"That's not going to happen." Luke squinted as he stared at Joshua. "Do you think I'll let her know that my heart is in her body?"He shook his head. "I won't let her know, and she won't find out about it—never, ever in her life. She'll only know me as the man who hurt her repeatedly, rendered a prisoner after a fight with another gang, and finally as the man who tore her into pieces."Maybe she'll remember me in the future and pay respect to me at my grave, but I'll never allow her to feel guilty and unhappy because of me."Luke then sighed and switched to a more comfortable position on the couch. "I've thought it out, and everything is planned. All I want is for you and Luna to take care of Gwen once I'm gone. Also, maybe find a man who'll treat her well. I can't bear to see her be alone."He lowered his head and started to meddle with the fruits on the fruit platter while languidly commenting, "She's too fragile. If there's no one there to help her, she can never handle things o
"B—But, Mr. Jones…" The doctor spoke timidly, "It wasn't my intention to bother you, but there's a situation that I think I must report to you immediately."Luke squeezed his brows even harder as he hissed, "Spill!" His subconscious told him to look in the direction of the garden to check on Gwen.Through the huge glass window, he saw Gwen sitting with her back facing him in the garden. She was talking with Luna, and they seemed to be talking about something funny because she was laughing so hard that her body trembled.Once he made sure that Gwen was unaware of this phone call, he sighed in relief, saying, "Quick. Get to it."The doctor on the other side of the phone was nearly scared to death. "Mr. Jones… The thing is that we've just received Ms. Larson's medical report. One of the indicators is too high…"Luke's brows pressed together. "One of the indicators is too high? Didn't I already tell you to make sure her body is in a good condition? It's less than a month before the tr
This reveal stunned Joshua. He stiffly turned his head to look at Luke.Luke was in a bad mood because of the doctor. He sat on the couch, drinking his coffee and not bothering to hear what Joshua and the doctor were talking about. To him, the doctor was an irresponsible person who liked to exaggerate everything, and he refused to waste time on such a person.Joshua squeezed his eyebrows tightly as he looked at Luke. With the phone in hand, he took a few steps backward unconsciously and pressed the phone closer to his ear, afraid Luke might overhear what the doctor said. "Will it affect the result if she doesn't go through with terminating the child's life?"The ambiguous question had the doctor puzzled. It took him some time to realize that Joshua was asking if the heart transplant surgery would be affected if Gwen decided to keep the baby."Yes, it'll affect it greatly." The doctor took a deep breath. "Even though Ms. Larson is still very early in her pregnancy term, once she's c
Joshua lifted his head to glance at Gwen, who was sitting out in the garden, in the middle of a conversation with Luna. "This time, the doctor isn't exaggerating."Something was very wrong.…"You say you're pregnant with Luke's child?" The afternoon sun seeped into the gazebo where Luna and Gwen were chatting in the garden. Luna was staring, eyes wide in shock, at Gwen. "You're not kidding, are you? Didn't the doctor in Sea City say…""The doctor said I'd have a hard time getting pregnant in the future, but it's not entirely impossible." Gwen took a sip from her cup and instinctively glanced toward the living room. After making sure that Luke was not staring in their direction, she let out an exhale and said in a low voice, "Please help me keep this a secret, and don't tell Luke."I'm not in my best health right now. Previously, when we were still in Sea City, he was willing to raise another man's child as his own after knowing that an abortion would wreak dramatic effects on my
Luna could not help feeling a little pained by this.She reached out to grab Gwen's hands in reassurance and rasped, "Gwennie, that's all in the past now."Luna did not dare to even imagine the pain and suffering Gwen had gone through.It was a miracle that Gwen could have survived those dark days, and there was no denying that Luke truly cared for her.Luna let out an exhale and said, "Gwennie, why don't…"She lifted her head to meet Gwen's tearful gaze. "Why don't you consider staying by Luke's side? I agree with you about one thing. It won't be easy for you to meet another man like him anymore; a man who loves you for who you are, who loves you not because of your looks or money, but because you're you."Gwen let out a bitter chuckle, her lips etched with disdain and helplessness. She lifted her head to stare at Luna. "That's impossible. Do you know why I even left Luke in the first place and got engaged to my ex-fiance? It was because…"She let out a sigh and stared off into
"Therefore, after the baby is born, I'm going to leave Luke and go somewhere that no one can find me, where I can start my life afresh—alone and with a brand new identity."Luna could feel nothing but pain as she stared at Gwen's pale face.Even though she could never understand Gwen's experience, she remembered how it had been like when she suffered backlash from the media, when they accused her of taking advantage of the Landry family fortune.Even though the spectacle had lasted only a few days, it felt like she was put through hell.She could not imagine being in Gwen's shoes.After all, she was certain that the words coming out of mobsters' mouths would not be any kinder.How many unkind insults had Gwen heard throughout her life?Even though she seemed nonchalant about it, she must have gone through immense emotional turmoil at one point.At the thought of this, Luna let out an exhale and said, "Alright. Gwennie, I promise to help you think of a way to escape Luke.""Tha
The first thing that came to Gwen's mind was the baby in her womb.Could Luke have found out about the baby and was bringing her to the hospital to terminate it?The moment this thought popped into her mind, Gwen immediately suppressed it.No, this was not possible; Luke could never have found out about the baby.Two weeks ago, when she first found out about her pregnancy during a routine checkup, she had used all her savings to bribe the doctor not to tell anyone about the baby.Despite this, she was still anxiety-stricken, as she could not guarantee whether the doctor, who had been assigned by Luke to look after her, would be successfully bribed by her 'gift'.After all, the people that Luke hired, whether bodyguards, servants, or policemen, held nothing but utmost respect toward him and thus would never dare disobey him.During that time, Gwen had lived her days in fear, terrified that Luke would force her to get an abortion after finding out the truth.However…A week had
The look in Luke's eyes, as well as the tone of his voice, seemed to be hinting at Gwen.At this moment, Gwen could clearly feel that Luke had somehow already found out about her secret pregnancy, and he was hinting at her to be honest with him!However…she did not want to.She could not help clinging onto that last sliver of hope.What if Luke was just testing her? What if he had no idea, after all?If she fell for his mind games and accidentally blurted out her secret to him, she would be the biggest idiot ever!At the thought of this, she pursed her lips and immediately clamped her mouth shut.Luke's expression darkened when he saw that Gwen refused to speak any further.He clutched her hand even harder and pulled her toward the direction of the dining room."Godmom and Uncle Luke are so cute together!" Nellie grinned at them, her little hands clapping in enthusiasm as she chirped, "I really hope that one day, I can call Uncle Luke my godfather, too!"Gwen finally began to
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