“Not long ago,” Lily said. “After all, the two of you are so alike.”“Since that’s the case, how did you notice our differences?” Heather was curious because no one had noticed their differences all these years. No one had ever discovered that they were two people.Lily tilted her head, then raised her hand to scratch it, pondering for a moment before she spoke, “How should I put it? As someone who practices kickboxing, I’m sure you know we can’t hide our vitality completely. Your twin sister can’t fight at all, can she?”“You’re right.” Heather nodded, not denying it. “She can’t fight, and she was born weak. It took a long time for her health to be similar to normal people.”“Hence, it’s easy to differentiate between the two of you. It’s just that I wasn’t familiar with you back then, and you two were too much alike regarding your appearance, demeanor, and even habits.” Lily recalled. The images in her head were slightly messy, and she could not differentiate between Heather and H
“Life is a journey with no return trip. I used to be obsessed with my career, but I later realized many other things in life are equally as important or even more important than my work. I’ve focused on chasing my goals and moving forward, but I’ve forgotten to slow down and smell the flowers.“Sometimes, slowing down and experiencing the beautiful things life offers might even bring me a step further in my career.”When Lily began to slow down, she was anxious and would also feel restless. Later, her focus shifted to her child when her belly enlarged, and she no longer felt as indifferent about it as before.Moreover, she learned about the scent only a baby would have after learning about prenatal education and meeting a few mothers. She learned about the smell of sweat on pregnant mothers who also neglected themselves because they were too busy caring for their children.It gave her the idea to create a perfume for pregnant mothers, so they could still smell great and feel good a
Heather doubted the secret handbook’s authenticity the most because Alexander had not come looking for her even after such a long time. She had spent so much time and effort to steal the secret handbook. Logically, Alexander should go all out just to retrieve such a crucial lost item.She put herself in Alexander’s shoes and concluded that she would search every corner of Kingsland if she had lost something so important to her.However, Alexander was so calm, as if nothing had happened. Ralph said Alexander did not look for him at all, which meant he did not care about his lost handbook.There was only one reason for Alexander’s indifference—the secret handbooks Heather and Ralph stole were fakes. If Alexander could set up a trap for Ralph, Heather believed he would also set one up for her.After calming down and thinking things through, she figured out many things.“The real secret handbook is still with you guys.” Heather continued after she sucked in a deep breath and cleared h
After a few years of training, my trainer told my grandpa to take me home and said there was nothing else he could teach me. Before I left, he gave me a box of meditation books and asked me to read them whenever I was free.”At that time, Alexander stopped for a moment before continuing, “After reading more of these books, I gradually understood that the key to kickboxing is strengthening the mind. No matter how important the moves are, our minds are most important. From these meditation books, we can sometimes find answers for kickboxing and business skills.”Hearing what he said, Lily said half-jokingly, “In other words, you almost became a Zen master at teaching meditation.”If Alexander did, he probably would not have met her. To her surprise, Alexander nodded thoughtfully. “Well, I almost did.”Laughing, she playfully swatted at him. Now, Lily related what Alexander told her to Heather. Shocked, the latter became speechless for a long time as her face flushed and then pale
“You’re poisoned?” Cocking her head with a frown, Lily sized the woman up and made her conclusion.Heather did not deny it and nodded slightly. Almost no one knew about her being poisoned, and it would be dangerous for her if her enemies were to find out about it. Chump knew about the danger and had kept quiet. Thus, he was surprised that Heather would let Lily know about it. After thinking for a moment, Lily connected the dots and came to another conclusion. “The one who poisoned you is your twin sister, right?”Shocked, Heather suddenly looked up at her. “How did you know?”Apart from Chump, only Ralph knew about Hannah poisoning her. However, Chump would never tell anyone, and Lily could not have learned about it. With a sigh, Lily said, “It’s not hard to guess. It would be hard to poison someone as alert as you, and the only person who could do so had to be someone you trusted and did not guard against. Considering that your twin sister kept showing up before us when you w
Heather threw him a look of disdain. “Frankly speaking, I have no idea what Hannah sees in you. How is she attracted to a man like you?”“Yes, I’m a good-for-nothing, so I’m not capable of harming you. Please let me go!” After a pause, he looked at Lily. “Lily-no, I mean Mrs. Russell or Ms. Christian, you’re here to save me, right? You’re here to take me back to the Russell Estate, right? No matter what, my mom won’t abandon me, right?”Lily sighed inwardly, seeing him act like a coward. ‘Alexander has never been so fearful in the face of death. He’s always calm and steady as if everything is under his control, and his presence has a reassuring effect on people around him.’ ‘It’s no wonder Ralph is not a member of the Russell family. He and Alex have nothing in common.’Looking at him, Lily said blandly, “Grandma’s ill and in bad shape. The doctor says she could not be agitated further.”Thanks to him, the older woman had suffered blows multiple times, and her heart could hard
“Then what do you say I let both of you go and give you the freedom you want?” Heather continued.Hannah widened her eyes in disbelief. “What evil schemes are you up to? Tell me what you want, and stop beating around the bush!”Lily did not comprehend what Heather was planning to do either. However, knowing that Heather must have her reasons, Lily said nothing and sat quietly aside.“I’m being serious. Since you like Ralph so much, don’t you want to leave and spend the rest of your life with him?” Heather’s offer was tempting.Even though Hannah thought it was a trap, she was willing to take the risk. She turned to look at Ralph, then furrowed her brows to look over at her sister. “Say it. Name your conditions.”After growing up together, she knew Heather as well as herself. ‘She would never be so kind and let us off unconditionally. Her offer must come with terms.’Heather nodded with a half-smile. “My terms are simple. First, you are to sever your ties with the Riggs family, an
“Annie, don’t be rash!” Ralph tried to dissuade her.Hannah shook her head, held his hand, and said, “Even without my arms, I still have legs, eyes, and a mouth. We’ll find a way to make a living. I don’t care as long as I’m with you.” “But…”“You’re such a romantic, aren’t you?” Heather snorted and said, “However, have you thought it through? I’ll kick you out of the Riggs family, and you’ll lose your arms while your beloved man is broke. How will you survive later without your bread and butter?”“You know nothing about love. You’ll never understand!” Hannah was indifferent. Heather looked at Chump, and a glinting knife dropped onto the floor with a clang.“You agreed so readily. You think you can reattach your arms after I cut them off?”Lily frowned as she looked at the knife, which she knew was sharpened, judging by its blade. She turned her gaze to Heather and saw her severe, unblinking expression.“I’ll do it myself!” Hannah exclaimed and bent over to pick up the knife.
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