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
Meeting Joshua's cold gaze, it was as though his deep, dark eyes were about to see through every thought Yannie had in mind. His question was so sharp that Yannie was at a loss for words.Yannie bit her lip and lowered her head to look at her feet, reluctant to say anything.In truth, she was a coward, and she was afraid of Joshua's merciless gaze. That was why she did not dare to raise her hand and make eye contact with Joshua. She was scared that she would accidentally spill to Joshua that she had, once upon a time, carried and birthed Thomas' baby.The stillborn was a secret, and none but Father Samuel and the obstetrician knew about it. She did not know if anyone else knew about the baby's existence. Regardless, she did not want people to feel pity for her or laugh at her like she was a hot topic for their afternoon tea session.There was a reason that led to the way Yannie thought; she had read gossip related to Thomas before.It was a gossip where the woman said sadly that s
"Is it alright if Yannie starts working today? Do you have any concerns?" asked Luna.Mrs. Flores was startled at first, but she quickly recovered and nodded. "It's no problem at all! You can let her start work anytime you want; I'm fine with it."She then turned and looked at Yannie solemnly. "Yannie, you have to work hard. Treat your work seriously, and don't think about slacking off."Yannie pursed her lips and nodded. "Understood."Once Luna got Mrs. Flores' permission, she grabbed Yannie's hand and dragged her out of the house. "Let's go."After they left the house, Luna and Yannie got into the car where Luna instructed the driver, "Send us to a clinic nearby the studio."Yannie, startled at this, looked at Luna. "Aren't we going to the studio?"Luna sighed and looked at Yannie's bloody palm. "Do you think you can work with these hands? Let's treat your wound first, and you can take the rest of the day off to rest up."Her eyebrows furrowed. "I think it takes more than a d
"What do you mean, you're not a good match?" Luna furrowed her eyebrows.She thought that Yannie must have been referring to the fact that she hailed from a poor family, which was why she did not think she would be a good match for Luna's friend.With this in mind, Luna patted her shoulder with a reassuring smile and said, "Don't you worry; this friend of mine isn't a wealthy man at all. He, too, was born into a family of poverty, but this makes him a hardworking, responsible, and trustworthy person."The more she thought about it, the more it seemed to her that Yannie and Sean would be perfect for each other. She could not help trying to nudge Yannie in that direction as she continued, "Not only that, but my friend is also distant relatives with Joshua, so if the two of you were to get together, we'd be a family in the future."When that happens, no one will dare to insult you by calling you our slave or dog anymore."Yannie's face flushed an even deeper shade of red. She pursed
Luna had no choice but to tell herself that this was perhaps just an accident.She…probably would not have gotten tricked a second time.At this moment, her phone chimed with a message from Joshua.She opened it, frowning.A single row of words was displayed on the screen, [Try to find out how Yannie and Thomas know each other.]She stared at this message, frowning as she felt rather disconcerted.The reason she had brought Yannie out of the house was so that she could avoid answering Joshua's question, so how could she ask her that?At the thought of this, Luna picked up her phone and replied to Joshua, [I won't do that. Since she doesn't feel like answering that, we shouldn't interrogate her any further.]Then, she tucked her phone away and was just about to turn around and continue her conversation with Yannie.Surprisingly, Yannie piped up, "I… Actually, I can tell you how Thomas and I know each other."Yannie stared at Luna's face with a gentle expression and curled her
The color drained from Yannie's face when she heard this.She bit her lip nervously, lowered her head, and said with a hint of sorrow, "The child…"She sniffed and said in a thick, nasally voice, "The child…died just minutes after his birth."Luna sighed when she heard this and reached out to pull the poor girl into her arms. "I understand exactly how you're feeling."On that fateful night two months ago, she, too, thought she had lost her child.Luna could still remember the sorrow and despair in her heart, so she could fully understand how sad Yannie was feeling at this moment.That night, the thought of ending her life had crossed her mind after finding out about her child's death.If it were not for the three children who still needed her, Luna would have killed herself just to join her baby in heaven.Therefore, Luna could understand Yannie's feelings like her own.She wrapped her arms around Yannie's trembling shoulders and said gently, "It's all in the past now, Yannie.
"Yannie is still too young; she hasn't even had a boyfriend before."If she's fortunate enough to get married to a nice man and have children with him, I won't even continue working as a babysitter anymore. I'll just stay home and take care of her children for her."Mrs. Flores' reply had left a lasting impression in Luna's mind that Yannie was a conservative and prim girl who would save herself for marriage.This was why Luna had been so shocked when she found out about Yannie and Thomas' illegitimate child."My mother…has no idea." Yannie bit her lip and shot Luna a pleading glance. "Ms. Luna, please…don't tell my mother. I—I've been hiding this from her all this while."Tears slid down her cheeks as she stammered, "You saw for yourself how traditional my mother's mindset is…"The truth is, I had gone to Europa in her stead, and if she found out that I've lost my virginity and even got pregnant with a stranger's child because of her…her blood pressure will skyrocket, and her he
Luna paused, glanced at Yannie's face, and finally nodded.Without them noticing it, the car had arrived at a clinic near the studio.As soon as they arrived, Luna pulled Yannie out of the car and into the clinic.As the doctor tended to Yannie's wounds, he could not help saying kindly, "I'm sure that there will be a solution to everything in life, so please don't hurt yourself like this anymore in the future. Do you see how badly you've injured yourself just by digging your nails into your skin? I would've been devastated to see this if you were my daughter."Yannie lowered her head, watching the doctor apply ointment onto her hands, but did not reply.Luna wanted to say something to Yannie, but no words seemed to come out.Initially, she had plenty of things that she wanted to tell Yannie, including her idea of matchmaking Yannie with Sean and words of reassurance that she wanted to tell her.However, after finding out that Yannie had given birth to Thomas' child, who died sho