"Now, don't you start overthinking. It might not be the maids." Lily paused as if she wanted to change the subject but suddenly asked, "By the way, you don't really like flowers and plants, and you don't know much about medicinal herbs either. Why do you have so many potted plants at home?"Anastasia was still upset by what she heard and replied mechanically, "Those were all sent by my aunt. She said I'm not in good health and don't like to leave the house, so having more greenery is good for me.She continued to mumble, “My aunt mentioned how being surrounded by greens can lift someone's mood, and they produce oxygen, which is good for my body. However, I don't think it made me feel any better…" Then she seemed to have remembered something and raised her head to look at Lily. "Could it be those flowers and plants? Could it be that my aunt is trying to poison me? No! That's impossible! Although my aunt nags me a lot and says hurtful things, she still cares about me.“I know this!
“Since we're still unsure of the cause of poisoning, whether it’s because of those plants or the people around you, I don't think you should tell anyone about this. If they ask, you can say I need the plants for my research, so I borrowed them from you."Anastasia replied, "Okay! You're right!"Her obedient and adorable appearance reminded Lily of the first time the two met. When Anastasia demanded Lily return her dress, she was arrogant and even slightly unreasonable. Ultimately, she was just a little girl who had put up a strong front.She had gained so much weight over the years that she stopped going out. She did not have many friends either and felt lonely. Anastasia was from a wealthy family with a father who was a Secretary. She was the person everyone wanted to curry favors with. She should have been full of confidence and pride.Instead, her figure had caused her to have low self-esteem. Anastasia always feared that people would flatter her before turning around and laughi
Over the past few years, Austin had been holding onto the title people gave him of being Dominic's secret apprentice. Others respected him, and people would beg for him to visit their friends or family who had contracted some disease from time to time.He had grown accustomed to living in the limelight, although he would repeatedly tell himself that he had never explicitly confirmed or denied the truth. It was all wishful thinking by the public. It had nothing to do with him.However, guilt started forming in him after such a long time. On top of that, he also feared that he might be exposed.Besides competing with Lily, he feared she might come out one day and expose that he was not Dominic's secret apprentice. Therefore, Austin had been trying to use his strength to prove that he did not need the title to be capable. Still, he was always a step behind when it came to Lily.This time, he retrieved the data Lily had deleted. It was all based on his own skills, thus making him feel
After sitting down with a glass of water, Anastasia sighed and said, "I didn't feel them making the air better or make me feel refreshed. Aunt Maria, you've watched me grow up. Have I ever looked refreshed to you?"Maria did not answer."I feel groggy every day, always on the verge of falling asleep. When I'm awake, I'll be overwhelmed with cravings. How can someone like me ever sit comfortably in the living room? I can barely feel happiness." Anastasia sighed again and shook her head before sipping her water."Tasia, you shouldn't think that way. Even though you're not in the best shape, the miracle doctor will cure you. He even gave you prescriptions. Which reminds me, have you taken them today?" Maria asked anxiously.Anastasia glanced at her. She avoided the question and asked, "Aunt Maria, do you think any medications can help me, my body?"Maria was shocked by this question and quickly replied, "Of course! The miracle doctor said you'll be fine. Don't think too much and just
"There's no need for that," Anastasia said flatly as she lowered her head to drink more water. "I didn't tell my father, so you shouldn't either.""Why?!" Maria was surprised. "How could you not tell your father about something so severe?!""My father has been worn out recently so I don't want to disturb him. Besides, if my dad finds out about this, he will surely make a big fuss. I don't want things to get out of hand before I know the truth.“Since this person is someone close to me, I want to talk with them and ask why they would do this to me." Then Anastasia raised her head to look at Maria. "Aunt Maria, will you help me with this?"Maria was stunned by her question for a moment before quickly recovering and saying, "Yes, of course! Of course, I'll help you! It's just…""We shouldn't discuss this now and keep it a secret between us. Once we've cleared things up, I'll tell my father that you've helped me all this time and even found me a miracle doctor to help cure my illness,
"Yes, yes, you're not stupid!" However, Maria couldn't help but grumble, "If you're not stupid, how can you get poisoned for so long without knowing?""Pardon?" Anastasia pretended not to hear her."Nothing!" Maria waved. "But this medicine…""I'll bring the medicine to Lily's house daily. From tomorrow onward, I won't be home as much. You shouldn't bother yourself by coming over so often. You can always call me if there's anything urgent," Anastasia reminded."The miracle doctor advised you not to eat outside and stay at home…""He also said I'd gotten poisoned, didn't he?" Anastasia interrupted. "I think he wasn't thinking straight that day. He didn't realize that it was more dangerous for me to be at home than outside.""Tasia…""Aunt Maria, I know you're worried for me. What the miracle doctor said makes sense. He's afraid that I would lose control when I ate outside. It'll be fine if I don't eat! I've already told Lily that I will continue to control my food. You don't have
"What's wrong with the Russell family? What do you mean by bad luck?" Anastasia immediately became nervous when she heard this.She regarded Lily as her best friend. Thus, she did not want anything to happen to the Russell family. It was possible that her aunt was being an alarmist, but as long as that possibility remained, she could not just dismiss it."You shouldn't be asking!" Maria was afraid that she might slip up."Aunt Maria, tell me about it! You can't bring it up and not explain!" Anastasia pestered.Ultimately, Maria said, "This is no secret. Something is going on with the Russell family's business. There was a collective poisoning incident in one of their factories in Burnwken. Although it wasn't serious at first, Alexander had flown over to investigate. I heard it was chaotic there, with an ongoing war, and there seemed to be a plague.“Look at it this way. If something happened to Alexander, wouldn't the Russell family be in a mess? By that time, people believed the
“Mr. Russell has gone abroad, and there are some problems at the company, right?” Anastasia started and continued in a hurry, “Lily, I didn’t know your family was going through such a hard time. Still, you were busy with my matters over the weeks. You must be upset. I’m sorry I wasn’t considerate enough of your feelings. I’ve even doubted you before! I’m really sorry!”The more she spoke, the more horrible she felt. She knew it was wrong of her to be skeptical of Lily when Lily tried so hard to help her.“Is there anything I can help with?” For the first time, Anastasia wanted to use her family's influence and power to help someone.“It’s all right,” Lily said, smiling as she shook her head, finally understanding why Anastasia had been so emotional and why she rushed over.“You don’t need to be so quick to reject me. Although I can only offer limited help, I’ll do my best for anything you need!” Anastasia said severely.Lily raised a hand and patted Anastasia’s shoulder lightly. W