“You’ll be reunited with Uncle Andy.”Hailey then kept her phone and left. The moment she left, Gwen received a call from Alice.“Gwennie...” Alice’s voice on the other end of the call sounded like she was crying. “Thank you so much for helping me! You’re my BFF!”Gwen gnawed more on her lip. “Don’t mention it…”Alice chatted with Gwen excitedly for a while before she ended the call.“Gwennie.”Ben, who was lying on the bed, looked at Gwen helplessly. “Are you really…planning to defame Luna in the press conference tomorrow morning?”Gwen closed her eyes. “I have no choice.”Even if Luna was her best friend in high school, they still did not have enough power to go against them.Alice had the support of Hailey, while Hailey had the support of the Walter family, who was powerful enough to control the entire Sea City.She could not be offended.…Luna laid on the sofa and fell asleep unknowingly.After a long while, her phone rang.It was a call from Theo.“Luna, where are
Luna was too lazy to continue the nonsense with Alice.She looked at the woman who blatantly tried to provoke her. “If that’s the case, Mrs. Lynch, you’ll have to keep a watchful eye on him. Otherwise…”Luna smiled as she walked up to Alice to whisper into her ear, “Otherwise, if another woman comes along and takes Mr. Lynch, all your lies will be in vain.”Luna turned and left, leaving Alice with shock and rage in her eyes. The latter was rooted where she stood and watched as Luna left. Her fists were clenched tightly.Luna grew even more arrogant! …Down at the lobby, Luna sat on the sofa in her trench coat and waited for Theo to arrive.She was a little sleepy, so she closed her eyes to rest a little on the sofa.“Where did our boss go today?”“I don’t know. No matter how we contacted him, his assistant was the one that replied, but we can’t take the assistant’s word as instructions from the boss. How annoying!”“Won’t Boss always come around during noon to make his rou
As they got into her room, Theo washed the fruits and put them in front of Luna.“What do you plan to do? Just now, during the phone call, Ben was insistent. He said that they were just trying to survive. They’re not going to cancel the press conference tomorrow, and Gwen is going according to plan and telling your story.”Luna turned to look at Theo and smiled. “Are you trying to say that I need to have a follow-up explanation, too?”Theo paused for a while before he nodded.“But, I don’t want to.”Luna smiled and hugged her knees. She looked into the distance. “Theo, do me a favor.”…The next day.Gwen’s press conference went on as planned in the small auditorium near Ocean Ray High School. The small auditorium was filled to the brim with people.Reporters lamented the small venue while they constantly took photos of Gwen on stage.Gwen, sitting on stage, leaned back against the chair and looked ahead, not knowing what she was looking at.Luna blended into the crowd and
Theo did not find Andy.It was most likely that the Walter family predicted that someone would try to get Andy Larson out, so they moved him somewhere else beforehand.At that moment, no matter what they did, they were too late.Luna looked up at Gwen on stage, face devoid of emotions. Luna’s eyes were filled with despair.She had no right and was in no position to blame Gwen.After all, to Gwen, she was just a high school best friend that she had not met for many years.However, the person that the Walter family was holding hostage was her father.Everyone was selfish, just like Luna. Everything she did was just to cure Nigel’s sickness.While Luna was in a daze, Gwen began, “I’ve always been unhappy with Luna.”Gwen gazed at the reporters’ camera coldly, and her tone matched the energy in her eyes.“When she was in Banyan City, there were already many news and rumors of her seducing Joshua Lynch. Joshua is the husband of my high school desk partner, Alice Gibson, so I had
Gwen smiled at the reporters’ camera. “This is the truth.”Some reporters were unconvinced. “But, Ms. Gwen, the photos you released previously were clearly trying to create a story. You also told everyone that Luna and Joshua are having an affair. How do you explain this?”Gwen took a deep breath and chuckled, “I can only say that I was being threatened by someone. As for who, I will reveal it later. I can’t tell everyone the truth behind this incident yet, because there are things I still have to make sure of.”Then, Gwen smiled and stood up. She bowed at the camera. “I apologize for what I said yesterday. I also apologize to my friend, Luna. From the beginning, I have been going up against her. I have always been targeting her, but not only did she not mind, she even willingly forgave me and became friends with me. I’m really happy.”Gwen, on stage, smiled as bright as the coming-of-age ceremony back then.“The reason I chose this venue for the press conference was because this
Alice’s expression immediately turned ugly.She furrowed her brows and looked at the female reporter with unfriendly eyes. “I have never gotten anyone to force Luna to drink. Where did you hear it from?”Facing her unfriendly gaze and tone, the female reporter chuckled lightly, “You’re saying that no such thing happened?”Then, the reporter smiled. “But the other witnesses there said otherwise.”Alice squinted her eyes.Clearly, the reporter came prepared.Thus, Alice changed her tactics. “Of course, it happened.”She affectionately took Luna’s hand and placed it in her palm. “Luna and I are good friends, so I was deliberately playing a joke on her. She was taken away by someone while intoxicated last night. My husband even sent someone to look for her.”Luna was extremely uncomfortable with the warmth of Alice’s hand.She furrowed her brows and tried to retract her hands, but could not do so.The female reporter faraway furrowed her brows. She wanted to say something else, b
He sent her a message.[The Walters transferred Andy this morning. While they were transferring him, Lucas and I had been following them. Andy is fine. I’ll handle the rest. This thing ends here.]Luna looked at her phone and stared at the last sentence, [This thing ends here].Gwen’s father was imprisoned and almost could not escape. Gwen almost killed her own father. She herself also almost got destroyed.All that was in exchange for Joshua’s casual message brushing it off, saying, [This all ends here].Luna remained in the same spot. She saw Alice running toward him and hugging his arm.She felt as if someone was stabbing her heart. Over and over again.He was always so indulgent and protective of Alice.Who the hell was she? She was nothing. Not back then, not at that moment. She did not dare think that if she returned back to him as Luna Gibson, just like Alice, would he treat her well? She guessed that it was unlikely.He could like many women. He could even like t
Lucas, on the other end of the call, was silent for a while.“Luna, please don’t direct your emotions at Mr. Lynch. He took a group of people to rescue Andy Larson this morning. If it were not for him, the things your friend said during the press conference were more than enough for her to not see her father forever. Mr. Lynch had no choice either. After all, the Walters and Lynches have a relationship. Some things can’t be done to the extreme.”Then, Lucas sighed. “You have to come tonight, if not, you will regret it.”Luna furrowed her brows. She wanted to say something else but Lucas had already hung up.“Are you going tonight?” When she hung up, Gwen cautiously asked Luna.Luna closed her eyes and let out a long sigh, “Yes.”If she were to not go, how would she know how far Joshua could go? Just because the Lynches and Walters had a relationship, so Hailey could do all these to harm her and Joshua could just write it off casually? …In the evening.Luna came to the Walt
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