However, Millie merely gave Stefan an indifferent glance and turned away. After all, Wanda's expression at the moment was too good to miss out on.Wanda was white as a sheet, and even her lips were colorless. She blankly stared at Stefan, unable to regain her composure for quite some time.Millie found it somewhat ridiculous.Wanda truly overestimated her value. She would be Stefan's priority so long as his interests weren't at stake. But once it involved Leach Group, Stefan would abandon her with no hesitation. Millie understood that from her three years with Stefan, yet Wanda didn't. She most likely thought that since she was Stefan's first love and was of great importance to him, she was an exception to the rule.But reality proved that there were no exceptions.With this in mind, Millie couldn't help but look at Pierce.Why was it that Stefan would put Leach Group's benefits above everything, while Pierce was willing to gamble everything for her and shoulder risks that were
Millie slowly withdrew her foot and said, "You apologized, but I will never forgive you. Remember this, Wanda—we didn't fight over this man. You only picked up trash that I no longer wanted.""Millie—" Stefan clenched his fists. If Pierce hadn't been watching closely, Stefan most likely wouldn't have held back.Millie continued, "That's right, I haven't given you my blessings at the wedding, have I? "Stefan, I wish that you'll be infertile and blessed with no descendants. And Wanda, I wish you a happy second, third, and fourth marriage in advance!"Finally, Stefan couldn't control himself and flung the coffee cup in his hand at Millie. Pierce was prepared and immediately pulled Millie into his arms.Meanwhile, Millie was caught off guard and lost her balance. Fortunately, she fell right into Pierce's arms instead of tumbling to the ground.However, some coffee still splashed onto the back of her hand. Though her tender skin reddened immediately, it was nothing serious.Pierce
Now, Millie was left in only her pure white lace lingerie.Pierce then applied rubbing alcohol to her joints to help her feel better. Once he was done applying the rubbing alcohol to her chest, Millie lazily lay on her front, too drained to feel embarrassed. She was already blanking out, so she couldn't be bothered with anything else.Pierce continued to apply a bit of alcohol along her spine. The icy cool sensation from the alcohol was very soothing.Suddenly, Pierce paused and gently stroked a scar near the base of her spine."Where did this come from?" he asked in a low voice.Millie's head was spinning as she thought for a moment. "I think… it was from an injury I got during my childhood.""How did you get hurt?""I can't remember. I hit my head when I was little, and I don't remember what happened that year. My mom said that I was being naughty and knocked my head when I fell from an elevated place. Apparently, some metal sheet pierced my back."The doctors said that it
The bitter liquid slid down Millie's throat in a flash, and she reflexively coughed as tears welled up in her eyes. It made her look even more pitiful.Pierce immediately took another mouthful of the herbal remedy. With practiced ease, he gently pried Millie's mouth open and fed her the mixture as he had done so before.In her delirium, Millie couldn't help but mutter, "It's so bitter…"Pierce fed her the rest of the brew in a mouthful. Then, he suckled and kissed Millie's lips until there was no taste of the medicine left in her mouth.…Millie's fever finally subsided in the early morning after she finished the medicine, but she remained unconscious.Time passed by, and there was still another medication that needed to be taken before breakfast. So, Pierce repeated the process from earlier and slowly fed her the medication.By then, Millie was more alert. She could feel someone pressed against her lips as a warm liquid seeped into her mouth.She subconsciously furrowed her br
Pierce then curled Millie's hair into soft waves. Paired with the blue dress, it made her look both elegant and refined. Not to mention, her own beauty made the whole look even more perfect.With his head lowered, Pierce intently focused he styled Millie. He then chose a pair of pearl earrings to complete her appearance.Millie wasn't wearing any makeup, and her complexion was dull, yet she still looked amazing. She was like a delicate beauty that inspired both pity and affection."I was the one who raised Sammy. She loved to fiddle with her hair but was hopeless at it, so she always came to me for help," Pierce explained. "After many trials and errors, I mastered it.""So that's how it is." Millie felt a pang of bitterness in her heart at his words.The makeup artist arrived soon after and worked on Millie's makeup. Her complexion improved greatly once lipstick was applied.Pierce had arranged for a wheelchair since she was still very weak, and he carried her as they headed down
Samantha panicked for a moment but quickly composed herself. After all, her background was only transparent to the Atkinsons, and there was no way anyone else could have found out about it, including Millie.Pierce had always been careful to guard the secret too. If word got out that she was adopted, rumors would spread like wildfire, and this would lead people to gossip endlessly. Eventually, it would affect her emotional well-being, too.Therefore, to the world, Samantha was an Atkinson by blood. And that was also the reason why she could never express how she truly felt about Pierce.She was certain that Pierce would never have told Millie about her background. Millie must've been bluffing, and there was no way Samantha was going to give herself away. She quickly gathered herself and said, "Millie, what do you mean? I'm his real sister—of course he'll take care of me for life. "But you? That's a whole different story. If you two ever get divorced, who knows how he'd treat you
After checking the surveillance footage, Pierce noticed a group of suspicious people pushing a large cleaning cart. Given how petite Millie and Samantha were, they could easily be stuffed inside it. His chest tightened with worry for their safety, and he immediately started tracking down the group. …Meanwhile in the lounge, Mark was updating Stefan on the situation. "Alright," Stefan replied coolly. The room was filled with the rhythmic tapping of his fingers on the table. Feeling frustrated, he narrowed his eyes and murmured, "Pierce, I never thought you'd care about her so much that you'd lose your cool. "How could she pour her heart into making you love her but not me? Millie, have you ever really loved me over these past three years?"Just then, Wanda finished putting on her makeup and walked out. The crutches already made her look fragile, but the pitiable makeup further drew out a sense of sympathy."Make her lips a little paler," Stefan instructed.At his request,
Wanda continued, "I'm really sorry for letting everyone down. I hope the public can give me another chance to make things right. "From now on, I'll be more careful with my words and actions. Meanwhile, I promise that I will never make bets with anyone again," Wanda said.Her last line carried a subtle jab at Millie, hinting that Millie had despicably tricked her into making the bet."Thank you, everyone!" Wanda concluded. With that, she bowed deeply for the third time, acting out genuine sincerity.Just as the reporters in the audience were about to ask their questions, Wanda's doctor stepped in. He then explained that her throat hadn't fully recovered, so she was unable to speak any further.But Wanda insisted, "Just go ahead and ask. I can handle it."The doctor replied, "Ms. Lytle, you're still a patient, so please listen to your doctor. If you keep talking, your vocal cords could be permanently damaged. Do you really want to risk losing your voice forever?""But…" Wanda hes
Millie swiftly took some photos and handed the phone back to the guy."The photos you took look great, miss," one of them couldn't help but praise."Thanks for the compliment," Millie said with a smile.That person was so mesmerized that they stood there in a daze, unsure of what to do. Even when Millie had already walked away, he still hadn't snapped out of it."What's wrong? Do you like her?"Nathaniel Yates finally came to his senses. "N-No. Cut the nonsense. I just appreciate her photography skills."Meanwhile, Millie had gone over to sit by the water and noticed some fish in the lake. It reminded her of the last time she went fishing with Piercy. She was so lost in thought and didn't even notice that Nathaniel was secretly taking a photo of her from behind.He was using an instant camera, so the photo developed quickly.As Nathaniel stepped forward, Millie suddenly heard the noise behind her. She immediately turned around and saw an unfamiliar man, which startled her.
Millie quietly left the room so that Pierce could bid his gun a proper farewell. Then, she went downstairs for breakfast. However, breakfast felt tasteless.Pierce went downstairs after half an hour.Though he didn't have work that day, he dressed in formal attire to make the handover look more proper.The gun was wrapped in a paper bag. He casually set it aside as if nothing was wrong and began eating breakfast."It tastes delicious, you should try some," he casually uttered, serving Millie some food.Millie saw through Pierce's act but chose not to say anything.After that, Pierce remained silent the entire way to the CBP. The atmosphere in the car was heavy.Soon, they arrived at the police station, and Jason came out."Pierce…" Jason whispered, his voice slightly choked. He knew what it meant for Pierce to return the gun this time.Pierce looked at Jason's uniform and couldn't help but give him a firm pat on the shoulder. "Do your best. I have high hopes for you."Jas
Millie had once loved Stefan wholeheartedly, leaving herself no way out. But now, her love for Pierce was only six or seven on a scale of ten. She kept reminding herself that she shouldn't give anyone the chance to hurt her deeply again.Millie had even planned her retreat. If they broke up, she would be the one to walk away the most effortlessly.Once bitten, twice shy.Millie was well aware of her problems. Both she and Pierce had their fair share of flaws, and nobody was perfect. That was human nature."Pierce, you're way too extreme," Millie said."I know," Pierce answered.The most terrifying part was that he knew his flaws too well, yet he had no desire or intention to change.Pierce had suffered for his whole life. As an illegitimate child of the Atkinson family, he'd lost his mother at birth, and his father never loved him. The only place he ever felt a sense of belonging was with his grandfather. He was inherently a cold and unfeeling person, and the first time he bec
The call was quickly answered."Where are you?" Millie asked."I'm still on a business trip," Pierce replied."Then turn on the video. I want to see your face."There was a brief silence on the other end of the call. Millie knew Pierce was lying. "Are you still not willing to tell me the truth? Jason came to the house, asking to take back your gun. What's going on? What happened in the days you were away?""I'll tell you when I get back home." Pierce's voice was a bit muffled.He then hung up the call and removed the bandage from the corner of his eye.The wound was right beside his eyebrow. Since he had dark eyebrows, the scar shouldn't be that noticeable. He could only cling on to this wishful thinking.With that, Pierce returned to the villa.Millie hadn't seen him for days. She felt that he had lost a lot of weight and looked even more exhausted after the trip."How did you get injured again?" she asked.Pierce initially thought it would take her a long time to notic
Jacob eventually calmed down and said, "Do you still insist on doing this when you know it doesn't exactly benefit us?"Pierce replied, "I wouldn't dare to deceive you, neither do I dare to contact you in private. But this doesn't affect our operations, which was why I dared to do so. I want to find someone, but I can't no matter how hard I've tried, so I had no choice but to ask for their favor.""You… Are you still doing it even though we won't get anything good out of this?" Jacob asked.Pierce fell silent and clenched his fists. "Yes. I will resolve whatever problems I've caused. After that, I'll kill them in my own way."Jacob threw his cup at Pierce upon hearing this.With Pierce's skill, he could have dodged it. However, he chose to stand straight.The cup hit him right at the corner of his eye, causing him to bleed."You…" Jacob angrily stood up. "W-Why didn't you dodge?" he asked in a shaky voice."I did something wrong. It's right for you to punish me," Pierce simply
Gideon really admired Pierce's calm and composed demeanor."What's the matter?" he asked."I need you to help me find a lady who went missing. I have to know if she's still alive or not," Pierce answered. "I need her, dead or alive. I can't do this on my own, but with your help, it'll be much easier."He had used every legal method he could think of. But desperate times called for desperate measures, and there was only one option left—to enter the underworld."You're making such a big scene just to look for this one person? What? Is she like your lover or something?" Gideon asked."She's an enemy, the kind that I want dead more than anything."The way Pierce paused after each word made him sound eerily intimidating."Is she also like us, from the underworld?""No, she's just a nobody."Gideon felt chills running down his spine. Having dealt with Pierce for this long, he thought he knew his true nature well enough—a righteous police officer who always played by the book. But ri
Pierce felt like he was drowning, but if someone were to pull him out of the water right now, he would survive.Sometimes, Millie couldn't imagine what would happen if she left Pierce one day because of her disappointment in him. Would he still be able to move on?Pierce survived by clinging onto his sheer will. At first, it was the fixation on avenging his sister's death. But now, it was all because of Millie."What are you going to do now?" she asked."I can't tell you just yet, but I promise it won't take longer than three months."Since Pierce wasn't planning to elaborate, Millie didn't bother to keep on asking either.For the past few days, Millie had been carefully taking care of the wound on Pierce's neck. Even though a small patch of new pink flesh had grown over his wound, it still looked pretty hideous. Fortunately, Pierce always wore suits with collars that were high enough to cover his neck. Millie would always start tearing up whenever she saw his scar.She said,
Pierce was aghast. Mills! His poor Mills!Everyone around Pierce had accused him of committing a crime, but he didn't do it. He had been trying so hard to find out the truth, but in the end, he still got nothing.Did he really betray Millie? Did he really taint himself by sleeping with Sarah?Even if he truly believed that Piercy didn't do anything, he still couldn't find any evidence to prove it.Sarah and Piercy were nowhere to be found either.How was he supposed to prove his innocence? He felt like a trapped beast that couldn't find its way out.Just then, Millie made a subtle twitch. It startled Pierce, and he immediately withdrew his arm around her and pretended to remain unconscious.Millie didn't sleep well at all. The first thing she did after waking up was to check on Pierce. The monitor showed that Pierce's heart was racing.She then brought out a warm towel and gently wiped his face.She began, "Your hair has grown so much longer, but you didn't even properly
Millie rushed forward and saw the disconcerting look in Pierce's eyes.Pierce hadn't rested for two days, so his nerves were stretched to their absolute limit. His eyes were completely bloodshot too.The moment he saw Millie, he grabbed her like he was a drowning man who finally got his hands on a life buoy. His large hands clamped down on her arm with such force that it felt like he was going to crush her bones.Pierce howled, "Tell him to come out, please! He listens to you. Ask him to come out, Millie. I don't care if he takes over this body. I just need him to tell me the truth! Did I betray you? Did I mess around with another woman? I'm begging you…""Pierce, calm down please." Millie tried to soothe him."How can I calm down? I want to be with you, but if I really did betray you, then at least let me die knowing the truth! What am I supposed to do now? How long does he plan to torture me?"Pierce shoved Millie aside, frantically searching around the room. He even lunged at