Noah went over to check on Lorian first. The night was quiet. Lorian was sleeping soundly in his ocean-themed room. One of his arms was resting on the blanket. He sat on the side of the bed and put Lorian’s arm back into the blanket. Brushing his son’s face gently, he looked at his delicate face and felt that his boy was growing up every day. He regretted that he hadn’t spent enough time with Lorian.In the past, he thought of children as nothing more than tools to carry on his lineage.However, witnessing Lorian’s growth gave him a clearer picture of a family. Now, he loved his son very much. He wanted nothing more than to watch his son grow up and have his own family and legacy when he was old enough. Lorian rolled to the side and mumbled, “Daddy.”At the next moment, the father in him felt extremely satisfied. He sat there for a long time before he left and went to the guest room. A night light provided the only illumination there. The dim glow shone on Gwynn, blanketin
Gwynn put on a silk sleeping gown, walked up behind him, and held his waist. She didn’t say anything. Instead, she merely hugged his shoulders from the back.…Noah’s body stiffened in response. After a brief moment, he asked tenderly and softly, “Does this mean you’ve forgiven me?”At first, she shook her head. Then, however, she nodded. “A little, yeah.”He responded faintly, “Okay.”It sounded like a regular response, but Gwynn didn’t see how tears filled up his eyes. He might’ve waited for her in Brookesville for four years, but he had been waiting for her to forgive him for far longer.It was true. She said she had only forgiven him a little. The fact was that that was enough to make him feel grateful!Sensing that he was trembling slightly, she hesitated a little before asking softly, “Are you crying, Noah?”The only outcome for offending him was a punishment.Holly had drifted off to sleep. The next thing Gwynn knew, she was swooped up and carried into the fitting
Once Gwynn ended her call with Noah, she shopped alone in the mall and bought shirts and ties according to his preference. She didn’t have to worry about money at all. He had given her a black platinum bank card. There were no limits on the expenditure. She had a lot of time to run her errands. So, she proceeded to buy clothes for both Lorian and Holly. Needless to say, she didn’t forget about Gladys. It was quite late by the time she was done shopping. Just as she was getting ready to go to the restaurant, she ran into someone she knew. Anderson was hanging out with a young girl. She had her arms around him and acted very intimate with him. It didn’t take a genius to figure out the nature of their relationship. The sight of it shocked Gwynn.She knew that he was no longer the refined gentleman she used to know, but the last thing she had expected to see was him having a mistress behind his wife’s back. From the looks of it, they had known each other for quite some time. She
Archibald was so mad that he could just lash at Anderson with the whip again. In the end, Saul had to break them up and broker peace between them patiently before he could drag Anderson away. Dusk cloaked the sky with an infinite darkness. The light in the old man’s study cast a dim glow in the room. He sat at the deep-colored desk as the wind blew open the window a crack and rocked the stained-glass pendant light. It swayed gently from the wind and made a pleasant chiming. Archibald touched the light. He could still remember vividly how lively and cheerful it was when he reconciled with his long-lost daughter. Now, however, everything had changed beyond recognition. Raising his eyes, he looked at Saul and barked, “This is all Gwynn’s fault! She should never have returned to Brookesville. Anderson’s wild fantasies wouldn’t have been rekindled otherwise!”Saul was shocked to hear it. He couldn’t help but say, “This has nothing to do with Ms. Gwynn, Mr. Archibald.”The old
Gianna was tied to a chair within the abandoned warehouse. Her mouth was taped shut. So, she couldn’t open her mouth and say anything. She was no fool.The moment she saw Gwynn, she knew what the old coot was plotting. He was going to make Noah choose between her and Gwynn. If this had happened in the past, Noah would surely choose her. However, she was sure he’d choose to save Gwynn now. There wasn’t even any question about it. “Mmph… Mmph…”She squirmed fiercely. Gwynn looked at her and said dryly, “It’s pointless. Archibald doesn’t want to let you go. What makes you think you could break free?”Gianna’s eyes widened in shock. A strong resentment rose within her chest.That old coot was Gwynn’s biological father. Why did he have to abduct her when his beef was with his own daughter? Yeah. She might’ve done a lot to hurt Gwynn, but she had repaid her debt with her uterus as well as one of her feet. Why couldn’t they just let her go?!Then, Archibald’s men tied Gwynn up. H
Noah might’ve been a good fighter, but there was no way he could take all of them. Furthermore, they had taken both Gwynn and Gianna hostage. The latter kicked the cement floor for so long that her prosthetic feet fell off, making her look all the more miserable. The head of the men dressed in black was very polite when he spoke. He said to Noah, “This is nothing personal, Mr. Noah. We’re just doing what we’re hired to do! There are two women in this warehouse, but you can only leave with one of them! I believe we don’t have to spell out how it’s going to end, Mr. Noah!”He didn’t say anything further than that. Instead, he gestured to his lackeys. At the next moment, someone put a video clip on the big screen within the abandoned warehouse.To Noah’s surprise, it played out the moment they ravaged Gianna.In the footage, the men’s faces were contorted with vile lust while she screamed at the top of her lungs. It was an incredibly mortifying and vulgar video. It was design
Everyone was holding their breath. They knew a storm was on its way.Archibald had been holding onto his powerful position for decades. In those times, he had feared nothing. Now, however, his eyes were filled with an intention to kill someone. It looked like Noah hadn’t shown the full scope of his strength back when they pitted themselves against each other four years ago.The old man spoke slowly. “What if I forbid you guys from leaving this warehouse at all? What if I say I’ll trap all of you here tonight?!”The wind howled and tousled Noah’s black hair. He might’ve been standing in the rundown warehouse, but the crappy environment did nothing to diminish his elegance. Staring right into the old man’s vicious eyes, he enunciated each word and said, “If I don’t make a call to my assistant in ten minutes, then every single photocopier in my company will print these pictures all night long! Come morning, everyone in Brookesville will have a copy of Anderson’s erotic pictures
Gianna held the bank card tightly. She knew Noah well enough to know that there had to be a lot of money in it. Her body was trembling all over. She watched as he left. Despair, longing, and hope. All of these emotions coursed through her. All of a sudden, she fell apart and burst into tears. In the end, she finally said something she had kept buried for several years. “I’m sorry, Noah. Please forgive me! You have to apologize to Gwynn on my behalf too. Tell her that I regret kidnapping Lorian all those years ago. I almost killed him back then…”He smiled ever so faintly. Opening the ward door, he left without a shred of regret. Everything that had happened between him and Gianna was now a thing of the past. Gwynn was waiting for him at the end of the hallway.He took brisk steps toward her and stopped a foot away from her. Staring at her profoundly, he said, “Let’s go home, Gwynn.”He didn’t realize that he stank of blood until he sat in the car and the stench filled the