Clang!Joshua squeezed the glass in his hand so harshly that it burst into smithereens. He lifted his head to stare coldly at Mr. Miller. "Do you honestly think that Steven is perfect now?"Joshua had previously thought that 'Steven' was just Luke, whose memories had been wiped. He never thought the Miller and Hughes families would do something like this!They had used Steven's heart to save Gwen, then wiped Luke's memories from his mind and instilled Steven's consciousness into Luke's body, rendering him an entirely different person altogether!However, Luke was also a member of the Hughes family; the unwanted son they had abandoned as a child!The only reason they had tracked him down so many years later was because Steven had ended up in a coma. Now that they had extracted Luke's consciousness, all that remained was an empty husk of a human being, a vessel for their beloved Steven.They loved Steven and even went so far as to change Luke into Steven!A chill spread through Jo
The Hughes and Miller families could have allowed Luke to return to his family after donating Steven's organs to Gwen.As Luke's friend, Joshua knew that apart from being a skilled fighter, Luke was also a smart man that could easily pick up running a business.Even if the Miller and Hughes families did not want to choose this option, they could have helped Luke find alternative solutions to cure Gwen so that they would not need to sacrifice Steven at all!However, they chose not to.They had planned to take Luke's life and render him a container for Steven's mind since the start.This was why they had sent Kate to Merchant City to keep an eye on Luke. This was why Kate's feelings toward Luke had always appeared fleeting and ambiguous.Sometimes, she would appear to be head over heels for Luke, but other times, Joshua could not help thinking that she was cold and indifferent toward him.This was because Kate had never loved Luke at all; the only thing she loved about him was his
The color drained from Kate's face.From the moment she caught sight of Joshua in her house, she knew that he was here because of Luke and Steven. When she saw how pale her father looked, as well as Joshua's declaration, she instinctively knew that Joshua must have found out about everything.She curled her lips into a forced smile and said with a hint of helplessness. "I never thought Mr. Lynch would be so swift."Joshua had only met Steven once that morning, and because of this, Kate thought she would at least have one or two days to be in the clear.To her surprise, Joshua had managed to piece everything together within 12 hours and even showed up at her door to confront her.She had always heard rumors about Joshua being a brilliant man, but she had never once witnessed the extent of his intelligence and quick thinking.This was the first time.Joshua could not help smirking when he heard this. "I should've known. However…"He glanced coldly at Steven and sneered. "It's not
She had spent the entire afternoon clutching the metal plate in her hands, staring at it.The Spring Resort began to get busy toward the evening, and eventually, Gwen's alone time was disrupted, so she had no choice but to leave.As she walked along the road and the wind swept past her, she could not help being reminded of Luke. Not only that, but she could not help recalling all the people who had helped her look for her pendant.Luna, Yannie, Thomas…All of them cared about her.Gwen closed her eyes, and a weak smile crept to her face as she trudged through the snow.She knew she had been troubling everyone around her since Luke's death.She was the reason Luke was dead, and therefore, she was the only one who deserved the bad things. However, she had been troubling people left and right since waking up from her surgery.Not only Luna and Joshua, but Bonnie, Jim, Yannie, and Thomas too.When she saw how Lucas and his men fervently rummaged through the piles of garbage in sea
Luna could not believe her ears.She froze for a moment, then pried Gwen out of her embrace to stare at her earnestly. "Go home? Where?""Sea City." Gwen gave her a wry smile and said, "I want to return to Merchant City to retrieve Luke's ashes…then go home to Sea City together. My father is still waiting for us back home."She curled her lips into a soft smile and added, "I've been thinking the whole day, and I've come to the conclusion that no matter where I am, I'll still be missing Luke, so it doesn't matter where I go with you."Therefore, I decided, we might as well return to the place where everything began."Gwen's gaze faltered as she stared at Luna, as though her gaze had penetrated right through the room to somewhere far, far away. "The house that Luke bought for us is still in Sea City, and it's the place where we shared most of our memories."She smiled at Luna. "I've realized that what's missing in my life is not the time or freedom to do what I want, but the freedo
"I brought her out on this trip in hopes that she'll eventually stop missing Luke, but I realize that that's impossible."If I continue making her stay in these foreign places, I'm sure that something similar to last night and today will happen again."This time, it happened while we're here in Saigen City, where both you and Thomas are capable of helping us, but what if it happens again somewhere else, where neither of you can help?"Luna rubbed her brow in exhaustion. "Therefore, I've decided we'll be better off letting Gwen go home. If she returns to Sea City with Luke's ashes, it'll perhaps make her feel better to be in an environment where she knows she's safe."Joshua could not help sighing when he heard this. "Lulu."Luna was a little caught off guard by this. "What is it?""You're becoming more and more mature by the day." Joshua curled his lips into a smile. "You're so considerate toward other people's feelings that I can't help thinking I'm no longer good enough for you
Luna fell silent after hearing this.A split second later, she could not help sighing. "What on earth are you talking about, Joshua?"Gwen hasn't even claimed that Luke is still alive; the only thing she ever mentioned was dreaming of him. Why would you, out of all people, think he is?"Besides, weren't you the one who brought Luke's body out of the operation theater with my brother and buried him? You said that his body was already charred…so how can he possibly still be alive?"Joshua closed his eyes as a bitter smile crept across his face.Luna was right…He and Jim were the ones to bring Luke's body away.However, at that time, they were both so overcome by their grief that they could not bear to even lay a second glance at Luke's body.Not only that, but they had no idea that Luke even had a twin brother, so none of them ever suspected any foul play at all.Luna realized that she had come off a little harsh when met with Joshua's silence. She bit her lip nervously and sai
He was here to help Thomas fight for his inheritance and retrieve evidence of his mother's murder.However, because of Luna, he wasted much of his precious time.Even though they had been married for years, Luna still could not help feeling guilty for this.Joshua chuckled upon hearing this. "It's not trouble at all when it comes to you."Even after their many years of marriage—they already had four kids together, for God's sake—Luna still could not help blushing every time Joshua said something sweet to her like this.The two of them chatted for a little while longer before finally hanging up the phone.The moment Luna got off the call with Joshua, she also received a message from Lucas about the flight details.Lucas had been working for Joshua for so many years that he had picked up some of Joshua's thoughtfulness.He had deliberately booked a flight in the afternoon that allowed Luna and Gwen sufficient time to get ready and have lunch before departing.The next morning, L
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