However, Jim could not believe that the woman before his eyes was the same person as Number-9.He could very well pretend that he had not heard the recording before, but what about this?What about the scene before him, the image of Charlotte drugging his food?Even though he did not know what the drug did, he knew that the girl who had protected him at the orphanage would never have done this.Had time brought on this change? Or perhaps…Were all his memories of her just a fragment of his own misconception?Jim rubbed his brows in frustration and closed his eyes.No matter how unwilling he was to admit this, the truth was right before his eyes.Joshua and Luna had been telling the truth.That afternoon, just a few minutes before his life ended, Assistant Clark had managed to send a photo of the bloodstained DNA report to Jim.According to the report, neither of the two female samples was found to be related to Shelly.This meant that neither Bonnie nor Charlotte was Shelly'
"Jim!" Charlotte knocked on the door in desperation. "Did you actually fall for Bonnie and Luna's lies? Why would you want to rethink our relationship? Weren't we perfectly fine before this? Besides…"She bit her lip. "I still have to meet Roanne tomorrow to save our little Shelly!"A glimmer of pain and helplessness flashed through Jim's eyes when he heard Charlotte's desperate screams.However, he could not deny the fact that she had tried to poison him.He could not deny the fact that she had bribed the flight crew in Banyan City in an attempt to kill Harvey and Shelly.Maybe, just maybe, everything Bonnie and Luna had been saying was true, too.In the past, Jim would tolerate and take pity on her, thinking that everything she had done was just out of desperation to be with him, but at this moment…He could not lie to himself anymore.Charlotte had changed.She had become someone he could not recognize anymore, someone whose ways he did not approve of in the least.No matt
It was precisely because of this that Charlotte had managed to get on his nerves little by little and ultimately cross the line.Not only had she lied to him about Shelly's identity, but she had even attempted to kill Shelly and poison him.Even though he did not know what drug Charlotte had placed in his food, he still chose to eat it.If it turned out to be fatal poison, then so be it. He deserved to die.This was what he deserved!He closed his eyes as he swallowed his food, his entire heart filled with pain and despair.He could not believe how easy it had been for everything to come down in ruins around him.The girl he had fallen in love with and would give his life to protect turned out to be a crook.It was all his fault.However, to Jim's surprise, the drug that Charlotte had put in his food was not poison at all, nor had it been a sedative to put him to sleep.Its only effect was that it made his entire body grow hot.This heat seemed to come from the bottom of his
Bonnie immediately frowned upon hearing this voice.She and Sean lifted their heads in unison and suddenly realized that there was a person sitting on the stone bench in the corner of the garden.Even though it was dark out and she could not make out his face, Bonnie knew instantaneously that it was Jim, based on the sound of his voice and the cold, unapproachable aura emanating off his body.However, despite knowing that he was there, she did not feel at all sheepish about what she had just said about him but instead furrowed her brows in disgust. "What are you doing here?"Was he not supposed to be spending time with his precious Charlotte at this hour?Why had he appeared in the garden?Jim could not help sneering when he heard her. "Why can't I be here, in the garden of my own house?"He stood up, strode over to Bonnie, and said coldly, "Besides, I wouldn't have been able to hear Ms. Craig's truthful admission if I hadn't come today."He narrowed his eyes and stepped closer
Not only that, but Bonnie had even claimed that the baby she had aborted was his.Even if she was crazy, at least Jim knew that she was crazy for him, so why…How long had she known this man named Sean? How could she have fallen for another man so quickly?Was she telling the truth at all? Had she been lying to him all this while about his feelings?Had she been toying with him all this while? Did she think this was all a game?As soon as he thought of this, Jim stormed forward like a madman and grabbed hold of Bonnie's shoulder. "You can't be together with him!"He had already lost Charlotte, his precious Number-9. He could not lose Bonnie either.She was not allowed to give up on him and move on so quickly; he would not allow it!As though powered by the immense strength that the drug had brought him, Jim pulled Bonnie toward him forcefully and into his arms.Bonnie's shoulder landed against his muscular chest hard, and a twinge of pain spread throughout her body.Jim's voi
Jim had gone insane!Bonnie continued to struggle against his grip. "Let go of me!""You have nothing to say about that, do you?" Jim had lost every last ounce of his rationality under the drug's effects. He stared at Bonnie's face with delirious, bloodshot eyes and said coldly, "Bonnie, is this the love you claim to have for me?"Without warning, he grabbed hold of Bonnie's chin and pressed his lips onto hers.So abrupt, so sudden was his kiss that Bonnie's eyes widened in shock.She never thought that after losing his memories, Jim would still want to kiss her…She froze for a long time, utterly stunned by this, then finally remembered what she had been doing.She started to flail and thrash once more, but all of a sudden, another man's hand grabbed hold of Jim and pulled him away from her.A split second later, Sean's fist crashed forcefully against Jim's face. "Let go of her!"He shot Bonnie a pained glance, then turned to stare at Jim. "I'm warning you to show some respec
Jim was momentarily stunned by this sudden turn of events.Even Sean was rendered speechless by the sight before him, his mouth gaping open in disbelief.Finally, Jim was the first one to break out of his stupor. He pulled Bonnie into his arms and shot Sean a murderous glare. "What are you waiting for? Get the car and bring her to the hospital!"Sean paused for a moment, then turned and sprinted out of the yard.Jim furrowed his brows, picked Bonnie up in his arms, and strode out of the yard as he said in a low voice, "Didn't you just go through an abortion? What were you doing? What gives you the right to interfere in two men's fight? Can't bear to see your precious boyfriend get hurt?"Bonnie was in so much pain at this point that she closed her eyes but did not reply.When she heard Jim's voice, she let out a bitter chuckle and said with a helpless tone, "Yes, I can't bear to see my new boyfriend get hurt, just like how you can't bear to see your precious Charlotte get hurt, e
Bonnie lifted her head to stare at Jim's sharp, chiseled jawline, her eyelashes quivering. "What… What did you just say?""You'll be fine, B," Jim repeated without hesitation.As soon as he said this, he froze.Why…did he call her that?He had called her by her full name from the moment he met her, and not only had he never referred to her as 'B' before, he had never heard anyone, not even her closest friends, call her that.If that was the case, why had he been compelled to call her that?As opposed to Jim's shock, Bonnie's face was etched with disbelief and excitement.When he had said that, all the words that came out of Jim's mouth, and even his tone, sounded identical to the old Jim!Did this mean that…the old Jim would return soon?As soon as she thought of this, Bonnie stared at Jim's chiseled face, her eyes brimming with tears."Jim…" her voice was shaking as she muttered, "I believe you."She believed him when he said she would be fine.She believed that one day, t
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