This time, Wanda was truly panicking. She had always managed to manipulate him, but Stefan was not having any of it now.After all, threatening to end one's own life could only work so many times.At that moment, the only feeling Stefan was left with was annoyance.Soon enough, the divorce papers were delivered.Wanda read through them and discovered that she was not leaving the marriage empty-handed. In fact, she would even receive a small fortune. She would still be able to lead a life of luxury even without Stefan. He had gone above and beyond with his terms.But Wanda was still unsatisfied. "Stefan, must you be so cruel? Have you forgotten our vows from before? You said you would love me forever. Have you forgotten all that?" she cried."But are you still the same Wanda from before? Or maybe you've always been this person, and I've just never truly known you. Wanda, sign these papers right now, and you can still receive everything listed in there. If you don't, then I'll dr
The surgery went on for three hours, and Stefan was finally pulled back from the brink of death. A lack of oxygen supply to the heart had caused his body to go into shock. The doctors also managed to clear up a large amount of blood clots in his lungs.But what happened next was crucial. As he was still in a coma, they needed to get him to wake up as soon as possible.The longer he stayed in a coma, the more irreversible damage it could cause to his brain. In short, Stefan needed to wake up, and he needed to wake up fast.Agnes wiped the tears from the corner of her eye as she stared at the unconscious Stefan. This was not the time to cry. She had already experienced the pain of losing a daughter. She could not afford to lose him too.Agnes held his hand and said many things to him.As a child, Stefan had always been cheerful and smart. That was the reason why other family members liked him. As he aged, he slowly became more dependable."You have always been your parents' pride
Agnes had always been healthy and strong. However, after all that had happened lately, it felt like she had gotten much older all of a sudden. Her back was hunching more. Now, she had to rely on her walking stick.Robin left the room with them. When he noticed Pierce was still in the room, he didn't know what to do. After all, Millie and Pierce were currently a couple."Mr. Atkinson…" Robin decided to ask Pierce to step outside after a moment of hesitation. His priority at the moment was to save Stefan."Why don't you step outside?" Millie suggested first."Will you still be mine when you leave this room later?" Pierce asked.Millie replied somewhat exasperatedly, "Of course I'll still be yours. Go on. I will be out shortly."Upon hearing that, Pierce nodded and left the room. However, he was still worried. He could not tell whether this was Stefan's plan. After all, Pierce himself had pulled the same move before.Back then, Pierce would always use Bill as an excuse. Now, Agne
Millie took a deep look at Stefan, who was lying on the hospital bed. Even though he was in a sorry state, she didn't feel an ounce of pity for him.The only kindness that she could muster at the moment was to hold back her emotions and not say anything hurtful. Whatever happened to him next would have nothing to do with her.However, the thought of pouring her heart out to recount the past in an attempt to wake him up disgusted her."Stefan."She gently brushed her hand over his oxygen mask. "If you end up not waking up, I will take care of Mrs. Leach Senior for you, so there's no need to worry about her. I will make sure she's cared for until the very end."She stared at him from above, and her gaze had zero hint of warmth.She talked to him for almost half an hour, but nothing changed. Finally, she left the room."Mrs. Leach Senior, I'm sorry. I tried talking to him about the past, but he's still…"She put on a sad face when she said that. But before she could finish, the do
"Are you jealous?""Yes, I am. I know you two have been through a lot. Stefan is like a thorn in my side. Every time he appears, it reminds me of how you put yourself in danger for him, over and over again. You don't even care about your own safety!"When you were inside talking to him, I was out here praying that he would never wake up again, that he would just die. I know it's a terrible thought, but I couldn't help myself. "What game is he playing at now? Is he pretending to have lost his memory and that he's gone back to the time he loved you most? What is he trying to do? Is he trying to take you away from me?"If he could get Mrs. Leach Senior to find you once, he could easily do that again. The thought of my fiancée repeatedly appearing in front of her ex just because of a call or a text is unbearable."Millie was taken aback by his outburst. It was rare for the usually reserved Pierce to say so much at one go. Normally, he would just bottle things up."Why aren't you kee
Millie and Pierce sat at the dining table in silence. She ate quietly with her head lowered. After taking a bite, she noticed that the dish was bland.She quickly picked up the plate."This tastes a little off. Let me reheat it and add some salt to it.""There's no need for that. It tastes fine.""No! It's not!"Millie stubbornly took the dish back into the kitchen.She added a pinch of salt and reheated it."The plating doesn't look good. Let me use a different plate," she later said.And again, she added, "This doesn't taste right. It's too sweet. I'll add some water to it."Suddenly, Millie was bustling around the kitchen.If this were just an ordinary meal, and there were countless more to come, Millie wouldn't have cared as much.But this time, she knew he was about to go on a mission with no clear return date. Judging by the serious look on his face, she could tell it was a dangerous mission. She was terrified. That's why she wanted to make this last meal as perfec
"Take good care of yourself. Make sure you eat or I'll worry," Pierce said to Millie."How long… How long till you'll be back?" Millie asked."I don't know. It could be a month. If longer… maybe three months. I'll definitely be back within three months."Three months. That was such a long time.But that was fine. Millie had plenty of days left in her life, so she could wait three months.She wanted to pack a suitcase for Pierce. But due to the urgency of his assignment and the fact that he needed to travel light, he ended up bringing only a backpack. Inside were a few sets of clothes and nothing else.Millie saw the gun that Pierce was bringing with him—the one that she applied for.She stroked the gun lightly. It was cold to the touch, without a hint of warmth.Millie pressed a kiss to the cool metal.She hoped the gun would protect Pierce in her place.Her lashes trembled. Tears slid down her cheeks uncontrollably, dripping onto the gun.Pierce witnessed the entire scene f
Stefan had secretly escaped from the hospital and went straight to the apartment Millie used to live in. He kept banging on the door till the current tenant lost his patience.The tenant explained that there was no one called Millie Jordan living there, but Stefan refused to believe him. He even insisted on searching the apartment himself.Out of options, the tenant had no choice but to call the police.The officers who arrived asked Stefan for his family's contact information. He ended up giving them Millie's number."He's the heir to Leach Group," Millie explained. "I'll give you his family's contact information. He's a patient at the moment, so please contact them as soon as possible."Millie thought that this incident ended when she gave the officers Agnes' number. She could not have foreseen that after a little over an hour, a housekeeper would rush over to tell her that Stefan was at the door."Why is he here?" Millie frowned, having no choice but to check out the situation
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