Irene jumped in surprise at Erin's sudden arrival. Still, she soon composed herself and spoke as calmly as possible. "What's wrong?"Erin glanced between Irene and Isaac before saying awkwardly, "Sorry I didn't knock. Am I disturbing?""No," Irene quickly said."Oh, okay." Erin smiled. "Anyway, Tommy's tutor is here to give him Franconian lessons at the moment, so I thought I shouldn't impose."Irene walked up to Erin and turned to glance at Isaac while she thought about what she should say. "Erin, we can't stay here.""Why?" Erin asked."B-Because…"Irene could not come up with a reason just then.Surely they could not tell Erin that they just received what they suspected to be James's leg and that it was dangerous here so they had to leave?"I just reached out to a hospital to treat my eyes. It'd be more convenient over there," Isaac said.Erin pursed her lips. "But this place is just fine… And the treatment is not permanent, right?"Maybe they would move back after Isaa
Zachary was speechless. He wondered if Stan could stop scaring him—his heart was not strong enough for such a thrill! Stan was literally killing him here!"W-Well, whose is it?!" Zachary exclaimed."Ian Jefferson's," Stan replied, his voice flat just then.Zachary almost breathed an expletive right then. "Him?! How?!"It was absolutely unexpected. He would never have thought it possible!"I don't know the details either." Stan sighed."Oh, never mind. It's fine as long as it's not James. F*ck me, I almost had a heart attack!" Zachary exclaimed cheerfully. "Alright, I'm hanging up now. I have to tell Isaac about this.""Yeah," Stan replied and hung up.Zachary then slid his phone into his pocket but jumped in surprise when he turned to find Erin standing behind him!"W-What are you doing here?!" he exclaimed.Erin simply stared at him in silence while Zachary felt guilty from the stare. Did she overhear something?He searched his memory but did not find anything suspicious
Irene was helping Sheryl with arranging their belongings, but she could only use one hand since the bullet wound on her shoulder still hurt.Hearing Zachary's call, Irene looked up to find him dashing toward her in panic.She frowned. "What?"Zachary quickly hid behind her, saying, "It's Erin. She was interrogating me about James. I have no idea, but she keeps pestering me anyway."Erin arrived after Zachary did and snapped, "You were talking about him on the phone!"Zachary's reluctance to tell Erin left her really uneasy, and she turned to Irene. "Irene?"Irene simply looked away to help Sheryl, pretending as if she never heard a thing.Zachary tactlessly pulled Irene aside and said, "I'll do it."While Irene was speechless, Erin kept pestering her, "Just tell me what it is, Irene!"Irene was silent for a moment and started toward a room. "Come with me!"Erin followed, and after she closed the door, Irene admitted everything, knowing that there was no hiding it now."After
"Well, since Hector killed Ian, he spared James the trouble!" Zachary exclaimed, suddenly finding Hector a pushover. "That's one concern less on our list! And that means it's Hector who knows about the castle, not that gang who's after us."That gang was definitely the worst of the two!"Find out where he is now," Isaac told Zachary—Hector remained a time bomb that could inflict serious damage unless they removed him from the equation. Who knew when he would jump out at them, catching them off guard?Zachary nodded."He's in hiding—even James had trouble tracking him down earlier," he said, though his tone soon changed. "But that doesn't mean he's gone without a chase, especially now that he made a move. There must be clues somewhere.""Yeah," Isaac said. "Make it fast!" "Right away," Zachary replied, and he turned to see Irene walking toward them."The leg wasn't James's?" she asked—she heard them talking about it but just wanted to confirm it.Zachary nodded. "It's Ian's."
Isaac turned around, while Erin turned toward Irene too. "What's wrong, Irene?""Nothing," Irene replied. "Just wanted you all to be careful.""Oh, we will," Erin assured her. "Don't worry, Irene."Irene nodded, watching them as they left.She scowled a little, feeling like she could not be of help.Eagle approached her just then. "Is there anything I can help with, ma'am?"Irene shook her head. "Let's go back inside—thanks for keeping an eye on things while I wasn't around.""It's what I should do," Eagle replied, nodding. Tommy ran up to Irene then, hugging her leg. "Mommy, carry me."Irene arched her back and tried to pull him up—the move tugged at her shoulder wound, and it was only then that she remembered that she was still hurt. "Why don't we just hold hands?" she asked mildly.Tommy shook his head. "Carry me."Eagle walked up to them. "I can carry you."Tommy spaced out for a moment and snapped, "Nope!" With that, he ran away. After all, Eagle had kept him on
Martin quickly averted his eyes. "Nothing."Lulu certainly doubted that and reached out to turn his face so that he faced her directly. "Tell me. What was that about?"Martin came clean right then. "Well, you know who the father is. I won't mind if you want Jean to be named after him…"Lulu glowered right then and turned to leave the room.For some reason, her heart hurt. Martin followed her outside. "Are you upset?"Lulu kept her back to him. "No.""You are," Martin said, exposing her right then.Lulu said nothing to that and kept her gaze lowered.Martin walked up in turn and wrapped his arms tightly around her waist from behind, and he brushed his cheek against hers. "I misspoke. Please don't get angry, alright?"Lulu pursed her lips and turned to face him. "I'm not that cold, Martin. I know you've been good to me, so why would you mention him?""I was just trying to say that I'd respect whatever you decide on. I wasn't deliberately mentioning it to upset you," Martin ex
As Martin's hands reached underneath her blouse, Lulu clearly felt the coarse skin on his fingers. There were thick calluses growing over his right index finger from frequently wielding a gun. And with every inch his fingers moved upward, she seemed to shudder more.Soon, her clothes were off, baring her fair, delicate skin.She retained her figure and remained slim despite her recent pregnancy, although her belly was still a little flabby. It has been little over a month since she gave birth, and she would not recover that quickly.Not wanting Martin to see it, she rested her hands over it.Martin sensed her intention but for him, loving someone meant loving every part of her—be it her strengths or shortcomings. They were all things he liked about her from his perspective. He touched her cheek gently and rasped, "I don't mind."Lulu refused to let go, however. "I…"Martin pulled her hands off then and leaned in to kiss her belly.Lulu bit her lip, and the rest was history
Lulu felt her head clearing right then and asked with a hoarse voice, "What time is it?""Ten," Martin replied. That late?!Lulu promptly got up to check on her daughter. But when she did so, her blanket slipped off and bore her naked form, leaving her taken aback.It was only then that she remembered what happened last night, and she blushed slightly.Martin draped her pajamas over her shoulders. "Get washed up. We'll eat together."Lulu nodded, and he got out of bed.His body was muscular. His chiseled pectorals and abdominals gave the sense of firmness and strength.And Lulu certainly experienced that it did not just look that way—he really was strong!Her cheeks burned even as scenes of last night played in her head. Never did she expect that she would unleash herself like this! She got out of bed and headed to the bathroom.She stood under the shower sprinkler and turned it on. Water gushed and started splashing over her, wetting her hair like seaweed over her fair sh