With that, she could not help adding rather snarkily,”
However, I do hope that you can remain understanding when I ask Brettley for help in the future, Bethan. I hope that our relationship won’t be tainted by your jealousy.”
Bethan’s smile was gentle and reassuring when she replied,”
Why would I get jealous if you’re meeting over work? All I should be worried about are people who hide their true intentions underneath a false facade of work.”
With that, Bethan yawned and turned to glance at the driver.”
I’m getting tired now. we should go to the hotel and get some rest.”
The driver nodded, then rolled the windows up and started the car.
Tara stared daggers at the retreating car as it pulled away, then could not help stomping her foot in frustration.
Gwen could not help chuckling as she watched Tara from the rearview mirror. “I think you may have gone a little overboard, Bethan.”
Bethan, too, smiled at this. “Well, she asked for it. All I did was fulfill her.”
The two women burst into giggles at this.
Brettley could not help smiling when he heard their tinkling laughter.
The truth was, unbeknownst to her, Bethan had changed ever since she got out of jail.
Neither Brettley nor their four children had managed to evoke her heartfelt laughter since she got out of jail. Her happiness was like mist; briefly clouding over them when they said or did something to make her laugh, but dissipating as soon as it had come.
Occasionally, she would feign laughter just to fulfill their wishes, but after so many years of marriage, Brettley could easily tell between her feigned chuckles and heartfelt laughter.
He knew that she was just pretending to be happy for everyone’s sake.
Brettley had even sought help from a psychiatrist for this, and despite sneaking her some of the doctor’s prescription pills, nothing changed.
After that, the doctor mentioned to him that she needed something to help jerk her out of her traumatic experience or heal her inner wounds.
This was why Brettley had gotten in contact with the Moore family and requested their help in tracking John down.
She knew that Bethan was still blaming herself for Anne’s death, but at the same time, he knew that the last thing John wanted was to see her.
This was the reason Brettley had brought her to Sharnwick City and deliberately lure Tara out.
He needed something-or rather, someone-to distract Bethan from her nervousness about seeing John again.
He wanted to let Bethan observe John and Sammie from afar so she could be assured that they were doing just fine on their own.
Not only that, but he knew helping Gwen save her father would also hasten Bethan’s recovery from her psychological wounds.
After all…they still had the rest of their lives to spend together, and he wanted her to be happy again.
At the thought of this, Brettley curled his lips into a smile and texted Tara. [You did great.]
Tara sent him an emoji that was rolling its eyes. [I request some extra reward for my Oscar-winning performance!]
They soon arrived at the hotel Lucas had booked for them.
Bethan and Gwen hopped out of the car as soon as it screeched to a halt.
Brettley let out a weak chuckle as he followed the two chattering women into the hotel, dragging their suitcases behind him.
Even after settling in, Bethan and Gwen were still chattering on and on.
They had spent so much time apart that they missed each other dearly. Although they had kept in touch consistently via the phone, nothing beat seeing each other in real life.
This was the truth about relationships between girl best friends; they could talk about everything and anything they set their mind to.
After a long conversation, Brettley finally found an excuse to drag Bethan out of Gwen’s room by pretending that he wanted to talk to her about their plans in Sharnwick City.
Gwen did not know Bethan was here to see John, and Bethan did not intend to tell her either.
After Bethan left, Gwen let out a sigh of relief and texted Stefan. [Hey Stefan, have you guys arrived already?]
[How’s everything going?]
[I’m already in Sharnwick City. Did you manage to find my dad? When are we meeting?]
However, all these messages were met with no reply.
Gwen waited for him to respond for a long, long time, and the more time passed, the more panicked she grew.
However, she did not dare to call Stefan to demand an update for fear that her call would foil his plans, so she had no choice but to wait.
Therefore, Gwen had no idea that Stefan’s phone had been confiscated and tossed into the sewers by Tyson’s men since they arrived.
“You arrived just in time. We just got an update from Boss that we should stay put and wait.”
Meanwhile, a man with a nasty scar across his face was seated in a dark underground garage, drinking his beer as he stared at Stefan and Kurt, who were both masked. “He’s sending another person over to be locked up with the old bag of bones!”
Stefan and Kurt exchanged glances when they heard this, a split second later, Kurt furrowed his brows and asked,”
Diablo, who’s the person that’s coming? Why is he being locked up with the old geezer?”
The old geezer he was referring to was none other than Gwen’s father, Andy.
The fact that Tyson wanted to keep the two hostages together…meant that the newcomer was likely related to Gwen somehow, too.
“I heard it’s the old geezer’s daughter.”
Diablo sneered.”
Boss wants them to be reunited.”
The color drained from Stefan’s face when he heard this. He frowned slightly, then stepped forward to pour Diablo another glass of beer. “Doesn’t that old geezer have only one daughter?”
As Gwen’s ex-boyfriend, Stefan was naturally familiar with Gwen’s family. She was Andy’s only daughter, and they had always had a close relationship since she was young.
Did Andy have another daughter besides Gwen?
“Yes, that’s her.”
Diablo took a swig from the beer Stefan poured. “It’s that Gwen Larson girl that Boss has been searching high and low for. We’ve caught her now.
“Initially, we all wanted to kill her and avenge Luke’s death, but Boss says it’s not time yet. He wants to keep her imprisoned and reunite father and daughter first before sending her to hell where she belongs.”
With that, Diablo could not help lamenting, “Well, I guess Boss does have some empathy in him, doesn’t he?”
Stefan narrowed his eyes but kept quiet. Kurt, on the other hand, began to panic. He gulped nervously and turned to stare at Stefan questioningly.
This was Diablo’s first time seeing them, and there was no point lying to them.
Could he be telling the truth?
Was Gwen captured by Tyson’s men? What were they going to do?
Since Diablo had confiscated their phones, they had no way of confirming Gwen’s safety, nor could they get in touch with Brettley to ask for his help finding Gwen. What would they do if Gwen truly got caught?
Although Stefan and Kurt were strong, steadfast men, it was hard enough for them to be able to rescue Andy from the other guards, much less another person.
Kurt could not even begin to imagine what they would do to get out of this predicament.
“Why are you so quiet all of a sudden?”
Diablo asked, frowning when he noticed how silent they were.
Kurt paused for a moment and was about to answer when Stefan replied, “We’re just surprised, that’s all. We didn’t expect that we’d need to stand guard over another woman.”
As he said this, he strode over to Diablo and plopped down next to him. Then, he took a swig of beer and smiled at Diablo. “Do you know what this woman looks like? Is she pretty? Where did Boss even find her, anyway?”
Diablo snickered, then took another swig and gestured for Kurt to join them. “I don’t know either, but I’m sure she must be pretty. Otherwise, why would that idiot Luke be willing to sacrifice himself for her?”
The smile froze on Kurt’s face when he heard this.
Stefan, on the other hand, was surprisingly calm. He drank from his bottle again and added, “Well, I’d like to take a good look at this woman when she arrives. I haven’t come across many beauties in my unfortunate life.”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.