“You’re not interested, even if it’s about your life and birth?”“What life and birth?”“I knew you would be interested.”Aura curled her lips into a smile. “Get in, I won’t eat you.”…Aura brought Luna to a coffee shop nearby.“Spit it out.”Sitting on the chair, Luna sucked in a deep breath and looked at the woman in front of her with cold eyes.Aura sipped her coffee. “I wanted to give some time as a buffer…”Then, she set down the cup of coffee in her hands. “Hearing me saying I want to discuss your life and birth with you, do you think, you might very possibly not be, Mom and Dad’s child?”Luna frowned and said nothing.“It’s understandable if you think that. After all, all these years Mom and Dad treated you like an adopted daughter. But the truth is in fact the complete opposite.”Aura switched into a more comfortable position and lay her back on the sofa. “I’m not their biological daughter.”Luna’s hand that was holding her cup paused in mid-air.After a long whi
After leaving the coffee shop, Luna went to the fresh market for grocery shopping.Anne was not good at cooking, so since they lived together, naturally Luna was the one in charge of grocery shopping and cooking.Holding the groceries in hand, Luna stood at the door. She reached for her keys when she heard Anne’s shy voice drifting in from inside the house.“Luna is coming home soon, John, don’t…”“In a way, she’s almost like our cupid, she won’t mind…”“She’s in a bad mood recently, things have been rough for her, we shouldn’t irritate her.”“Then we should make it fast, before she comes back…”Luna frowned.Bad timing.Placing the groceries at the entrance, she huffed out a long breath and turned and left.The sky darkened, and Banyan City was lit up in an array of bright neon lights.Luna wandered alone on the streets for a long, long time.Unconsciously, she walked to the entrance of an art gallery.She took a glance at the display board at the entrance: Renowned Artist
With that, she pointed at a painting behind her. “Mrs. Lynch, do you know the name of this painting?”Alice rolled her eyes.What was this woman doing, was she testing her?She replied carelessly, “This painting is named ‘The Act’, it’s used to critique people who intentionally put on an act in front of others to boast.”Luna smiled. “This painting is perfect for you.”Alice paused then realized Luna was using the painting to make fun of her!She was accusing her of putting on an act!Anger boiled in her chest. She tugged at Joshua’s arm. “Honey, she’s saying we don’t love each other. Kiss me and prove it to her!”Joshua stiffened slightly, his arm still in her grip.Running into Luna in this situation already made him feel awkward, and now Alice wanted him to act all lovey-dovey in front of her?And… kiss her?He frowned. “Stop making a scene.”Since Alice returned to his side, he did consider kissing her.But every time he almost did, somehow, his body instinctively reje
“Oh my god…”Right when Luna’s finger pierced through the painting, Alice exclaimed in shock, “This is Mr. Allen’s favorite painting! Luna, even if you hate me, you don’t have to go so far as to destroy this painting just because I like it?”There were not many people in the exhibition hall at night, and the spot where they stood was darkly lit, so initially, no one noticed the ruckus going on between them.With Alice’s shout, everyone turned their attention to them.Before Luna could regain her footing, the crowd’s critical stares and words of reproach were heard.“Why did you come to an art exhibition if you didn’t appreciate art?”“Apparently, someone once offered Master Allen ten million dollars to buy this piece of art but he refused!” “Oh my god, can she afford to compensate him?“Jealous women are so crazy, destroying it just because someone else liked it?”…The rumble of the crowd’s discussion was heard clearly.Luna smiled wryly. She drowned out the voices behin
In a corner of the second floor, he was talking on the phone.And the direction his eyes were looking in… was the direction in which she pushed Luna!In an instant, Alice’s face turned pale as a ghost.“Mr. Lynch is our sponsor, and he’s your husband, he would definitely remain fair and just.”With that, the manager immediately ordered a subordinate. “Go and invite Mr. Lynch here!”Alice’s expression turned immeasurably ugly.She was regretting her decision deeply.Joshua saw her reaching out and pushing Luna.She just returned to his side, he still had his reservations about her, if he realized she was not as kind and gentle as she pretended to be…Would he be suspicious of her?“Ms. Luna.”The manager looked at her calmly. “Whether you intentionally destroyed this painting or you were framed, we will know the truth once Mr. Lynch is here.”Luna stood on the spot; her hands clenched tightly into fists at her sides.Alice had framed her for destroying Mr. Allen’s painting,
Joshua paused in his tracks.He turned back, a cold expression on his face, looked at the man behind him and said, “Master Allen, I think you might be mistaken…”Beside him, the manager hurriedly rushed to Theo’s side. “The person who destroyed your painting is Ms. Luna and not Mrs. Lynch.”Theo smiled faintly, turned and threw a gentle glance in Luna’s direction. “Why didn’t you say that you were framed? Just because he paid ten million in compensation for you?”Luna turned pale.She lifted her eyes and looked at Theo, then turned and glanced at Joshua.The man’s face was cold and expressionless.“That’s because no one will stand on my side.”A moment later, she raised her head and stared at Joshua, saying word by word, “There’s no CCTV recording, and the only witness chose to remain silent, no matter what I say, no one will believe me.”“Why would no one believe you?”Theo laughed lightly, strode to Luna, and looked at Joshua with clear, calm eyes. “Mr. Lynch, as the only w
Joshua lifted his gaze and glanced in the direction where Luna and Theo had walked off from, their hands still intertwined. They had known each other for just a few minutes, yet they held hands like a couple would!Joshua could not help but frown at the sight.“Joshua… Did you really not see anything?” asked Alice tentatively as they made their way down the stairs, her hand still clutching his arm.Joshua stared blankly ahead. “What do you think?”Alice bit her lip and remained silent. After a moment, she said, “Actually, I—”“I know,” Joshua gently interrupted her. “I know that you’re trying to take revenge on Luna for kidnapping your kids, but this will be the first and last time, Alice.”He let out a deep sigh before continuing, “If you’re still holding a grudge against her, you shouldn’t have asked me to let her out. Now that we’ve released her, you shouldn’t be trying to take revenge on her.” His voice was low and solemn.Alice chewed her lip nervously. “Alright, I won’t le
“I'm just curious,” mused Luna as she sat in the passenger seat and gazed out at the road in front of her. “How did you know I wasn’t the one who ruined your painting?”Theo smiled in response as his hands gripped the steering wheel. “What if I told you, I believe that Moon isn’t that kind of person?”Luna froze momentarily at his reply before a chuckle escaped her lips. “Mr. Allen is familiar with me?”“I used to be interested in jewelry design as well, and I tried it for a while, but I eventually gave up because it was too hard. During that time, I did a lot of research on my own, so I was acquainted with your work. To say that Moon is a household name in the field of jewelry design won’t be an exaggeration.”Luna was surprised to hear that, but after pondering over it for a few moments, she thought it made sense. If not for the fact that he recognized her as Moon, Theo probably would not have rescued her back there, much less offered to send her home.Her lips curled into a fai
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