Melanie's table manners were far from refined, but to Shane, they seemed endearing. When he realized his thoughts, he was genuinely startled. Studying Melanie closely, she was far from a stunning beauty. At best, she was a modestly pretty girl with a temper to match a mule. The fact that he found her agreeable made him wonder if he had lost his mind.Shane continued eating, occasionally hissing as the spicy food stung his tongue. His face and body were covered in bruises, giving him a somewhat disheveled appearance.Melanie ignored Shane, thinking of him as a lunatic. She focused on eating quickly, though she had no real appetite. She forced herself to eat to keep from collapsing.After finishing a bowl of soup, she put down her spoon.Shane frowned at her as if looking at a strange creature. "How can you eat so much?"Melanie's appetite almost matched his own, which baffled him. The women around him usually feared gaining weight from even a sip of juice and were extremely picky
Two figures stepped into the room, one after the other.The man leading the way had a commanding presence and a stern gaze that demanded respect. Beside him stood a woman in her 50s, though she appeared much younger due to her well-maintained appearance. Her skin was smooth, and her makeup was impeccably applied, giving her the look of someone in her early 40s.They were none other than Shane's parents, Theodore Bancroft and Patricia Emida.Shane turned stiffly to face them, forcing a smile."Father, Mother, what brings you here?" he asked, signaling with his hand for Melanie to quietly slip away.Melanie ignored his gesture, rolling her eyes as if she hadn’t seen it."With something this serious happening, how could I not come?" Theodore scoffed, walking over to sit on the sofa.Immediately, someone brought him a cup of coffee, which he sipped lightly before setting it down.Upon seeing Shane’s face, Patricia gasped in shock."Shane, what happened to your face and those injur
'How could an ordinary girl be worthy of Shane? No, I absolutely disagreed!'"Move aside." Patricia pushed Shane away and stood in front of Melanie, expecting her to be terrified and plead for mercy.Unexpectedly, Melanie met her gaze steadily, exuding an air of righteous defiance. "Mrs. Bancroft, instead of arguing with me, you should be thinking of ways to save them. Wasting time is wasting a life."Melanie had nearly called her an executioner. Patricia detected the underlying accusation in her words, driving her to the edge."What exactly is your relationship with my son?" Patricia demanded harshly."Him?" Melanie glanced disdainfully at Shane and replied unhurriedly, "An enemy."Patricia's eyes widened. "What?!"She turned to Shane and asked, "This girl—does she have anything to do with you?"To Shane’s surprise, he felt a strange satisfaction when Melanie called him her enemy. No one had ever dared speak to Patricia in such a way before. Melanie truly was fearless."Her?"
Patricia stormed out of the room, casting a withering glance at Melanie as she left. Her parting words were a chilling warning. "You'd better behave yourself and not cause any trouble, or I’ll make you regret ever being born."She had spent half her life dealing with people, encountering all walks of life. Someone as naive as Melanie barely registered on her radar.Melanie was well aware of Patricia’s capabilities—if she said she could do something, she meant it. With her father still waiting to be rescued, Melanie didn't want to escalate the tension and obediently kept silent.Patricia snorted coldly."Smart choice," she said, then swept out the door.Rescuing someone from the collapsed mine was not a task that could be accomplished overnight. The complex situation at the bottom of the mine required painstaking efforts to clear the debris bit by bit.Melanie was restless, unsure if her father could hold on much longer. After staying awake for a day and battling wits with Shane,
A moment ago, Melanie had confidently asserted that she wouldn't fall asleep, yet there she was, deeply slumbering.Shane reached out his hand, intending to wake Melanie, but froze mid-air.Melanie was not sleeping soundly. Her sleep was restless, her fists clenched tightly, her expression contorted in pain as if haunted by a nightmare."Dad, don’t leave me… Please…" Melanie whimpered softly, her pitiful state tugging at his heartstrings.Shane's outstretched hand hung in the air, immobile. For reasons he couldn’t comprehend, seeing her like this filled him with a strange sorrow.An absurd thought surfaced in his mind, a fleeting notion that he immediately quashed. 'I like Melanie? Impossible!'He chuckled at himself, incredulous. What kind of woman hadn’t he seen? And yet, he was considering someone like Melanie? Had he lost his mind?To prove himself wrong, he let his hovering hand drop heavily onto Melanie's shoulder. "Hey, wake up."Melanie, already a light sleeper, jolted
Shane glared at the security guards, dismissing them with a wave of his hand.Obeying the command, the security guards retreated to the side.Melanie quickly headed outside. With no news for so long, she couldn't wait any longer.She ran all the way to the accident site, and the scene before her nearly caused her to break down. She had assumed that Shane had already arranged for a rescue operation, but after most of the day had passed, there was no sign of any rescue efforts on the construction site.The machines that should have been working were all idle, and there were no rescuers present."What is going on?" Melanie screamed, turning back to leer at Shane with a fierce expression. "Shane, how dare you lie to me?"She lunged forward, attempting to hit Shane, but the security guards blocked her.Shane was equally stunned. He had clearly ordered a rescue—how could the scene be like this?Melanie's curses and sobs made him irritable. He tossed away his cigarette and kicked the
As they conversed, a shrill voice suddenly pierced the air. "Melanie! How dare you cause a scene here? Are you trying to embarrass us even more? Come home with me this instant!"Melanie turned around, her expression shifting from surprise to a deep, visible irritation. Her brows furrowed as she faced her spiteful stepmother, the last person she expected to see here."What are you doing here?" Melanie asked, her tone cold and indifferent.With one hand on her hip and the other jabbing an accusatory finger at Melanie’s face, Rebecca snapped, "What else can you do besides cause trouble? Do you even realize where you are? How dare you create such a scene here?"After her tirade, Rebecca’s face abruptly morphed into an obsequious smile as she turned to Shane. "My apologies, Mr. Bancroft. I’ll take her away immediately. I promise she won’t trouble you any further."Rebecca reached out to grab Melanie’s wrist, but Melanie dodged, glaring at her. "What do you mean by this, Ms. Gibbon?"A
Melanie walked ahead, completely unaware that Rebecca was about to strike her from behind.As the stick neared her head, a large hand appeared out of nowhere, intercepting Rebecca's blow."Hey, who are you?!" Rebecca demanded.The stick was firmly held by the stranger, and despite her efforts, she couldn’t budge it. Panicking over the promised money, she yanked hard, only for him to let go deliberately, causing her to fall backward into the mud.With a loud cry, Rebecca landed in a puddle, her body covered in black mud, looking utterly ridiculous."You bastard! Who do you think you are? You think you can get away with this? I'll sue you for every penny you've got!" she shrieked.Her curses fell on deaf ears as the man ignored her, treating her like she didn’t exist.Rebecca, like a clown, was completely disregarded."Owen?" Melanie was surprised to see Owen suddenly appear. His presence brought her an incomparable sense of relief and strength.With Owen here, Jade must be near