Ralph got up and said confidently, “I think you won’t be able to find a better candidate than me.”He was not utterly confident, but he knew Heather could not find a better candidate for the task than him. Ralph also knew she would not have made such an offer if she had options. He now felt that 30% of the shares was insufficient.‘If Heather can make such an offer just like that, it means the secret handbook is worth much more. However, there’s no hurry in making a counteroffer. Once I get my hands on it, I’ll be in a good position to negotiate the price. I’ll get even with her for the injuries and humiliation she has given me today!’Ralph turned to leave but remembered something and looked over his shoulder at Heather. He looked her up and down and fixed his gaze on her cup-holding hand.Made uneasy by his stare, Heather grew slightly upset. “What is it now?”“Where’s the ring I gave you?” Although it was not that expensive, he made an effort to choose which one to buy. Seeing
“What’s the matter? Are you upset with me?” Heather asked.‘Hasn’t she repented after I gave her an earful yesterday? I’m all she has in this world. She should count herself lucky to be able to live as my cover. She would have been dead long ago if it weren't for me. Still, she has defied me for a lousy man. She must have lost her mind!’Hannah gave no answer or retort. As if she had not heard Heather, she remained quiet and still.The more she behaved like this, the angrier Heather became. ‘If she could pretend not to hear what I said, how can I use her as my substitute and trust her to do her job well in the future?’“Are you behaving like this to threaten me? You think I can’t live without you?” Heather approached Hannah and stood before her, casting an enveloping shadow over Hannah.Heather glared at her sister ragefully and suddenly grabbed Hannah by her collar, dragging her out of the room.Hannah struggled half-heartedly for a short while and gave up, knowing it was futile
Heather stood still for a moment without a word, probably shocked at what her sister had just said.‘She should have repented and asked for my forgiveness in tears, but she told me she wanted to be herself instead!’“Do you have any idea what you’re saying? Have you gone insane?” Heather said despite herself.“I’m not crazy. I know what I’m saying better than at any point in my life.” Hannah slowly got to her feet and realized she was slightly taller than Heather.Although the difference was slight, it showed they were not the same. ‘How can two different people become one?’“Heather, I obeyed you and did whatever you wanted me to all these years, but that’s it for me. Can’t I be myself? How can you enjoy your life while I can’t even be myself in public? Heather, I just want people to know that there’s someone named Hannah in the Riggs family and that we’re sisters!”She tried to hold Heather’s hand, but as she was about to touch Heather’s hand, Heather jerked away as if getting
It was unclear whether she was considered lucky after that, but after avoiding several crises, she appeared to be able to live normally at last. However, from that day on, she lost herself. She was no longer herself but rather the shadow of her elder sister, Heather. Heather would only appear if needed. Otherwise, she was nowhere to be found. She was content at the time because she could at least live in peace and stability. On the island, the scope of her activities was quite limited, so the effect of being restrained was not very big. She was never completely satisfied, and as she grew older and made contact with more people and places, the more she yearned for. She wanted to be able to dance on the street in skirts like other girls, to fall in love, and to eat cream and cakes without fear of getting fat, but in the end, she could not do any of those things. If Heather could not do any of those, then Hannah could not either. Hannah was not herself but rather j
It was rather a sudden change, so Heather asked suspiciously, "Really?" Taking a deep breath, Hannah stood in front of her, slightly bent. She lowered her head, which made her a bit shorter than Heather. "At first, I thought I was confused, but in reality, I was greedy and wanted to fall in love and get married. I forgot that you gave this all to me. Without you, I would not have lived in this world long. I overthink way too much," she said as she raised her hand and slapped herself hard. "I'm sorry, Heather. I shouldn't have said those things to you, and I shouldn't have made you angry." "It's my fault. I'll never see Ralph again, and I'll never ignore your words again. I still want to live. It's my honor to be able to help you. Can you forgive me?" With tears in her eyes, she looked at Heather pitifully. She was terrified that Heather wouldn't forgive her, and it showed in the panic and anxiety in her eyes. Seeing her like this, Heather was touched and believ
Children typically follow their mothers, as the saying goes. Alexander, for example, resembled his mother, which was why she did not like him very much. Over the years, she tried her best to plan more for her son, and with the support of the Riggs family in the future, she could feel much more at ease. She took a sip of tea and then closed her eyes with the intention of napping. She then heard footsteps, so she peeked over.She was terrified by what she saw. Ralph was covered in dust and blood as if he had been beaten to the ground by someone. He walked in embarrassedly. "Oh my goodness!" With an exclamation, Margaret stood so abruptly that the blood rushed to the top of her head. Her eyes darkened, and she almost fainted. "Ms. Margaret!" The servant next to her reached out to support her. Ralph also took two quick steps and rushed forward to support her, saying, "Mom, slow down!"Margaret took a deep breath and gave him a trembling look. She looked at him up clo
“I’m okay, Mom!"Margaret focused on Ralph, anxious to know what had happened to him. However, Ralph stomped and said, "I have something urgent to ask you.""You..." After getting yelled at, Margaret choked and sighed helplessly, "Okay, I don't care about what happened to you. What do you need?"Ralph looked left and right, ensured no one was around and approached his mother. He said, "Mom, do you know if our family has any heirlooms?"He was concerned about finding the secret handbook, but when he saw his mother’s sudden reaction, he felt suspicious. After all, Margaret and Hugo had been married for years, so how could she not know about the handbook?Margaret was taken aback by his question. Seeing that he was so mysteriously swaying everyone away, she asked, "What kind of heirloom? What kind of treasure do you want?"Ralph noticed his mother’s blank expression and thought it might have been long ago, and she could not immediately recall. Therefore, he deliberately reminded her
‘So there had to be some secret at least.’"Impossible!" Margaret said firmly, "I have been married to your father for half a lifetime. He might be stubborn and eccentric sometimes, but he never lied to me. He would never hide anything from me! Where on earth did you hear this gossip? What kickboxing secrets could our family have?""Heather mentioned it. She’s adamant that Alex must have a secret handbook containing special skills." Ralph thought of Heather's determined eyes and remembered that she had gotten engaged to him. He wondered if she only did that because of the handbook."What special skills? I think she’s obsessed with this idea and has been watching too much TV! As you said, a woman like her shouldn’t learn so much about this. Why is it constantly on her mind?" After a while, Margaret added, "Speaking of Heather, aren’t you two getting married next month?“Why isn’t there any progress? What else should we arrange? Did you prepare everything? Don't count on me to help y
Lily tilted her head up to fight back her tears, saying, “There’s something I find strange.”“What is it?” Mike asked after comforting his son.“Instead of detaining Prince Ross, Her Majesty has sent him back to Yudonia. If so, why couldn’t we reach him?”After some thought, Mike answered, “There are two possibilities. It’s probably due to poor signals, or he doesn’t want us to contact him.”The two shared a look, knowing what each other was wondering.‘Why can’t we contact Ross? Is he planning something?’…Three days later, Lily inserted the last needle into the queen’s leg and looked up at her, saying, “You should start feeling your legs tomorrow. Still, it’ll take some time before you can stand.”Suddenly, Lily chuckled.“Why are you laughing?” Yasmin touched her legs. She had begun to regain sensation in her legs over the last two days. She then began to believe that she could get up. However, the queen was hesitant when the queen heard Lily chuckle.Lily shook her head
Lily straightened up and said without resentment, “Of course, you wouldn’t.”“That’s… quite a pity,” the queen murmured thoughtfully.“Well, there’s a price to pay for everything. That’s how the world balances itself,” Lily continued, “I can’t stop you if you must carry on with R10. Still, I won’t witness whether or not it succeeds. I just wish the outcome isn’t something you’ll regret.”Lily smiled and turned to head out the door.Rick heard their conversation as he stood guard outside. After exchanging looks with Lily as she brushed past him, he entered the room and saw the needles in Yasmin’s legs. “Your Majesty, those needles—”The queen waved dismissively. “It’s okay. Lily will remove them later.”Even so, Rick was wary. “You’re being too careless, Your Majesty. What if that woman—”“She wouldn’t,” Yasmin interjected, shaking her head."Why do you trust her so much?" Rick asked despite himself. The queen fell silent. If Rick had not asked her that, she would not have rea
Lily took out a cloth and unfolded it, revealing a row of silver needles inside. Yasmin was surprised she carried the needles with her.“Tell me. What do you want?” The queen took a deep breath to calm herself. She then reminded herself that she could always say no to Lily’s request. Still, Yasmin was cautious about Lily trying to trick her.Lily casually said, "I left because Prince Ross wanted to help me. I hope you don’t punish him.""That's it?" Yasmin thought she had misheard Lily. 'Is she trying to talk terms with me just so that I won't punish my son?' she wondered in disbelief."Ross is my son. I won't harm him. Don't you think you've wasted an opportunity by making such a request?" The queen shook her head. "I wasn’t sure if you’d blame him, but he did rescue me once. If I don't do anything, it would be ungrateful of me," Lily said gently, "Also, didn’t you already lock him up?"Yasmin was puzzled. "No, I only sent him back to Yudonia. He kept trying to get me to sto
"Three days," Lily replied.“That’s it?!” Yasmin was in disbelief. She thought Lily would try to buy some more time and suspected she would say the process would take several months or even years.‘I haven’t felt my legs for over a decade. I wouldn’t mind waiting for three more days.’“Are you sure I can get up and walk in just three days?” Yasmin pressed her legs hard but felt nothing. She would have treated her legs long ago if it were that easy.The queen had visited many famous doctors from various countries, but they could only stop her legs from getting weaker. However, Lily confidently told Yasmin that she could fix her legs so quickly.Yasmin wanted to believe it.After some consideration, Lily said, “I can’t guarantee that you’ll walk as fast as you once could. After all, you haven’t used your legs for a long time, and your muscles have atrophied. Still, you’ll recover slowly.”Yasmin nodded repeatedly, thinking it was good enough. She never dreamed of walking as well a
“Because only our opinions matter." Lily thought of something and said, "Unless you choose to believe Rhea.""I… don't trust anyone." Yasmin’s expression stiffened as she turned her wheelchair away."Your Majesty, I know you're dedicated to the experiment, but there are other things in life. Have you ever considered letting go of your burden to sightsee? You’ve done enough as a queen over the last few decades. Aren’t you tired of living a lonely life?”Lily gently spoke as she gazed at Yasmin’s back.The older woman caressed her knees with both hands and stared down at her legs, murmuring, “Sightsee, huh? I’ve forgotten what that’s like.”Yasmin had not used her legs for many years. Initially, she could still stand up and sometimes took a few steps. However, she could no longer get to her feet.She had grown accustomed to sitting in a wheelchair, but she felt a pang of sorrow after hearing Lily’s suggestion.Lily asked, “What if I can help you stand again? What if you can walk a
"Yes, I returned not just for him but also for you," Lily said, "I'm sure you were anxious for my return, weren't you?"Yasmin scoffed dismissively. "Why would I be? I have my bargaining chip. Besides, did you honestly think I couldn’t bring you back?""Bargaining chip? Do you mean Nick?" Lily shook her head with a smile. "Don't forget that he's not my son. Do you think he'll be much of a bargaining chip to you if I choose to ignore him for my three children?"She did not wait for Yasmin to reply and continued, "Besides, Nick still has a father who’s willing to die for him. If Mike decides to take drastic action against you— Yes, you're a queen, and you don't care much about an insignificant businessman.“However, don't forget that his business spans worldwide. There's no guarantee what he might do. Who knows, he might spread information that can affect Your Majesty and Yudonia's reputation?""You…" The queen was exasperated but could not retort.Lily noticed it and casually said
Rick could only remain silent at that moment.Yasmin then turned her wheelchair around and blandly said, “Bring Lily over. I’d like to see what excuses that sly woman can come up with.”"Your Majesty?" Rick was puzzled. "You know she'll just lie to you. Why must you—"Yasmin interjected, "I'd like to hear what she has to say."Rick had no choice but to leave and do as she said.As Lily was about to doze off, she heard noises from outside and opened her eyes. Immediately after, the door opened, and Rick appeared. He glared at her and spoke coldly, “Her Majesty wants to see you.”Lily glanced at Rick calmly and stood up as if she had expected his appearance. On the other hand, Mike rose before her and headed out.However, Rick stopped him as he reached the door. “You stay.”"But we came together!" Mike glanced over his shoulder at Lily, signaling her to persuade the man. Rick added, "The queen doesn’t wish to see you. Just stay here!"Lily patted Mike's shoulder and said gentl
Everyone was shocked when Lily returned to the embassy with Mike. One of the staff members quickly left to report the news to Queen Yasmin.Meanwhile, Lily saw people peering at her and Mike from the corner. Afterward, several guarded-looking men appeared. Lilt recognized them as the queen’s attendants. They brought Mike and Lily inside and then gave the duo a thorough search.The men only relaxed after finding nothing suspicious about the duo. Even so, Lily could not see the queen as the men told her to wait in an innermost room instead.After returning to the embassy, Lily felt a sense of strange familiarity. Although she knew the place well, her mindset had changed.She previously hated the embassy and simply wanted to escape. However, she had returned with a critical mission. Not only did she have to complete it, but she also needed to leave the place in one piece.While she was calm, Mike was somewhat anxious. He clasped his hands on his knees and glanced around as he sat dow
"I promise I'll do anything you want, okay?" Mike begged. He was desperate to see his son, so he decided to follow Lily when she insisted on returning to the embassy.Mike continued, “If any of you go with her, they might stop or suspect you. They won’t do that to me. It’s natural for me to want to see and rescue my son. I’m the best candidate because it makes sense for me to sacrifice myself for him.”After a short silence, Lily said, “You’re right.” She then looked at Alexander, who pondered before slowly raising his head and saying, “Me too.”Dominic tapped the table. "So do I."Cameron thought for a moment before saying, "I've no objections."Seeing this, Austin spread his arms and said, "Since you all agree, what else can I say? Let's do it!"It did not matter whether or not he agreed, but he just wanted to support Mike. The latter nodded and became emotional, saying, “Thanks, you guys!”"Why are you thanking us? Just be careful, and don’t be rash like you promised," Aust