“Ms. Luna, I didn’t expect you to come visit me.” Natasha smiled awkwardly in Luna's direction. “I know about everything that happened at the birthday party.”She looked at Luna solemnly. “I should be thanking you. Even though my older daughter is so irresponsible, refusing to come back all these years, I'm grateful that you’ve been taking care of Nellie for so long.”Luna pursed her lips as she offered a polite smile. “I used to be Ms. Nellie’s servant, and this is what I should do.”“Sigh.” Natasha then made up an excuse and diverted the nurse out of the ward. After the nurse left, she signaled at Luna to close the door. “As a mother, I hold responsibility, too.“I never expected Aura would do something like this to Nellie… It’s my fault. I failed to properly educate her.”With that, she raised her eyes and looked into Luna’s eyes. “But there must be a misunderstanding about Aura wanting to harm Nellie.”Her words made Luna’s heart sink deep into the pit of her chest.Since sh
Luna frowned and gave a feeble smile. “How’s that possible?”She saw the news broadcast in the supermarket when she was there with Neil last night, and it showed that Aura had boarded the plane and even displayed a photo of her posing in front of her university in Ausland. That meant she could not possibly be in Banyan City anymore.“It’s true.” Natasha sighed. She lifted her head as her red-rimmed eyes stared straight at Luna. “Actually... Joshua isn’t as good a person as he pretends to be. He faked the news about Aura going abroad. Even the images and footage of her boarding the plane and arriving at her university were staged.”Natasha broke at that moment as tears trickled from her eyes, and she dabbed her cheeks with tissue paper. She let out another sigh before she continued, “He’s imprisoned Aura, truth be told. She’s now locked up somewhere with people guarding her day and night. She can’t escape.”Luna’s brow furrowed upon hearing this; she could not believe what she had h
“I’m not a local from Banyan City, and I don’t know anyone apart from you and the Lynch family…” Luna tried to protest.Before she could finish, however, Natasha shoved the other card into her hand and said, “Take this card as well… There’s a lot of money in this one, too. You can have both cards, as long as you help me find evidence that Aura was framed.”Luna lowered her gaze to look at the two cards Natasha had given her. She could recognize both of them. One of them was Natasha’s personal account which contained all her life savings; Luna herself had helped Natasha set up the account. The other one, however, was a card she had given Natasha just before she got married to Joshua. The card contained all of Luna’s own savings and assets. At that time, Luna knew it was rough for her parents to raise her till adulthood, yet because she was getting married so young, she did not know how to repay them, so she accumulated all her savings into an account and decided to gift the card to he
Luna arrived home from the hospital. As soon as she sat down, however, she received a call from Nigel. “Mommy, I’ve managed to confirm the address. The IP address that Aura used to contact Grandma seems to be coming from a hospital. I’ve sent you the location of the hospital,” said Nigel over the phone. Luna glanced at the address Nigel sent. It seemed to be a mental institution located on the outskirts of Banyan City. ‘Is it true that Aura hasn't been sent abroad to Ausland?’ Luna thought to herself. ‘Since she was still in Banyan City, why did Joshua fake the news that she went abroad? He even went to the extent of forging photographs and footage of Aura landing in Ausland. Was it simply because he wanted to find an excuse for her sudden disappearance? Why did he imprison her then, and in a mental institution, no less?’More and more questions surfaced in her mind. ‘Did Joshua imprison Aura because he wanted her to pay the price of trying to hurt his child? If so, why did he n
Nigel could remember the times when Luna woke up crying in the middle of the night. Every time that happened, he would get up and put his arm around her in an attempt to comfort her. His mother had been through so much just to bring the three of them into this world. She had gone through so much hardship to change her appearance and assume a new identity. All of this was so she could start a new life, but because of him and Nellie, she had to get close to that man again—the man who brought all of this down on her in the first place.“Mommy.” Nigel paused and took a deep breath before he finally said, “I love you.” He would never say anything that would disappoint her again.Luna never expected to hear a heartfelt confession like that from her usually shy and temperate son. She chuckled in response. “I know. The three of you are the best things to ever happen to me, and I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you by my side.”With that, she hung up the phone and plopped down on the cou
Luna’s breath caught in her throat. Her guess was right; Nellie had started attending school at the same kindergarten that Neil went to.“Mr. Lynch, I believe you’re mistaken,” began Luna. “Nellie’s insistence on attending school with Neil must’ve been because they’re very close with each other. I don’t think it has anything to do with me. I’ve never even mentioned this idea to her.” She gave a slight smirk and added, “Mr. Lynch, I have a piece of advice for you: Instead of trying to blame your problems on other people, why not actually sit down and have a conversation with your daughter to find out what she really wants? Nellie and Neil are close friends, and it’s normal for them to want to attend school together.”Joshua’s eyes narrowed as he heard Luna’s response. This woman was a piece of work. Not only did she suddenly quit her job at Blue Bay Villa, but she acted so uncouthly and impolite to him all at this moment, too.When Joshua did not reply, Luna frowned and tried to si
The kindergarten teacher was startled by Luna’s sudden reaction. She froze for a moment before she slowly pointed in the direction of the nurse’s office. “Nellie got injured just now, and Neil is currently with her at the nurse’s office.”As soon as she finished her sentence, Joshua immediately stomped off in the direction the teacher had pointed. Luna had no choice but to trail along behind him. The two adults stormed into the nurse’s office in a flurry of panic.Inside the nurse’s office, Neil asked, “Which flavor do you like more: original or garlic?” He was perched on the examination bed as he munched on a chicken drumstick.“They’re both yummy!” replied Nellie with her mouth full. She was clutching another chicken drumstick in her hand.“Alright, then let’s sneak out to order some more tomorrow,” beamed Neil. He reached out an oily hand to pinch Nellie’s cheek. “Tomorrow, we’ll pretend that I got hurt, and you can accompany me to the nurse’s office again.”“Okay!” Nellie nodd
Joshua and Luna both froze as they heard Neil’s confession. Even the teacher who stood behind them gaped at the sudden turn of events.Who would have thought something like that would happen? Luna rubbed her brows in exasperation, thinking to herself, ‘What kind of scheming children did I give birth to? Haven’t I told them countless times that they shouldn’t eat junk food like this?’“It’s all my fault, Daddy,” sulked Nellie. “Class was really boring, and the lunch I had wasn’t yummy at all. I overheard another kid talking about eating fried chicken with his mommy and daddy, so I wanted fried chicken too, but…”Disappointment clouded Nellie’s gaze. “I knew that you wouldn’t let me have fried chicken because it’s not healthy, so I asked Neil to help…”The anger on Joshua’s face dissipated. After a moment’s hesitation, he heaved a deep sigh and stared at his daughter. “You’re such a mischievous girl,” he said in a tender voice. “This was all just a misunderstanding, Mr. Lynch,” the