"I don't need any special treatment." John grinned at Tara. "All I want is the opportunity to participate."Tara furrowed her brow slightly at this but said nothing. Finally, she turned and left the room.To her surprise, she ran right into Luna, who had just gotten off the elevator.Luna, too, was just as startled to see her here.Surely Tara, who was obsessed with Joshua, would be at Moore Group with Joshua at this moment, getting some quality time with her favorite 'cousin'. Why was she at the hospital, then?"Hello, Luna." Tara smiled sheepishly when she saw Luna.Luna frowned and shot her a cold glance. "What are you doing here?"Was Tara here to see Gwen? That did not make sense; she and Gwen did not know each other at all. Why would she visit her?Tara paused, but before she could come up with an excuse, Robyn's voice rang out behind her. "Miss Moore!"Robyn sprinted toward them and handed the card to Tara, panting. "Miss Moore, my brother doesn't want to accept this gi
"Um…"Before Tara could respond, however, Robyn piped in. "Didn't I tell you my brother suffered a gunshot wound? Well, that's because he was protecting an old man last night."They both got kidnapped, and the man was about to be killed by the kidnapper. If my brother hadn't leaped out and saved the man just in time, he would've been dead by now."Miss Moore here is a relative of the man and came to thank us."With that, she brandished the card in front of Luna and added, "She wanted to reward us in return for my brother's kindness. We desperately need the money, but my brother insisted we not accept it. He didn't want to feel like his kindness was taken as an act of ulterior motives."Luna froze when she heard this. She furrowed her brow, glancing at Tara. "That 'relative' of yours is Gwen's father, isn't he?"Luna was well aware of what happened the night before. Since Joshua's men had rescued Andy the night before and Robyn's brother had gotten shot on the same day, it did not
Luna froze in shock for a long time.Finally, she regained her composure and grabbed Robyn's arm excitedly. "Are you saying that your brother was the one who saved the man everyone had been searching the entire city for?"Robyn did not expect this reaction from Luna at all. She took a small step backward in fear and nodded. "Yes… Yes."Why was Luna so excited to hear this?She furrowed her brow and asked, "Miss, do you…know my brother? Or are you somehow related to the old man from last night?"Luna was just about to say yes to both questions when Tara piped in. "Of course she's related to the old man. She's my cousin-in-law, which makes her a relative of the old man your brother saved. She's just excited to meet the man who saved his life."With that, she glanced at Luna. "Isn't that right, Luna?"Luna froze for a moment, then nodded. "Yes, I'm just happy he's safe and sound now."With that, she turned to stare at Robyn once more. "How's your brother doing now?""He's fine."
Luna raised her brows at Tara questioningly. "Are you saying you've known about Anne and John since six months ago?"Tara was silent for a moment before finally nodding. "Yes."She exhaled and stared solemnly at Luna. "In the past, all I had ever heard about you was that you married my long-lost cousin and were blessed with triplets. I also heard that at one point, you were close with Christian, but I didn't have any more information apart from this. One day, my aunt confided in me that you, my long-lost cousin-in-law, were none other than Moon, my favorite jewelry designer."Ever since this discovery, I started paying more attention to you and kept tabs on any news regarding you. With this, I was no stranger to your murder and trial, so I knew of Anne and John's existence."Luna's eyes widened in shock.She could not believe that Tara was secretly one of her fans, so much so that she would keep her eye out for any news of Luna even though they lived in different cities.However…
Luna peeked through the crack in the door.John, dressed in a hospital gown, sat up in his bed and ate while speaking to Robyn. "Did Miss Moore really say that?"Robyn nodded. "I also bumped into the woman who bought you this lunch at the elevators just now. You won't believe this, but she's related to Miss Moore! They're cousins by marriage!"John's hand froze mid-air, clearly surprised. He chuckled and asked, "Really? What a coincidence.""You're right! The world is such a small place!" Robyn nodded. "Not only that, but since they're cousins by marriage, she's also related to the man you saved last night. I think his name is…"Luna's heart leaped to her throat when she heard this.She had committed a foolish mistake. She would have never mentioned Gwen's name if only she had known John was the man who had rescued Gwen's father!They were so close to blowing their cover!At the thought of this, she could not help glancing at Tara with a frown.Tara was also at fault. If she h
Luna furrowed her brow when she heard this.She would have to keep Gwen out of sight when John visited them. At the same time, she had to get someone else to impersonate this so-called 'Andie Larson'.At the thought of this, Luna sighed and glanced meaningfully at Tara.Tara nodded in understanding, then turned and walked back toward the elevator with Luna.As the doors shut, Tara sighed and said in a rather exhausted tone, "Thank God Robyn's memory failed her. Otherwise, all our plans would be ruined."Luna nodded. Then, she glanced at Tara and asked, "By the way, how did John even end up with Gwen's father in the first place?"Andy had been brought to Sharnwick City by Tyson's men, who kidnapped him. How did John end up kept in the same room as Andy and even took a bullet for him?Did John also get kidnapped by the same people somehow? If so, why did they do this?At the mention of this, Tara sighed and began to explain, "Well, here's what happened. Last night, we discovered
"Yes, there is."Tara remained silent for a while, but eventually decided she shouldn't keep it from John. "The girl we just bumped into, Robyn... she was adopted by John's parents in the past."Luna frowned and paused for a moment before nodding. "I know."When Anne married, she told her about John's family. During his childhood, John's elderly parents adopted a little girl. Her biological family, however, took her away when she was in her teens, and she never returned. Even after John's elderly parents died, this daughter never returned.Anne had previously lamented that John's parents were good people who had adopted an ungrateful daughter. She ignored her adoptive parents as soon as she returned to her wealthy family."I've investigated the information about Robyn from when she was with John's family," Tara sighed. "Robyn comes from a prominent family in Sharnwick City; she is the Hughes family's daughter.""When she was young, an accident switched her with the nanny's daught
"Alright, I'll ask my assistant to send the information to you now."After thinking for a while, Tara agreed to share the information with Luna. She was aware of how close Luna and Anne were when Anne was still alive and she understood that Luna was trying to make up to John and his daughter.However…After a slight pause, she looked at Luna, "I heard John and Robyn are living together and Robyn is helping John to take care of his daughter now. Legally speaking, Robyn is John's sister but she's not his biological sister…"While she was talking, she closely observed Luna's expression."As Anne's best friend, are you sure you are okay with it?"Honestly speaking, she was not trying to create any trouble intentionally. She was just afraid that all Luna cared about was making up to John and did not consider what could happen when a non-biological brother and sister lived together.Giving Luna Robyn's information could actually harm Robyn, instead of helping her. After all, Luna was
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