The leading surgeon sighed. "I'm sorry—we've done our best."Tina was left thunderstruck, her knees buckling, and she started to wobble.John caught her, holding her by the shoulder and quietly offering her support."Are you Ms. Smith?" the surgeon then asked."Yes…" Tina's voice was very soft, as if all her strength had left her.The truth was within reach… but the witness was dead!"He wants to see you."Tina looked up right then, pausing for a moment to make sure she heard him right, then scrambled inside the operating room.The nurses had left, and it was just her and Quentin.Rushing to his side, she asked urgently, "Please, sir. I've wired the one million you asked for. Tell me, who was it?"Quentin's gaze was unfocused, but he rasped with his dying breath nonetheless, "It's your rival… Linda Cook…"Tina's eyes widened at the name, as she felt a chill running up from her toes to the rest of her body.And clearly aware that he was on borrowed time, Quentin panted to
Tina had just gotten on a cab when Whitney Barnes called her."There's a luncheon today. Come help out," she said and hung up right after.It was a command—Henry's aunt had always treated her like a servant in the family.Even though Madam Barnes declared that Tina was a daughter of the family after her stepmother passed away, the Barnes never acknowledged that.They therefore did not acknowledge Sophie either, since Henry did not acknowledge Sophie as well, even though Tina and Sophie lived with Henry under one roof for five years.Still, Tina was smirking as she heard Linda over the phone and told the cabbie, "Barnes Ranch."An hour later, the cab stopped outside the private lane leading to Barnes Ranch.The Barnes did not want to be bothered, so they bought every other piece of land around their ranch and denied entry to all public vehicles.After Tina alighted, she had to walk for thirty minutes to reach the main house.As soon as she entered, she saw everyone hovering aro
Henry inhaled sharply, his gaze darkening as he watched Tina.Opposite them, Linda gritted her teeth so hard that they could break.That bitch!"Who told you to sit?!" Whitney snapped at her coldly nonetheless. "Look at the time—get cooking!""Yes, ma'am." Tina slowly got up, releasing Henry's hand but brushing her fingertip down his spine.Feeling the soft touch down his back, Henry stiffened as he inhaled sharply again."I'll help." Linda got up, lying through her teeth.Irene stopped her, however. "No, you don't have to—that's a servant's work, and you're going to be Mrs. Barnes soon. Right, Henry?""Yeah," Henry murmured distractedly, his eyes still on Tina.Tina paused for just a second at the doorway but soon continued forward.Then, Irene started pulling along Linda and Rory. "Come on, let's take a stroll in the gardens."Linda turned to Henry. "Are you coming with us?""No, I have things to do," he replied and headed upstairs.-Meanwhile, Tina soon found herself
Tina had undoubtedly been cold to Henry for a while, and the sudden return of her enthusiasm was too tempting to resist.As he kissed her even more fiercely, the kitchen seemed to heat up…Meanwhile, unable to find Henry, Linda saw the kitchen servant who was supposed to be working outside and remembered that Whitney had sent them away on purpose.And Tina was alone in the kitchen…Her gaze turning sinister right then, she started toward it, her heels clicking in her wake.Seeing that, Irene quickly said, "He's not in the kitchen, Linda."Linda did not respond and continued onward.Henry heard them, and his rationality returned.However, he did not release Tina and kept kissing her, relishing the taste until the footsteps closed in.As he released Tina and took a step back, her knees buckled. She almost fell and had to lean against the worktop.She stared at Henry, who was barely a pace away, looking sharply dressed and refined, unlike her miserable state.As if it was someo
Since no one invited Tina to join them for lunch, she headed to Madam Barnes' garden, tidying the place.There were gardeners for that, but she would come from time to time to look after Madam Barnes' flowers.It was quiet here, as Madam Barnes was recuperating abroad, and the servants only came in the mornings.However, she had just finished trimming some bushes and was about to leave when Linda cut her off.Without anyone else around, Linda dropped all pretenses and snapped at Tina right away, "You're the one who keeps saying you're leaving Henry, but now you're snuggling up to him?! Don't you feel like a wh—"Even before she could finish, Tina slapped her across the face without warning. "You'd better watch your tongue."She glared coldly at her, ready to skin her right then.Linda actually backed down from her glare but soon noticed the pain on her cheek and strode up, ready to slap her back. "How dare you hit me, you bitch—"However, Tina caught her wrist just as she raise
Rory fell into the ice-cold pond, kicking up a large splash.As soon as she did, Linda cried out at the top of her lungs nearby, "Rory! Help! Rory fell into the pond!"She was so loud that all the servants came running, some calling for Henry while others jumped in to save Rory.It had only been half a day since Rory came to Barnes Ranch, and the servants knew that Henry loved Linda's daughter to bits, unlike Tina's daughter, whom they completely ignored whenever she came.Rory had yet to change her last name to Barnes, but they were treating her like the heiress apparent already.Whitney and Irene heard the commotion as well and strode over from the opposite side of the pond, with Whitney wheeling on Tina and snapping "Seize her!"She did not even ask any questions and promptly pinned all blame on Tina, but the servants all promptly did as they were told anyway!Henry soon arrived as well, just as Rory was getting fished out of the pond by the servants.It was deep into winter
Whitney sat and glared coldly at Tina.Tina's face had been an eyesore to her the first they met—she looked too much like that woman!On the other hand, Tina stood motionless, forced to stay silent despite being keen on maintaining her innocence.Among the members of the Barnes family, Whitney despised her the most—it was pointless to reason with her.Tina had expected Henry to at least give her a chance to defend herself too and did not think that he believed Linda and Rory's word at face value, denying her even that.She pursed her lips, fighting back the sense of helplessness inside.There really was nothing she could do against an opponent with so much support.That was when Irene snapped, "My mom told you to kneel!"Glee showed in her eyes, as she despised Tina too.Her mother had been telling her to win over her grandmother when she returned to this manor with her mother. And yet, her grandmother never liked her, instead favoring Tina and siding with her on every occas
Tears silently welled up in Tina's eyes as she nodded. "When did you wake up? When did you come back? Are you alright now?""I'm plenty fine!" Madam Barnes clapped her hand assuringly.-Meanwhile, Rory fell asleep after she cried enough in Henry's room on the third floor while Linda stood by, wiping her tears miserably.That is, until a servant knocked on the door. "Sir? Madam Barnes is asking for you and Ms. Cook downstairs."Hearing that, Henry was on his feet right then, delight showing in his eyes. "Grandma is back?"As he put down Rory and started downstairs, Linda remained behind, struck by terrible panic.If anything, she felt like she had sunk into the abyss upon hearing that Madam Barnes had returned, as she kept wondering why that relic managed to make it back.Was she not already comatose?! And now that she was back, would the truth of what happened five years ago not be exposed?!-As Henry arrived at the drawing room downstairs and saw that it really was Madam B
As soon as Henry heard that Tina was hurt and hospitalized, he got into his car and rushed to the hospital, only to see John touching her upon arrival.However, John had already been furious with Henry when he found Tina in her tragic state.If he had not dumped her at that isolated place, she would not have suffered so much.Hence, John stood up.Henry presumed that he was backing down and released his grip, only for John to suddenly get up and punch him in the face viciously.It came so quickly it caught Henry off guard, and it struck him true.While John was a gentleman, and this was the first time that he had ever punched anyone, he did it so viciously.Henry stumbled backward once before catching his balance and felt blood in his mouth.Still, his face contorted savagely, but as he was about to return the punch, Tina suddenly got out of bed.She knew him too well and scrambled out of bed to stand in front of John.Henry's eyes widened and promptly stopped, his fist just
"Tina!" John cried, grimacing in heartache as he dropped to one knee, wrapping his coat around her before carefully picking her up.However, she was hurting everywhere after the robber kicked her repeatedly.She gasped in pain without knowing as John touched her and could not see where she was hurt under her clothes.She was not loud, but the pain in his eyes showed even more.He gathered her in his arms even more carefully this time, while Ian drove over in his black Maybach.Ian opened the door, and John put Tina in the backseat, barking, "Get us to the hospital!"At his order, Ian floored the gas pedal and sped off.-Much later, John was sitting by a hospital bed, his eyes fixed on Tina, who lay frailly on it.The doctor told him that Tina was bruised all over, clearly having been kicked repeatedly.John's heart clenched at the thought, his pain welling out.That was when Tina woke up and found herself staring at John's dark gaze right away.She was awake but also felt
The robber started fantasizing—once he got rich, he would kick his wife and the three money sinks to the curb and get himself a young pretty face to carry his genes.With that thought, he cheerfully returned to his bike and sped off, not caring about what happened to Tina.She lay on the ground, watching as the last thing she kept of Sophie disappeared from her sight, tears rolling down her cheeks. "Sophie…"In time, her body slowly turned stiff from the cold as she lay on the icy ground.Her tears would dry up quickly, but more would flow soon after.There was no telling how long had passed before she completely passed out.-After getting Henry's call, Andy promptly drove to where Tina was, but she was not there when he arrived.He alighted and yelled, "Ms. Smith!"There was no response, so he returned to his car and called Henry, but the call was cut off right away.After all, Henry had called him to pick Tina up while he sent his people to save Linda. At this time, he m
Furious, the robber lunged at Tina viciously. "You bitch! You asked for this!"Tina was flat on her back and did not have the strength to fight back as the robber charged at her again.She could only curl up to hold onto the necklace containing Sophie's bone."Give it up!" However, the robber was a blue collar worker and very strong.His hands were like pliers that grabbed firmly on her arm as he attempted to unfold her.He did not expect Tina to hold on so tightly that his temple veins were bulging, and he could not even pull her arm off."Fuck! Don't think I can't make you budge!" he swore as he sprang to his feet again. Unable to pull her off, he kicked her repeatedly.He did not hold back, just like how he never held back on beating his wife whenever he got too drunk.In fact, he was furious this time and kicked Tina even harder.However, Tina only curled into herself even tighter amid the pain.Even as she started blacking out, she held onto the necklace containing
Tina was the one who had taken care of Sophie from birth.Since jewelry was cumbersome when taking care of children, she was used to not wearing it even after Sophie's death.At most, she wore a watch to work—hers was not all that valuable, but she took it off even though it was hidden under her sleeve.Having given the robber everything, and seeing that he was still measuring her from head to toe, she said earnestly, "I really have nothing else."She had been very compliant, and the robber believed her and started stuffing everything into the handbag.However, just as he was about to get on his bike, he spotted the necklace around Tina's neck.His face dropping, he hung the handbag on the bike while snarling as he returned to Tina, grabbing her shoulder, "You bitch! You lied to me!"He was a big man and could crush her collarbone right then.Even as Tina shuddered in pain, she did not know what had gotten the robber upset, fighting back her panic as she said, "I've really give
It was a voice that would invoke any man's chivalry."I won't leave!" Henry promised Linda again.Relieved, Linda calmly closed her eyes, her breathing turning rhythmic.Thinking that she was asleep, Henry pulled his hand away…"Henry!"Linda promptly jolted awake, her eyes wide open.However, seeing that Henry was just moving to sit by the bed, she calmly closed her eyes again, this time holding firmly on his shirt to keep him.Nothing would change, even if Henry found out that Tina was not the one who had drugged him five years ago!In his mind, Linda would always be his savior, the woman he loved the most!He would love her like nothing ever happened no matter what she had gone through, and Tina had no right to compete with her!-Meanwhile, Tina continued walking along the eerily silent road after Henry had left her there.She would be lying if she said she was not scared, but she fought her fear and hurried along.It would take several hours to reach the city, but tha
It was a line that reminded Henry of that moment five years ago, and he nodded. "Yeah. I told you I'd never let you get hurt again, Linda."The single line offered Linda assurance, and she threw herself into Henry's arms."Henry…" She sobbed endlessly, at once hysterical and miserable. "You came for me!"Pained, Henry pursed his lips and scooped her up in his arms. "It's alright. I'm taking you home right now.""Yeah," Linda murmured, hugging his neck and pressing her cheek against his chest, shuddering endlessly.She seemed horrified, refusing to leave his embrace.And that was how Henry carried her to his car, quietly telling the chauffeur to head to Rose Garden.It was almost ten when they arrived.As Henry carried Linda inside as well, the maid heard them and came out.Bowing respectfully at the two when she saw them, she said, "Mr. Barnes, Ms. Cook. Rory's asleep.""Good," Henry replied quietly and leaned down to tell Linda tenderly, "We're home, Linda."Linda did not s
Seeing that Henry was stopping to listen, the man's eyes lit up with hope, and he quickly said, "It's the truth, Mr. Barnes—I'm not lying! She really came on to us!"That woman's acting was just too good.If they had not personally been there, even they would have doubted that the same person who came on to them was also the same person who had accused them!"It's the truth, Mr. Barnes!" the other man promptly echoed, his tone earnest as he tried to convince Henry.Regret was twisting their insides to a bunch too, as they did not have evidence—if they did, they would have shown it!They had been feeling gleeful earlier that they were doing it in a place without cameras.And now, they could not even defend themselves!Henry looked at them then.He could see that they were just stopping short of swearing it was the truth, and there was no hint of guilt in their eyes as they looked at him in turn."No!!! Get away from me!!! Please don't touch me!!! Henry!!! Henry!!!"But even as
Henry's eyes were on Tina even as he held his cigarette and answered the phone.Tina ignored him as he had clearly mentioned Linda's name to screw with her, but just as she got up, Henry's face dropped.He dropped his cigarette on her too, and she flinched in pain, losing her balance and falling again.However, Henry was busy assuring Linda endlessly as she screamed in terror on the other end. "Calm down! I'm coming right now—I'll save you! It's alright!"He did not hang up as he continued offering words of comfort, completely ignoring Tina as if she was never there.As soon as he returned to his car, he floored the gas pedal, disappearing into the night."Henry Barnes!" Tina yelled just as she got up, but her voice was drowned out by the roaring engine, and she was left standing as she watched Henry's car disappear from sight.A cold breeze blew just then, and the rustle of leaves echoed on both sides of the road.As Tina shuddered, she picked up her bag from the ground and to