Steven, we’re about to get married soon; I should be the person you trust. Please don’t believe in what other people say to you, alright?”
Tears brimmed in her eyes as she wailed, “Please, Steven, can you trust me?”
She had already sacrificed so much for him; she could not possibly lose him at this juncture!
If Steven regained all of Luke’s memories, it would not be something as simple as losing Luke.
Steven had already donated his heart to Gwen, and if the man before her was no longer Steven, this meant that the real Steven would cease to exist.
If that happened, the Hughes family would want someone to bear the brunt of this responsibility, and the Miller family would have to pay the price!
She had to stop this from happening at all costs! At the thought of this, tears began to slide down Kate’s face. “Steven, I’ve been waiting for you for five years and sacrificed so much for you! Do you have any idea what other people have done for you during this time?”
Steven lowered his head to stare at the kneeling woman before him, and a twinge of pain shot through his heart.
Kate was right; she had sacrificed so much and put in so much effort to help him awake from his coma, and the last thing he should have done…was to question her motives. Perhaps she had been telling the truth.
Perhaps Kate had done it all for his own good.
However…
“Kate.”
Steven gently clasped Kate’s hand. “If… If you truly love and care about me as much as you claim, why have you never shown a hint of concern whenever I told you about my headaches and nightmares?”
Kate froze when she heard this.
A split second later, she bit her lip and replied, “I can explain. Are you willing to listen to me, Steven?”
At the hotel.
Ever since they returned from the airport, Gwen had locked herself in the room in despair.
Bethan was worried that something terrible would happen, so she secretly went down to the lobby to request a copy of Gwen’s room key, then surreptitiously opened the door to see what Gwen was doing
All this while, Gwen had been sitting in front of the laptop, reading through pages and pages of information about Steven.
Since Steven had grown up in Saigen City and hailed from one of the wealthiest families here, information about his upbringing could easily be found on the internet, so much so that Gwen even managed to find photos of the kindergarten he had gone to as a child.
At this moment, Gwen stared dazedly at the photos on her laptop screen, her mind seemingly having wandered elsewhere.
Bethan felt a twinge of pain shoot through her heart at this sight.
Finally, she closed the door and went onto the balcony to call Brettley.
If she remembered correctly, Lucas had mentioned that Brettley had once gone on a business meeting with Steven in place of Thomas. Since they had been on a business meeting together, Brettley must have seen this man before.
The call was connected very quickly.
“Bethan.”
“Gwen and I haven’t left Saigen City.”
Brettley paused when he heard this. He lifted his head to glance at the photo of Gwen hugging Steven at the airport and furrowed his brow. “I know.”
Bethan let out an exhale and asked sharply, “You’ve met Steven before, haven’t you?”
Brettley was silent for a moment before finally nodding solemnly. “Yes, I have.”
Not only that, but the two of them had sat down for a meeting together. Brettley was more than familiar with this man to the extent that he already knew of Steven and
Luke’s relationship. However, he did not intend to let too many people know about their connection, which was why he had yet to tell Bethan. However, Brettley never thought Gwen and Steven would run into each other at the airport.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
Bethan let out a sigh and leaned against the balcony railing in exhaustion. She stared out at the snowing sky and continued, “Why didn’t you tell me that Steven and Luke are carbon copies of each other?
“You’re an observant man. From the moment you laid eyes on Steven, you should’ve known that this was Luke. Besides, you first met him about a day ago, didn’t you? You must’ve investigated this and discovered something, yet you couldn’t be bothered to tell me anything.”
Bethan could not hold back her seething rage any longer. “What are you trying to do, Brettley? What the hell are you thinking? You know full well that Steven is Luke, yet you chose to hide this from us!
“If we hadn’t bumped into him at the airport today, and if it weren’t for Rachel…Gwen and I would’ve returned to Merchant City by now, perhaps even already on our way to Sea City!
“You’re my husband, so you should know how much Gwen matters to me and how important Luke is to her! Why did you choose to hide this from us?”
Brettley closed his eyes and sighed. “Bethan, please calm down, and I’ll explain everything.”
Bethan furrowed her brow upon hearing this.
She plopped down in the lounge chair on the balcony and narrowed her eyes as she stared at the snow–covered city beyond. “Alright, I’m listening.”
She wanted to hear what he had to say about this.
Brettley sighed when he sensed Bethan’s rage and said slowly, “I know that you’re mad at me right now, but please think about this: What was Steven’s reaction like when you bumped into him at the airport today? Did he admit that he was Luke, or did he patiently listen to you recounting your memories withi Luke?
“Try to remember Gwen’s reaction when she saw Steven just now and how she has been acting over the last few days… If you were me, would you have come forward with the truth after seeing just how unhinged Gwen had been over the past few days at any mention of Luke?”
Bethan was silent after hearing this. She bit her lip and recalled how Gwen had looked in the dump station the day before, rummaging in the garbage with her red, frozen hands in search of the metal plate Luke had given her.
Bethan bit her lip nervously. No matter how reluctant she was, she had to admit that Brettley was right.
Regardless… Bethan let out an exhale and said, “Alright, you chose to hide this from Gwen for her own good, but what about me? Why did you have to lie to me too?”
Brettley closed his eyes and whispered, “Knowing how close you and Gwen are…how can I entrust you with this secret? I’m more than familiar with how bad of a liar you are, and besides, the more you treasure someone, the harder it is for you to control your emotions. What if you suddenly took pity on her and blurted out the truth to her? This would’ve led to chaos.”
Brettley sighed. “However, I guess I had been worrying for nothing; Gwen is much calmer now compared to the last few days.”
If Gwen had run into Steven in her state the night before, things would turn out to be very different.
Perhaps this was already the best outcome he could have hoped for.
Brettley’s low, calm voice had managed to extinguish most of the raging fire in Bethan’s heart. She sighed and asked, “Well, regarding Steven…have you managed to find anything?”
Brettley paused for a moment before finally saying, “Steven is actually Luke, but he–”.
Before he could even finish, the doorbell to Bethan’s hotel room rang.
Bethan did not want the sudden noise to disrupt Gwen, so she quickly bade Brettley goodbye and rushed back in to open the door.
The person standing outside their room was none other than a smiling Rachel.
“It turns out you guys have been staying here; I went to all that trouble for nothing.”
Rachel stepped into the foyer and took off her winter coat. “I asked about your hotel at the airport but forgot to ask for the exact address. “I searched for the hotel’s address online, but when I arrived, I couldn’t find you at all. It turned out I had gone to the wrong branch, and it took me a long time to finally find the correct one.”
With that, Rachel plopped onto the sofa, poured herself a glass of water, and finally lifted her head to glance at Bethan. “Where’s Gwen?” “Gwen is “
Before Bethan could even firtish her sentence, the door to Gwen’s room was flung open.
Gwen stormed out of the room and desperately grabbed Rachel’s hands. “What happened, Dr. Liddell? Is Steven…”
Tears brimmed in her eyes as she stared earnestly at Rachel. “Is… Is he Luke?”
When she saw the look in Gwen’s eyes, Rachel bit her lip and sighed. Then, she reached out to hold Gwen’s hand in consolation. “Gwen, why don’t you first tell me how you’re doing?”
Gwen had just received her heart transplant less than two months ago, and Rachel was worried that Gwen’s heart would not be able to handle the news she had to give.
“I’m doing well.”
Gwen bit her lip as tears slid down her cheeks. “Please tell me the truth, Dr. Liddell. I promise that I can handle it.”
A twinge of pain shot through Bethan’s heart at the sight of this. She strode over to them and picked up a tissue to gently dab at Gwen’s tears. “No matter what happens, Gwen, promise me that you’ll face the truth, okay?”
Gwen nodded as tears slid down her face, landing on the tissue Bethan offered.
Rachel could not help sighing at this. She fixed her gaze on Bethan and Gwen, then sighed again. “I’ve already sent a sample of Steven’s DNA to the DNA Diagnostic Center; the results will be ready tomorrow. By then…”
She let out an exhale. “We’ll finally be able to know whether Steven is Luke or not. Even though I have a rough guess myself, I still think we shouldn’t simply come to a conclusion before obtaining concrete evidence.”
Gwen’s entire body stiffened upon hearing this.
Disappointment flashed across her face, but a split second later, it was replaced with resolution. “You’re right, Dr. Liddell. You’re a very observant person. A DNA report…will truly be the best proof we can get of Steven’s true identity.”
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.