"Hey, what—"The call cut off before Isabelle could finish speaking, leaving her in a daze. Did the people at Valiant Hall also think Timothy was no ordinary person?All of a sudden, she became so agitated that she threw her phone down and started smashing several of the vases around her."Who the hell are you, Timothy? I refuse to accept this! I refuse! You're just a useless loser that I rejected! I'm going to make you pay for everything!"…Timothy and his parents returned to their place. It was getting late, and the sun was starting to set at Lormford City. The soft beams basked everything in a warm glow. Joseph and Cora busied themselves with chores. One stayed outside to wash the clothes while the other went in to prepare dinner. They were all smiles as Timothy sat under the old tree in the garden and smoked a cigarette.The sight before him warmed his heart, and he enjoyed this feeling.After three years of separation, he finally returned to his family's side. Joseph and
When Tiana spotted Timothy, she also reacted with a look of shock and disbelief. She stared dazedly at him, her eyes reddening emotionally as she mumbled, "Tim… Is that you?"Timothy looked like he had turned into a statue. Even though it was clearly Tiana who stood in front of him, he couldn't believe it was her—he didn't want to!His hands—the hands of a seasoned killer—were trembling hard as he exclaimed, "H-How could this be?"Timothy's eyes also went red. For a moment, he thought he had mistaken someone else for Tiana. Why was it that his sweet, adorable younger sister was holding a cane? Why did she have a limp leg? What on earth happened?He stumbled his way over to Tiana and stretched out his shaky hands to touch her, but he stopped before that. His eyes misted over as he asked in a pained, trembling voice, "Tiana… What's going on? What happened to you?""Tim… Is it really you?" Tiana asked before biting down hard on her lip, her tears streaming down her cheeks.Timot
Timothy's eyes were also brimming with tears. If not for what Tiana said just now, he wouldn't know a thing about the life Joseph and Cora had led the past three years!It all happened because of him!He fell to his knees, tears streaming down his face as he said, "Mom, Dad, Tiana, I swear that from today onward, I'll make sure you guys live the best life possible! I'm at fault for everything. I was a terrible son! It's not that I didn't want to come back, but I couldn't!"The entire family of four was crying now. Joseph wiped his tears once more before walking over to Timothy and pulling him back up. "Timothy, we know you must have had your reasons," he said. "You don't need to explain yourself to us. We're just happy to have the whole family back together again. Please don't take Tiana's words to heart either. She has her reasons…"After leading Timothy to the dining table, Joseph turned to Cora and said, "Bring Tiana over too. This is the first time in three years that we get
A mix of helplessness and bitterness appeared on Joseph's wizened face. He took out a cigarette and lit it up before inhaling deeply.Timothy's expression changed slightly. He knew that Joseph only smoked when he encountered something difficult or painful.After taking a drag of his cigarette, Joseph said slowly, "Timothy, you have to promise me something.""Go on, Dad."Flicking the ashes off the cigarette butt, Joseph continued with a pained expression, "We're from the bottom rung of society. Your mom and I have nothing to show for our lives. You and Tiana have suffered because of that, too."Now that you're back, all we want is for the four of us to live a peaceful, happy life together. We don't want any more trouble. I hope you can understand that. "Lormford City may be a big place, but not many places can truly be home to our family. Your mom and I both don't want to see anything else happening to either you or Tiana."Finally, Joseph shared the painful past."After hitti
Sensing that something was off about Timothy's emotional state, Joseph said softly, "Timothy, you have to promise me that you'll just leave all of this in the past. Let's never bring it up again. Since the driver had someone who could do all of this for him, we can't afford to offend any of them."Even if we fought our hardest, we won't be able to achieve anything. Please promise me you'll put it all behind you, okay, Timothy?"After taking a deep breath, Timothy looked at Joseph and nodded in all seriousness, saying, "Don't worry, Dad! I won't do anything foolish.""Good. That's good," Joseph said with a pleased smile, unaware of the bloodlust that filled Timothy's heart."Okay, you should go talk to Tiana now. Although she's upset, it's only because she cares about you. Go talk things out with her."Timothy nodded. He walked over to Tiana's room and tapped lightly on her door. "Can I come in, Tiana?""What for? I don't want to see you!" Tiana retorted icily."I want to talk to
Charlotte walked in nervously, her hands tightly clasped together. She looked like she hardly dared to breathe. There was a flicker of anxiety on her pretty face as she looked at Zack, her eyes filled with respect.Even just standing before him made her feel uneasy. Her humblest side was on full display.Zack glanced at her before saying with a faint smile, "My apologies, Ms. Shaw, but I had a phone call earlier. Do go ahead and tell me why you have come to see me today on behalf of the Shaws."Charlotte glanced at Zack. Her palms were sweaty. Although she had been standing outside the office earlier, she overheard a bit of Zack's conversation and heard him addressing the other person as chief. She even deduced from his tone that he considered himself a subordinate to the person on the other end, even going so far as to await the other's arrival.That was entirely shocking news to her, of course. Zack was not only the richest man in Lormford City but also the head of the Lormford
Smiling faintly, Zack replied, "Up till today, five of the Six Great Families of Lormford City, including your family, have spoken to me about this. We'll have to discuss it some other time. I'll give this matter my full consideration. The Shaws are also in the running, of course."Charlotte pursed her lips and clutched the edge of her skirt tightly. Biting her lip, she said with a conflicted expression, "Please do give us your full consideration, Mr. Larson."Zack sipped his drink and nodded without saying anything else. Charlotte knew this was a sign he wanted her to leave, but she dared not take any offense. He had already shown enough courtesy by meeting her in person.She turned to leave, but suddenly, she turned back around and said, "May I be so bold as to ask you something, Mr. Larson?""Go on."Charlotte's gaze flickered. Blushing slightly, she said, "My grandpa told me that when you had a meal with him, you mentioned wanting to introduce someone to me…"Zack was taken a
The elevator doors opened with a ding, and Charlotte lifted one of her long, slender legs to step into the elevator.At the same time, the doors of the elevator on the side opened, and Timothy stepped out. Taking in the opulence of the place, he tutted and remarked, "How lavish. He sure knows how to enjoy himself."Startled, Charlotte had a strange expression on her face. Why did she get the feeling she had heard Timothy's voice? That was impossible. She wanted to stick her head out of the elevator to check, but the doors started closing just as she was about to.Charlotte shook her head. Thinking that it was impossible anyway, she couldn't be bothered to open the doors back up. After all, Timothy came from an impoverished family, and his parents collected trash for a living. How could he possibly show up here?As the doors finally closed for good, she stopped dwelling on it.Timothy had no clue that Charlotte had entered the elevator beside him. He strode to Zack's office, wh