Early in the morning, the atmosphere in the Lynch Group was serious and cold. All the staff members stood in a neat line as they respectfully waited for the arrival of their big boss.When the clock struck 8 a.m., a luxurious car stopped in front of the entrance. A man who looked like a butler rushed down from the passenger seat and opened the back door.With a cold expression, Joshua lifted his long legs wrapped in black trousers out the door and put his feet on the ground to get out of the car. He was apathetic and arrogant, and his aura was so domineering that everyone in his vicinity could barely breathe.The man looked forward and strode up the steps.“Daddy—!” A cute, childish voice abruptly broke through the heavy atmosphere, and everyone hurriedly raised their gaze to look in the direction where the voice came from.A little girl that seemed to appear out of nowhere climbed up the stairs clumsily. She wore a pink, princess-style dress. Even though her face could not be mad
“Yes, Blue Bay Villa. It belongs to Mr. Lynch.”The man’s voice on the other end of the phone sounded excited. “The Little Princess is in desperate need of someone to help her with her bath, and she chose you out of a few hundred applicants. Come quickly!”With that, the man hung up the phone. Luna frowned as she raised her head and looked at Neil before her. “This is the job you found me?”The boy nodded as he went toward her and held her hand. “Mommy, I know you’re back for a reason. It’d be easier for you to approach Joshua Lynch in his home compared to his office, don’t you think so?”Luna sighed and just knew she could not hide anything from the smart tad. She knelt. “You’re right, but...”“Mommy, don’t worry!” Neil looked at her with his bright eyes. “The Little Princess is easy to deal with!”Luna smiled helplessly, washed her face, and tidied herself up a bit.“Oh, where’s Nellie?” she asked as she put on her shoes.Nellie would dart out of her bedroom to meet her whe
Joshua frowned and sent Nellie outside. “Lucas, bring her to get some dessert.”Once the door was closed, he entered the bathroom.Even though he said Nellie could choose her own servant, she was still a child—her ability to judge people was not as sharp as adults. The worried Joshua purposely came home to have a look.In the bathroom, Luna tidied up the washbasin and turned around, only to notice that there were only white towels on the rack. She turned and opened the cupboard to find a pink towel and hung it on the rack.Nellie liked pink.The bathroom was filled with steam and fog, and her slim figure fleeted around the bathroom familiarly as she busied herself.Her figure and her movements made Joshua feel like he was dreaming.“Lulu…” he uttered the two-syllable name involuntarily, and Luna stiffened immediately.After a moment, she turned around and looked at Joshua with a smile on her face. “Hello, Mr. Lynch.”The woman’s unfamiliar features and voice brought his mind b
In the rented apartment.Luna leaned back on the sofa with a cold smile on her face as she looked at the man who busied himself in the kitchen. Back then when they were together, whenever Joshua said he was hungry, she would get up to cook for him no matter the time, even if it was at two o’clock in the middle of the night.He never cooked before. He never even walked into the kitchen, yet all of a sudden, he was cooking very seriously, all for Nellie whom he had met less than a day ago.She closed her eyes.It seemed that he could cook all along, yet it was because she was not worth the effort to him that he did not. Thankfully, his attitude toward Nellie was pretty good.He was not as cold-blooded and ruthless as he was to her back then, at least.…Blue Bay Villa.As she sat on the children’s chair, Nellie eyed the sorry-looking dishes in front of her and silently dragged the cookies Luna made in front of her. “I’m not very hungry anymore, Daddy, so I’ll just eat this.”
Luna’s lips twisted into a disbelieving frown. “Mr. Lynch, are you playing a joke on me? A woman like me, who behaved suspiciously toward you, that even my name is ripped off of your ex-wife, are you sure you want to hire me?”Joshua knew that Luna was mocking his attitude toward her previously.The man narrowed his eyes slightly.If it was not for the fact that Nellie had just reunited with him and he did not understand the child’s temper, he would not put his pride down and hire this dubious woman.He had read up on her on his way to her apartment.As a woman who just returned from abroad, she had no monetary issues, yet the first job she applied for after returning was for a position as a servant at Blue Bay Villa?If not him and not the Lynch Group, what was her target?“Wow.”Just as the two of them were locked in a stalemate in the doorway, one could hear exclamations of surprise from her neighbors from the corridor. “That’s... Mr. Lynch, right?”Joshua was a successful
“Look after Nellie, I’ll come home immediately.”Joshua hung up the phone and stood up to leave.“Wait, wait!”Hearing him mention Nellie, Luna hurriedly stood up. “What happened to Nellie?”His hand that held the door handle trembled slightly. He turned his head and studied Luna’s face coldly.Facing his suspicious eyes, Luna sucked in a deep breath. “I’m Nellie’s personal servant; caring for her is what I should do.”The man opened the door and strode into the hallway. “Let’s go.”On the way to Blue Bay Villa, Luna tried to ask him about Nellie’s situation. He glanced at her coldly and threw the contract at her, “You’re not her personal servant yet.”Luna pursed her lips, signed the contract, and handed it to him. “Can you now tell me what happened to Nellie, Mr. Lynch?”Joshua frowned slightly. “Aura came to look for Nellie.”Luna felt like her heart fell into a deep chasm just by listening to him. Aura went to look for Nellie!Why?Nellie was the smallest amongst he
“She hit her.”Aura pouted slightly and continued, “The moment she entered the room, she accused Nellie of offending me before she slapped her. I couldn’t stop her in time.”She even faked a distressed expression as she knelt and reached out to touch Nellie’s face. “It must’ve hurt so much, huh?”Nellie glared at her, eyes full of hostility, as she slapped her hand away and wriggled out of Joshua’s lap. She ran toward Luna and interlaced her fingers with hers. “You…are you okay?”Luna straightened her back, though the pain from the kick still lingered. “I’m fine.”Aura poured all her strength into the kick, and Luna still carried an old wound from the accident six years ago. The kick almost rendered her unable to stand.Nellie knew this all too well. She tugged at Luna’s finger anxiously and settled her down on a corner of the sofa. “Does it hurt?”The little girl’s concerned voice and attitude made Joshua furrow his brow slightly. “Aura, you said she hit Nellie?”Aura’s hand
“Does it still hurt?”In the small bedroom upstairs, Luna knelt in front of Nellie as she carefully applied ointment on the little girl’s face with a cotton swab.“It hurts!” Nellie looked at Luna, teary-eyed. “Mommy, it hurts.”“Shush.” Luna frowned and raised a finger, placing it to her lips. “Be careful what you say. I’m your servant, so call me Auntie.”“Oh.”Nellie wiped her tears as her pair of big, dewy eyes were filled with distress. “Auntie, this is the first time someone beat me like this since I was born.” Her small body trembled from her sobs.Luna’s heart clenched in pain as the tip of her nose turned pink.It was all her fault.She should not have left Nellie in this villa alone to make Joshua less suspicious of her.Inhaling deeply, she held Nellie’s hand, her eyes full of self-blame. “It’s not your fault; it’s all because of that bad woman.”Nellie pursed her lips. “I hate her to death.”“You’re not allowed to talk like this in the future.” Lips tucked togeth
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