However, as much as she dreaded it, Ben's key fit perfectly into the padlock, and the doorknob turned. Ben could feel the resistance as soon as he pushed the door. He burst into a sinister laugh. "I knew it—you've been hiding in here all along, Gwen!" Gwen placed her entire weight against the door, trying to stop Ben from coming in, but it was no use. The discrepancy between a man's and a woman's strength was already striking enough, not to mention the fact that Gwen was petite, whereas Ben was tall and muscular. She was no match for him at all! Although Ben did not manage to open the door initially, bit by bit, he was still able to inch it slowly open. "Gwen!" finally, he caught sight of Gwen's face from the crack in the door. A glimmer of malice flashed through his eyes as his lips split open in a gleeful grin. "I knew I'd find you! Have you been hiding here all along? Have you been eavesdropping on me the last time I was here with that woman? "Is it exciting to eaves
Gwen lowered the broom and slumped against the wall behind her, still clutching the handle tightly. After a few moments of catching her breath, she finally glanced at the man before her. Ben was sprawled across the ground in a grotesque position, bleeding from a wound in his head. She could not tell whether he was dead or just rendered unconscious. This sight shocked Gwen greatly, and she instinctively took a small step back. She was so preoccupied with defending herself against Ben that she never once stopped to see what was happening. Now that he was unresponsive, she felt her chest tighten, and the broomstick clattered onto the ground. Did she perhaps beat him to death? At the thought of this, Gwen kneeled and reached out to feel for Ben's breathing. As much as she wanted to escape from him, she never once intended to kill him! However, the moment she reached out her fingers, Ben leaped up from the ground, grabbed hold of her arm, and tackled her to the ground. By
"Gwen!" Luna's worried voice rang out through the empty house. "Are you okay?" She and Joshua arrived just in time to hear Gwen's scream, and she immediately stormed into the house without even waiting for the rest to follow. Gwen felt every last fiber of her being relaxed when she heard Luna's voice. As her vision started to blur, she could only vaguely make out the sight of Joshua and Luna sprinting toward her. "Luna!" Finally, she closed her eyes and passed out. When she finally came to, Ben was already tied up and kneeling before her. "Gwennie." Luna brought her a glass of water when she noticed Gwen waking up, "are you okay?" The cool water soothed her hoarse, raspy throat greatly. Gwen closed her eyes and let out a sigh of relief, then turned to glance at Luna. "You came just in time." "We were still too late," Luna sighed and handed the empty glass to Joshua, who placed it on the table next to him, "if we arrived sooner, you wouldn't have gotten injured." With th
"So what if I am?" Ben sneered at Luna and replied coldly, "What does being a kind person get you? Look what Luke had to go through for this bitch? "If I didn't break up with her, she would've forced me to give her my heart too! I'll never be as stupid as Luke was. He's the leader of notorious gangs in two cities, for God's sake! How can he be so stupid as to sacrifice his life for a woman? What a joke!" With that, he glanced at a pale-faced Gwen and said, "Luna, you said you'd be able to protect her forever, but are you sure you can do that? Not even Luke could pull that off! "You and Joshua are going to go back to your lives eventually, and you can't possibly spend the rest of eternity trying to protect her! The only solution is for Luke to come back to life and revive his old gang so that they can bring down Tyson, but we all know that's impossible! As long as Tyson and Winson are around, they won't rest until they get their hands on Gwen!" Joshua curled his lips into a smir
Gwen furrowed her brows and wanted to ask further, but Luna stopped her. She winked at Gwen and said, "Ignore him. He's always trying to appear mysterious."With that, she tugged Gwen toward her and placed her head on her shoulder. "Are you tired? You want to take a nap?"Gwen nodded and obediently leaned her head against Luna's shoulder. She was so exhausted from her physical fight against Ben just now that it did not take her long to drift off to sleep. However, in her sleep, she still managed to overhear some snippets of Luna and Joshua's conversation."You can't get in touch with them?""That's right. They've lost all contact with the outside world. Wherever they've stowed Andy away is surely secretive and difficult to locate.""Does that mean all we can do is wait for them to get in touch with us?""Theoretically that's correct, but don't worry. Once we arrive there, Tara will arrange for the rest of the Moore family to help, and I'm sure we can track them down in no time.
Luna furrowed her brows when she heard this and nodded, albeit rather displeased. "Yes, this is she." "Your name is Gwen, right?" Tara smiled and extended her hand toward Gwen. "Nice to meet you. My name is Tara Moore, and I'm Joshua's cousin. "However, he and I aren't truly related by blood. I was adopted." For some reason, Gwen could not help finding Tara's smile fake and deceiving. She did not understand why Tara had to deliberately mention the fact that she and Joshua were not actual blood relatives. It was as though she was not saying this as a fact but as a means of bragging. What was there to brag about? Gwen could not wrap her head around this. however, despite her confusion, she still smiled and shook Tara's hand. "Pleasure to meet you, Tara. I'm Luna's friend, Gwen Larson." "I know your name's Gwen Larson." Tara grinned and swept her gaze over Luna's entire body. "You're Luna's best friend, so I've heard everything about you!" "I didn't realize I'm this famous
Tara's smile froze on her face. She glanced sheepishly at Joshua, then let out an awkward cough. "Well, I'm not hungry at all. I just wanted to know if you guys were. Well, if none of us want to eat, we don't have to go anywhere. Shall I send you all to the hotel now?" "There's no need for that." Gwen chuckled as she glanced at Tara. "We can find our way. Feel free to attend to your own duties, Ms. Moore." Luna nodded in agreement, then turned to smile at Joshua. "Aren't you here to help Tara out with her business? The fact that she came as soon as we landed must mean there's something urgent that requires your help. why don't you follow her back to the office while Gwen and I go to the hotel ourselves?" Tara's entire face lit up when she heard this. "That's a great idea!" With that, she could not help adding, "You're such an open-minded person, Luna! If this had happened to someone else, she would misinterpret my intentions as trying to get close to her husband and would refus
The crocodile tears brimming in Tara's eyes were like cherries on top of her perfectly crafted lie. Gwen could not help frowning in disapproval when she heard this. Joshua was no doubt a handsome man, and as Luna's friend, she had witnessed throngs of women practically throwing themselves at Joshua over the years. That being said, however, Tara was arguably one of the most cunning and crafty women she had ever met. Gwen instinctively glanced at Joshua, then at Luna. To her surprise, Luna was also staring at Joshua with a funny expression. Gwen paused momentarily, then inched closer to Luna and whispered in her ear, "This woman is clearly trying to steal your husband. Why are you so calm?" Luna shrugged, smiling. "Well, if he falls right into her trap so easily, perhaps I'll be better off without him. "Since Joshua promised me he'd be able to take care of all this, I shall let him do his work. If he truly managed to stick to his word and resolve everything, we will still b
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