The cool breeze brushed their faces, spreading the cold all over their body. The strong light shone through, chasing away the darkness.Anne instinctively blocked her eyes, turned, and ran away. Instead of heading to the residential area, she headed to the opposite side of the road. Her way was blocked by the bodyguard. She turned around, and the human figure walked toward her with his back facing the light. His face was dark, and she could not see him clearly. However, she knew who that was. Anne swallowed her saliva. The closer he got, the more terrified she felt. She felt as though she was going to piss herself wet any time soon. "What are you doing?" Anthony got close and said in his intimidating voice. "We are not doing anything… at all!" Before Anne could finish, her face was ferociously pinched by Anthony. "Are you sure?" Anthony asked. Anne bit her lips. She felt as though her chin was shattering under his grip already.Not that she was not sure, but she j
Anthony suddenly approached her, so she turned and ran away."Ah!" Her neck was grabbed from behind, it hurt, and Anne cried out in pain. The next moment, she was thrown onto the couch. "Ah!"Anne wanted to run away again, but her ankle was locked by his big palm, and she was dragged backward. "Ah! No…" Anne waved her two hands, intending to get hold of the pillows that would not help. The pillows rolled to the floor as if they were giving up on her too. When she realized what Anthony wanted to do to her, she desperately asked, "Do you not feel sorry to do this to Bianca?"Anthony's hand paused. Anne was panting, and her heart almost heaped out of her chest. Did it work?That should be it! Why would he do this to another woman if he had a person he liked?This was not normal! Obviously, Anthony was not a normal person. He was insane! Anthony lifted his gaze, and his hawk eyes were dark and sharp. He did not flinch. His lips snickered, "You are comparing yourself to h
"Are you scared now?" Tommy looked at her, using reverse psychology. "The more he wished for you not to appear, the more that you should be appearing before him. Who knows, one day he would be annoyed enough to kick you out of Luton?"Anne was not triggered but looked straight at him. "If Anthony really wanted me to get out of Luton, can I really leave then?"In other words, Tommy was still holding her secret in his hands. It was still subject to him.Otherwise, once she left and Tommy informed Anthony about the kids, Anthony would catch her no matter where on the planet she was on. Then she could really go to heaven earlier."You don't understand me. If he ever lets you leave, I will let go of you too," Tommy said.Anne looked at him doubtfully. Based on her previous experiences, this looked more like a trap."I know you don't believe me, but I am telling the truth." Tommy's eyes looked extra sincere."What do you want?" Anne was not naively buying it. Tommy came with intention
Without another word, she followed Michelle out.Outside the corridor, Michelle took her sunglasses off and questioned, "Do you know Bianca Faye?"Anne nodded. "What does that have to do with me?""Of course, it's related to you! I thought you liked Anthony?" Michelle mocked, "I used to think that he liked you, so I didn't think you would be replaced so soon!""I will tell you this again: he doesn't like me, he just... wants to torture me because of my aunt," Anne argued because she knew for a fact that Anthony did not 'like' her."Is that so?" Michelle crossed her arms smugly and said, "I already told Bianca that you have slept with him for god knows how many times!"Anne's expression darkened. "What did you just say?""I finished filming the movie and went home to Anthony to find that woman talking to him about pianos! Oh, that's right. I heard that she's some famous pianist overseas or something. To me, whoever tries to take Anthony from me is my enemy!" She scanned Anne up a
A burning sensation instantly spread across her cheek. As soon as she managed to balance herself, she shot Michelle an icy glare."How... How can you just hit people like that?" Lucia questioned sharply."Who are you to interfere?" Michelle mocked.Humiliated, Lucia bit her lip in silence.Michelle walked closer to Anne in rage. "I hit you, but so what? I wish I could just kill you! I wouldn't be swarmed by all these negative comments about me if you hadn't posted those photos of me! Anne Vallois, good for you!""I have nothing to do with it." Anne's hand dropped, and the palm print on her cheek came into sight."Nothing to do with you? Who else knows about me getting surgery? You should at least own up to what you did! I knew sl*ts like you have no sense of decency or virtues whatsoever!" Michelle pointed her finger at Anne's nose, and just before her finger was about to come into contact with Anne's face, she shoved Michelle away forcefully.Not expecting the sudden movement,
"You can go to the human resource department to get your salary for this month. They will calculate the commission for your sales in the past month as well.""Thank you." Without protesting at all, she left the manager's office before heading to the human resources department.She knew well enough that protesting would not mean a thing. Without Anthony's protection, she could receive three hundred complaints and still remain in the clinic. He had told her not to appear before him again, so he did not see a point in providing her a job any longer.Without another word, Anne received every penny of her salary and left after informing her team leader and Lucia. Both of them were shocked, but neither could help her.Anne did not have much to pack from work, so she left and got onto the subway that took her home. She glanced at the subway route and got off in the city center.She had just received sixty thousand dollars from her company, so she intended to buy her children something be
Oliver followed him into the office as he reported all the updates.Anthony took off his jacket and casually laid it on the couch before walking toward his desk while loosening his collar.Oliver took it that Anthony was satisfied with the company's progress since he had not raised any questions.After a pause, Oliver added, "Ms. Vallois has quitted the Aesthetic Clinic's side. Michelle Grainger wanted her gone, so I agreed to her request."As soon as he said those words, he began to panic at Anthony's silence. Though Anthony remained quiet earlier, Oliver was still anxious as he sensed the tension inside the office.Just as he thought that he had done something wrong, he heard Anthony's emotionless voice saying, "Alright."Oliver nodded carefully before leaving the room. He did not notice his heart racing until the door was closed.He realized that he had been overthinking since Anthony did not seem to care about Anne any longer.Oliver had meant to save Anthony the trouble. S
Sarah stepped toward the door hesitantly but did not go inside. "Anne, I'll let you rest, then. I'll be on my way."By the time Anne came outside, Sarah was gone, and the card was sitting on her coffee table.She stared dazedly at the card. Anne did not resent Sarah. She cared for her 'aunt', after all; she simply wasn't used to considering her as her 'mother'.In the end, Sarah was still her mother, and she could not bring herself to hate her when she herself was a mother of three as well.Her phone inside the room started ringing and disrupted her sulking.She got up to find her phone and realized that it was a call from Tommy. She did not want to answer, but he refused to give up and kept calling until she picked up."What do you want?" she answered in frustration."I heard you lost your job?" Tommy drawled. His tone was an odd balance between mockery and sympathy. Before Anne could respond, he continued, "Come to work at the Marwood Group!""What? No way," she refused witho
At first, Corentin was stunned. Then, he said, "Who have I killed? Ash, you've misunderstood. I've changed now. It's true. Hurry up and come down. The ravioli is getting cold.""Don't come over! I'll jump if you get any closer!" Ashlynn shouted hysterically."Alright, alright. I won't go over!" Corentin did not dare to take another step further. "Ash, I'm telling the truth. I didn't kill anybody. Come down, and I'll explain to you. It's all a misunderstanding.""Actually, I've felt it was strange since the beginning. It's just that Anne's reassurance dispelled my suspicion about you." Tears filled Ashlynn's eyes, but they did not stream down her face. She looked at Corentin and said, "But I know everything now. I don't have evidence, but you are Salvatore Yeager. At first, I thought you would change for the sake of the child. In the end… In the end, you didn't even spare the child's grandparents. Salvatore, are you even human? Why would a monster like you exist?""Ash, come down, a
After Ashlynn was discharged from the hospital, she called Anne when she was alone in the room."Anne, are you alright? I heard you were taken by Tommy and were later saved by Anthony.""Mmhmm. I'm fine. I've gotten home safely.""That's wonderful," said Ashlynn.Anne could tell that Ashlynn was not feeling alright, so she asked, "What's the matter? Are you not in a good mood?""I've found out about my parent's passing," said Ashlynn.Anne was stunned. She found out? "I'm sorry, Ashlynn. I've kept it hidden from you.""It's fine. I know you're being considerate to me and the child." Ashlynn took a pause before asking again, "Was Tommy killed by you guys?""No. He fled the cruise ship back then. When we found him, he was already killed by somebody. His body was pulled up from the sea.""Corentin was there as well, wasn't he?""That's right. Did he tell you that?"Ashlynn's eyes looked emotionless. "Have you guys ever suspected Corentin?"Anne immediately got so nervous tha
Corentin hugged Ashlynn. "I heard that Tommy's dead, so your parents' murders have been avenged. Now, they can only rest in peace. Calm down."Ashlynn collapsed in his arms as she cried. Then, she started to feel waves of throbbing pain in her belly, and her face turned pale.Corentin noticed something was not right with her, so he hurriedly roared at the driver, "Go to the hospital now!""Hurry up!" Jeremy urged. He held Ashlynn's hand and realized that it was freezing. "Ashlynn, you have to be alright. You still have me! Hang in there, Ashlynn!"Ashlynn looked at him with tears in her eyes. She was extremely saddened. She could not understand why things would end up like that. Did she not deserve to have parents?When Ashlynn woke up, she was already at the hospital.She subconsciously touched her belly, but Corentin grabbed her hand. "You're showing signs of miscarriage, so you need to recuperate."Ashlynn scanned around the room and asked, "Where's Jeremy?""He's outside. H
"I know…" Jeremy looked up and saw Ashlynn standing at the entrance. He was so shocked, and he immediately stood up. "Why…are you here?"Ashlynn stood there dazed. She looked at Jeremy, then the person who spoke earlier. "What do you guys mean when you talk about my parents' soul resting in peace?""Nothing. We were talking about someone else."Ashlynn could tell from their faces that they were clearly panicking. She was not deaf. She heard what they said clearly.Her face turned pale, and she immediately searched for her phone. She did not have it on her, so she rushed to the car."Ashlynn!" Jeremy ran after her and stopped her. "What are you doing?""I'm going to call Mom and Dad.""They are traveling. Don't disturb them."Ashlynn looked at him. "Jeremy, tell me honestly, why aren't Mom and Dad coming home? Don't lie! I have always felt it was strange. Why haven't they come home when I'm already so far along? Something is wrong, isn't it? Did something…really happen to them?"
Corentin came forward and asked, "Anne, are you alright?"Anne nodded."You don't look too well. What happened?""Tommy's dead," said Anthony."Have you found the cure?" asked Corentin.Anne shook her head."Unfortunately, the infected people would have to endure it a little longer."Anne suddenly thought of something, and she immediately pushed Anthony away. "Don't touch me."Only then, Corentin noticed a small patch of ulcer below Anne's cheek. "Anne, did Tommy drug you?"Anthony frowned. "I don't mind.""I do. Both of us would not be able to have contact with the children, and they will worry." Anne rejected his touch.Anthony had been touching her the whole time. It was unclear if he had been infected. Anne was very worried."It wouldn't make a difference now. If anything, I would have already been infected just now," said Anthony.Anne still refused to listen. "That's not necessary. Just don't touch me. We still don't know where the cure is, and Tommy died so suddenly
Just as Tommy finished his sentence, he heard a commotion behind him.Ivan was fighting with the assassin, and every strike he delivered was fatal. If Ivan were not skilled in combat, the professional assassin could have killed him in just a few moves.Tommy realized something was up, so he immediately wanted to grab Anne.While Anne retreated, she was pulled into a person's arms."Let me go!" She thought it was a man she did not know, so she hated to be touched like that."Anne."Anne was stunned. She looked up and felt happy to see a familiar face. "Anthony?""It's me."Tommy was infuriated as he watched the two of them looking lovingly at each other, Tommy became infuriated."As expected, Anne, you did leave a trace for Anthony." Tommy's expression darkened."You're the one who took me too lightly," said Anne.It was because she had always wanted to run away from Anthony in the past that he had the wrong impression, was it not? "So what? You want to kill me? With just t
Anne was drugged at that moment, and there were surveillance cameras all over the cruise ship. She saw a surveillance camera over her head when she was returning to the room. Therefore, it was impossible for her to sneak around in the middle of the night if she wanted to.Tommy had long been guarding against her.However, Anne still left Anthony some clues before she left him. She believed Anthony would find her very soon, but she never expected that he would do it so quickly.At daybreak, she seemed to have heard the rumbling of a helicopter above her. Then, the door swung open. Before Anne could make sense of the situation, she was picked up. "How did you get the message out?" Tommy said. He even searched Anne's body after that."Ah! Are you crazy? I don't have a phone!""Don't think Anthony can take you away just because he's here. If I'm going to hell, I'm dragging you along with me! Let's go!""You…" Anne had no strength, so she was dragged out of the room by him.He thre
Anne ignored him.If she were not afraid that Tommy would pull some tricks behind her back, she would have slept with her back facing him."Do you remember running to my home and sleeping on my bed when Anthony bullied you as a child?"I don't.""I know you do. I truly wanted to help you back then," said Tommy.Anne knew he was speaking the truth, so she did not refute him. She stared at the ceiling and said, "I think the past Tommy died a long time ago."Tommy's expression was mixed, and he asked, "Are we not able to go back anymore?""Instead of asking me this now, you should've gone to hell after you killed the people I cared about. No matter how unhappy your childhood was, you can't hurt others for your own pleasure." At that moment, Anne did not pity Tommy at all."Look at you on your high horse. Has Anthony not killed anybody before? Has Corentin not killed anybody before? Why did you forgive them for killing people but not me? Just because the victims were your friends?
Seeing that she did not move at all, Tommy said, "It won't be good for you if you don't eat."Anne thought that he made sense. If she did not eat, she would go hungry and would have no strength later. How could she fight with Tommy then? It was because she refused to eat and only drank water while hiding in her room that Tommy drugged her.After a while, she seemed to have figured it out.She picked up the fork and started eating the fish.Tommy saw her eating and asked, "How was it?""Could it be that you're the one who made it?" Anne looked up and shot a glance at him lazily."That's correct. I am the one who made it."Anne thought, 'Is this something worthy to be praised?'"It must be tough for you to do such a thing on top of everything else.""If you're worried that it's tough for me, why don't you make it with me?""I don't know how to cook.""How great. You just have to enjoy being served." Tommy clicked his tongue, but he was looking at Anne with a doting gaze.Anne