Ch. 2751..2760
Chapter 2751 The door swung open at the same time Luna put down her phone.
A few bodyguards entered the rooin, and the leader shot Luna a respectful glance. “Yes, Ma‘am.”
Then, he glanced coldly at Steven and said, “Let‘s go, Mr. Hughes.”
Steven furrowed his brow upon hearing this. “Is there no room for further discussion, Mrs. Lynch?”
He knew how much his parents adored Denise. If he were to go home without her, they would grow concerned and would not cease to find her. This was why he had rushed over as soon as he received Joshua‘s call without a single regard for his injury.
Despite this, he knew he could not simply agree to help Luna and Gwen plot against the Hughes and Miller families. He did not want to choose any of the options Luna gave him. He did not want to leave without Denise, but neither was he willing to betray his family. “No,” Luna said curtly as she handed Gwen a glass of water.” You‘ve used up all your chances.” She glanced at the guards and ordered, “Send Mr. Hughes out!” Seeing how adamant Luna was, the guards had no choice but to approach Steven once more. “Mr. Hughes, please don‘t make this any more difficult than it has to be.”
Steven stared at Luna, frowning.
Finally, he sighed and stood up from his seat. As he did so, he glanced meaningfully at Luna, then at Gwen.
Finally, he bowed at Gwen and said, “Ms. Larson, I’ve never
known you or Luke personally before this, so I had no idea that bringing up Luke would be so emotionally traumatizing for you. I‘m so sorry if I caused you any pain.
“I will do my best to make things up to you, but at the same time... if you intend to sue the Hughes and Miller families for this, I will not cease to stop you.”
Then, he turned and strode out of the room.
Gwen lifted her head to stare at his retreating figure.
Even though this man was not Luke, the way he walked and the way he swung his arms were identical to Luke. A twinge of pain shot through her heart once more.
Gwen bit her lip as she tried to suppress the urge to hug him. Finally, after Steven‘s silhouette disappeared from view, she finally slumped against Luna‘s shoulder and sobbed, “Luna... I can‘t face him. I thought I could, but I had overestimated myself.
“Sometimes, I long for him to admit that he is Luke pretending to be someone else...but at other times, I know full well that this man isn‘t Luke, and I have the urge to kill him for taking everything away from Luke. “However, I know that I can‘t do either of those. This body belongs to Steven now, and I have no right to take someone‘s life away, but I’m just so, so heartbroken...” When she heard Gwen‘s hoarse, sobbing voice and felt the tears dripping onto her shoulder, Luna suddenly did not know how to comfort her best friend. Instead, she gently patted Gwen‘s back for comfort. After a long time, Luna‘s phone rang.
It was Neil.
“Mommy, have you tried using the listening device that Nigel prepared for you? We’ve begun to receive some signals and voices from our end now. Do you need Nigel to connect you to this frequency?
“I overheard some…strange conversations between that man and his parents, but neither Nigel, Nellie, nor I could figure out what was going on.“
Chapter 2752” . Luna paused for a moment, then nodded. “Alright. Send me an email with the audio recordings, and I‘ll listen to them right now.” She then hung up the phone. As she did this, Luna glanced out the window and realized that the sun had already set.
She and Gwen had been sitting there for more than five hours. “Did they find out anything through the recording device?” Gwen asked, frowning Luna nodded. “When did you even place it on Steven, anyway?” Gwen sniffed, picked up a tissue from the table, and wiped her tear –stained face. “I planted it there when I was hugging him.” Even though Gwen had temporarily lost all her rationality that moment, she still remembered her task, so she slipped the recording device into Steven‘s back pocket while embracing him.
Even though she was unsure of Steven‘s habits, she still remembered that Luke never used to check his back pockets. Therefore, she gambled her chances and assumed that Steven was the same.
It seemed that she had guessed correctly.
“I‘ve asked Nigel and Neil to send the audio clips over.” Luna stood up. “Do you want to listen to them together?”
Gwen nodded. She wanted to stand up as well, but because she had remained seated for too long, her legs had fallen asleep, and she could not even move.
“Look at you.” Luna sighed and reached out to help Gwen up, and the two of them shuffled into Luna‘s bedroom.
When they entered the door, however, they both froze in surprise when they caught sight of the restrained woman on the bed. Luna and Gwen exchanged a glance, then smiled wryly in unison.
They forgot about Denise.
At this moment, Denise‘s hands and feet were tied, and her mouth was gagged, but her eyes were closed...as though she were asleep.
Gwen strode over and gently placed her finger under Denise‘s nostrils. “She‘s still breathing. She probably just fell asleep.”
Luna froze for a moment, initially intending to summon the guards to take Denise away. On second thought, she decided it was better to keep Denise here. Steven would never have given up on Denise so easily, and so he was probably already plotting to break her out. What if he was already waiting outside the doors, ready to ambush them? If she allowed the guards to take Denise out of the room, would it not be the perfect chance for Steven to rescue her?
At the thought of this, Luna put down her phone and glanced at the sleeping woman on the bed. Gwen knew what Luna was thinking about and did not pursue it any further. Instead, she dragged a chair over to Luna‘s desk, and the both of them turned on the laptop.
Nigel‘s email was waiting for them.
Even though Neil had mentioned on the phone that neither of them managed to understand the conversation between Steven and his parents, Luna could not help thinking that Nigel must have pieced it together somehow.
Otherwise, Nigel would not have split the recording into segments labeled with tags that briefly highlighted the contents of the audio clip.
Luna glanced at the tags, then at Gwen. “Which one do you feel like listening to first?”
Gwen was silent for a while, then turned to look at Denise. Finally, she pointed at the audio clip labeled [What to do about the daughter] and said, “Let’s start with this.”
Luna nodded and clicked on the recording.
Mr. Hughes‘ cold voice rang out from the speaker, “Let Denise die, then.”
Chapter 2753 Luna and Gwen fell silent upon hearing this. The entire room was quiet except for the sound of Denise‘s slow breathing.
Luna was a little caught off guard by this.
The audio clip continued to play out an argument between Steven and his parents.
“How can you say this, Father? She‘s my sister!”
“Steven, you know very well that your mother and I had adopted Denise. If it weren‘t for us, she would‘ve been in a far worse place than she is now. The only reason we had adopted her–provided her with a comfortable life and took care of her like she was our own–was that we wanted her to contribute to this family.
“The only thing we asked of her in return was to marry Thomas so our family can become even more powerful and aid your career in the future.
“However, after so many years, not only did she fail in this, but she even allowed Thomas to bring home another woman and even a baby...
“She’s lost all her value to our family, whereas we‘ve done all we can to help her. If Joshua wants her to get out of Saigen City, then we have no choice but to follow.”
Steven was shocked to hear this. “Father! How can you say that? Didn‘t we choose to adopt Denise because we love her? Besides, I never thought this was what you and Mother truly thought, considering how well you‘ve treated Denise over the years!”
Mr. Hughes sneered. “You‘re right. We had adopted her because we love her, but she‘s still not our child, after all. Now that she‘s gotten herself into trouble, how do you expect us to put our livelihood at risk to save her–a daughter who can‘t even get her job done?
“Steven, you have to remember to always think about yourself first. It‘s only after ensuring our individual livelihood that we have the capability to help others and gain a good reputation in return. Otherwise, it‘ll all be for naught!”
Steven was rendered speechless by this. After a long time, he asked in a hoarse voice, “How about you, Mother? Denise is your favorite, and you love her more than anything. Do–”
“I agree with your father, Mrs. Hughes cut him off curtly before he could even finish.“Steven, you‘ve been in a coma for five years, so we don‘t blame you for the fact that your thoughts remain in a state of the past, but even considering this, you can‘t continue to be blind to reality.”
“Blind to reality, you say?” Steven let out a bitter chuckle and said with a hint of helplessness, “Does everything you do have to be measured by the degree of contribution to this family?” “Why would you think otherwise?” Mr. Hughes continued frostily, “Steven, your mother is right: Your thoughts remain in a state of the past, but you can‘t choose to be blind to the truth. You have to grow up now and leave those naive thoughts behind.
“Denise has nothing to do with this family anymore, and I‘ll let Joshua know that he can choose to do anything he wants to Denise; we will no longer care. “At the same time, he‘ll have to promise us that he won‘t cut off business with Hughes Group.”
Chapter 2754
Luna instinctively glanced at Gwen after the recording ended.
Gwen, too, turned to stare at her.
Both their faces were etched with utter disbelief.
How…could this be?
Did the Hughes family not adore Denise beyond anyone else? Did Steven not say that Mr. and Mrs. Hughes practically treated Denise like their own?
How could they have chosen to give up on Denise so easily after knowing she had offended Thomas?
“Although I must say, this seems pretty consistent with their style. Gwen was the first one to break out of her stupor. She curled her lips into a smirk and added, “More than two decades ago, they had abandoned a one–year–old baby just because of their superstitious beliefs, so we shouldn’t be surprised that they’d choose to give up on their daughter just to get on Thomas and Joshua’s good sides. Regardless…”
Gwen sneered and turned to glance at Denise. “I can’t help feeling bad for her. According to Steven, Denise hadn’t truly loved Thomas at all—she just chose to because she knew that this was the man her parents wanted her to marry.”
Luna glanced at Denise, frowning.
Even though this woman was deceitful and cunning, she was still beautiful, and one could easily tell that she had grown up in a comfortable and luxurious home. However, whenever she recalled the conversation between Steven and his parents, Luna could not help feeling bad for her.
One would have developed attachments to a pet dog, much less a living, breathing human they had raised for 20 years.
Even Steven, who had been in a coma for five years, was outwardly resistant when he learned of his parents‘ plans to abandon Denise, yet Mr. and Mrs. Hughes did not seem at all hesitant to do so.
At the thought of this, Luna furrowed her brow and asked, “Can one even fall in love with a stranger just to live up to other people‘s expectations?” Gwen curled her lips into a smile. “Perhaps she had never liked Thomas at all, but because her parents and Mrs. Howard had been‘ advertizing‘ Thomas to her for so many years, she fell into the trap of believing she loved him.”
Finally, she sighed and added, “None of this matters anymore, though. The fact that Denise and Mrs. Howard had driven a wedge between Thomas and Yannie… is not something we should forgive easily. “Or, to better put it, neither of us, apart from Thomas and Yannie, have the right to forgive her, so the best thing we can do is to keep her here for a while until Thomas and Yannie patch things up, then we can hand her over to them for punishment.”
Luna nodded.
Gwen was right. Neither of them had the right to punish Denise on behalf of Thomas and Yannie, so she had never intended to torture Denise at all.
Therefore, the only thing they could do was to keep Denise hostage and, while they were at it, make her suffer a little before finally handing her over to Thomas and Yannie.
“What a pity.” Luna sighed. “I had hoped that by keeping her hostage, we‘d be able to threaten Steven into providing us evidence of the Hughes and Miller families‘ crimes...”
“It‘s okay.” Gwen curled her lips into a smirk. “We can still obtain evidence on our own without his help.”
“I can help you,” all of a sudden, a woman‘s voice rang out from behind them. Gwen turned around in disbelief.
Chapter 2755 Denise‘s eyes were glossed with tears as she stared at them.
Gwen froze for a moment, then immediately glanced at Luna. “She...”
Luna rubbed her brow in exasperation. “I thought she was sleeping, so I removed the towel from her mouth so she wouldn‘t choke.”
Neither of them had expected Denise to wake up in the middle of their conversation.
“I heard everything.” Denise sighed when she noticed Luna‘s confusion and said solemnly, “I never ...thought things would turn out this way.
Denise had always been a good actress.
Ever since she was a child, she had to learn ways of feigning obedience to steer attention away from her brother, so she picked up the skill of pretending to fall asleep whenever the adults wanted her to. Not only that, but she was even able to wake up ‘on demand‘ to appease the adults.
Even though the adults gradually saw through her as she grew older, she could still fool unsuspecting people, including Luna and Gwen.
She had not been asleep this whole time at all. Instead, she had overheard everything Steven said about her, including Steven and Gwen‘s argument.
It turned out that Luna and Gwen had not been lying after all.
The reason Steven had woken up from his coma…was because he had stolen someone else‘s body. Gwen had not intruded into Kate and Steven‘s relationship at all. On the contrary, Kate had been the outsider all along.
Denise had already been shocked to learn all this, but she never thought that she would overhear her own parents choosing to abandon her. After living with the Hughes family for more than two decades, she was more than familiar with their voices and could recognize in an instant that the recording was real.
At the thought of this, Denise could not stop her tears from falling.
She never thought that the two people who loved and spoiled her would turn out to be such deceitful traitors. In their eyes, they never considered her as family, and she never mattered to them at all.
One would not even abandon a pet so easily, much less a living, breathing human like her. Denise lifted her head to stare at Gwen and sniffed.” Weren‘t you hoping for someone to help you collect
evidence of the Hughes and Miller families‘ wrongdoings? Since my brother refuses to help you, I can step in.
“Even though my parents have chosen to leave me for dead, they‘ll still pretend to welcome me home should you release me now. They won‘t suspect a thing, and even if their guards are up, it‘ll be far easier for me to spy on them than for you to do so.
Luna and Gwen exchanged a glance when they heard this. Finally, Luna turned to stare at Denise, frowning. “What do you want?
“You overheard our conversation , so you know very well that we can‘t forgive you for what you did to Thomas and Yannie. Therefore, even if you help us, we won‘t show you mercy in return.”
Denise curled her lips into a bitter smile. “I know that, but ...the reason I‘m choosing to do this now is because I‘m utterly disappointed.
“My parents–no, I mean, the Hughes family-had convinced me that I‘ll be able to marry Thomas if I got myself pregnant with his child, so I obeyed their wishes and did as they pleased. “However, not only did they choose to let me bear the consequences on my own, they even left me for dead the moment I screwed up...”
She lifted her head to meet Gwen‘s gaze. “I don‘t ask for anything in return for helping you, but I do have one wish. “I want you to show my brother mercy.”
Chapter 2756
Upon hearing this, Luna first glanced at Gwen, frowning, then turned to gaze at Denise. “Ms. Hughes, when you say show your brother mercy, you mean...”
.
Denise closed her eyes and let out a sigh. Finally, she opened her eyes and fixated her gaze on Gwen. “I just hope that if I can help you avenge your boyfriend‘s death and punish those who fooled and disrespected him, Ms. Larson ...you‘ll forgive my brother for his wrongdoings .
“I‘ve always thought that my brother is just a victim in this. He had no idea what was going on and had done nothing wrong, but he still occupied your boyfriend‘s body, after all, so I hope that if I manage to help you get what you want, you‘ll choose to leave my brother alone. I don‘t even need you to help me beg for Thomas and Yannie‘s mercy; all I want is for my brother to be okay. He
–
Denise‘s breath caught in her throat. “He‘s the best brother anyone can ever have.‘‘ From the conversation between Steven, Gwen, and Luna, Denise realized that despite knowing since young that he and Denise were not true siblings, Steven had always treated her like his own sister.
Throughout their childhood, Steven would always be the first to stand up for her whenever something bad
happened to her. He would give her anything she wanted, and even when he received his first paycheck after graduating from college, he chose to spend it on a gift for her.
It was a dainty necklace that still resided in a jewelry box on her vanity.
In the past, Denise and Steven used to be inseparable until his accident which rendered him comatose.
During the five years of Steven‘s coma, Denise gradually learned to make new friends on her own and, under her parents‘ and Mrs. Howard‘s influence, kept trying to approach Thomas.
Therefore, she gradually forgot about her bond with Steven, and even after Steven woke up from his coma, she still felt as though he was a stranger. At one point, Denise even thought that she was closer to Kate than she was to her own brother.
Denise thought that this would be a mutual feeling, but it turned out Steven had not changed at all.
He was still the kind, supportive brother that would stand by her side no matter what. He was the only person she could not bear to leave behind.
“Think of it as a way of repaying my brother‘s love and support for me all these years.” Denise bit her lip. “Can you promise me that, Ms. Larson?”
Gwen was silent for a long time before finally closing her eyes and saying, “How long do you need? I‘ll try my best to buy you some time from Thomas and Yannie, and they won‘t lay a finger on you whilst you‘re helping me, but I don‘t wish to drag this on for too long.”
Gwen had already intended not to blame Steven for what happened to Luke, nor had she ever wanted Steven to return Luke‘s body to her, so Denise‘s request actually lined up perfectly for her. “I‘ll try my best.” Denise let out a bitter smile. “I won‘t cause you any trouble, but also...” She paused for a moment. “I want to know...what‘s happening with Thomas now.”
Chapter 2757 Luna‘s eyebrows furrowed as she glanced at Denise, then grabbed her phone and walked out of the room.
Gwen and Denise were the only people who remained in the room.
The air seemed to fall silent.
“Can you help me with something?” Denise was the first to break the silence.
Gwen immediately broke out of her stupor.
Denise raised her hands, which were still tied together, and smiled at Gwen. “My hands are beginning to grow numb from the ropes.”
After contemplating for a moment, Gwen finally sighed and released Denise‘s bonds.
“Thank you.” Denise rubbed her arms, which sported burns from the rope, and let out a sigh.
11
“Did...did you and Steven used to be close?” Gwen asked tentatively as she watched the color return to Denise‘s face.
Denise was silent for a moment before finally nodding.” We...used to be inseparable.”
She gazed out the window as her thoughts began to drift
away. “Steven used to treat me like a princess. Since he had never dated anyone, all his love and affection were reserved for me...”
Denise could not help recalling all the things Steven had done for her all throughout the years.
Every time she complained about being hungry or thirsty, he would rush into the kitchen to bring her a drink or make her some food.
Every time she expressed a desire to own a particular, limited–edition item of clothing, he would get in touch with the owner and request them to sell the dress to him at a high price.
Even after he was rejected, Steven even picked up fashion design as a skill to make her a dress of her own.
Even though he was not particularly good at it, nor was the dress of intricate quality, Denise truly could feel just how much love and effort her brother put into this.
At that time, Denise did not know that she was adopted, so she always thought this was part of Steven‘s obligation to her.
However, she finally found out that she and Steven were not true siblings at all, and he had known about this for a long time. Still, he was willing to treat her like his own sister.
Even though five years later, they were no longer as close
never gave up on her.
Denise was touched by this.
She was grateful to the Hughes family for giving her a comfortable home, but at the same time, she was utterly devastated by their betrayal and wanted revenge.
LL
This was why Denise wanted to use her final efforts to protect Steven as a means of repaying him. Gwen clenched her fists when she heard this.
She had never tried to understand Steven as a person before; she had always thought of him as the man who stole Luke‘s body. Even though Steven had not meant to do this, he still ended up benefiting from the Hughes family‘s deceit.
Therefore, Gwen never once tried to understand Steven‘s point of view, nor did she ever try to find out what kind of person he was.
However, as she listened to Denise‘s stories, the image of Steven in her mind began to grow more and more vivid.
This was not the man who had taken Luke‘s body away from her; this was a man with a kind heart and soul.
He was a good child, a supportive brother, and a responsible, ambitious man.
He...was not a carbon copy of Luke, but a living, breathing
human with a mind of his own.
“Ms. Larson.” Denise sighed as though she could understand what Gwen was thinking about. “I know you‘re upset, but this was all the Miller and Hughes families‘ wrongdoing, and my brother had nothing to do with this at all.
“After everything is over, I hope that you‘ll let him go and allow him to live his life.
“Please don‘t continue using Luke as a means of restraining him.”
Chapter 2758 Gwen pursed her lips upon hearing this but did not reply. After a long time, she finally sighed and said, “Alright. I promise.” In the past, she had failed to consider that Steven, too, was someone with loved ones and family. Since Steven and Denise were both willing to pay the price of what had happened...she did not have the right to continue depriving Steven of the right to his life and freedom, and he was not at all obliged to do anything on behalf of Luke.
This was the best outcome any of them could ever hope for.
“Thank you.” Denise let out a sigh and got off the bed, then sat down in Luna‘s chair. She stared at the audio files on the laptop screen and asked, “These are all the recordings of the conversation between Steven and Mr. and Mrs. Hughes, correct?”
Gwen fell silent for a moment, secretly a little annoyed by the fact that Denise had sat down in Luna‘s chair and looked at her laptop without permission. On second thought, after what Denise just said, Gwen decided not to be so cynical about this.
After all, there was nothing else on Luna‘s laptop besides these recordings since Luna had already delegated her work before coming to Saigen City.
Seeing that Gwen did not stop her, Denise went ahead and clicked on another audio file.
It was a conversation between Steven and another person.
“Hi, I‘d like to inquire about a question I‘ve been having. If someone‘s mind and consciousness have been replaced ...is there a way to regain everything?”
Gwen‘s entire body stiffened when she heard this.
Denise, too, was shocked to hear this. A split second later, she smiled wryly and said, “Ms. Larson, you heard my brother–he, too, wants to make things up to you in the best way he can.
“He has no idea that you even planted the recording device on him, so he‘s not just saying these for your sake.
Gwen bit her lip and clenched her fists.
Denise was right; Steven was not faking this for her sake.
Did he truly want to return Luke‘s body?
Did he know that since his body had already been buried and his heart transplanted to her, replacing Luke‘s thoughts into his body would...effectively erase everything about him?
Returning Luke‘s body to him meant that he, Steven Hughes, would die.
At the thought of this, Gwen bit her lip and could not help wondering if she had been too harsh on Steven.
In the past, she always thought Steven was a spiteful person that hated her above anything. She never thought that Steven would turn out to be such a kindhearted, selfless man.
“That‘s extremely difficult, Mrs. Hughes.” The other person‘s voice quickly pulled Gwen back to reality.” Erased and evacuated thoughts can never be recovered, or rather, it‘ll be a long, extremely difficult process. “If you truly want to try, I can help you with that, but you must reconsider all this. If you want to regain all the thoughts and consciousness of the person whose body you‘re occupying...it will mean that everything about you will gradually be lost. Can...”
The man paused for a moment. “Can you accept that?
“This will be no different from committing assisted suicide.”
A long silence.
Finally, Steven‘s voice rang out in determination, “I‘m willing to accept this.
“None of this belonged to me in the first place, and
besides...there‘s someone out there who loves and misses the owner of the body I’m occupying, and I don‘t ever want to see her sad.”
Chapter 2759
Gwen could no longer hear anything Steven said after that.
She bit her lip, and despite her gaze remaining on the laptop screen, her thoughts had already drifted far, far away.
These days, all her interactions and conversations with Steven flashed through her mind.
Then, a memory of Luke.
The two of them were lying on the roof at midnight, stargazing, with Luke’s arms around her.
He curled his lips into a smile and said, “Gwen, sometimes I really wish we could go back in time.
“If only I hadn’t gone into this business, and if only I had met you before I became a gangster.
“Sometimes, I wonder if things would be better if I became a kind, handsome gentleman with a good family background and education.
“If I were someone like that, no one would ever dare to bring up your past, and everyone would give us their blessings.
“Gwen, I really hope that if we do meet again in our next
lives, we won’t have to deal with something like this again.”
Gwen bit her lip and wrung her hands when she recalled this.
When Luke had said this to her, she thought he was just spouting nonsense.
It was after a long time that she finally realized these were his deepest, most heartfelt thoughts.
He truly thought he was not good enough for her, and he blamed himself for the things that happened to her, which was why he had chosen to sacrifice his life in exchange for hers.
However, by chance, he accidentally became Steven, the kind, handsome gentleman he spoke of.
Gwen closed her eyes.
Denise was right; she had misunderstood Steven.
When Steven first said he would return Luke’s body, she thought he was just trying to provoke her. This was why she was so furious when she heard this.
However, at this moment, she could not help second guessing herself when she heard the recording.
She had slipped this recording device into his pocket without him noticing, so Steven could not have known they were eavesdropping on him.
Therefore, all the things they overheard…were his true thoughts.
“Gwen.” Denise sighed when she saw Gwen staring dazedly at the computer. “Do you now understand why I hope you’d leave my brother alone after all this is over?
“Your existence causes him tremendous guilt, and he truly wants to return everything to you and Luke.
“He’s a kind–hearted soul, and he’d rather sacrifice himself just to return what was rightfully yours and Luke’s. He’s not the selfish person that you think he is.”
A twinge of pain shot through Gwen’s heart.
A split second later, she opened her eyes and turned to stare at Denise. “Don’t worry; I promise I will stay away from Steven after all this is over.”
Steven would never force her and Luke to stay apart just for himself, so how could she let such a selfless person give his life up for her?
She was the one who should not even exist.
Chapter 2760
On the balcony.
Luna let out an exhale and regained her composure before finally dialing Yannie’s number.
Denise wanted to know what was going on with Thomas, and in Luna’s opinion, no one would know this better than Yannie.
Yannie picked up the phone almost immediately. “Hello, Luna.”
Luna pursed her lips. “Yannie, how…how are things on your end?”
Yannie paused for a moment, then turned to glance at the Thomas room. With the help of the doctors and nurses, was slowly putting his clothes back on. “I…can’t say.”
For some reason, Thomas had suffered amnesia regarding the events that had transpired. He could not remember anything that happened at Howard Mansion, or, to be precise, he could not seem to recall anything that happened after Senior Howard got shot.
His memory seemed to have stopped there.
However, he could vaguely recall that someone had spiked his food, and he had some recollection of sleeping with a woman, but he did not know the identity of said woman.
Therefore, at Rachel’s suggestion, Yannie decided to admit that she was the one whom he had slept with to stabilize his emotions.
This seemed to be the answer Thomas wanted to hear. It seemed to also significantly reduce the guilt of realizing he had harmed his own father.
Therefore, with the doctors‘ and nurses‘ help, Thomas was getting ready to go visit his father.
Yannie sighed, and as she glanced at Thomas out of the corner of her eye, she could not help feeling even more defeated.
Every time she thought of what happened between Thomas and Denise, she could not help feeling as though something was crushing her. Just to keep Thomas‘ emotions in check, she had no choice but to pretend that she was the one he had slept with.
However, no one seemed to be concerned about her feelings throughout all this. It was as though her thoughts and feelings did not matter in the face of such events.
What mattered was Thomas and everyone else except her.
Yannie suddenly had the urge to cry at the thought of this.
“Yannie.” Luna paused for a moment when she sensed Yannie’s devastation. “As long as you and Thomas are
fine, that’s all that
that happened…I promise we’ll get to the bottom of this after everything blows over.”
Yannie finally could not hold her tears back anymore.
It turned out that there was still someone who cared
about her.
It turned out that someone knew she was upset.
Yet, the person who could sense her emotions was now telling her to pull herself together and wait until everything blows over.‘
Yannie closed her eyes and stepped out of the room before finally replying in a murmur, “Luna, if you and Mr. Lynch were in the same situation as Thomas and I, would you still choose to turn a blind eye?
“If you…found out that Mr. Lynch had slept with another woman just a few steps away from you, would you still continue treating him as though nothing happened?
“What if he wanted you to admit that you were the one he slept with, despite knowing the opposite? Would you still do it?”
Luna fell silent upon hearing this.
She closed her eyes and suddenly remembered how she
after had returned to Blue Bay Villa seven years ago finding out she was pregnant.
She, too, had overheard Joshua and Aura…
Luna curled her lips into a bitter smile. “Yannie, I’ve been through something similar in the past, but unlike you, I didn’t even have the courage to question anything. Instead, I chose to run away.
“Yannie, I promise you that as soon as everything is taken care of, we will respect your decisions and…try our best to make it up to you.”
Yannie let out a bitter chuckle. “Respect my decisions…
“None of you respected me when I needed it, and to choose to do so after it’s no longer needed… Are you truly doing it out of honor, or is it because whatever I choose no longer matters?”
Luna was speechless to hear this. She furrowed her brow and was about to say something when Thomas‘ cold voice rang out from the other end of the line, “Who
disrespected you?”