Linda was just thinking about what she should do about Tina to keep driving her further from Henry.Tina clearly resented Henry now because Henry protected Linda unconditionally, so Linda just had to trick Henry into hating Tina once more…But even before she could finish the thought, her face dropped as Rory bawled beside her, telling her that she had called Henry."Who told you to do that?!" she snapped at Rory right then.The brat could never do anything right!Linda was never going to tell Henry in the first place, as she had no idea what she should say when he asked how she got hurt.Her tears still on her cheeks, Rory was left too scared to say a word even though her lips twitched.Linda was really too weary for her, but the damage was done. She could not call Henry to tell him not to come either, as it would be obvious that she had something to hide.After some thought, Linda sent Rory to the doorway to wait for Henry, while she quickly cleaned her forehead and lay on
Linda was clearly shocked, not expecting Henry to immediately guess that Tina had hurt her.However, that reaction put her mind at ease.She had already thought of a plan—Tina could only have known that she killed Sophie from Quentin, so she was lucky that Quentin was dead.There was no evidence proving her crime now, and without evidence, Henry's immediate reaction to anything was to take her side when it came down to her and Tina.So what did she have to worry about?Her heart utterly gleeful, her lips curled up slightly as she looked up at Henry, who was glowering because Tina had hurt her.Still, she restrained herself and called out to her maid, "Mrs. Long, could you take Rory upstairs?" She would never forget to maintain her perfect image as a mother at every waking moment and take care of Rory even if things were bad."Mommy…" Rory looked at her worriedly."Be good now." Linda smiled at Rory. "Don't worry about me—I'm fine, and Daddy's here. Go to bed now.""Go on," H
Tina was always earnest toward anyone and anything, unlike Linda, whom Carl despised for her hypocritical nature despite her ability to keep up appearances perfectly.When Tina was first brought to Barnes Ranch, she considered herself an outsider and took everything lying down.Carl heard that she eventually gained some confidence because of Henry and changed just slightly but never abused his concern to start trouble. However, she would still fight back if someone pushed her too far.Therefore, if Tina really did attack Linda tonight, it could only be because Linda had really driven her to the brink.As Carl glanced at Henry, he really wondered why Henry could never understand that.He knew that he should not speak right now, but he could not help asking, "Ms. Cook, may I ask why Ms. Smith attacked you?"Linda was clearly taken aback but soon gathered herself and looked up from Henry's arms at Carl, shaking her head as her tone turned even more aggrieved. "I don't know—why wou
There was no hiding the concern in Henry's voice, and he was studying Tina from head to toe as he spoke.He could not see under her clothes, which were not torn, so he had no idea where she was hurt and did not pull her too forcefully.However, he kept holding on to her wrist firmly, stopping her from freeing herself while shooting Carl a look to examine her.Carl was stunned as Tina looked positively demonic just then, and he could not quite recover.It was Henry's sharp glare that jolted him to his senses, and he hurried over.Seeing that Tina was not in her right mind, he said mildly, "Please, Ms. Smith. Madam Barnes' heart would break if she woke up to see you hurt."Although Tina twitched ever so slightly at the mention of Madam Barnes, the flaring hatred in her eyes did not die off.Instead, she told Carl calmly, "Don't worry. I'm not hurt, Dr. Sandler. This isn't my blood—it was Linda who…"Tina remembered Linda's heinous act even as she was about to mention the dog's bl
"Henry!!!"Linda suddenly yelled, grimacing as if her heart broke from seeing Henry's wounded arm.Not caring that Tina was a threat, she ran toward her with eyes filled with concern. "You're hurt…"She seemed to have moved too quickly and slipped, while Henry relaxed his grip from Tina's wrist and reached out toward Linda in reflex.As Linda fell into Henry's arms just like that, she did not seem to notice Tina behind her back, as her eyes were glued to Henry's injury.Her eyes teary, she called out to Carl, who was just a few paces away, "Dr. Sandler, please, you have to help Henry…"While she was a little afraid that Tina could kill her, she was even more certain that no harm would come to her as long as Henry was right there with them.Therefore, she was not actually worried at all.As for Tina, she knew that Linda was not actually worried that Henry was hurt—Linda was yelling to interrupt what she was about to say.However, Tina did not care.She had come to kill Linda a
Henry was serious about making amends to Sophie, so why did Tina have to be so stubborn about it?And he should be upset, but the sight of her being so pale in his arms stopped him from being too harsh on her.He should also be leaving her in Carl's care too, but his body reacted quicker than his mind, and he scooped her up in his arms."Henry…"Watching as Henry's attention was completely fixed on Tina, Linda had to fight back her jealousy and call out meekly to Henry.She appeared more hurt than Tina, so Henry was not going to leave her behind…Henry glanced at her but did not leave Tina with Carl as she had expected, instead telling Carl, "Take care of Linda."Carl had served the Barnes family for years, and Henry trusted the family doctor."Yes, Mr. Barnes!"With Carl's reply, Henry promptly strode out, still carrying Tina.Linda's eyes widened in disbelief, finally realizing that Henry was really leaving her, despite her being injured, and leaving with Tina."Henry…"
Tina woke up early the next morning, not sleeping for long despite being sedated.She felt a splitting headache even as she opened her eyes and soon realized that she was on the giant bed of the main bedroom back at the villa.Soon, memories of last night rushed into her mind, to the moment when Linda had so spitefully thrown the dog's blood laced with cursed talismans on Sophie's gravestone, as Linda wanted Sophie to suffer even in the afterlife.As Tina was about to set out, feeling hatred welling up in her as well as the impulse to murder Linda, she heard Henry's voice from the balcony.His tone was gentle as he comforted Linda, who appeared scared. "It's alright—last night was just an accident, and it won't happen again. I've arranged for bodyguards, and she's never going to hurt you and Rory…"Tina could not be bothered to listen to the rest, as all she heard was that Henry had arranged for bodyguards to protect Linda.And that meant Tina could not even reach Linda now.Her
In her heart, Tina resented Henry's brainless protectiveness and Linda's vile nature while also resenting her own incompetence.And the more she resented her own incompetence, the more guilty she felt toward Sophie, feeling that she owed her but could not avenge her.That frustration and helplessness was a boulder weighing on her chest, suffocating her.As Tina's psychiatrist told her to talk to someone to ease her mind, which was already on the brink, she immediately thought of Madam Barnes.Madam Barnes was still comatose, but she was also one of the few who loved and cared for Tina.And since she was comatose, Tina did not have to worry about her going into shock when told that Linda killed Sophie.Heading to the hospital right then, Tina headed straight to Madam Barnes' room once she parked her car.Madam Barnes was still unconscious, and Carl had no idea when she would wake up.Sam's wife was there and was concerned when she saw how pale Tina was. "Are you losing sleep fro
Rory asked, "Daddy? Is that my birthday present?"At the same time, she knew very well that if Henry saw what that straw doll really was, he would be absolutely furious.That was why he must not let him see at any cost.However, Henry was still glowering as he threw the gift aside, taking a step forward and glaring at her menacingly. "Show it to me!""Daddy…"More tears gushed from Rory's eyes, as if Henry terrified her.And yet, she gingerly reached out, tugging on the hem of Henry's shirt, chirping sweetly, "Daddy, you're scaring me. Don't look at me like that."At that moment, she was once again the Rory that Henry was so familiar with.Mature and obedient.Kind and innocent.Guileless and harmless.But Henry could not forget about the Rory he saw just now.And seeing that she kept trying to manipulate him, he lost all patience and pushed her aside, while reaching for the blanket with his other hand."Daddy! Don't look!"Rory cried as she lunged over in a panic to stop
As Henry opened the door, he was left staring in shock as Rory knelt before her own bed, her young, dainty face contorted with sinister malice that did not suit her age.Just seeing that left Henry wondering if this was still the sweet, disciplined Rory whom he knew? He just could not connect that other Rory with the one he was looking at now.As she held a tiny straw doll in one hand and a long needle in the other, cursing Sophie's name while stabbing the needle repeatedly into the straw doll, it was clear that the straw doll was meant to represent Sophie.A fire flared inside Henry's mind—Sophie's death had always been an agony to him, and he owed her plenty and wanted nothing less than to give her a better afterlife.More than that, he yearned for the day that Tina forgave him, and then they could have another child.With that, Sophie could reincarnate and become their daughter once more, so he would have a chance to make amends.When he yearned for those things so much, how
After Henry found out that Tina was the real Orange, watching the footage of Sophie only made him regret even more.He really wanted to go back to seven years ago and beat his past self up violently.Even as he looked tearfully at Sophie—the child of her and Orange's love, so cute and pretty on the screen—he thought she should have grown up pampered as the happiest princess.And yet, he had scorned her even before she was born and treated her with utter insignificance after she was born.Just thinking about how she looked at him, yearning for her fatherly affection, left his heart feeling like it was being stabbed a thousand times over."I'm so sorry, Sophie! Can you come back to me?" he asked, gently brushing his finger against her photo on the gravestone.However, there was no answer to his question, and he felt like he was stabbed again as he kept watching the video alone in the cold winter night.When the video was finished, his tears covered his face.The more Sophie loved
Rory was endlessly confident that she mattered most in her daddy's heart.However, Henry usually arrived very early on her birthdays. When he did not show up by eight, Rory called his number, but no one answered.Still, she was afraid to keep calling and instead texted him.[Daddy, when are you coming?]Once again, there was no answer—he did not pick up as she tried to call later too, and nor did he show up as noon arrived.Even as she felt disheartened, she peered at Linda with the corner of her eye.Linda had gone the extra mile to look pretty, as she had promised to persuade Henry so that they could celebrate her birthday together.She quickly tried to call Henry as there was no sign of him, and they continued to wait all the way to the evening.Meanwhile, Linda had already received the message that Henry had gone to Sophie's grave first thing in the morning and never left since.Furious, she steered her wheelchair and rammed into Rory, knocking her to the floor, all whil
Linda told Rory that Sophie was Henry's real daughter.Because they were connected by blood, if they spent more time with each other and bonded, Rory would become unimportant because she was not really Henry's daughter.There was no way Rory would let Sophie take her daddy away, so she agreed to let Linda make her sick.Then, Linda waited until Henry was on the way to the amusement park before calling him, to make sure Henry would walk out on Sophie.After that, Linda told her that Sophie had stupidly waited for half a day at the amusement park and died.Sophie was really stupid—she knew that Henry did not love her, but she still thought she could steal Henry away from Rory on her birthday!However, because Sophie died, Henry never took her to the amusement park last year for her, even though he had promised to do it every year.Still, seeing that Henry was silent, she promptly played the mature daughter and said, "It's alright, Daddy—I was just asking. It's okay if you just spe
Henry nodded. "Good."After Andy left and Yancy arrived, Rory already changed into fresh clothes, hugging Henry's arm as she sat beside him on the couch, leaning on him with an utterly clingy look.Yancy went over and examined her before concluding, "She's lucky you found her in time and didn't catch a cold. But you have to be more careful—she's still recovering and wouldn't survive an infection."And with those instructions, Yancy left.The rim of her eyes reddened, Rory knew she was in the wrong and apologized, "I'm sorry, Daddy. I should have behaved instead of making you worry. It won't happen again.""As long as you understand. Don't do something like that ever again," Henry rebuked her, but his tone was gentle.Rory nodded repeatedly and threw herself into his arms As Henry still had work to do, he was going to ask Andy to take her home, but she refused. "It's been two weeks, Daddy. I'll stay with you a little longer. I promise to stay in a corner and read my books withou
Rory was crouching at a corner of the office building, her clothes soaked through and her tiny form curled up.She was trembling in the cold as she looked at Henry."Rory!" Henry's eyes widened and he hurried over, catching some of the rain as his bodyguard could not keep up with him.Still, Henry could not care less as he rushed to Rory's side, taking off his suit jacket and wrapping it around Rory, and then scooped her stiff little body up in his arms.As he did, he felt her hands too—they were as cold as ice, leaving his heart tightening.Her large eyes were filled with tears, and she was not behaving like before.After all, whenever Henry picked her up, she would always hug his neck, calling him 'Daddy' sweetly as she leaned her cheeks on his chest.In the winter rain, the chilling winds cut to the bone.Even though Henry had realized that something was wrong with Rory, he did not ask her immediately, but instead strode into the building with her in his arms and took the el
"I need some rest, Rory," he said, his tone a little cool. "I'll drop by later to visit. Just go home and get some rest."It was meant as a warning to Linda as well, to discourage her from using Rory to bridge the distance between them ever again."Daddy…"However, it was the first time Henry was being that cold toward Rory. Before he could reach her, Andy stopped her, "Please, Rory—Mr. Barnes is really feeling ill and needs rest. If you really care, you should listen instead of bothering him further."Rory pursed her lips as she stood at the doorway, her tears welling up in her eyes as she leveled a doleful look at Henry.However, as Henry closed his eyes and she could not get anything from him, she left, looking back every other step.She was very much panicking—was Henry really angry at her this time?And if Henry did not love her, then Linda would not either.What could she do at that point?Nonetheless, she got downstairs and got into a car parked outside.And seeing h
"It doesn't hurt. Really," John teased, seeing the grim look on Tina's face.Annoyed, Tina shot him a glare and pressed on the cotton bud.John gasped, "Oof…"Tina promptly withdrew her hand but still scoffed. "I thought you said it didn't hurt!""My bad!" John promptly apologized—he simply could not be harsh on her.Still, Tina became even gentler then as she worked meticulously.At the same time, Tina's phone kept jingling with text messages, all of which were from Henry, who kept apologizing.However, she only picked up her phone after disinfecting John's face and did not read a single text as she blocked Henry.John then led her to the main bedroom, where the sheets were already changed.He really was attentive as ever.Nonetheless, Tina was really spent. "Goodnight.""Goodnight," John replied and lit some scented candles to help her sleep, while Tina lay under her warm sheets.Outside, the rain was getting heavier.She thought she would stay wide awake after the night