Aura suddenly looked up. She met with Joshua’s rather cold gaze. She panicked a little. “Joshua, what do you mean by that?”“Nothing.” Joshua’s voice was low and icy. “Remember. I am your brother-in-law, Nellie’s father.”Then, he flung Aura’s hand aside. He looked at Luna behind coldly. “Continue.”Luna bit her lips and continued, “I thought that after the Ferris Wheel incident was over, that would be it, but I did not expect that when I brought Nellie back to my house, another accident happened. Nellie and I were trapped in the room. Someone set our house on fire.“If it were not for… Mr. Lynch who came in time to rescue me, Nellie and I would not be standing here celebrating Granny Lynch’s birthday.”Upon her words, Adrian frowned hard and looked at Joshua. “Is that true?”Joshua said nothing. Adrian then turned to look at Granny Lynch. “Mom, do you know about this?”Granny Lynch was a little stunned. “I… know of the fire, but…”She did not know that Aura was the main culp
”Joshua Lynch, don’t disappoint me!”Finally, Joshua slowly lifted his head. His eyes were calm. “I have heard of the rumors, but I have no proof that this has anything to do with Aura.”Clank! The teacup in Neil’s hand fell to the ground.Luna, on stage, took a step back in disbelief too.How could this have happened? Joshua was a capable man. If Neil could find out about this, so could he.How could he…Did he care for Aura so much? Luna was stumped by the outcome. Even Aura was in a daze for a long time, before she finally realized what Joshua had said! She immediately lifted her head and looked at Luna smugly. “Did you hear that? There is no proof! If you spew any more nonsense, I’ll report you to the police!”Looking at how arrogant Aura was, Luna’s heart turned cold.In the end, Joshua was still protecting Aura. Why was that? Was it fine with him even if she hurt Nellie? Luna bit her lips hard. Her heart was being wrenched so tightly it was suffering.She looked
Damn it. Neil slapped his head. His Mommy was looking for him to show proof of Aura trying to harm Nellie.However, he has given all of his findings to Joshua. The reason why he gave Joshua all his findings was not because he trusted Joshua fully, he was merely taking a bet.If Joshua would use the findings to deal with Aura, that meant that Joshua was still worthy of trust.If he did not do it, that was a lesson he would remember for life! Joshua Lynch could not be trusted! At that moment, things were nose diving toward the bad side.However, he did not have the evidence to help Luna. No sound came from the booth upstairs for a long time.Aura’s heart which was hanging in suspense finally came down. She looked at Luna arrogantly. “You’re just bluffing. I bet all these are just your speculations. If you don’t have the proof, I can sue you for defamation!”Luna stood on the spot, looking at how smug Aura was. She was clutching her fists tightly.Her heart hurt. It was extre
Neil slapped his thigh in the booth on the second floor. “Once again, my big brother saves the day!”He immediately got up excitedly. “Zach, Yuri, follow me!”The two bodyguards who were still eating were stunned. “Boss, where are we going?”“To protect the computer backstage! In case someone switches off the power!”Zach and Yuri immediately chased after Neil. “You’re right, Boss!”Nigel heard what Neil said too. He chuckled lightly, “Thank goodness you still have some guilty conscience.”Neil pouted and picked up the necklace. “After all, it’s my mistake! I did not know how to continue, but you rescued me, brother!”“Only you would trust that scumbag.”After chatting with Neil, Nigel turned to look at the big screen from the surveillance of the venue.He has full control of the screen. He took a deep breath and played the video on his desktop.“This is the recording and receipt of Ms. Aura Gibson’s first transaction with the amusement park staff.”He played the recording a
Joshua narrowed his eyes and shot Luna a cold glance. “Don’t be so rude.”He lifted his head and picked up the microphone. “Everyone, I’m so sorry that you had to see this. However, the Lynch family has its own rules and its own ways of dealing with problems like this.”He continued, “We’re all gathered here to celebrate Granny Lynch’s birthday. Everyone here is a friend or relative of the Lynch family, so I’m sure you’re all familiar with how we do things around here. If a single word of this gets out…”Joshua’s gaze turned hostile. “I’m sure you know what will happen.”The crowd grew silent immediately. Everyone glanced at each other, not knowing what to do. It was obvious what Joshua was trying to convey: not only did he refuse to call the cops, but he did not want to punish Aura either. Instead, he wanted to keep everything on the down-low.Everyone in the room was puzzled. Joshua insisted that there was nothing going on between him and Aura, yet at the same time, he was wil
No objections!“Nellie, do you want some cake?” Nellie was sitting in Adrian’s lap. She shook her head at his offer, her gaze fixated on Luna’s retreating figure. “I’m not in a good mood. I don’t want anything…”Oceans apart, Nigel was watching all of this unfold through a surveillance camera. Upon seeing this, he closed his eyes. Then, after a moment, he reached out a hand to touch the image of Luna on the screen. “Mommy, I’m sorry…” If it were not for Nigel’s disease, his mother would not have had to return to Banyan City and get in touch with Joshua. If it were not for Nigel, she would not have gotten hurt by that scumbag all over again. …At the back door of the hotel.With his grip still around her, Joshua dragged Aura all the way to the hotel’s back exit.“Joshua!” Aura exclaimed. Her wrist was starting to hurt, and they had left the scene rather briskly. Aura felt like she had reached her limits. Joshua finally let go of her. Aura leaned against the door, massaging
“Luna, you’re drunk.” Seated in the corner of a bar, Malcolm glanced at Luna, who was downing yet another pint of beer. “You should stop drinking now.”Luna pretended like she did n\ot hear him and reached out to grab another glass. “Stop drinking!” Malcolm couldn’t take it anymore and finally extended his arm to snatch the glass away from her. “You know full well that you can’t hold your liquor, so why are you pushing yourself like this?”Luna gave him a blank stare and let out a chuckle. “Malcolm, it hurts.” She drunkenly pointed towards her chest. “It hurts here. I’m so stupid. I thought that he would be different. I thought that people prioritize family over anything else, but…”She wiped the tears from her face before continuing. “Am I too naive? I know that he hates me, but I never thought he would hate his own daughter too… after seeing the way he cared for Nellie when she almost got killed, I thought… I thought that his children meant something to him, but I was wrong, Mal
“I’m sure Nellie is devastated by this…”Nellie had narrowly escaped death multiple times. Although she was a mentally strong girl, having encountered hardships and difficulties since she was young, it was still a very emotionally overwhelming event for a young child to witness her father showing mercy towards the woman who had almost killed her. It was unforgivable!“It’s already late now,” Nigel said, letting out a sigh. “I’ll try to comfort her tomorrow after she wakes up.”Neil nodded. “Okay.”Neil was the one who sent Nellie back to be with Joshua. He had done that so that Luna would have a reason to reach out to Joshua and so that there would be someone helping her from the inside. However, the situation now spun totally out of his control. Neil was a bright boy, but even he was at a loss now.Neil sighed and lowered his head to glance at Luna on the floor below him. She was utterly wasted now at this point. There was a hotel on the floor above the bar. Malcolm was trying
At that, he looked at Gwen. "Actually…"Steven found himself unable to finish his sentence. After a long while, he shook his head and smiled. "Forget about it.""Steven…" Gwen looked at him, and her tears fell.Her heart was not made of stone. How could she not know Steven's feelings toward her?She was silent for a long while. In the end, she stood up and slowly walked over to Steven with arms opened wide. "Give me a hug."Steven hesitated for a while, but he still stood up.They hugged."Gwen." Steven hugged her thin figure. "I have to meet you earlier in the next life so I can compete fairly with my brother."Gwen nodded with tears streaming down her face. "Okay."They thus hugged once more. Minutes later…"He's gone," said Stefan.Tears kept falling.They hugged for a while longer before pulling apart. Gwen looked at Stefan with her tear-stricken face. He had tears on his face as well.She bit her lips and reached out to wipe his tears. "A—Are these tears…yours or his?
The next day, Rachel flew from Merchant City to Sharnwick City to diagnose Anne's condition. Theo tagged along as well because he had another identity, Rachel's boyfriend."According to the report, Anne's condition is slowly recuperating." Rachel was relieved after assessing the report. "Although she is very weak, she is going to get better with lots of rest."There is nothing wrong with her vocal cords too. It could be a psychological thing that makes her lose her voice. A knot in her heart that causes it." She looked at Luna, then at John. "Considering all factors, I think that knot is Luna."Rachel continued, "John, I know Luna is the root cause of all these bad things. Being away from Luna, Joshua, and other people is going to guarantee a safer life for you and your family. But have you thought about it from Anne's point of view? Other than you and Sammie, she has her own life and her circle of friends. Never has she blamed Luna for what happened, yet you forced her to leave Lun
It was almost a miracle for Anne to willingly leave the house just to visit him!Robyn, meanwhile, sobbed at the sight.The nurse who accompanied Anne to the ward was puzzled. What was going on with these people?She snuck her phone out of her pocket and took a photo of this surreptitiously. Then, she sent it into the nurse's group chat with the caption, [What a strange family I met today.]The nurses in the group chat began gossiping about this. One of them tagged a fellow nurse named Daisy and said, [Hey, isn't this the guy who saved the old man you're looking after? What a hero!]Daisy was, at this moment, walking into Andy's room to help him change his wound dressing. She saw the message but was not able to type on her keyboard to respond, so she recorded a voice message instead. "Yes, that's the man. What's wrong with his family? What are you guys talking about?"As soon as she finished her sentence, she lifted her head and finally realized that Andy was not there.Instead,
Anne stared at John for a long time before forcibly smiling and told him in sign language, "Robyn didn't return after so long, so I got worried and came by to check on her.""Daddy, Aunt Robyn, are you two hugging?" Sammie asked, blinking innocently as she raised her head in curiosity.John and Robyn turned pale at this.It was understandable for such a young child like Sammie to misinterpret them as hugging, but what would Anne think of this?John leaped off the bed and staggered toward Anne. "Anne, it's just a misunderstanding…"However, he was still so weak that his legs could not hold up the full weight of his body at all, and he almost crumpled to the ground.Quick-witted Robyn managed to catch him before he could fall, but this gesture appeared once again rather intimate to both Anne and Sammie. Sammie furrowed her brow and asked rather indignantly, "Are you hugging again? Daddy, how can you hug Aunt Robyn like this when you've never even hugged Mommy and me like this befor
When the nurse pushed Anne to John's ward, she overheard John and Robyn fighting from the door. The fight was about how John was anxious to return home because he was worried about Anne and Sammie.However, as someone who used to work as a nurse, Robyn knew John should not leave the hospital after being shot by a gun. At least, he needed to stay in the hospital and be observed for 24 hours to make sure that he was fine before leaving the hospital. If an infection happened, John's body would crash easily and he would become weak just like Anne.In the ward, John frowned and talked with a serious tone, "I'm really fine. Get me my clothes so I can go upstairs to thank Miss Andie and go back home immediately. If Anne knows that I'm hurt, she is going to worry. She will easily be suspicious since you haven't gone back home for a long time. What if she worries about me and brings Sammie to the hospital to look for me? Can you bear yourself even just thinking about it? She's weak and Sammie
Sammie's soft and cute babyish voice melted Stefan's heart immediately. It had been quite some time since he actually put a smile on his face. "Hi, there. What's your name and how old are you?"Sammie tilted her head to look at Stefan's handsome face and smiled sweetly, "I'm Samantha but everyone calls me Sammie."Then she did not forget to introduce Anne to Stefan too. "This is my Mommy. Her name is Anne."At this point, Stefan had given all of his attention to Sammie and did not notice Sammie mentioned that her mother's name was Anne. He pinched Sammie's cheek and said, "Your Mommy is not feeling well. You have to be a good girl and take care of her, do you understand?"Sammie nodded seriously and said, "I will.""Alright, sir. I will bring them to where they want to go," the nurse saw Anne signing to her anxiously. She smiled and said, "Don't worry. I will take good care of them."The promise from the nurse gave an assurance to Stefan that they would be well taken off. He smil
This was the first time Anne brought Sammie out. Ever since she escaped from death, she became a different person—a recluse and was afraid of the sun. This situation became even worse after she became mute.The last time she left the house was two weeks ago when she had to go for surgery.However, she worried about John. In the morning, Robyn told her John was hurt and needed to stay in the hospital to rest. However, she had a hard time believing what Robyn said.After spending so many years together with John, Anne reckoned she was the one who knew John the most. If it was a minor injury, John would never want to stay in the hospital. He cared too much about her and Sammie, so he never dared to let her worry about him. Therefore, it just did not sound reasonable if John would stay in the hospital because of a small injury.Furthermore, Robyn had not returned home since the morning, which was nearly three hours since she left the house. After much consideration, she decided to call
Tara fell silent upon hearing this. She bit her lip nervously and shot Gwen a tentative glance. "I didn't mean to offend you, Gwen…" "I know." Gwen let out an exhale and interrupted Tara before she could finish, "I know you meant no harm, but I can't deny that this is something I'm still having trouble wrapping my head around. In the future, neither of you—even you, Luna—should bring this up again." Her love life was such a mess that not even she could unravel the ties, much less expect other people to understand. Tara pursed her lips and did not reply. Luna stared at Gwen in silence for a while before finally saying, "But you have to face this eventually, Gwennie. After all that you've been through with Luke, all of us hope for nothing but the best for the two of you. Even if you avoid it now, you'll have to face the truth eventually. Otherwise, are you planning on spending the rest of your life in this complicated relationship with Luke? Can you bear the thought of not being
Stefan was mildly amused by the look on her face. He extended his arms out in a gesture of defeat and said, "I never intended on ratting you out to Joshua. You three spoke about these secrets in my presence." With that, he shot Andy a rather helpless look. "Don't you agree, sir?" Andy was surprised to be called out all of a sudden. "Of course!" Although Gwen and Luke had been together for a long time, Luke had never much cared for maintaining good relations with his future father-in-law. He always thought his relationship with Gwen did not concern anyone else outside of the two of them. Combined with the fact that Andy had done some hurtful things to Gwen in the past, Luke grew even more disdainful of his future father-in-law. Because of this, he had never given Andy as much as a second glance throughout their relationship and rarely ever addressed him directly like this. The truth was, Stefan had already called out to Andy once before, during their rescue mission the day befor