Clarissa looked at Luana with concern and scrutinized her from head to toe. "Luana, did he do anything bad to you?" she asked.
"No," Luana shook her head.
However, Clarissa's sharp eyes immediately noticed the hickey on her neck, and her expression stiffened.
"Luana, what's this..."
Luana initially didn't realize her neck was covered in hickeys.
It was only when she saw Clarissa's shocked gaze that she suddenly realized and panicked, covering her neck and awkwardly lowering her head.
"I..." she stammered.
"Was it that Mr. Elan who did this to you?"
Clarissa had seen the greedy and possessive look in Mr. Elan's eyes, as if he was scrutinizing his prey.
She had intended to warn Luana yesterday but got caught up with wedding preparations and entertaining Albert's relatives, never finding the chance for a serious conversation.
Seeing Luana return so disheartened, Clarissa became more confident that Mr. E
Was it because she missed Cline so much that she subconsciously regarded that man as Cline?Luana felt ashamed of such thoughts.Now that she had slept with a stranger, what qualifications did she have to miss Cline?There could no longer be any intersection between her and Cline.Exhausted, Luana had no more energy to think about these distressing matters.She took a hot bath and returned to her room to rest.This sleep was heavy, and she didn't wake up until nearly three in the afternoon the next day.It seemed her symptoms of somnolence were getting worse.She understood that for a late-stage patient like her, the worsening of the condition was inevitable, so she didn't pay too much attention to it.At the moment, for her, living one more day was a day more.After all, everyone has to die. It's just a matter of time, and there's no need for excessive sadness.She got up and went to the kitchen to prepare
He knew she wanted to kill Travis.If she involved the police to capture him, he, as the only witness, could likely accuse her of murder.Luana had thought she could bring this man to justice, but she hadn't anticipated that he had blocked all her exits."I'll give you half an hour," the man sent, and then fell silent, not responding to Luana's messages anymore, as if leaving her with this difficult choice.Luana clutched her phone, her body trembling uncontrollably.The messages she had given to the police mentioned Travis, and the hotel room surveillance showed Travis entering and leaving.The police would likely use this evidence to investigate Travis.If Mr. Night revealed her attempt to kill Travis to the police, she would undoubtedly be charged with attempted murder.At that point, Travis would also realize her true intention was not to deliver the contract but to kill him.Once Travis understood her real motive wa
Luana felt embarrassed, thinking to herself that next time she would definitely get a more powerful stun baton to teach him a lesson.After the man removed her clothes, he picked her up and pinned her against the wall to kiss her.His movements were domineering, and Luana was like a puppet, allowing him to manipulate her as he wished.After kissing her for a while, perhaps finding it somewhat dull, the man pinched her waist."Ouch..."Luana cried out in pain, her cherry lips parting, and the man took the opportunity to invade.His kiss was still fervent, but the way he touched her was much gentler than last time.He seemed to know her body as if it were his own, first teasing her sensitive spots, then slowly delving deeper.His exquisite skills gave Luana an illusion that this was not a forced act but an enjoyment.As soon as this thought emerged, she wanted to slap herself—how could it be enjoyable?Yet...
Her indistinct mumblings reached the man's ears.The hand that had been gently patting her back suddenly froze.The man stared at the woman in his arms for a moment, then abruptly pushed her away, rolled out of bed, and quickly got dressed.He grabbed his coat and left without looking back.The moment the man closed the door, Luana softly murmured, "Cline..."She had been dreaming of Cline holding her as she slept, coaxing her with a tenderness akin to soothing a child, filling her heart with joy.Waking from this beautiful dream, Luana herself found it somewhat incredible, not expecting to have such a pleasant dream.The room was still pitch dark. Luana reached out to touch the spot beside her, cold and empty.It seemed the man had already left. She breathed a sigh of relief, got out of bed, and walked over to open the floor-to-ceiling windows.As the curtains slowly receded, bright sunlight poured in.Luana now
Joan scrutinized Luana and ventured a guess, "You weren't poached by the Moriarty Group, were you?""OMG!"Sabrina's eyes widened in surprise. "Luana, the salary at Moriarty Group is several times higher than at Winward. You're about to soar to great heights, aren't you?"Amused by Sabrina's adorable expression, Luana chuckled and clarified, "No, the plans I mentioned are personal, not related to work at all."Seeing that Luana hadn't been recruited by the Moriarty Group, the jealousy in Joan's eyes gradually transformed into curiosity.She continued, "So, you're not planning to work anymore?"Luana shook her head and softly replied, "No, I won't be working."Unable to extract any further information about Luana's future plans, Joan let out a derisive snort, thinking to herself that it seemed Luana had indeed attached herself to some wealthy family.She wondered which wealthy older man had taken her under their wing, causing he
Cline lowered his eyes, glanced at the hand on his arm, and coldly said, "Your clothes are wrinkled."Runa quickly released her grip, a hint of disappointment on her face as she lowered her head and said, "Is your mysophobia still not better?"Cline meticulously wiped his clothes with a handkerchief and indifferently replied, "It won't get better."Runa was left speechless.She remembered the first day she took up her position when he held her hand.In the office, when she accidentally sat on his lap, he didn't say anything.That night, when she suffered from acute gastroenteritis, it was he who carried her out of the car at the emergency entrance.She had thought that after five years, his mysophobia might have improved, but he said it was incurable.Perhaps it wasn't really incurable, but he was dissatisfied with her and thus unwilling to let her touch him."Cline, I'm sorry."Runa cautiously explained, "Five ye
Luana's eyebrows instantly furrowed, and she blurted out, "Mr. Ortega, I've already submitted my resignation application and am here to handle the handover. Could someone else take care of arranging the dinner?"As soon as she finished speaking, the three people sitting on the sofa looked up and turned their gazes towards her.Luana inadvertently met Cline's deep eyes, and her heart skipped a beat.She feigned composure, quickly averting her gaze to Dawn.Nearly fifty, Dawn exuded an aura of authority that commanded respect, yet Luana had never been intimidated by him.Others might avoid his gaze, but she could look him straight in the eye, as if he were a relative who gave her a sense of fearlessness.Dawn's dignified expression darkened as Luana scrutinized him so boldly.He felt that Luana, who bore a resemblance to his daughter Runa, had been treated with more leniency by him than others.Did she think that because he was m
Just as Luana finished booking the restaurant on her phone and hadn't even had a chance to catch her breath, Dawn's call came through."Luana, send the restaurant address to Mr. Moriarty as well," Dawn instructed, as usual, hanging up without giving Luana a chance to respond.With a solemn expression, Luana put down the phone, unlocked her screen, and sent the address to the assistant responsible for Cline's itinerary.However, she soon received a reply, "Miss Hammond, I'm temporarily unable to reach Mr. Moriarty. Please send the address directly to his phone. You should have his number."Seeing this message, Luana felt a sense of helplessness and gritted her teeth, pulling Cline's WhatsApp account out of her blacklist.She quickly forwarded the restaurant address and then blocked him again.After handling this matter, Luana grabbed the keys and headed to the company's parking lot.As she stepped out of the elevator, she saw the priva
Clarissa, recalling Luana's plea not to blame Calvert, said nothing more and simply stepped around him to get some water, ignoring him completely.Calvert stood at the ward door, gazing at the frail and weak figure on the hospital bed, his vision gradually blurring with tears.He struggled to steady his trembling body, clenched his fists tightly, and with heavy steps, he walked slowly to the bedside.Blind Luana sensed someone approaching and thought Clarissa had returned, so she reached out to grab her clothes."Clarissa..."Before her hand could make contact, it was grasped by a broad and slender hand.The hand that held hers trembled slightly, as if it had a thousand words to say but couldn't utter a single one, so it just held on tightly.Luana realized it was a man's hand and thought of Cline's stern and handsome face, but she didn't think it could be him.She tentatively called out, "Albion..."Calvert hadn't expec
Tears rolled down Clarissa's cheeks, dripping onto Luana's hand and making her body stiffen.Luana tried to raise her other hand to wipe Clarissa's tears, but after feeling around for a while without success, her wrist was grabbed by Clarissa instead."Luana, are you... blind now?"Clarissa held Luana's hand, her face full of shock as she stared intently into Luana's eyes.This time, Luana didn't hide it from Clarissa and nodded calmly, "Probably triggered some other conditions..."She had experienced blurred vision during her dizziness before, but she hadn't expected to wake up completely blind this time.Seeing her like this, Clarissa broke down and cried again.She threw herself onto the hospital bed, hugged Luana tightly, and wept her heart out.Luana no longer tried to console her not to cry. Instead, she reached out to hug her back, gently patting her back and whispering, "I'm okay..."If she couldn't see, then so
After returning to the hospital, Clarissa encountered Albert at the triage desk on the first floor, where he was handling discharge procedures.Seeing her, he was somewhat surprised and asked why she had come. Clarissa pursed her lips and didn't respond.Albert, feeling uneasy under her penetrating gaze, which seemed to see through him, instinctively averted his eyes."Honey..." he called out tentatively, then asked guiltily, "The doctor said Angela's pregnancy is unstable, and it would be best for her to stay near the hospital until the baby is born. Since our place is close to the hospital, how about she stays with us for a while?""With a pregnancy so unstable, it's no wonder she's acting out," Clarissa thought, resisting the urge to retort.She had a flaw—having grown up without much love, she was easily swayed by affection.But she also had a strength—she could quickly dismiss anyone or anything that betrayed her.She
Luana had long been aware of her physical condition, so she wasn't particularly concerned. She asked, "How much... longer do I have?"Eva, with her hands in the pockets of her white coat, looked down at Luana's pale face and said seriously, "About a week."If she hadn't sustained such severe injuries, with the help of special medications, she might have been able to hold on for another two months.But the nail piercing the back of her head had accelerated her heart failure. The fact that she could still last a week was nothing short of a medical miracle.Eva couldn't help but shudder as she recalled the scene of the nail piercing the back of Luana's head."Luana, who on earth nailed the back of your head?"Cline had only messaged her that Sidney, Runa, and he had attacked Luana, urging her to come and save her.He hadn't mentioned who had caused the injuries.Eva suspected it might have been a group attack, but she couldn't bel
After shouting, Clarissa covered her face and cried almost hysterically.Luana, seeing her like this, couldn't help but feel her eyes well up with tears.She mustered all her strength to reach out and pull at Clarissa's clothes.But Clarissa, unable to accept the reality, kept backing away...She cried and ran out of the ward in a state of collapse.Watching Clarissa's retreating figure, the tears that Luana had been holding back began to fall drop by drop.Clarissa ran out of the VIP ward in one breath and unconsciously stopped in front of the door of an ordinary ward.She wanted to ask Albert for help. Although she wasn't sure what kind of help he could provide, she desperately needed someone to lean on at the moment.She walked to the ward door, crying, but instead of seeing the Albert siblings, she heard a series of embarrassing noises coming from the adjacent single room...Instinctively, she wanted to avoid them, b
After speaking, Eva gave Clarissa a gentle smile, which temporarily relieved Clarissa of her worries and shifted her focus to Luana.Seeing Luana sweating from pain in her coma, Clarissa felt heartbroken and quickly took out a towel to wipe her sweat.After finishing, she turned to Eva and asked nervously, "Dr. Woodward, is Luana's heart okay?"Luana had congenital heart disease and had to be very careful in her daily life.Being beaten into a coma could have caused damage to her heart, just like how she had become weaker after being kicked before. Clarissa was very worried about this.Eva glanced at Clarissa, unsure of how to respond.As a doctor, she should tell the patient's family about such a life-or-death issue.But without the patient's consent, she didn't feel right making the decision.Moreover, seeing Clarissa's worried face, she was afraid that Clarissa wouldn't be able to handle it.After thinking for a while
Eva saw that she couldn't hide the truth anymore, so she told Clarissa what had happened, but she didn't mention the heart failure, only saying that Luana was in a coma.Hearing that Luana was in a coma, Clarissa nearly lost her balance and fell.She steadied herself against the door frame and said in a trembling voice, "Dr. Woodward, please tell me the address of the hospital..."Eva gave Clarissa the address and tried to calm her down. "Don't worry, she's in my hospital and I'll keep an eye on her. You should prepare some clothes for her to change into. She'll probably need to be hospitalized for a while."Eva's calm voice gave Clarissa some strength.She steadied herself, thanked Eva, and hung up the phone. Then she stumbled into Luana's bedroom.She quickly packed a few pieces of clothing, grabbed some toiletries, and hurriedly drove to the hospital.Eva was in the middle of giving Luana a detailed examination when she saw Clariss
Clarissa, Clarissa…Luana heard Clarissa's crying voice in a daze. The sound tugged at her heart, making it impossible for her to keep going.She stood in the mist, slowly turning her head, just in time to see Clarissa running toward her."Luana, don't leave. Come back. I still have so much to tell you…"Luana opened her mouth to respond to Clarissa, but no sound came out.Then, fresh oxygen flowed in, easing her suffocated heart.Gradually, the mist dissipated and Clarissa vanished. Luana fell into a deep coma."Dr. Woodward, her heart has started beating again!""Hurry, keep her on oxygen!"Eva saw the flickering data on the ECG monitor and felt her legs go weak.This was the first time she had been so anxious about a patient, fearing that she might die.Her hands were still trembling, too weak to even lift."Dr. Roffe , how's the situation with the back of her head?"Dr. Roffe
Cline stared coldly at Sidney, his face full of dissatisfaction."Cline, you used to... protect Valda like this too," Sidney said, eyeing him suspiciously up and down.In this world, the only person who could make him lose control of his emotions was Valda.Back then, he had stood up for Valda just like this, even going to any lengths to defend her!Sidney's words hit a sore spot for Cline, making his expression even darker and more irritable."What do you want to get out of this?""I want her dead! Either that, or sell her to a club and make her life a living hell! Otherwise, I'll tell Auntie that you have a special relationship with her!"Upon hearing this, Cline slightly tilted his head and reluctantly slapped Luana.The moment the slap landed, Luana, who was unprepared, lost her balance and fell straight backward—This time, she wasn't so lucky. There was a nail where she fell, which pierced right into the back