By the time Luna finally woke up, it was already evening.She could smell the faint, distinctive scent that belonged to Joshua and hear the click-clack of someone’s fingers on the keyboard.Luna frowned and opened her eyes with some difficulty. The first thing she saw was Joshua’s sharp and chiseled side profile. He was doing some work in the car, his laptop propped up in front of him. He had a pair of defined eyebrows, long lashes, and perfectly shaped lips. Luna had to admit that even though Joshua was a scumbag, he was certainly a handsome one. No wonder Alice was willing to give up her old identity and pretend to be Luna Gibson just to gain his love and affection.Luna stared blankly at Joshua, deep in thought, when he suddenly smirked. “What are you looking at?”His low voice made Luna jolt in shock. When she finally came to, Joshua had already turned his head around and was looking at her. “Did you get enough sleep?”Luna froze for a moment, then nodded. “Yes, I did.”
Luna opened the door. When she turned around and noticed that Joshua was staring blankly at her, she frowned. “Come in.”Joshua fixated his steely gaze on her. “Last night…”“Stop,” Luna interrupted him. “Joshua, I don’t care whether or not you remember what happened last night, but it doesn’t matter anymore. I don’t feel like talking about this with you any further.” With that, she sat down on the sofa and picked up her laptop. “I have something else to discuss with you.”Joshua narrowed his eyes, entered the apartment, and closed the door behind him.“I’m assuming these are your men, right?” Luna pulled up all the information that Malcolm had sent her and showed the photos to Joshua. Joshua’s brows furrowed. “Yes, you’re right.”However, Joshua had not seen these men in a while since Adrian had requested them to help him ever since he returned to Blue Bay Villa. Adrian’s reason was that he needed them to help him take care of some stuff. Since he was his father, Joshua did not
Joshua shifted into a more comfortable position and leaned against the sofa. “You went to all this trouble just to ask me for the children back?” he said lazily.“Don’t forget that even though Neil and Nellie call you Mommy, Alice and I are still their birth parents, after all.”The room fell silent.Finally, Luna let out a sigh and chuckled. “If even their birth parents don’t seem to care about them, why should we force the children to continue living with their parents?” Joshua raised his eyebrows, turned his head around, and fixated his deep, penetrating gaze on Luna. Then, just as Luna began to feel uneasy from his stare, Joshua replied, “I still care about Neil and Nellie. I never sent these men over to guard Aura.”“How do you explain the photos, then?” Luna clenched her teeth. She could feel her fury beginning to rise within her. He dared to shift the blame?Did Joshua genuinely think he could do whatever he wanted to the children since he was their birth father?“If you d
The entire atmosphere in the room was so awkward that it bordered on suffocating.Luna let out a sigh and glanced at Joshua. “I admit that I misunderstood you, but…” She lifted her head to look at him. “I don’t think it’s entirely my fault. After all, these men were once under you, weren’t they?”Joshua nodded. “Yes, that’s true, but that’s not what I’m talking about, Luna.” His gaze never wavered from her face. “You’re Neil and Nellie’s adoptive mother. I’m glad that you care so much about them, but you must remember that ultimately, they belong to Alice and me. Therefore, you have no right to say we don’t deserve to be parents.”Joshua then smirked and continued, “Take this misunderstanding, for example. I wasn’t the one who sent these men over to protect Aura, but even if I did, what gives you and Malcolm the right to target me on behalf of my children?”Luna froze at that. She felt as though every joint in her body stiffened, and her blood had turned into ice.Joshua’s words f
“Do you have any idea what they’ve been doing abroad?”Adrian frowned and picked up the photos from the table. He recognized the men in the pictures—they were the bodyguards that he had asked Joshua for. However…“I’m not sure.” Adrian put the photos down. “According to my understanding, since you’ve assigned these men over to me, I should have the final say over what I do with them.” He shifted into a more comfortable position, leaned back against his seat, and stared at Joshua coldly. “My friend needed some help, so I sent your men to help him. What’s the problem with that?”Joshua poured himself a glass of wine and gently swirled the glass. There was an air of aloofness and pomposity about him. “Which friend of yours? Dennis Walter?”Adrian glowered at him but did not respond.“It appears my guess is right.” Joshua sneered. “Let me ask you this, Master Lynch. Do you know why Dennis needed these men?”Adrian paused and lifted his head to stare at Joshua. Joshua gracefully tip
Joshua stopped in his tracks and chided, “Just because I’m sticking up for Luna, you think I’ve fallen for her?” He curled his lips into a contemptuous smirk and added, “How about you, Dad? You’re very protective of Hailey as well. Does that mean you’re in love with her?”Adrian grew furious the moment he heard Joshua’s words. He slammed his fists against the table and roared, “How dare you even say that, Joshua? I’ve been friends with Dennis for such a long time now. Hailey is like a daughter to me! Besides, she’s dead now—how dare you even say such disrespectful things?”Joshua chuckled. “No one is certain whether she’s truly dead or not, but…” He turned around and glanced at Adrian. “I learned this from you, Dad.”Adrian was so enraged that he began struggling to breathe. “You b*stard! How dare you even talk to your father like this?”“If I’m a b*stard, what are you, Master Lynch?” snapped Joshua before he turned and left the room, slamming the door behind him.Adrian flipped t
Neil and Nellie quieted down as soon as they heard Nigel’s words.Luna, too, let out a deep sigh. “I’ll try to think of something as well.” She then comforted the two children before she hung up, somewhat exhausted.Nellie was right. Even if Alice did not dare to treat them like how she did when she kidnapped them, she would still go out of her way to make their lives at Blue Bay Villa miserable.She would not dare do anything to them when Joshua was around, but what would happen if Joshua was away from home?Luna pondered over that for a while, then finally had no choice but to call Joshua.“Is there something wrong?” Joshua did not seem to be in a good mood. There was a hint of irritation in his tone when he picked up his phone.Luna frowned and tried to get straight to the point. “I remember you told me before that Mrs. Lynch has been learning jewelry design on her own, is that right?”Joshua leaned against the leather seat of his car and closed his eyes, trying to suppress h
The glimmer of hope in Luna’s eyes dimmed as she heard Joshua’s response. Her hand started to shake.Luna let out an exhale and tried to compose herself so as not to let Joshua hear how devastated she was. “Mr. Lynch, even if you think I’m just worrying too much, I still have my reasons for doing this.”“Since I’m willing to give Mrs. Lynch all the credit for my hard work, isn’t that a bonus for both of you? If that happens, she can work for Lynch Group without fearing anyone’s opinion…”Joshua leaned against his car seat and chuckled. “If I want to let my wife work for me, I wouldn’t even care what any of my employees think.”Luna’s hand stiffened. Joshua continued in a low voice, “She’s my wife; she can take over any job position as long as I see fit. She doesn’t need to take credit for your work to do so.”Luna felt as though something had hit her.He was right.As long as Joshua wanted to, he could offer Alice any position he wanted in the company. He would even let her be