"Why? Not liking what I said?" teased Thomas, squinting at the irked Luna as she tried to defend Joshua. "So you know it's the time to defend your husband now?"Luna's eyebrows knitted tightly together. Was it wrong for her to defend her spouse when Thomas bluntly said Joshua did not deserve to have family, all while she was standing nearby? "What's wrong with me defending him when you spoke so poorly of him?"She narrowed her eyes as she shot Thomas a glare. "Thomas, I knew you had ulterior motives for getting close to me and Joshua. I don't care what that's about, but neither I nor Joshua knew you before we met you. Joshua had told you just minutes ago that he only found out that you're his cousin last night."We only met each other yesterday. Neither of us did anything that harmed you or caused you trouble. You don't have to be so hostile with us."Thomas sneered at this. He crossed his legs elegantly while he leaned into the couch. His eyes were focused on Luna as if he had hea
"Did I cross the line with what I've said? Don't you think he's disgusting by asking me to acknowledge him as my relative the moment I came?"Yannie was stunned when Thomas pointed at her. She shot Thomas a dull look, then turned to look at Luna and Joshua warily.She was in tremendous fear at the moment.Her heart had been pounding the moment she bumped into Thomas' assistant. After all, she had once seen his assistant before.On that night a year ago, she bumped into a man when she was in a hurry to escape from Thomas' room, and that man was Thomas' assistant!Yannie, on that night, was in a mess with her clothes torn. The assistant had assumed she was a beggar and thus barked at her.She was badly shaken up, fearing that the assistant would recognize her when she bumped into him—afraid that Thomas would come looking for her.Two months ago, she delivered her infant in a small hospital, but the baby did not survive.She thought she could care for her child, even imagining tha
Yannie's answer did not surprise Thomas. It was only expected that she would side with Joshua and Luna, since she was the daughter of the maid who worked in their home. Despite that, he could not control himself from sneering, "I thought you'd speak for me since you ogled at me so blatantly. I guess no matter how good-looking I am and how you admired me for it, it wasn't enough for you to betray the loyalty you have for them. Right?"Thomas thus squinted and scoffed, "As I expected, all the dogs Joshua bred are loyal."Loyal, just like those who followed him to track Samuel and Mrs. Flores in the beginning. They soon went after his men at the later part. His men wanted to eavesdrop on Samuel and Mrs. Flores' conversation and failed to hear anything due to Joshua's men interfering with them.If Joshua's men were so good at their job, Thomas would not have to come here early in the morning to look for Joshua and Luna while also settling Mrs. Flores.Thinking of this, Thomas opened hi
Having thought of that, Yannie took a deep breath and gazed straight at Thomas' cold, angular face. "Mr. Howard, you're not going to like what I have to say next."Since you think that as long as any monetary transaction is involved, it means the party who received the money is a dog to the employer. If I remember correctly, you signed an agreement with Ms. Luna yesterday, so you're going to be the ambassador for her jewelry pieces while she'll pay you accordingly."According to your theory, doesn't that make you Ms. Luna's Dog?"Everyone in the living room held their breaths upon hearing this remark.Thomas was caught off-guard as he looked at the woman in front of him. Never did he expect that she would say such a thing to him!His exquisite facial features on his carefully sculpted handsome face were distorted and twisted. "What nonsense are you talking about?""Am I wrong?" Yannie steeled herself against Thomas' suppressive aura, even meeting his gaze bravely. Moreover, there
"Do you want to die that badly?" Thomas squinted. When he turned, he immediately saw how pleased Luna was with Yannie, which only irked him even more.Originally, he wanted to prove how mean Joshua and Luna were when he pulled this innocent girl into the fight between him, Joshua, and Luna. He never expected this cute, obedient-looking girl would be cutthroat.'How dare she say I'm Luna's dog just because I signed the contract with Luna?' Thomas was seething at this point. He had never received such humiliation since he was a child!Even from a young age, he was Old Mrs. Howard's golden grandchild. Although he was known to outsiders as a child born out of wedlock, no one dared to offend him whatsoever. When he grew up, he became a superstar worshiped by hundreds and thousands.Despite having crossed the ethical line in his business, he was the famous, undefeatable international superstar to the public, and thousands of women went crazy for him wherever he went.Yannie, on the othe
"If I don't see her with Luna from now onward, and if I barely see her when I work with Luna in the future…"I'd tell the whole world that you, Joshua Lynch, aren't a man of his word, having promised to give this girl a job but didn't," sneered Thomas.Yannie's expression morphed at this moment. She bit her lip while she clenched her fists tightly. She knew Joshua did not offer her a job because she was mature, honest, and could see the bigger picture.He did it because he wanted to provoke Thomas.When Thomas insisted on seeing her during his cooperation with Luna or he would tell the world Joshua was a liar, he did not do it to help her. Thomas wanted to let Joshua know he would always be on the lookout to make trouble for Yannie in the future because of Joshua's decision.Yannie gnawed on her bottom lip. She wanted to say something but did not know what to say. It was as if her courage left her right after she challenged Thomas. At this moment, she did not know how to reject Jo
Crash!Yannie, in her shock, dropped the glass of water that Mrs. Flores handed to her when she heard Thomas' remark. Her eyes widened as she stared at him, unable to believe the audacity of this man.'Did he seriously ask that question?' Yannie thought.Just because Joshua wanted to take care of her by offering her to be Luna's assistant… Just because Joshua would not allow Thomas to bully her…Thomas dared to say that she was Joshua's mistress!That question humiliated not only her but also Joshua and Luna!Yannie bit her lip in anger as she glared at the man sitting on the couch with a disdainful expression on his face.'I was wrong. I thought he was a warm, gentle, kind, and handsome man like the character he portrayed on the screen!'She used to rub her belly when she was pregnant while telling her unborn child that their father was the most handsome man in the world, all while being the gentle and cutest person that he was.Alas, she saw Thomas' true colors today.He wa
Thomas sneered and covered his face to look as he stared at the head that popped out from behind Mrs. Flores' shoulder. "Why are you hiding when you so bravely told me you'd slap me again if I repeat my words?" he sneered. "Come out here now. I'm going to say it again."Yannie bit her lip as she silently stared at Thomas.Joshua squinted at Thomas as he indifferently remarked, "Mr. Howard, is your face not stinging at the moment? If you dare to say such things again, maybe I'd join Yannie in slapping you, too. Once I do that, you might not be able to sit comfortably and threaten her anymore."With a smirk, he coldly added, "Thomas Howard, I advise you to stop while you still can. You've created enough chaos for my family this morning, and if you continue with your act, I won't let you leave so easily."You should know that the Lynch family and the Landry family are the ones in charge of Merchant City. If I want to do something to you, no one can stop me."Thomas narrowed his eyes
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