Tara widened her eyes in shock, and tears began to slide down her cheeks. "Joshua, I… That's not what I intended to do at all… I…" "That's enough now." Luna, who had been watching in silence all this while, finally piped up. "Ms. Moore, I think you should go back now. We'll have lunch or dinner with you someday after we've had some rest. "However, I want you to take Joshua's advice seriously. Your work should always be your first priority." Tara, who had been upset about Joshua's stern scolding up until now, could not help snickering when she heard this. "I know! Thanks for trying to teach me a lesson, Luna." With that, she could not help adding rather snarkily, "However, I do hope that you can remain understanding when I ask Joshua for help in the future, Luna. I hope that our relationship won't be tainted by your jealousy." Luna's smile was gentle and reassuring when she replied, "Why would I get jealous if you're meeting over work? All I should be worried about are people
They soon arrived at the hotel Lucas had booked for them. Luna and Gwen hopped out of the car as soon as it screeched to a halt. Joshua let out a weak chuckle as he followed the two chattering women into the hotel, dragging their suitcases behind him. Even after settling in, Luna and Gwen were still chattering on and on. They had spent so much time apart that they missed each other dearly. Although they had kept in touch consistently via the phone, nothing beat seeing each other in real life. This was the truth about relationships between girl best friends; they could talk about everything and anything they set their mind to. After a long conversation, Joshua finally found an excuse to drag Luna out of Gwen's room by pretending that he wanted to talk to her about their plans in Sharnwick City. Gwen did not know Luna was here to see John, and Luna did not intend to tell her either. After Luna left, Gwen let out a sigh of relief and texted Stefan. [Hey Stefan, have you gu
Stefan narrowed his eyes but kept quiet. Kurt, on the other hand, began to panic. He gulped nervously and turned to stare at Stefan questioningly.This was Diablo's first time seeing them, and there was no point lying to them.Could he be telling the truth?Was Gwen captured by Tyson's men? What were they going to do?Since Diablo had confiscated their phones, they had no way of confirming Gwen's safety, nor could they get in touch with Joshua to ask for his help finding Gwen. What would they do if Gwen truly got caught?Although Stefan and Kurt were strong, steadfast men, it was hard enough for them to be able to rescue Andy from the other guards, much less another person.Kurt could not even begin to imagine what they would do to get out of this predicament."Why are you so quiet all of a sudden?" Diablo asked, frowning when he noticed how silent they were.Kurt paused for a moment and was about to answer when Stefan replied, "We're just surprised, that's all. We didn't expec
Both Kurt and Stefan froze when they heard this.They exchanged glances, both unable to believe their ears.After a brief pause, Stefan was the first to regain his composure. He smirked and asked, "How interesting. I didn't know that woman had an ex-husband.""That's not the worst part!" Diablo was eager to share more. "That woman is a slut! At one point, she was raped by multiple people at once…"With that, Diablo leered and added, "That's the reason her husband divorced her; he thought she was too impure for him after that incident."I don't even know what's gotten into Luke's head. I can't believe how stupid he was to fall for a slut like her and even sacrificed himself for her sake… What a pity."You know, I wouldn't feel so bad for him if that woman decided to turn over a new leaf after his death, but this morning, when Boss sent his men over, she was in the middle of doing unspeakable things with her ex-husband in their old home…"As he said this, Diablo sighed. "I can't b
Diablo was so unhinged by this that he did not even dare to pant.He knew Stefan meant business; the tip of the cold blade against his neck proved it. Stefan could easily slit his throat with one wrong word!At the thought of this, Diablo bit his lip and met Stefan's gaze. "Hey, pal, let's talk this over like civilized men…""Where's Gwen?" Stefan asked coldly, narrowing his eyes."I…I don't know!" At this point, Diablo was so scared that he felt he could burst into tears. "All I know is that she's being brought to Sharnwick City today… Judging from the time, I'm guessing they must be arriving now… As for the rest…I have no idea what's going to happen to her. Boss told me that they'd contact me tomorrow…""Is that true?" Suspicions, Stefan raised his eyebrows.Diablo felt that he was going to pee himself soon. "I'm telling the truth, bro! You can stab me all you want, but I swear I'm telling the truth!"Seeing that he was adamant, Stefan furrowed his brow and moved his knife awa
Kurt shook his head and chuckled as he pulled his sleeves up. "I'm just a little excited. It's been a while since I last saw you in action."With that, he glanced out the window, then down at the GPS on his phone. "We must be arriving soon, aren't we?"Stefan nodded, then instructed Kurt to park the car they had stolen from Diablo at the side of the street before trudging into the hotel. The hotel was, in fact, just a disguised brothel.The moment they stepped out of the car, they could hear the chilling screams of a woman wailing in agony. At that moment, Stefan could feel his heart leap into his throat.Without another moment's hesitation, he sprinted toward the room where the sounds were coming from.A tall, burly man stood guard at the door. When he spotted Stefan and Kurt, he immediately stopped them. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"Stefan glanced at the man with a frown, then without hesitation, cocked his fist and punched him.The man did not see this comin
"No…"Although the woman was dazed and groggy, she could make out what was happening and knew someone had come to save her.She lifted her head to glance at the man who rescued her.She thought it would be Ben, or some other man she had slept with recently.The moment Stefan stormed in, she decided to turn over a new leaf and was even willing to marry the man who saved her.But…When she lifted her head to glance at him, all she saw was a man wearing a mask. The only thing she could make out was his sharp, chiseled jawline.Although she could not see what he truly looked like, she could tell that he was a handsome man, even with his mask on.Not only was he handsome, but he was courageous and single-handedly rescued her from the despicable men who captured her."Who are you?" Stefan furrowed his brows, his eyes etched with shock. "Where's Gwen?"The woman's heart sank at this.That explained why he was here.He was here for Gwen!"She's Gwen…" whimpered one of the men cowe
Stefan furrowed his brow upon hearing this.A split second later, he covered the woman's naked body with the sheets and turned to glance at Kurt. "Take her away."Kurt nodded, then picked the woman up with the sheets wrapped around her."I'm sorry, but we can't allow you to take her away." A few men finally plucked up the courage to stand up to Stefan. "We're under orders to protect her, and if we don't keep a good eye on her and that old geezer, Tyson will kill us!"The rest of the men snapped to their senses when they heard this.Even if this woman was not Gwen, Tyson ordered them to escort her to her prison cell where she would be kept with Andy. If they allowed her to be taken away, Tyson would be furious!At the thought of this, the men began surrounding Stefan and Kurt.Kurt furrowed his brow and whispered, "Boss…"He knew that although he and Stefan possessed weapons, they were still no match for a room full of men. They were clearly overpowered, and no amount of weapons
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