Kate furrowed her brow when she heard what Jim said and looked at Jim coldly. "Mr. Landry, I think you know very well why the specialist team is here. Are you going to be responsible for delaying the surgery and Gwen's condition?""Ten minutes won't affect anything." Jim looked at his watch. "If you get in the car and talk to me, we can settle it within ten minutes. If you don't…"Jim curled up his lip and smiled. "If the surgery is delayed and affects Gwen's condition, you'll bear half of the blame, too."He then took out his phone and talked to the assistant at the airport. "Ms. Miller doesn't look like she's going to cooperate. Why don't you let the specialist team stay a bit longer to have some coffee? There's no need to rush."Kate's expression faltered instantly upon realizing how serious Jim was. If she refused to cooperate, he would make use of his promise and stop the specialist team from leaving the terminal. If this delayed the surgery tomorrow…Kate did not dare to imagi
"Ten minutes, and I won't do anything to you. I'll settle the score with you sooner or later, Ms. Miller, but I know what takes priority. I won't cause you any trouble now."Staring at Jim's stern expression, Kate took a deep breath and got into the car."Well? Start talking," she scoffed impatiently once she sat down.Jim could not bother to waste any time with her and threw a file her way. "Joshua and I want you to sign this."Kate's eyebrows furrowed at the file. When she opened it and read its content, she guffawed. "All for this?"The file contained an agreement document that stated Kate Miller must guarantee the specialist team from the medical organization sent by the Miller family would treat and portray a professional attitude during Gwen's surgery.Not only did they want the surgery to be filmed, but they also demanded that if Kate or her specialists did anything suspicious to Gwen or even kill her…she would have to bring the specialist team to the police and confess th
Silence fell within the car. Jim's eyebrows furrowed as he looked at Kate from the rearview mirror, his gaze whirling with doubt. "You… You stayed for over a year with Luke because of that?"This was out of his expectation. What a coincidence this whole thing was!However, after thinking deeply about it, it made sense.More than a year ago, Luke did seek help from the Miller family because of Gwen's illness. He needed help from the Miller family's medical organization.Before that, the Miller family and Luke had never been in contact. Luke was a gang leader of Merchant City and Sea City, and the Miller family was a large family dominating Europa. There was no benefit involved in their relationship at all.If Luke did not promise the Miller family something, why would the family help him? The Miller family even entrusted Kate to Luke and sent out the most powerful specialist team to do the surgery for Luke and Gwen.This was what Joshua and Jim could not understand, but with Kate'
Even after Gwen and Luke's surgery, they would not be able to escape.Jim Landry…would never let her off the hook!Kate bit her lip and, not daring to spare another glance at Jim, fled and entered the airport.The driver, in the driver's seat, looked at Jim exasperatedly. "That was a good chance, Sir! How could you let her run away?"Jim narrowed his eyes and looked in the direction in which Kate was leaving. He took a deep breath. "I know that. Still…"He closed his eyes."Gwen's and Luke's life are now in Kate's hands."He could not ruin the plan Luke had set up for almost more than a year just because of his grudge."But…" The driver sighed. "She'll leave Merchant City after the surgery is done, right? By then, are you not going to avenge Ma'am?"When he heard the driver calling Bonnie 'Ma'am', Jim smiled a little."I still need to avenge her; they can't escape from this." He narrowed his eyes. "Even if she leaves Merchant City, I'll still look for her. I'll head to the Mi
Upon hearing Luke's words, the light in Gwen's eyes vanished. She bit her lip and looked at Luke hesitantly. "You… Must you go today? Can't you get your men to—""No," Luke coldly interrupted her once more. He sounded so aloof that it did not seem like him. "It's only a surgery. You've gone through many surgeries in the past year. Be good."Upon hearing his words, Gwen subconsciously looked up at him.Something was wrong with Luke, and she could feel it. He was hiding something.Luke never talked to her like that before. Any given time she expressed her fear about a coming surgery, even if he could not be with him, he would patiently hug her and reassure her.Despite his possessive nature toward her, he always tried ways to make her stay by his side. In the past year, he treated her quite gently.His sudden change in character baffled her."Did…something serious happen in Sea City?"Gwen, who did not even know about her condition at that moment, did not know the struggle Luke w
Without him, Gwen could start a new life. She would not need to become the gang leader's woman. No one would pay her any attention or criticize her, mentioning her past repeatedly to the point it haunted her daily.With all that in mind, Luke was willing to vanish from this earth. He was willing to sacrifice his all for Gwen. All that mattered was that she was happy and blissful.She was worth it.At that thought, Luke sighed and placed the bowl on the short drawer by the side. He walked over to Gwen's side once more, reached out, and hugged her tightly."I'll take care of myself. You have to get well. Listen to the doctor, and recover soon."As Luke's aura and body warmth enveloped Gwen, she bit her lip and bore through her tears. "I will."Gwen lifted her head and looked out of the window, trying not to let her tears fall."Luke, I… I'm really happy that I met you.""Me too." Luke closed his eyes and sighed. He reached out his large hand, held Gwen's chin, and kissed her pass
Gwen hugged Luke's waist excitedly. Tears fell.She did not want to leave him; this was her innermost thought.Days before this, she kept thinking of how to leave him, knowing that it would be best for them both, but…she missed him. She still did.Because of that, she always found excuses for herself, telling herself that it was because he kept caring for her too much, so she did not have a chance to leave.However, at that moment, if Luke truly left, she no longer had any more excuses to lie to herself!Gwen shut her eyes. Her tears seeped into Luke's clothes, burning his body."Can you not leave?"Luke, I…I've been by your side for so long. Not once was I capricious, but this time, let me be demanding this time!"I don't want you to leave! No!"Gwen's tears and cries made Luke's heart constrict tightly. He lowered his head and gazed at how her arms clung to his waist and her tear-stricken side profile.He took a deep breath, reached his huge palm out, and gently caressed he
Gwen's surgery was at 10 in the morning. Thus, Luna brought Bonnie along to her ward early in the morning.Blame it on her illness or heartbreak. Whichever it was, Gwen did not rest well for the entire night and looked worn out.The moment Luna entered and saw her in that state, she anxiously rushed over and held her hand. "Gwen, a—are you alright?"She knew that Gwen was having a huge surgery, and an organ transplant surgery at that.The night before, Luke had already left Merchant City. The person who was donating organs to Gwen had already arrived. Joshua and Jim were overseeing the other side of the surgery, while Luna and Bonnie were keeping watch on Gwen and her surgery."I'm alright." Gwen smiled feebly at Luna. "The doctor said that after the surgery today, I'll slowly get better. I won't feel so terrible in the future."Then, she turned to look at Bonnie. "Are you alright?""I'm doing quite well." Bonnie, in the wheelchair, smiled a little at Gwen. "Have a good surgery.
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