Thomas' appearance made Steven furrow his brow in annoyance. He stared coldly back at Thomas and said, "I'll never be able to fully understand the pain you've gone through, and I never once said that you should forgive Denise for her wrongdoings, but you're a man, Thomas, so do you honestly think it's appropriate for you to punish a woman this way?"There are plenty of ways to get revenge on a woman who crossed you, so why do you have to choose such an undignified way and force her to sell her own body and soul? Not only that, but you even said you'd send some people to help her if she couldn't accomplish her task by daylight. How the hell are you going to do that?"Thomas narrowed his eyes upon hearing this. "I don't think I have to explain anything more to you.""You—" Steven narrowed his eyes menacingly. "Do you think just because I've always been a mild-mannered person I wouldn't dare to lay a finger on you?"With that, he pulled his sleeves up and took a small step toward Thom
Steven furrowed his brow when he heard Gwen's voice.He turned around, and his entire body froze when he caught sight of Gwen.A split second later, he reached out and pulled Gwen into his arms as though there was no one else around there. "Yes, it's me."Tenderness twinkled in his eyes as he held the woman he loved in his arms. "My love."Tears spilled down Gwen's face when she heard this. She reached out to grab his sleeve, tears brimming in her eyes. "Is that really you, Luke?""Yes, it is." Luke furrowed his brow. "I don't know what happened…but it seems as though I had just burst out of a cocoon."Everyone's jaws dropped at this sight, including Thomas, who had been bracing himself for another slew of punches.Joshua furrowed his brow in confusion.Luna, on the other hand, widened her eyes in shock, then strode over to Joshua's side and gently tugged on his sleeve. She asked in a whisper, "What happened?"How could Steven suddenly turn into Luke without warning?Did the
Thomas scoffed when he heard this. "I thought that as a gang leader, you'd be cutthroat and merciless, but I'm surprised that you'd say something like this."He gave a stretch and added, "I never said I wouldn't show Denise mercy; she was the one who had agreed to my task on her own terms."Before you appeared, I had been talking to Joshua about what to do with Denise. Since she appeared genuine, I wouldn't be too harsh on her even if she failed to meet my task."Without the Hughes family protecting her, she'll be all alone, and even if she did cross me in the past, she wouldn't be much of a threat to Yannie and me in the future. Besides, she seemed to be really remorseful of her mistake, so I hadn't meant to challenge her even further, but…"He lifted his head to glance at the man standing before him. "I never thought Steven would be so angry over this that his split personality would be triggered, but I guess it's not exactly a bad thing."He glanced at Gwen as he said this. "Is
The entire hallway fell silent.Gwen nodded, his arms still around her waist in an embrace. "I know…"Don't worry; I'll take care of all this."After having gone through so much, she was no longer the naive girl she used to be.Even though there were times when she had the urge to take her own life and join Luke in heaven, the moment she witnessed Luke's personality splitting out of Steven…everything changed.The truth was, taking her own life would not be the release she wanted.The best choice she could make was to return to her home and live her life the way he would want her to.After all, she was aware that Luke's body was still alive, and his consciousness was still kept within, just that he was unable to access it.If Luke's memories and consciousness had not been removed somehow, that meant he had not died at all, even if Steven was the new owner of his body.Luke did not die; he was just learning to get along with his brother, albeit in a "hidden" state.Therefore, G
Joshua was silent for a moment.Even though he, too, did not want to hurt Luke's ego…"I guess you don't have to say anything anymore." Luke raised his hand to touch his forehead in a defeated manner. "I can't believe it—my reputation's all gone."To everyone else, Luke had always been the ruthless and invincible gangster, one whose dignity would never be challenged. Even his death was a chosen one—he willingly sacrificed himself for the woman he loved, as opposed to dying due to illness or combat.However, he never thought that after his death, his subordinates would eventually find out he had been tricked out of his life…The reputation he had so carefully built up over these years was destroyed.Luke was so humiliated that he could not help willing for the ground beneath him to open up and swallow him whole right that instant."Not only did they find out, but they were even determined to come over to Saigen City and take revenge on the Miller and Hughes families," Thomas coul
Gwen nodded and reached out to clasp his hand. She took a deep breath and asked, "When will you be leaving?"Luke shook his head. "I have no idea either."The truth was, when it came to his miraculous resurrection from death, he was just as clueless as the next person. Nonetheless, he was more than grateful to be given the chance to see Gwen once again, even if it was in the most bizarre of ways.He held her hand so tenderly as though he was holding the world's most precious treasure.Then, he turned to glance at Joshua. "I'll leave the rest to you."Joshua nodded. "Don't worry; I'll take care of everything."Finally, Luke shifted his gaze to Thomas. "I hope you'll send some of your people to help search for Denise too. After all, Steven doesn't have much help."Even though Steven's men were trying their best, Luke knew from experience that a mere few of them were not enough to find a woman hiding in the slums.Thomas was silent for a moment before finally nodding."However—"
It was clear what she thought of this.When he saw this, Luke was silent for a moment before finally sighing. "It's okay. If you don't think of him that way, none of us will force you into liking him."However…He would be truly, genuinely happy if Gwen were to fall for Steven and be with him.Luke had spent most of his life clawing his way up to the top of the food chain, and because of this, had failed to give Gwen what she truly deserved—a life of peace and tranquility.He of all people knew what Steven was capable of, which was why he was hoping Steven and Gwen would end up together.However, since Gwen was unwilling to, he would not force it upon her.Snow began to fall once more as the two of them made their way down the street. As the weather got colder and colder, people began to scatter and enter indoors.White snowflakes fell on Luke and Gwen's hair and clothes as they trudged through the streets hand-in-hand."I remember that quote that you read to me once; to watch
Steven's entire body lurched when he heard his phone ring. He quickly snatched his phone up and silenced it before checking the caller ID.It was Denise.His face broke out in a delighted smile as he picked up the call.However, he did not want to wake Gwen at all, so he lowered his voice to barely above a whisper, "Denise, where are you?"Denise's voice sounded like she had been crying. "I'm fine, Steven."Despite this, Steven could tell that something was wrong. "Where are you now? I'll go find you immediately.""No, I'm fine." Denise shook her head. "I really am, Steven. I'll…I'll go home in a while to pack my things so…I can move out. Sean helped me find a place to stay."Steven furrowed his brow when he heard this. "Where on earth will you be staying?"Denise, please be reasonable. You go home right now, and I'll meet you there! I need to talk to you!"Denise was silent for a long time before finally sighing. "Alright. I'll ask Sean to send me home right now. I'll wait fo
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