Jean drove straight to the hospital. A crowd of reporters had gathered at the entrance. She had to park her car at the back door and enter the hospital through a side door.Joyce was still being treated in the emergency room.As Jean approached, Dorothy rushed toward her. She cried and threw herself onto Jean."Jean, please save your sister."Jean's face darkened as she saw Dorothy crying so hard that she was on the brink of passing out. She said calmly, "Let's wait for the doctor to come out and see what they say."She remained composed. She saw Timothy sitting on a chair, looking anxious. Ignoring him, she helped Dorothy to a nearby chair."Your sister is too stubborn. Jean, she's a competitive person. She's never faced such humiliation in all these years. Why …"Why would you want to kill her?"Jean's eyes turned a shade darker when she heard that. She said, "I've never done anything to harm her."Dorothy was slightly stunned upon hearing that. She continued, "But your sist
Dorothy was infuriated by Timothy shifting all the blame onto her shoulders. She glared at him and retorted with frustration, "All you know how to do is blame me, huh?"Hearing the argument between Timothy and Dorothy, Joyce couldn't care less. She shifted her gaze away from them.Timothy couldn't win the argument against Dorothy, so he said furiously, "That's enough. Let's not argue anymore."Although Dorothy felt dissatisfied, she decided to remain silent.Outside the hospital, Jean left through a side exit. She wanted to get her car, but she sensed someone following her halfway there.A sense of unease washed over her, and she quickened her pace. Suddenly, she felt a violent blow to the back of her head. It caused her to lose consciousness and collapse.A fierce glint appeared in Barnabas' eyes after he saw Jean fall. He immediately picked her up, placed her in his car, and drove away. He took her to an unregistered motel.There were hardly any guards at the entrance. The
Chris immediately chased after Tyler as he left.One of the female officers noticed Jean's helpless expression. She quickly took off her coat and draped it over Jean's shoulders. Then, she said softly, "Ms. Michaels, there are reporters outside. I've arranged for an ambulance to wait at the entrance. We'll go directly into the vehicle in a moment."Are you feeling unwell anywhere?"Still feeling fazed, Jean shook her head. The image of Tyler walking away filled her mind.One of the officers turned on the lights inside the room and saw the white bed sheets stained with blood. They were stunned. Then, they noticed that Jean's hair was completely soaked in blood.Jean felt an overwhelming heaviness in her eyelids and suddenly collapsed.The officers panicked and began tapping Jean's cheeks. "Ms. Michaels ...""Ms. Michaels ...""Quick, Ms. Michaels has passed out."Another stronger male officer rushed over and carried Jean out of the room. They quickly loaded her into a police ca
Inside the ward, Joyce was awakened by Dorothy's voice. Joyce got up and sneaked to the door. Putting her ear against the door, she eavesdropped on the conversation. Tyler stared coldly at Dorothy, who appeared worried. "It's useless to be anxious about it now. For many years, I've been considerate of the Michaels family because of Jean. "Since you don't seem to care about Jean, there'll be no more business dealings between the Michaelses and the Larson family in the future. Mrs. Michaels, you can consider yourself to have only one daughter—Joyce." Dorothy was taken aback at Tyler's harsh words. She propped herself up against the wall and said through gritted teeth, "Tyler, what you're saying is too much. "I gave birth to Jean, and she's my daughter. She grew up because we provided for her. The debt of raising her can never be repaid. You're no one to Jean, so you have no right to break the mother-daughter bond between us." Mother-daughter bond? Tyler glanced at Dorothy wit
At this point, Dorothy had no choice but to abandon Joyce. "You rescued Barnabas on your own initiative. Don't blame it on the Michaels family." Joyce took a deep breath. With an uneasy expression, she said with anger, "Mom, are you going to abandon me for Jean's sake? If you hadn't swapped me out for Jean, I'd be married to Tyler today. The person he cares most about would've been me. Don't you feel any guilt toward me at all?" Joyce lowered her head and burst into tears. "I rescued Uncle Barnabas, who's your younger brother. Is it wrong for me to save my family?" When Dorothy heard Joyce crying, she frowned and fell silent. Meanwhile, Timothy learned that Jean was hospitalized. He rushed over from home and approached Jean's hospital ward. However, he was stopped at the door by a bodyguard. "My daughter is inside. I want to meet her," Timothy said earnestly. The bodyguard at the door stared at him expressionlessly and replied in a low tone, "I'm sorry. Without Mr. Larson's o
When Jean woke up, she felt a throbbing pain at the back of her head. She grimaced in pain. Suddenly, she heard Tyler's concerned voice, "Jean … " Jean opened her eyes slowly, only to see Tyler looking at her with a worried expression. She was reminded of when he had turned his back on her yesterday. Frowning, she said, "Why are you here?" When Tyler heard Jean's accusation, he was taken aback. He thought that Jean was confused and answered in a soft voice, "Jean, this is the hospital. You were attacked last night." Nodding, Jean stared at him impassively. "I know. Didn't you leave? Why are you still here?" Tyler felt a sharp pain in his heart. "I'm sorry. Yesterday … " Jean maintained her stony face. "There's no need to apologize to me." She averted her gaze from Tyler and continued, "You should leave. I want to be alone." Tyler was gripped by a sense of dismay. Staring at Jean helplessly, he muttered, "Jean, I'm worried about you being alone at the hospital." Jean s
Jean stared at Tyler calmly and nodded. "Our relationship has been a mistake since the beginning. I don't want to let this mistake continue." With that, she turned to the window. Jean stared at the light rain outside with melancholic eyes. Tyler fixed his gaze on her. When he realized that she wasn't going to regret her decision, his heart ached with pain. Suppressing his feelings, he turned around and left the hospital ward. After the door closed behind him, Jean shifted her gaze from the window to the door. Tears welled up in her eyes, but they disappeared as quickly as they came. The rain began to fall more heavily. Jean lifted the covers and walked over to the window, where she saw a dark figure outside searching for something on the green lawn. Jean felt a pang of sadness in her heart as she watched Tyler search for the ring. He had his back to her. In the hospital ward next to Jean, Joyce also noticed Tyler downstairs. He was searching for something in the rain. Narro
Jean returned to her home alone. She found her luggage neatly packed in her room. She couldn't help but sigh. Tyler's actions were more efficient and decisive than she had expected. After all, both of them weren't romantics. Neither of them had time to dwell on their heartache for too long. Jean squatted down and sorted through the things that were delivered from Teak Villa. There wasn't much sadness on her face. Jean had completely regained her composure during her stay at the hospital. At this moment, she didn't feel too upset. After she organized everything, Tyler's call came in. When Jean saw the caller ID, she waited for a few seconds before picking up the call. "Hello, this is Jean." She spoke formally like she would to a stranger, as if she had not saved Tyler's contact in her phone. Frowning, Tyler replied gruffly, "I'm Tyler." Jean pursed her lips and continued, "How can I help you?" She sounded reserved and kept a distance using her tone. Tyler's face darkened as