The three of them walked into the school and arrived outside Juno's classroom.As her classmates gradually left, Juno was still organizing her backpack at her desk. She spotted Samantha and Adrian appearing outside the door and waved with a smile. "Hey guys, please give me a moment. I'll be right there."Samantha nodded and smiled.Joanna whispered to Samantha, "Sam, this girl is really beautiful. It's a pity that both her parents have passed away. I can't help but feel sorry for her.”"I know. I feel so sorry for her too. It's like when my parents passed away. It took me a long time to recover but I was luckier than her because I still had my grandfather," Samantha replied."This girl is also really strong. She knows exactly what she needs to do to move on. She could have easily fallen into despair instead," Joanna mused, her words heavy with emotion.Joanna was right. If Juno had not been so resilient, she could have easily sunk into a state of aimlessness. Fortunately, Juno wa

The car arrived swiftly at One Jewel Road.Knowing they were going out again soon, Samantha parked the car outside the villa instead of driving in."We're here," Samantha announced.As the group got out of the car, Adrian picked Juno up by the waist to carry her in since it was a short distance. Juno hooked one arm around his neck, enjoying the attention.As they were entering the villa, a discordant voice suddenly interrupted them. "Well, well, if it isn't Samantha. What a surprise to see you here. Do you even have permission to be at Jewel Road?"Samantha was momentarily rattled as Clara's voice reached her ears.The group turned to see Clara strutting out of the yard of a neighboring villa, her arm hooked through the arms of a man.Samantha instantly recognized the man as Seth De Forrest.A thunderstruck Samantha leaned over and whispered to Adrian, "Why is Clara with Seth? I thought she was with Simon."Adrian shook his head in uncertainty.At that moment, Clara had alrea

Clara genuinely believed that she was the only one entitled to criticize others and that no one had the right to criticize her. She considered herself to be perfect from every possible angle.When Samantha accused her of being ignorant, Clara became furious. She fixed her gaze on Samantha and retorted, "You’re still unaware of who the ignorant one between us is. You’re simply jealous that I have a villa in Jewel Road. What do you have that can possibly compare to mine?"I have a much better life than you!" Clara boastfully declared.Clara's only aim was to demean Samantha and make her feel inferior. She could not tolerate the idea that Samantha was doing better than her. To her, Samantha would always be beneath her.Samantha could not be bothered to argue with her and said, "You know yourself best. There's no need to come here and flaunt your villa because you don't deserve it.""What? I don't deserve it?" Clara sneered. "You’re clearly envious that I live in Jewel Road. So, why a

The price of One Jewel Road was equivalent to two villas.Clara felt so embarrassed. She had just boasted about living in Jewel Road and claimed that Samantha was deeply envious of her. But now, she realized that Samantha had moved in before her, and into the most luxurious villa on the street.Envy, jealousy, and embarrassment raced through Clara's mind.The number one villa of Jewel Road was so luxurious that even Seth might not have the means to buy it.‘How can she afford to live at One Jewel Road?’ Clara stood there enviously. Her mind raced, searching for a reasonable explanation for this unexpected news. Alas, nothing came to her.Seth was also astonished. At the alumni gathering, he too had come to believe that Adrian's deed was fake. But now, standing in front of their opulent villa, he realized it was true.Clara had never felt as embarrassed as she did at that moment. Her face flushed with shame. She looked around, hoping for an explanation, but none came.Feeling emb

Adrian's words left Samantha and Joanna slightly spooked. Could something have really happened to Simon?As they thought about it more, both women shuddered. Seth's unruly temper, coupled with Clara's shameless character, made it possible that Simon was really in trouble. This was a reasonable assumption.Despite Samantha's concerns, she worriedly reprimanded Adrian for his comment, "Dear, please refrain from making these baseless claims. Simon is Mr. Danton's son, and Mr. Danton has always been kind to me and accommodated me in our collaborations."Adrian nodded, realizing he had made a casual remark and it was not something he should be too concerned about.Samantha decided not to delve into this topic any further.Shortly after, they arrived at the night market. Samantha and Joanna walked hand in hand toward a food truck, with Adrian following closely behind.When Samantha noticed Adrian trailing behind, she stopped and waited for him. As he caught up to them, Samantha extende

She turned to Samantha and said, "Come, Sam, let us toast to our friendship. And to Adrian, for being here and being able to toast with you."Samantha got to her feet as well and said, "Jojo, just so you know, I can't drink too much. I'm preparing for pregnancy.”"Pfft… You're going to have a baby?" Joanna asked in surprise as she sputtered a bit of her drink. She never imagined that her best friend would be preparing to have a child at this very moment.Samantha nodded shyly as her cheeks reddened. "Adrian and I have been married for seven years, and we're not getting any younger. My mother-in-law has been urging me to have a child, and I want to have one as soon as possible while Adrian is still here."Joanna asked, "From your tone, does that mean he has to leave soon?"Samantha looked at Adrian and smiled. "Although he’s my husband, his heart doesn’t belong to me alone. The warriors of Wyvern Peak will always be a part of him."With the outlands being in a state of high tensio

Adrian was referring to Isla Zabel.Isla may have gotten married to a hero, but her life had not been as happy as she had imagined it to be.Samantha and Joanna could tell what Adrian was trying to say, so Joanna said, “Are you saying you don’t agree with women marrying warriors like yourself? Wouldn’t that mean many warriors will end up being bachelors then?“Still, the way I see it, there are loads of women who wish to marry them.”Adrian did not object to this statement. After all, it was true that many young and naive girls desperately wanted a warrior as a partner. However, history has proven that many spouses of such heroes would end up suffering a lot more torture than not. Putting aside the fact their homes would be empty and lonely, there was a huge chance they might end up becoming widows.Adrian shook his head and said, “It’s every person’s right to dream of an ideal life, but they shouldn’t indulge themselves in something unrealistic. I’ve seen too many deaths over the

“Gloria Thompson.”“Gloria Thompson…” Samantha quietly mumbled to herself.She felt that there was something strange about the name but was not able to quite put her finger on what it was. She asked, “Where is she now? Is she still at Wyvern Peak?”Joanna butted in and said, “I knew you’ve slept with another woman. Still, it’s no big deal, and I know Sam will forgive you if you come clean.“So, tell us… Where is she? Do you still miss her?”Adrian shook his head. “She’s buried on a nameless island to the northeast of Seatum. Her tombstone is made from a pile of rock. It’s been many years since she passed. In March last year, Imperial Capital built her an official mound. They also gave her a posthumous award for her achievements and the honorary title of Valkyrie.“She created a legend for herself and all her merits are recorded in Imperial Capital’s history books. However, nobody in the world knows who she is, nor will anyone hear of her. Just like that, she was silently laid to

A sense of gloom invaded the atmosphere.Samantha never once thought that she had another friend in the world whom she had never met and that she would never be able to catch up to everything Gloria had done for Adrian.They then lost all mood to enjoy their beers, probably because of how tragically Gloria went out.Samantha seemed to be in turmoil but nobody knew what she was thinking.Even Joanna, who was usually a huge talker, remained silent.How many people would actually be able to fathom that the decent lives they were living at that moment were due to the sacrifice of others?***The dinner ended in silence.Joanna was initially planning on getting dead drunk that night but ended up leaving without even finishing her beer.The trio then returned to their villa at Jewel Road, where Rue and Juno were already asleep. Joanna took a bath and then retired to her room while Adrian and Samantha returned to theirs.Adrian lay in bed and played a game on his phone while Samanth

Adrian replied, “I did think about going to the afterlife to accompany her, but as I said, there are many things in the world that I’m unable to change. I still had all of you waiting for me back home, which is why I was ultimately able to cast away those thoughts.”“Do you still miss her?” Samantha asked in a gentle voice.“Sometimes.” Adrian nodded.Seeming to have suddenly thought of something, Samantha left Adrian’s embrace and asked, “Do you have a photo of her? I’d like to see it.”Adrian pondered for a moment before nodding once more. He then took out his bag from the closet. It was the very same bag that he had with him when he returned from Wyvern Peak. He had never opened it ever since he returned.Samantha knew about the bag’s existence but she did not dare open it up without Adrian’s permission.He placed the bag on the bed and pulled open the zip before pulling out a makeup box from within and passing it to Samantha.“This was her favorite makeup box,” Adrian said.