Ch. 1031..1040

The Day I Kissed An Older Man Chapter 1031-Both Cedric and Beatrice sighed as the police took away Anya. How could they not feel crestfallen that the granddaughter they loved and spoiled for so many years had fallen so far to the point of being jailed?

However, they also knew Anya was no longer a child, so she must bear the consequences of her actions. Lucas, too, felt conflicted about Anya being taken away, but she had gone too far this time.

He turned to Corinne. As much as he was relieved to see she was still alive, his heart ached when he saw her bandaged head. He could not help but wrap her up in a bear hug.

“Thank god you’re still alive, Corinne! I was almost scared to death when I got the news…” Corinne did not put up a struggle. She did not hate Lucas as much as before but nor did she accept him fully. She simply stood quietly, enduring the hug.

Except for the cut on her head, she was fine. Ever since she was nearly hit by a car three days ago, she knew she had to do something to protect herself as there was a high chance the same thing was going to happen again.

Thus, she sewed a layer of bouncy sponge foam to the underside of her pants to act as an extra protective layer for the baby in her belly. This would greatly reduce any external impact from reaching the baby.

The cut on her head was not so serious that it would cause brain damage, nor so minor that it would not require her to have some medical attention. As for the baby, it did kick around for a bit after the accident, but she was sure it would settle down once she got some good rest.

In the surgery room, she asked the doctor to tell everyone waiting outside that the surgery had failed so she could expose Anya as the scheming woman she really was.

Corinne wanted to end the feud once and for all. She wanted to expose Anya while she was still early on in her pregnancy to spare herself the headache of having to deal with her next time.

Francine did not know Lucas and Corinne were siblings, so she walked up to them with a frown, pushed him away, and pulled Corinne to her side.

“Hey, keep your hands off my sister-in-law!” she said angrily. “She’s a married woman now, so show her a little respect, alright? Even if you’re interested in her, you’ve lost your chance the moment she married my brother!” Lucas simply looked at Francine with a frown and said nothing.

Cedric and Beatrice exchanged glances with each other. They had noticed from the start that Lucas treated Corinne differently than before.

Francine stood with her arms akimbo. She was about to continue cursing the Riveras when Corinne dragged her out of the room.

“Corinne, what are you doing? I’m not done cursing at him yet. His sister is the reason you got run over by a car! Not to mention, Grandma nearly had a heart attack because of that! I’m going to make the entire Rivera family pay for hurting you and Grandma!” Corinne threw a warning glance at her. “Stop it, Francine. It’s more important for us to let Grandma know that I’m fine. God knows she must be in quite a shock right now.” Francine pouted. “So you do know just how much of a shock you gave her. How could you not let us into your plan? Did you know Jeremy nearly…” Francine suddenly stopped speaking as she saw Jeremy in the corridor as soon as she walked out of the room.

He was half-leaning against the wall with both hands shoved into his pockets.

The Day I Kissed An Older Man Chapter 1032-Jeremy looked at Francine with half-narrowed eyes and an indecipherable expression.Francine had seen how Jeremy broke down after receiving news of Corinne’s death, so she knew just how important she was to him. She also understood Jeremy must be feeling all sorts of emotions, so it was best for her to give the couple some space.Corinne walked up to him. “Hey, Mister.” Only when she got closer did she realize Jeremy was holding an unlit cigarette between his fingers. She did not know why, but it seemed like it had been a long time since Jeremy smoked.Jeremy threw the unlit cigarette to a trash can not far away before taking off his jacket and putting it around Corinne’s shoulders. After that, he silently turned and left.Corinne frowned and followed after him.As dense as Francine could be sometimes, even she could tell something was off about the way her brother and sister-in-law interacted with each other. Not daring to walk too close to them, she waited until they were a few meters away before silently following after them.Along the way, neither Jeremy nor Corinne said a word.Meanwhile, back in the morgue.Edmund brought Lucas his crutches when he saw everything had settled.“Mister Lucas, the doctor gave strict orders to not put pressure on your injured foot…” Lucas said nothing. He calmly accepted the crutches and put them under his arms.Cedric and Beatrice started panicking when they saw that.“What happened, Lucas? What’s the matter with your foot?” questioned Beatrice.“It’s just a minor injury, Grandma. Nothing a good rest couldn’t cure. Don’t worry,” replied Lucas gently.How could Beatrice not worry?“Why do you need to use crutches if it’s just a minor injury?” she asked. After thinking it over, she knew her grandson would never tell her the truth since he would not want to worry her. Thus, she turned to Edmund.“Edmund, tell me what happened to Lucas’ foot this instant!” Knowing Lucas would murder him if he told Beatrice the truth, he simply said, “Mister Lucas is right. It’s just a minor injury. Rest assured, I’ll take care of him until he has fully recovered.” Beatrice was not going to stop until she got the answer she wanted. “I didn’t ask you how his injury was. I asked you how he got injured. I watched him grow up, so I know it’d be impossible for him to fall on his own accord!” “Well… Umm…” Edmund looked to Lucas for instructions on what to say.Lucas was frowning, deep in thought, so he did not realize Edmund was staring at him.Beatrice could tell Edmund would never dare to tell her the truth while Lucas was in the room, so she asked Lucas to fetch Cedric’s blood pressure medicine from the car as a way to lure him away.Since he was mentally occupied, Lucas did not think too much about Beatrice’s request. He simply nodded and went out to get the medicine.

The Day I Kissed An Older Man Chapter 1033-Edmund was about to follow Lucas out, but Beatrice grabbed his arm to stop him. “Stay here with us, Edmund.” “Umm, I don’t think…” said Edmund awkwardly.

At that moment, all Lucas could think about was Corinne’s condition, so he did not realize Edmund did not follow him out.

As soon as Lucas was out of earshot, Beatrice asked, “Edmund, tell me the truth now! How did Lucas injure his foot? Is it serious?” Edmund did not want to worry Beatrice by leaving her there, even though the room they were in was not a real morgue but a room the hospital set up to look

like one. It had been left unused for many years, so it was quite dank and dark.

It was not the best place to leave two elderly people with frail health.

“Ma’am, Mister Lucas’ injury isn’t that serious. He only needs some rest, and he’ll be good as new. Besides, he’s not the type to take his health lightly. There’s really no need for you to worry about him.” “Stop giving me the roundabout, Edmund. I’m asking you how Lucas injured his foot!” said Beatrice firmly.

“Uh…” There was no question about it—Lucas would kill him if he told Beatrice the truth. Still, it was not like he could just walk away and leave them there!

“Ma’am, why don’t we speak outside? I can feel this place has bad energy, and I’m worried you and Mister Cedric will fall sick if the two of you stay here any longer,” said Edmund, deliberately changing the subject.

“No! We don’t believe in such mumbo-jumbo! You tell me this instant what happened to Lucas’ foot! We’re not going to leave this place until you do!” Left without a choice, Edmund decided to tell her the truth. “Okay, Ma’am. I’ll tell you what happened. Miss Rosie orchestrated another hit-and-run on Corinne before this. Three days ago, when Mister Lucas went to see Miss Corinne off after she left our house, a car came out of nowhere, wanting to run over Miss Corinne.

“Mister Lucas immediately jumped out to save Miss Corinne, but he himself got hurt in the process. He forbade me to tell you what happened because he was worried you’d blame Miss Corinne. So I’d appreciate it if the two of you pretend you never heard what happened from me.” Cedric and Beatrice exchanged glances. They both felt there was something off about the whole thing.

“But why does Lucas care about Corinne so much? The only girl I’ve ever seen him being nice to is Anya. Don’t tell me he’s really thinking of stealing Corinne from Jeremy!” said Beatrice.

“As much as we like Corinne, I’ll never allow him to do something so shameful as to steal someone’s wife. But I’m sure Lucas isn’t the type to give up his principles for a girl. Tell me, Edmund, why does Lucas care about Corinne so much to the point of him being willing to risk his life to save her? If I remember correctly, he didn’t used to feel like this toward her.” Edmund did not know how to answer Beatrice and Cedric since Lucas told him Corinne did not wish for anyone to know her true identity. ‘If I tell them the real reason, Miss Corinne will get mad at Mister Lucas, and Mister Lucas will get mad at me!’ “Edmund, why the silence? Answer the question!” boomed Cedric, sensing things were not as simple as they seemed

The Day I Kissed An Older Man Chapter 1034-Edmund never felt pressure like this before. “Sir, it’s because…” Cedric glared at him. “You better not play dumb and tell us the truth. There’ll be hell to pay if I detect a lie in your words!” ‘I can’t keep it a secret anymore. They’re going to find out sooner or later…’ thought Edmund. He sighed helplessly and said, “It’s because Miss Corinne is —” “It’s because she’s your savior, Grandpa. We owe her that much,” Lucas chimed in just in time.

Cedric and Beatrice turned toward the door and saw Lucas limping back in with the help of his crutches.

Edmund sighed in relief. Faced with Cedric’s immense pressure, he nearly blurted Corinne’s secret!

Lucas limped up to Cedric and passed him a bottle of medicine. “Here’s the blood pressure medicine you’ve asked for, Grandpa.” Both Cedric and Beatrice were speechless. ‘How did he get back so fast?’ Lucas did not actually get the medicine himself. Halfway through, he suddenly realized Beatrice had sent him away on purpose, so he called his driver to deliver the medicine to him instead.

Cedric accepted the bottle of medicine and looked probingly at Lucas. “Tell me the truth, Lucas. Is Corinne—” Lucas knew what Cedric wanted to ask, so he cut in. “There’s no need to overthink this, Grandpa, Grandma. Corinne is a good kid. She saved your life before, Grandpa, so I’m just repaying her for doing that. You two must be tired now, so why not go home first?” After that, he half turned to Edmund and ordered, “Edmund, see Grandpa and Grandma off to the car, and come back after that. I still have things I need you to do.” “Yes, Mister Lucas,” said Edmund with a nod.

Beatrice’s eyes darkened. She knew how stubborn her grandson could be, so she decided to not pursue the matter for the time being.

“Fine, we’ll head home now. But make sure you take care of your foot, Lucas.

You better let it heal properly so that it won’t leave any aftereffects,” said Beatrice with concern.

Lucas smiled and nodded. “Don’t worry, Grandma. I know how to take care of myself.” Beatrice felt relieved to hear that. “Good, good. Let’s go then, Cedric.” Cedric was actually unhappy about not getting his questions answered, but he had no interest in staying in the ‘morgue’ any longer than he had to. Thus, he followed Beatrice out of the room without protest.

‘There’ll be plenty of time for me to ask Lucas who Corinne really is after he gets home,’ he thought.

Edmund saw the two elderly people off to their car.

After they left, Lucas became deep in thought. ‘Seems like they’re suspecting Corinne to be Luna, but she’s not ready to come back to the family yet… And if I tell Grandpa and Grandma, they’ll definitely make her come home…’

The Day I Kissed An Older Man Chapter 1035-Lucas was afraid it would cause Corinne a lot of trouble if Pamela and Greg were to find out who she was. He failed to protect her before, so this time, he vowed to protect her at all costs.

Meanwhile, in one of the high-end private hospital wards, Pamela was sleeping under the sedative’s influence. She was frowning in her sleep as though she was having a nightmare.

Greg was sitting in his wheelchair by the bed, looking at her worriedly. He knew his wife would ask about Corinne the moment she woke up, so it was best to let her sleep as long as she could.

‘Poor Corinne. Gone at such a young age…’ he thought with a sigh.

“Hey, Grandpa Greg. How’s Grandma Pamela doing?” asked Corinne from behind him.

At that moment, Greg was so focused on Pamela that he did not recognize the voice to be Corinne’s. Instead, he thought it was Francine who was asking.

“It’ll take her some time to wake up,” he replied as he turned around.

He immediately jumped in fright when he saw who was standing behind him, so much so that he lost control of his wheelchair and it crashed backward.

‘Oh my god, it’s Corinne!’ Corinne was dressed in a blue-striped hospital gown. Other than her bandaged head and pale face, she looked rather healthy.

‘Has… Has she come back as a ghost to haunt me?’ Seeing the fear in Greg’s eyes, Corinne quickly said, “Don’t be scared, Grandpa Greg. I’m not a ghost. Look, I’m still alive!” Realizing that he had lost his composure, Greg frowned and huffed, “What the hell is wrong with you?” Francine walked out from behind Corinne. “Grandpa, Corinne only pretended to be dead, but she had a good reason for doing that! Anyway, it’s a long story. I’ll slowly explain it to you and Grandma after we get home. Just know that Corinne didn’t mean to scare you two like that.” Greg looked at Francine, and then at Corinne. After calming down a little, he scoffed and muttered, “Hmph! Not a peaceful day has gone by since that little troublemaker married into the family…” Corinne smiled. “Sorry for worrying you, Grandpa Greg.” Greg was stunned, but he lifted his stubbled chin proudly and turned his face away. “Don’t flatter yourself. I wasn’t worried about you! I was worried about my wife!” Corinne could not help but feel a little guilty when she looked at Pamela, who was frowning in her sleep. She walked over and held the old woman’s hand.

“Grandma Pamela, it’s me, Corinne. I’m alive… Don’t worry anymore, okay?” Pamela must have heard her as she slowly opened her eyes to look at her.

“Corinne? Is that really you? I thought…” Her voice started to fade as tears pooled in her eyes.

Corinne sat by the bed to let Pamela take a good look at her. “It’s really me, Grandma Pamela. I’m okay…” Pamela clutched Corinne’s hand tightly, and relief washed over her when she felt the warmth coming off her skin. However, her relief did not last long as she suddenly remembered something.

“What about the baby in your womb?” “The baby’s fine, too. We’re both fine, so don’t worry, okay?” It was only then Pamela allowed herself to fully relax. Still holding Corinne’s hand, she tried to sit up.

The Day I Kissed An Older Man Chapter 1036-Seeing this, Corinne quickly helped Pamela up. She propped up her pillow behind her so it would be more comfortable for her to lean against the headrest.

After settling herself, Pamela patted Corinne’s hand. “Corinne, why didn’t you tell me you were pregnant? I would’ve still been kept in the dark about it if it weren’t for what happened today.” Corinne smiled and explained, “I didn’t mean to keep it a secret from you. I just didn’t want you to worry about me and…stopping me from doing all sorts of things to keep the baby safe.” Pamela frowned. “We’re family. How can I not worry about you and the baby?

You’re both equally important to me! Look what happens when I’m not there to

stop you from doing things! You got hit by a car, for god’s sake! Fortunately, you’re still alive. I don’t think I can handle losing you and the baby.” Corinne nodded docilely. “Okay, I promise you I’ll listen to everything you say from now on.” A smile finally appeared on Pamela’s face. ‘Thank god both she and the baby are okay!’ she thought and made a mental note to herself to arrange for more security to protect Corinne.

Greg was relieved to see Pamela getting better, but he could not help but grumble to Francine, “Your grandmother only has eyes for her granddaughter-inlaw now…” Francine actually found her grandfather’s jealousy hilarious, which was a testament to how far she had come to change her opinion of Corinne. If this had happened before, she would be angry over the fact Pamela seemed to favor Corinne above anyone else.

After spending some time with Corinne and getting to know Anya’s true colors, all the prejudice she held toward Corinne vanished. In fact, she quite liked the lively and harmonious atmosphere in the room.

‘I’m going to be an aunt soon! Yay!’ she thought happily. Suddenly, she realized one person was missing from the scene. ‘Huh? Where’s Jeremy?’ She looked around the ward but saw no signs of him.

At that moment, Corinne was cajoling Pamela to eat a few bites of oatmeal when Francine tugged at her sleeves.

“Corinne, can you come over here for a sec?” Corinne handed the bowl of oatmeal to Pamela so she could eat it herself before following Francine to the other side of the room.

“What’s up?” Francine frowned. “I know you’re worried about Grandma, but haven’t you noticed Jeremy isn’t here?” Corinne knew Jeremy was angry at her, but she thought it was more important to make sure Pamela was alright. After all, Jeremy was still young and strong, so she had faith he would be fine.

Receiving no response from Corinne, Francine stood with her hands on her waist and said, “Corinne, you’re starting to make me think you don’t care about Jeremy at all! Did you know how sad he was when he thought you were dead?

I’ve never seen him so grief-stricken in my life!” Corinne’s eyes narrowed for a second. “Where is he now?” ‘Took her long enough to worry about Jeremy!’ thought Francine.

“I went out to look for him just now and saw him smoking alone in the stairwell.

You should go over to make sure he’s okay. Don’t worry about Grandma. I’ll stay here with her,” she said.

Corinne nodded. “Okay, thanks. I’ll leave Grandma Pamela to you, then. Make sure she finishes her oatmeal.” After that, she walked out of the room. Once outside the corridor, she looked around to locate the door to the stairwell.

‘Bingo! There it is.’ She slowly made her way over and pushed open the door.

‘Brr, it’s a little cold here. Good thing I still have Mister’s jacket on me!’ It was very dark in the stairwell, so she could only vaguely make out Jeremy’s silhouette leaning against the wall, and him puffing on the cigarette between his fingers from time to time. She knew he had given up smoking ever since he found out she was pregnant, and yet…

The Day I Kissed An Older Man Chapter 1037-“Hey, Mister,” Corinne called out to Jeremy softly as she walked toward him.

Jeremy turned to look at her and put out the cigarette silently.

Corinne looked up at him. “Why are you hiding and smoking here all alone?

Don’t you wanna know how your grandmother is doing?” Jeremy narrowed his eyes. There was no obvious change to his expression.

“How is she doing?” “She’s already woken up and eaten something. She’s actually doing pretty well.” “Good,” uttered Jeremy emotionlessly.

Corinne was not used to him acting like this. “Are you angry at me for interrupting your smoking session?” she asked with a frown.

Jeremy simply looked at her silently.

Corinne waited for him to answer her question, but it was all in vain.

“Well, I’m sorry for bothering you,” she said testily. “You can carry on what you were doing ’cause I’m going to go back now.” After that, she turned around and was about to leave when Jeremy suddenly asked in an inscrutable tone, “Was it fun?” Stunned, Corinne stopped walking and turned around. “Was what fun?” Jeremy’s face darkened. “Was it fun to scare me like that?” Realization dawned on Corinne. “Mister, I texted you while I was in the surgery room. It’s your fault for not reading it. Not to mention, I texted Tommy to ask him to let you know I’m okay. Didn’t he tell you?” Jeremy’s gaze hardened even more. His jaw became so tense, it caused the veins to pop up from underneath his skin.

“I can’t believe you’re still trying to justify yourself! I bet you won’t be happy until I’m lying six feet under!” Corinne was shocked. She did not mean for her words to come across so bluntly.

“No, that wasn’t…” Jeremy pulled her into a tight embrace. “You little rascal… How could you do that to me?” Corinne felt both angry and guilty at the same time. “Anya is just going to keep causing me trouble if I don’t get rid of her once and for all! Now that everyone knows her true colors, I can finally have some peace and quiet in my life…” “But is it worth getting hit by a car for all that?” Jeremy asked sternly.

“Well, I didn’t expect Rosie would use the same trick twice in the span of three days…” Jeremy scoffed. “Is it that hard to admit you’re wrong?” he said as she hugged her tighter.

Corinne sighed. “Fine, I’m sorry. I promise I won’t make you worry next time…” “Next time?” “I mean, there’s not going to be a next time anymore…” Only then did Jeremy’s anger dissipate a little.

The Day I Kissed An Older Man Chapter 1038-Corinne could still feel Jeremy trembling slightly. ‘Seems like he’s still traumatized by what happened…’ In some twisted way, she felt rather touched as no one ever cared that much about her before. After Emily went missing, Corinne was treated worse than a stray by the people who were supposed to take care of her.

“Mister, what would you do if I truly died back there?” Phoebe, who was in the apartment, had settled down with a sheet mask on her face as she awaited good news from Anya. She thought their plan would work for sure this time, so she was understandably surprised when she received the news of Anya’s arrest.

‘Lucas, Mom, and Dad all knew about Anya’s arrest, yet they did nothing about it? Does that mean they’ve given up on her? Oh no, what should I do?! What should I do?!’ She never expected Corinne would fake her death to trick Anya into exposing her true self.

Phoebe kept pacing around in circles until the sound of her phone ringing brought her back to the present. She thought she had found the answer to her problem when she saw it was Sunny calling.

‘That’s right. I still have Sunny! He can help me get Anya out!’ She quickly answered her phone. “Sunny!” “Mom, where are you now?” asked Sunny raspily.

“I’m at my apartment. How about you?” “Since when did you have your own apartment?” “Sunny, I don’t have the time to explain everything now. I’m going to text you the address so you can come here. We can discuss how to get Anya out.” “Okay,” said Sunny before hanging up the phone.

Phoebe quickly texted her address to Sunny. She anxiously waited for him to arrive.

She could have discussed the matter with Sunny over the phone, but she did not want to risk it since she learned from the mole she planted in the Riveras’ mansion that Corinne was able to incriminate Anya by using a voice recording.

‘That little b*tch is more devious than she looks! I’m not going to give her a chance to incriminate me or Sunny by leaving a voice recording. Anya’s life is already ruined, so I must protect Sunny at all costs!’ Sunny was her only hope. Nobody would dare to look down at her anymore once her son inherited all of the Riveras’ family fortune.

Phoebe continued to pace around the living room while waiting for Sunny.

As she paced around, she could not shake the feeling she was being watched.

After looking around, she noticed the bedroom door was slightly ajar, and a pair of big round eyes were secretly staring at her.

Frowning, she quickly rushed over there and kicked the door wide open.

The Day I Kissed An Older Man Chapter 1039-Joey fell backward from the force of impact and immediately cried.

“You mutt! How dare you spy on me?!” roared Phoebe.

“I… I…not spying on you,” whimpered Joey.

He really was not spying on her. He wanted to go out to the living room but was not sure whether it was safe for him to do so. He thought he would observe the situation outside first.

Phoebe, who already thought of Joey as a nuisance, became even more irritated at him due to the anxiety and anger brought on by Anya’s arrest. Thus, she decided to use him as a punching bag.

She kicked him again. “This is all your fault! Nothing ever went right for Anya after she adopted you. We should’ve thrown you away the first chance we got!” Joey immediately curled up in pain.

Almost every day, he would receive some kind of beating. Whenever Anya was upset, she would take it out on him. However, she would make sure to hit him on the parts of his body that would not be easily noticed should a bruise form.

She was worried Lucas would find out what she had been doing to Joey.

With Lucas not around, Anya was more brazen in her beatings.

Joey actually felt relieved when he saw Anya going out because that meant he would be spared from getting beaten up today. Alas, that was not the case.

‘Why is Grandma hitting me too? She’s so scary, just like Mommy… I want to leave this place… I want to go back to my own country. I’d rather starve in the orphanage than stay with these scary people…’ Phoebe became even more annoyed when Joey started crying. She lifted him by the collar and slapped his face harshly. “Stop crying, you little jinx, or I’ll give you something to cry about! Don’t you know you’re the reason your mommy was arrested by the police? Ooh, I should just kill you right here!” Phoebe kept slapping Joey, even when his face became swollen and red. She had no intention of stopping until he was dead.

‘There’s no way the Holdens are going to let Anya marry into the family now that she has a criminal record. That means she needs to find another man to marry, and this little jinx will just get in the way! I might as well get rid of him for her now!’ Suddenly, she heard the doorbell ringing. Only then did she let Joey go.

She walked out of the bedroom, making sure to close the door after, and went to open the entrance door for Sunny to come in.

“Sunny, you’re finally here!” she said, tears rolling down her face as she threw her arms around him. “Have you heard? Anya has been arrested, and it’s all Corinne’s fault! You must think of a way to save your sister!” Sunny stood stiffly. He did not know how to feel about his mother. As a son, he was not immune to his mother’s tears, but at the same time, he could tell from what his mother just said that everything Anya did had something to do with their mother.

‘Why? Why are both of them so vile, ruthless, and hypocritical? Why does she have to be my mother?’ The more he thought about it, the more upset he became.

He pushed Phoebe away. “Enough is enough! Anya got what she deserved, Mom! You need to wake up, too. Stop doing the wrong thing!” Phoebe looked at him in shock.

“Sunny, what are you talking about? How could you say that she got what she deserved? She’s your sister, for god’s sake! Hasn’t she always spoiled you?

How can you team up with other people to bully her? You’re the one that needs to wake up!”

The Day I Kissed An Older Man Chapter 1040-Sunny wiped away his tears with his arm and said chokingly, “But Mom, you should hear all the mean things she said about me, Lucas, Rosie, Francine, and even Jeremy! Not to mention, all the bad things she did over the years.

“I used to think she was the kindest and sweetest person in the world and that she deserved all the happiness in the world. That was why I hated Corinne so much ’cause she stole Jeremy away from Anya. That was why I kept causing trouble for her.

“So you can’t blame me for saying Anya got what she deserved! She took advantage of our love and trust for her and hurt so many people in the past. She only has herself to blame. Neither I nor you can help her at this point!

“I came here to find you to convince you to go along with Grandpa’s arrangement. Go live in the summer villa, and take the time to do some selfreflection. You can come back once Grandpa, Grandma, and Dad have cooled down. But you should really give up the idea of getting Anya out. She needs to pay for all the bad things she has done.” Phoebe could not believe her last hope would say such things. She pointed angrily at him and shouted, “You useless brat! Is this how you repay your sister and your mother after all the effort we’ve spent in securing your future in the family?!

“Not only are you dumb, but you have no ambition at all! You and Lucas are both Riveras, so you have as much right as he does to take over the family business! Are you going to let him take away what rightfully belongs to you? Are you that stupid, huh, Sunny?!” Sunny frowned. “Mom, not only is Lucas the eldest son in the family, but he’s also talented in many things. It’s only right for him to take over the family business. Besides, I have no interest whatsoever in taking over the family business nor do I want to fight him for it. And even if I did fight him for it, I’ll lose.

Stop hoping for the impossible. I’ll never fight Lucas for the right to take over the business.” Phoebe rolled her eyes in anger. “You useless piece of sht! I regret ever giving birth to you! I’ll have you know I used to be the belle of the school, and countless men have asked me to be their girlfriend! But to your father, I’ll never be as good as that whre of his ex-wife. Now, even my son isn’t as good as her son! Oh, why!? What’s the point of giving birth if you’re only going to turn out hopeless?!” Sunny looked at Phoebe pitifully and sighed. “Mom, I brought some servants from home for you to take to the summer villa with you. I’ve already instructed the servants in the summer villa to take care of you well, so please just stay there for the time being.” Phoebe looked at him with shock. It was bad enough that Sunny refused to help her, but he even sold her out?!

“You… You ingrate! How can you betray your own mother? Oh, why can’t you be like your sister Anya?! If only she was a boy…” Sunny did not want to waste his breath on his unrepentant mother, so he simply ordered the servant he brought from home. “Bring her to the summer villa, and take good care of her.” The servant nodded. “Yes, Mister Sunny.” After that, he walked away without looking back. He feared he would change his mind if he saw the resentment in his mother’s eyes.

‘Both Mom and Anya should be punished for what they did. I can’t let them off the hook just because they’re my family…’ “Sunny! Come back, Sunny!” screamed Phoebe hysterically when she saw him leaving. “Don’t leave me! You can’t…” She started chasing after him, but the servant stopped her.