It was like a current ran through him.
Martin froze, momentarily unsure where to place his hands.After a pause, he gathered his wits, slowly reaching out to gently wrap his arms around Patricia's back, preparing to hold her—Before her hand could make contact, Patricia seemed to snap out of her behavior, suddenly becoming aware of its impropriety. She awkwardly released Martin, apologizing sheepishly, "I'm sorry, I was just... just startled..."Martin's arm froze midair for a moment before it fell resignedly back to his side. He cleared his throat twice, adjusting his posture to conceal his own embarrassment. "It's alright... if you're scared, you can hold my hand tightly," he suggested, extending his hand toward Patricia.In the darkness, the details of his hand were not clear.Patricia's heart tightened slightly, a new sensation swirling inside her chest.After a pause, she shook her head and declined, "No need, once is embarrassing enough!"Mart"Everyone died in the fire?" Fannie exclaimed with horror in her widened eyes, full of sympathy, "Those poor souls, mad as they were, to die such an agonizing death."Charles realized she had missed the point and said with a heavy voice, "That's not what I meant. It's about Debbie... She had just been admitted there shortly before it caught fire."Somehow, he felt that the whole situation was too much of a coincidence.Fannie blinked dismissively, "She reaped what she sowed with her many evils."Randy perceived Charles's concern, "Charles, are you worried there might be more to this?"Charles nodded, "Yes! Which is why I need to find out more."Eager to assist, Randy asked, "How do you plan to confirm it? Do you need my help?"Charles looked at him steadily without a word, but an idea was forming in his mind.Fannie pouted, dissatisfied, "Daddy's heart is all for mommy, and there's no room for us! I am so tired, I want to sleep."Charles and Marti
Inside the understated and luxurious champagne-colored business car, Debbie's scarred face was shrouded in darkness, the moonlight streaming through the car window reflecting a cold glint in her eyes.Hidden in the shadows as well, Hunter's thin lips slowly curved into a smile, a smile that didn't reach his eyes, sending shivers down one's spine."From today onwards, Debbie is dead. You, and Gavin, and Manda, even the entire Watson family, you have no relation with her anymore. Do you understand?"Debbie touched her scarred face and said, "Even if you've helped me escape from Jocelyn's pursuit, what can I do looking like this? The moment I step outside, I'll be recognized instantly and forced to live in darkness, never seeing the light of day."Hunter confidently responded, "Don't worry, I will change your appearance, give you a new identity."Debbie hurriedly asked, "What identity?"Hunter replied with a hint of mystery, "An identity that's supremely noble,
Despite imagining countless possibilities and knowing what a person burnt alive would look like, the sight still shocked Patricia deeply, making her stomach churn."Patricia, must you destroy my sister's last bit of dignity and appearance? Isn't it enough that she perished in flames? Can't we let her leave this world with some decency?" Joe felt his sister had been violated and roared with tears swirling in his eyes."I’m sorry, I merely wanted to see her one last time! I’ll cover her up now!" Struggling to suppress her physical discomfort, Patricia was about to put the white cloth back over Debbie and seize the opportunity to take a tissue sample for DNA analysis.But just as she reached out, Joe grabbed her hand."Don’t touch my sister with your filthy hands!" After saying this, he shouted, "Kaylee, cover my sister's disfigured face."Upon finishing his words, Joe pulled Patricia to the front of the mourning hall.Manda, weakened by her sobbing, seeing Patr
Patricia and Martin chose a nearby Western restaurant for their meal.After dinner and a short break, they stood up to return to the hospital.With one hour left for the results, Patricia and Martin decided to wait outside.Martin said, "I had Alan send someone to investigate the fire that broke out at the Athens psychiatric hospital. The weather has been getting colder, and one of the staff, seeking warmth, was using a heater. After dozing off, a sudden electrical short circuit ignited the heater, setting the curtains on fire. The building material inside was all shoddy and cheap so once it caught fire, it was uncontrollable, and the blaze just kept growing."Patricia furrowed her brows, voicing the doubt in her heart: "With so many people inside, there must have been a process to the fire outbreak! How is it possible for not even a single person to escape?"One hundred and eighty people, all perished in the flames.Unless they had all taken sleeping pills.Otherwise, setting aside t
By the time Patricia arrived at Sofiat Restaurant, she was a full half-hour late.She had thought Hunter would've left, but to her surprise, he was still there waiting, albeit with a frosty expression."I gave you half an hour, not an extra half hour to show up."Patricia kept bowing in apology: "I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to be late. I was with Martin earlier, about to head over when he injured his hand. I took him to the hospital—that's why I was delayed."Hunter still looked at her expressionlessly, unmoved.Patricia handed over the menu: "To show my apologies, please order anything you like, eat as much as you want; don't hold back on my account."Hunter watched her silently, a deep and well-concealed chill in his eyes.She had never seen Hunter like this before. Patricia felt a chill down her spine, her skin crawling, suddenly finding the Hunter before her unfamiliar, different from the one in her memories, giving her a sense of dread.Was it an illusion, or...?Before Patri
Patricia returned home with Hunter after buying clothes. It was already nine o'clock.She was exhausted, spread out on the sofa in the shape of a star, not wanting to move even her toes.It wasn't just physical fatigue that tired her, but emotional weariness too.Charles and Fannie were about to sleep, but when they saw Patricia return, they excitedly ran over and pounced on her: "Mommy, are you going to stay with us again tonight?"Patricia, touching their little heads, said speechlessly: "What do you mean 'again'?"Fannie pouted her lips, discontentedly saying: "Ever since we came back to Ivara City, you've been almost constantly with Randy, and it's been so hard to see you. So, isn’t my use of 'again' correct?"Patricia, without a word, chose to remain silent.Charles, seeing her lack of enthusiasm and seeming preoccupied, asked with concern: "Mommy, is something wrong?""Umm..." Patricia stared absent-mindedly at the ceiling for a moment, then asked: "Would you be able to accept a
Patricia’s gaze fell on his bandaged hand, and she suddenly remembered her promise from the day before. She quickly apologized, “Oh dear, I’m sorry, I promised to visit you at the Ellenstein Villa District last night, but it slipped my mind because it got too late.”After speaking, she walked over, gently held his hand, and asked with concern, “How’s your hand doing? I hope there hasn’t been a fracture?”Just as her hand touched the sore spot, Martin sharply inhaled with an exaggerated display of pain, his face contorted, “It hurts, it hurts... please, be gentle.”Seeing him in such agony, Patricia anxiously inquired, “Does it hurt that bad? Could it be broken? Did you get an X-ray? Where is it? Let me see?”Martin pouted, a mix of self-pity and distress in his voice, “Do you even care about me? I thought you were only concerned with going out on dates and wouldn't care about me.”Patricia asserted righteously, “I was the one who injured your hand, how could I not care?”Hearing her w
Hunter stood at the entrance of the inpatient building, hands in his pockets, a warm smile on his face as he watched her. He looked like a boyfriend waiting to pick up his girlfriend from work.He was dressed in a burgundy mid-length woolen overcoat with a black turtleneck sweater underneath. A hint of a smile lingered at the corners of his mouth, giving him the air of a debonair gentleman. He exuded an air of elegance and charisma. Black leather boots paired with his long legs accentuated his slender figure, along with an innate air of nobility that could rival that of a top international male model.The cold wind howled, causing his coat to flutter and his hair to sway. Patricia could clearly see him shivering from the cold. She immediately went over, pulling him away from the wind to take refuge behind the wall, scolding, “You're dressed so lightly, aren't you cold standing in the wind? Don't you know to find shelter from the wind?”Hunter, like a child
Martin, lost in thought and gazing into the distance, didn't see Charlotte deliberately fall to the ground when her relatives reached out to her."Ah..."Her cry successfully snapped Martin back to reality.He immediately bent down to help her up. "Are you okay? Did you hurt yourself?"Charlotte, tears welling up in her eyes, replied pitifully, "My wrist hurts so much, I think I've fallen on it again! I hope it's not dislocated?"Martin noticed the bandage on her wrist had come undone.The packet of medicine inside was nearly falling out. Anger started to well up inside him; this time, he was thoroughly enraged."Alan, take all of them to the police station, contact the lawyer, charge them with slander, intentional harm, extortion... I want them in jail."Feeling his boss's rage, Alan immediately carried out the order."Why are you suing us? We're the ones who have been wronged.""Just because you're wealthy doesn't put you above the law. Let me tell you, we won't back down without pr
Hunter looked at her with tenderness, patiently waiting for her to finish speaking.Seeing his gentle expression, Patricia found it difficult to voice the words at the tip of her tongue. Nervously she reached for the lemon water on the table and took a gulp.She drank too hastily, and the sourness made her teeth quiver, causing her face to scrunch up.Hunter was amused by her adorable expression and considerately poured a little packet of sugar into her lemon water."I remember you used to hate sour tastes! What changed? Are you not afraid anymore? Going straight for it?" he asked with a smile.With her cheeks flushed with embarrassment and faced with his caring gesture, found her words of refusal even harder to pronounce.Hunter stirred the water in her cup with a straw for a while, making sure the sugar dissolved, then handed it back to her: "Here, try now. It shouldn't be sour anymore."Patricia nodded and took a sip through the straw. The taste was a bittersweet delight.Although
Only when the phone’s ringtone broke the silence, the deadlock was finally broken.Martin glanced at the caller ID with a gloomy expression, sighed, turned the phone upside down on his thigh in resignation. He turned to Patricia, unbuckled his seatbelt, and moved closer, taking hold of her shoulders. With a serious and helpless look on his face, he said, "Patricia, I'm sorry, I admit I was too overbearing just now. But I'm being overprotective because I care about you so much, and I don't want to see you getting too close with Hunter."Care? It was the first time Patricia had heard this word from him.The anger in her chest dissipated almost instantly, and her tone softened unconsciously. "Hunter and I grew up together. When Debbie and her daughter bullied me, he was the one who protected and encouraged me time after time. He is very important to me. If a condition for remarrying you is to cut ties with him, then I can give you the answer now."Even without her saying it, Martin gues
Martin didn't give her a chance to escape, questioning every word, "So, is what Hunter said true? Are you really going to get engaged and marry him?"Patricia felt that the matters between her and Hunter couldn't be explained in just a few words, and moreover, everything was premature without having cleared things up with Hunter first.Seeing her still not responding, Martin grew impatient and urged, "Answer my question."Patricia pulled her hand back and said indifferently, "I won't marry him."That was her only answer. The rest, she wasn't ready to share with Martin yet.This answer caused a surge of joy in Martin's heart, his previously tense facial features gradually softened as he smiled like a child, unable to hide his delight."I knew you wouldn't like him." He said.Patricia rolled her eyes at him, "Now take me back to the restaurant."The smile on Martin's face vanished in an instant, and he refused without hesitation, "No, I won’t..."Before he could finish, his cell phone r
Upon hearing his question, Patricia burst into laughter, her tone dripping with sarcasm. "So what if it is? What difference does it make if it isn't?"She did not deny it.Martin took her non-denial as an admission, and his handsome face darkened like the bottom of a pot, his eyes filled with brooding shadows."I don't agree.""Haha..." Patricia laughed even harder, her snort of derision loud and unmasked. "And might I ask, who are you to me? By what right do you interfere? What does it matter to you whom I'm with? At best, you're nothing more than my ex-husband. Remember, ex-hus-band."She enunciated the words “ex-husband” deliberately, making sure he grasped their significance.Martin's normally composed brows furrowed, wrapping him in an aura of cold sternness.He was clearly displeased with these words. Then silence hung in the air, heavy and enigmatic.He spoke with grave seriousness, "Let's remarry!"As he spoke, a chilly wind blew past them, its whistling sound drowning out Mar
Hunter expected Martin to back down and leave in a sorry state.However, to his surprise, Martin’s expression was filled with pain as he stared at their clasped hands for a moment and then strode over to them.Confusion filled Patricia as she instinctively turned her head and locked eyes with Martin, whose gaze burned with fierce anger. Her mind felt like it was exploding as if something detonated."How did you get here?" Patricia asked, barely able to form the words.No sooner had the words left her lips than Martin had reached out, forcibly separating Patricia and Hunter's clasped hands. In Patricia's stunned state, he grabbed her wrist and started to pull her away."Martin, what are you doing?" Patricia's heart began to flutter with slight panic.Martin's face had been a ghastly sight just now, as if he was on the verge of a killing spree. She had no clue where his rage was coming from.Hunter quickly stood up and seized Patricia's other wrist, forcing Martin to stop. Martin turned
The doctor conducted a thorough examination of Charlotte. Her wrist wasn't fractured but had suffered from a dislocation and soft tissue damage."Mr. Langley, please hold her tightly. I'm about to reset the bones in her wrist, which may cause some discomfort. Keep her steady, and do not let her move.""Bone reset!" Just hearing it, Charlotte's eyes widened with fear, and her body trembled. Despite this, she bravely closed her eyes, extended her hand, and prepared herself for the pain. "Go ahead! I'm not afraid of the pain!"The doctor looked surprised and said, "It's going to be very painful. Are you sure you're not afraid?"His words instantly drained the color from her face, but she vigorously nodded, clenching her teeth, and refusing to voice her fear."I'm not afraid! Back when I was boarding at school, someone pushed me down the stairs, and I broke my leg but didn’t cry. I can handle this pain!" she explained."You were pushed down the stairs?" Martin's discerning eyes narrowed,
Patricia's heart skipped a beat. She knew she had been framed, again. And this woman's tactics were identical to Debbie's.Not only did she remind her of Debbie, but her methods and cunning were also the same. Indeed, Martin's taste had never changed. He always liked these hypocritical, nauseating women who could put on an act.The incident had happened too quickly; the onlookers only saw a scuffle but hadn't truly seen who had started it. They only saw someone fall and another with a hand outstretched as if pushing, so they naturally assumed Patricia was the aggressor."Professor Watson, what happened? Why did you push her?" one on looker asked."Yes, Professor Watson, is there some conflict between you two? If so, have a proper conversation about it. Getting physical in public won't do your reputation any favors." Another said."Yes! Professor Watson, perhaps you and her should talk in your office? It's not convenient in this corridor."After the incident with Debbie, everyone's vie
Martin had thought he would be calm when he saw Patricia again, as if nothing had ever happened.But in this moment, with Patricia standing right in front of him, his heart raced with intense emotions that he had suppressed for so long. It was in that moment that he realized the depth of his love for her, far greater than he had ever imagined.He couldn't bear to see her with Hunter, nor could he draw a clear line between them. "You..."Martin's lips parted as he tried to speak to her, to bridge the distance between them.Unfortunately, Patricia had made up her mind to keep her distance, and with her head bowed, she took a step back, yielding the path ahead.Martin clenched his fists tightly, struggling to contain the anger and turmoil within him. Unaware of the tension between Martin and Patricia, Charlotte flashed a sweet smile at Martin and said, “Martin, let’s go! I can’t wait to see Randy!”Patricia smirked derisively, her lips curling up."Well, isn’t that affectionate?"Marti