no intention of divorcing you. I've always been very clear about that."Aveline had nothing more to say.Yes, of course. This was such a good opportunity, and yet so many things had gone wrong. Could it really
Aveline's brows furrowed deeper. Despite everything she had said, Annie still insisted on leaving. Was she really that afraid of her own home?"Then I'll go back with you," Aveline suggested after a moment's thought. She needed to explain the situation to Annie's parents. Given Annie's current condition, she was in no state to do anything; her injured arm simply wouldn't allow it."No, you can't!" Annie shook her head immediately, her face showing even more fear. "Aveline, I was the one who ran into you. My broken arm has nothing to do with you. My family mustn't find out about this. If they do, they... they..." She hesitated, struggling to get the words out, but finally continued, "They'll definitely try to extort money from you."Saying this, she closed her eyes in despair. Trapped in a hopeless situation, she didn't want to drag an innocent person into her troubles.Aveline's frown deepened. Could her parents really be this kind of people?Having grown up without parents, she cou
Aveline felt a mix of emotions, but her smile grew even gentler. "Alright, I’ll make you something nice." She stood up and left.Back at Maple Garden, Selena immediately approached her, asking, "How did it go? Did you manage to get it done? Can you finally tell me what it was all about?"Aveline sighed softly. "It didn't work out. In fact, a lot of things went wrong."Selena was stunned. "What happened?"Aveline briefly recounted the events on the road, not hiding the original plan of getting a divorce.After hearing the whole story, Selena's eyes widened in surprise. "Seriously? How could all this happen? You were planning to get a divorce today, and then all these things just happened? Could it have been Lucas' doing?"Aveline paused in her washing, realizing she hadn't considered that possibility.But could he have orchestrated one accident, let alone two?Besides, Annie clearly didn't know her, and she even had a fractured arm. Even if this was an act meant to delay her, there was
Lucas' brows furrowed, and he shot Aaron a sharp look. "Got a lot of free time on your hands, don't you?" he asked coldly."Absolutely," Aaron replied without hesitation. "If I weren't free, why would I be hanging around here with you?"Lucas' expression grew even colder. "If you're that idle, I might as well find something for you to do."Aaron chuckled and said, "No need for that. I'm quite enjoying my leisure right now. Oh, by the way, you might not know this, but Rina is pregnant and starting to pressure Russell into marriage."Lucas' lips curved slightly. "When's the wedding? I'll make sure to prepare a generous gift.""Would you look at that!" Aaron couldn't help but remark. "You're practically gloating now that you know Russell's getting married. He's no longer a threat to you, is he? But don't get too comfortable. Don't forget, Sidney's still hanging around Aveline."He took another bite of his apple, chewing thoughtfully before adding, "Though, I've got to admit, Sidney's not
Hearing this, Lucas' brows furrowed immediately. He glanced at Juliet first and said calmly, "Thank you for staying with my grandmother and making sure she didn’t get lost."Juliet's eyes brightened as she looked at Lucas' handsome face. She shook her head and replied, "You're welcome. I really enjoy chatting with Madam Barbara."She smiled at Barbara, who was immediately delighted. "Such a lovely granddaughter-in-law."Juliet blushed at the compliment."Miss Cooper, could we have a word outside?" Lucas asked."Sure, no problem," Juliet nodded.She gently withdrew her hand from Barbara's grasp and reassured her, "Madam Barbara, I need to use the restroom. I'll be back to keep you company soon, alright?"Barbara nodded eagerly. "Okay, okay, just make sure you come back, my dear.""Yes, yes!" Juliet nodded and then stepped out of the room.In the hallway, Juliet's eyes shone brightly as she gazed at Lucas, who stood tall and handsome. A blush crept across her cheeks. She had fallen for h
Lucas kept quiet and frowned. Realizing that Barbara couldn't see the photo on the phone clearly, he decided to call Aveline directly."Hello?"The call was quickly answered, and a soft, gentle voice came through."I’m sending someone to bring you to the nursing home," Lucas said. "Grandma isn't in a good state."Aveline was taken aback and asked, "What happened?""You'll know when you get here," Lucas replied curtly before hanging up.Barbara was still anxiously asking for her granddaughter-in-law. Lucas reassured her, "I've sent someone to bring her over. She'll be here soon. Why don't you rest for a bit?"But Barbara looked like she was about to cry, seemingly blaming Lucas for losing such a big granddaughter-in-law.Lucas was speechless.Forty minutes later, there was a knock on the door."Come in," Lucas called out, and Aveline pushed the door open, her expression filled with worry. Her hair was slightly disheveled, showing her concern."What's wrong with Grandma?" she asked urge
The nurse had already brought over the ice pack. Lucas grabbed Aveline's hand and led her out to the sitting area. He sat her down on the sofa and pressed the ice pack directly against her cheek."Ouch..." The coldness made Aveline take a sharp breath. She reached out her hand and said, "I can do it myself.""No, you can't control the pressure properly," Lucas replied, refusing to give her the ice pack. He stayed right next to her, holding it against her cheek himself.Aveline wanted to roll her eyes.This was her own face—how could she not control the pressure?Aveline, eager to maintain her distance, reached for the ice pack. But in her haste, her hand missed its mark and instead landed squarely on his.Lucas chuckled softly. "If you wanted to hold my hand, you could've just said so. No need to beat around the bush. Here, I'll let you."With that, he took her hand in his other hand, holding it firmly."Are you crazy?" Aveline snapped. When did she ever want to hold his hand? She j