As the sky darkened, Jenny grew more aware of how the odds were stacked against her. There was no way she could run out of this patch of the forest now.But she didn't give up just yet. Gilbert would've been on the search for her by now. So she had to stay strong and hold on until she was rescued.She gritted her teeth and dragged herself onward. It didn't matter where she ended up as long as it wasn't in those mercenaries' hands.Yet it seemed she overestimated her luck. It took less than half an hour for the men to catch up to her. They surrounded her by the tens, creating a dark black shroud in her vision. Only now did Jenny see just how many mercs had been hired to cut her down."You have admirable strength, pretty woman," one of the mercs, with a head full of platinum blonde hair, said.Jenny noted down his appearance. This must be the mercs' leader. "How much did the Glasses pay you?"Mercenaries only do work when they're paid, after all. As for how she knew it was the Glas
The bullet flew past Jenny as she dodged the shot, leaping off the cliff behind her. There was a river she would land into if she fell; she had noticed it before she was caught.Still, it was her last resort. That's why she'd tried to negotiate with the mercenaries.The blonde merc went to the edge of the cliff, unable to spot Jenny anywhere from this height. One of his men went up to him and asked in a foreign language, "What now, boss?""Find her, dead or alive!" the man barked out an order.He had not once failed a single mission undertaken since he started working as a mercenary. He couldn't fail now. He'd find this woman whether she was dead or still breathing.The men swiftly separated into groups, all in search of Jenny.Meanwhile, Graham was on his way with his men after getting Gilbert's call. Being unable to locate Jenny anywhere in the city led him to conclude that she was in danger. Luckily he had a vast network of eyes and ears in the city, which quickly reported tha
Alec instantly tried to dial Jenny's phone number again, but his attempts were all left unanswered no matter how many times he called. He could only send his men out to locate Jenny as well as try to figure out what had happened.In the Bardoff countryside, Jenny was awoken by the chills racking her body. She was half-submerged in a bubbling river in the middle of the forest.How lucky she must've been to not crack her skull open falling down, but also to have been swept to shore by the river's current and not drown to death.She climbed up the river bank to pull herself out of the water. The gunshot wound on her thigh was still bleeding. If this went on without something to stop it, she'd probably die of shock before those mercs found her.Nearby was a large boulder that she climbed up onto. Jenny then tore her clothes into strips and tied an emergency tourniquet around her thigh to slow the bleeding.Now that she'd resolved this temporary issue, time to turn to the serious on
Jenny wanted to answer in the affirmative, but she really wasn't in the mood to embrace her pain right now. "Wh-what are you doing here?"She'd imagine seeing Gilbert or even Alec on the search for her, not Evan, who she'd not seen in ages.Evan gently set her down, then crouched again. "We'll get to that later. C'mon, hop on."Piggybacking her out would be easier than a princess carry. "It's…it's fine. You just need to help me walk." Though they'd grown up together, she still maintained some distance considering the actual distance between them over the years."Just climb on up, Jen. We can't linger here a minute longer. You don't want to die out here, do you?"He was right. The mercenaries were most likely still looking for her, so sticking around was a death sentence to both of them. Ultimately, she climbed onto his back so he could carry her out of the woods.Jenny could smell a faint pine scent on the man's clothes, something she'd familiarized with him since long ago. It
Only when Gilbert's men had dispersed did he finally turn back to Alec. "Thank you for the ambulance, Mr. Faust. On behalf of both Jenny and me.""No need." Alec knew who this man was now and also knew just how much he disliked him. But that didn't bother him. All that mattered was that Jenny was safe."Heh." Gilbert scowled. "I heard you found someone new. I don't think you need to be so concerned about Jenny now, then, or your lover might misunderstand."He then got into his car and left, not bothering to hear Alec's explanation.Alec's brow didn't relax even as the car left. He never imagined his memory loss to have such a grave impact. Thanks to the memory loss, he had no idea why Jenny's brother was so hostile toward him. "Best to regain memory as soon as possible," he thought.Gilbert arrived at Bardoff Hospital, where Evan waited outside the emergency room while Jenny was being tended to inside.He sat down beside Evan. "How is she?""Doctor hasn't come out yet." Evan a
Jenny's ward was quickly crowded with visitors.Graham's eyes were wet with tears as he gazed at his daughter still passed out on the hospital bed. "Is Jenny…""She'll be alright, sir," Gilbert reassured him. He still respected Jenny's father even though they'd barely met.Stephanie and Jade were visiting, too, as news of Jenny being hospitalized had spread far and wide. Sadly, they couldn't do much before when she was in trouble.Everyone was glad to hear that Jenny would be fine."Why don't you all head home first? I'll stay back to keep her safe. She'll be fine, I promise," Gilbert spoke up.The visitors soon dispersed. As much as they'd like to stick around, they couldn't protect Jenny or be of use to her in this state. However, Graham was reluctant to leave. "Why don't you leave first, too? I'll stay watch here.""I think it's best if you let me do this, sir. Jenny would only get upset at me if she knew you stayed up for her," Gilbert insisted.Graham was about to respon
Graham had no idea how Evan was so confident. Given Jenny's personality, he didn't think his chances were too high. That woman didn't let her affections go that easily.As for Evan's romantic interest in her, to Graham, that was nothing more than puppy love. Something an adult would've grown out of by now. Still, Evan was the only man Jenny had ever confessed her love to, so he might have a higher chance of winning her over.After Gilbert left the ward, Evan gazed at Jenny, who was resting on the hospital bed. With a smile, he said, "Here we are again, Jen. After all these years…you must've been really upset when I rejected you all those years ago, huh? I've never heard from you even once since then."He didn't grow up in Orchid Village with Jenny and her brothers. They came to know one another at the elementary school in town, becoming friends ever since. The four of them always studied in the same school, from middle school to high school. It was only when Evan was about to leave
"All we need to do now is send someone over to pull the plug," Wayne suggested. Jenny wouldn't have her guard up now that she was unconscious. The only issue was how to get close enough to her to land the killing blow.Randy nodded. "I'm on it."The Glasses were not the only ones having a hard time sleeping for the night. Jolene had been equally disturbed upon hearing the news that Jenny was still alive.She had heard of Jenny's accident only after she was hospitalized and prayed to everything in existence that she'd just die. Such was the hatred Jolene had for her "sister."It went without saying then that she wasn't in any good mood now that Jenny was out of the danger zone. Especially when James had rushed to the hospital first thing after hearing Jenny was in there. Even a blind person could tell how much he cared for her.Though Jolene should've known by now that James had no feelings for her, she still felt hurt that the man cared so much for Jenny.Just as tears were strea