Steven had a troubled look on his face after hearing what Gwen said."Don't say that." He paused for a moment before he added, his voice hoarse, "My sister…she's not a bad person. It's all because of the influence Mrs. Howard had over her that she turned into this person."He sighed. "It's all my fault. Before I was unconscious, my parents once mentioned they hoped Denise could marry Thomas. They even took the initiative to ask Denise to become Mrs. Howard's goddaughter. I stopped them at that time because I thought Denise deserved to live her life. She shouldn't listen to our parents' arrangement and be with a man she hardly knows."After my accident, well…"After I woke up, that woman had already become Denise's godmother, and she insisted on her marrying Thomas."He turned his head to the side to look out the window. The view outside was white in color as it was covered with snow. "Truthfully speaking, I don't want Denise to bear all this burden."My parents kept saying Denise
While Gwen's words were harsh to the ears, Steven knew she was just honest.Denise and Tina had teamed up to trick Thomas, a person who was slow to forgive. Even any regular man would be infuriated to the point where he wanted so much to kill the woman who tricked him.Moreover, the person Denise and Tina tricked was Thomas, a man who fussed over a little thing and sought revenge for the smallest grievance.Many years ago, Thomas' father—the same man who caused his mother's death—betrayed his mother. This time, he brought Joshua back to seek revenge.At that time, he was too small and weak. He did not have the power to fight with Senior Howard and Tina. That was what made the revenge come so late.However, Thomas did not need to wait at all if he decided to have his revenge on Denise or even the Hughes family. The moment he recalled everything, he could start the revenge anytime he wanted.As Steven thought of those, he paused and said, "I know Denise made a mistake; I just think
Steven's expression changed when he heard Gwen's words. After a few seconds, he furrowed his brow and looked at Gwen. "I know my family and the Miller family have done you wrong. We can compensate you…""Compensate?" Gwen looked up and stared at Steven with a cold, hateful gaze. "What compensation can you possibly give me? Can you return Luke to me? Can you do that?"Steven took a step back when he saw the hatred in Gwen's eyes, and his heart throbbed painfully. He knew she was devastated and that she had been trying hard to suppress her emotions vehemently. However, her suppression and anger were what made him heartbroken. A woman her age should not have to live the life she did…"Answer me!" Gwen was about to lose her emotion when Steven did not reply. Her voice went off-pitch. "Tell me! How are you going to return a normal, healthy Luke to me?"She missed him so much. It only worsened as she stared at this man who was a spitting image of Luke yet portrayed a look and expression
"Still, Luke being dead is still better than what's happening now—being used by someone he didn't know."As Gwen submerged herself into the self-blaming process again, Luna furrowed her brow and sprung forward. She pulled Gwen to her back and looked at Steven coldly."Don't try to confuse the main point. Our main point is that all of you had hidden from Luke and turned him into you. If there was a choice, I believe Luke would rather die solely for Gwen, not…this. Your family deserted him like he was rubbish in the first place. When you were in a vegetative state, they lied to him and used Gwen as bait before finally turning his body into a vessel to hold your thoughts and memories."The harm that all of you cause to Luke is crueler than letting Luke die. Furthermore…"She took a deep breath and pointed at the helplessly weeping Gwen. "If you're just Luke's twin brother, she won't be so upset by just looking at you. However, the body of the love of her life is now turned into anothe
Steven quickly realized what he was doing; his words sounded a tad too intimate.He furrowed his brow and looked at Gwen. "I'm sorry. I didn't know why I said that—"Before he could finish, Gwen ran forward and wrapped her arms around Steven's waist tightly. She sprung so quickly that when she hugged him, his body swayed a little. He felt Gwen's warmth and softness the moment she threw herself toward him.She hugged his waist and buried her face into his abdomen as she feebly whimpered, "Luke, have you been pretending to be Steven? You're Luke, aren't you?"Her warm breath somehow seeped into the clothes and reached Steven's skin. The numbing, tingling sensation made Steven feel an emotion entirely foreign to him.He pursed his lips and felt how excited Gwen was and also her shivering. Suddenly, he did not want to tell her the truth anymore. He was afraid she would feel lost and fall into despair that she would be harsh with herself.He lowered his head and looked at Gwen's head
Steven unconsciously took a step back unconsciously as he hoarsely reasoned, "I didn't ask you to give it back to me."He knew Gwen's current heart was his, but it never unsettled him from the start. On the contrary, he felt guilty because he had stolen Luke's body, and he would feel better if Gwen treated the heart as compensation. He never thought…Gwen would want to return his heart instead."But I want to." Gwen curled her lips into a smile. "It disgusts me so badly every time I think the heart beating in my chest was yours."Yes, she was disgusted. If it was not because of this heart, Luke's body would never be stolen. She did not have to see the person she was most familiar with turn into this person. If it was not for her, Luke would still be alive. Thus, she felt disgusted with this current heart and herself.After she had sought revenge for Luke, she would give the heart back to Steven once and for all.She did not want to owe him anything. She would remove the heart away
The door swung open at the same time Luna put down her phone.A few bodyguards entered the room, and the leader shot Luna a respectful glance. "Yes, Ma'am."Then, he glanced coldly at Steven and said, "Let's go, Mr. Hughes."Steven furrowed his brow upon hearing this. "Is there no room for further discussion, Mrs. Lynch?"He knew how much his parents adored Denise. If he were to go home without her, they would grow concerned and would not cease to find her. This was why he had rushed over as soon as he received Joshua's call without a single regard for his injury.Despite this, he knew he could not simply agree to help Luna and Gwen plot against the Hughes and Miller families.He did not want to choose any of the options Luna gave him. He did not want to leave without Denise, but neither was he willing to betray his family."No," Luna said curtly as she handed Gwen a glass of water. "You've used up all your chances."She glanced at the guards and ordered, "Send Mr. Hughes out!"
Luna paused for a moment, then nodded. "Alright. Send me an email with the audio recordings, and I'll listen to them right now."She then hung up the phone. As she did this, Luna glanced out the window and realized that the sun had already set.She and Gwen had been sitting there for more than five hours."Did they find out anything through the recording device?" Gwen asked, frowning.Luna nodded. "When did you even place it on Steven, anyway?"Gwen sniffed, picked up a tissue from the table, and wiped her tear-stained face. "I planted it there when I was hugging him."Even though Gwen had temporarily lost all her rationality that moment, she still remembered her task, so she slipped the recording device into Steven's back pocket while embracing him.Even though she was unsure of Steven's habits, she still remembered that Luke never used to check his back pockets. Therefore, she gambled her chances and assumed that Steven was the same.It seemed that she had guessed correctly.