“Do you guys think… I should give up?”
Gwen said, her voice shaking as she nibbled at her hamburger. “If Steven doesn’t want to have anything to do with me…
“Every time I think of the fact that his body belongs to Luke, I can’t help wanting to give up. Even if we’re not together and he no longer remembers me, I think I can live with that. As long as he’s still alive, I’ll be content.
“Perhaps forgetting everything about me isn’t a bad thing to him at all, is it?
“I can still pretend that Luke is still alive and pretend that he’s a version of Luke who lost all his memories of me…”
Gwen murmured as tears slid down her cheeks.
After all, she had initially planned to leave Luke so that he would forget her and be able to start his new life afresh.
Even though things did not turn out the exact way she wanted them to, it was still a similar situation. “Gwen.”
Bethan pursed her lips, suddenly unsure of how to console her best friend. Just as she contemplated this, however, Mrs. Flores’ call came.
Bethan furrowed her brow as she took out her phone and glanced at the caller ID.
Why was Mrs. Flores calling at such a time?
Bethan took a few steps back and went out onto the balcony. She picked up the phone and dubiously spoke,”
Mrs. Flores?”
“Yes, it’s me,”
Mrs. Flores’ shaking voice rang out. “Ms. Bethan, can you help Yannie and Mr. Howard? I think – they’re in danger!”
Bethan frowned when she heard this. “Mrs. Flores, please calm down first, and tell me what happened to them.”
Had Yannie and Thomas not gone out together? How could they have gotten in danger?
Mrs. Flores sighed and relayed everything that she had heard through the phone to Bethan. “Ms. Bethan, Yannie has always been a good child, and she’d never come to me for help unless it’s something she has no solution to!
“She knows full well that I’m all alone here in Saigon City and that I won’t have any way of helping her…so I had no choice but to call you…”
“Mrs. Flores.”
Bethan let out an exhale when she heard this. “Don’t worry; I’ll do my best to help Yannie. Please don’t overthink this. I’m going to tell Brettley right now, and we’ll leave immediately for Howard Mansion. I’ll be back with good news!”
Then, she hung up and immediately called Brettley.
Brettley picked up after the first ring. “What’s wrong?”
Bethan pursed her lips and gave him a brief description of what had happened. “Are we going to Howard Mansion now?”
“I’m already on the way.”
Brettley furrowed his brow as he explained, “When Thomas first arrived at Howard Mansion, he texted me saying that if I don’t receive a call from him in half an hour, it means something bad has happened, and I’m supposed to go rescue him. “Lucas and I are already on our way to Howard Mansion.”
Bethan finally began to relax when she heard this. She let out a sigh of relief and asked, “Where are you now? Where can I meet you?”
Even though Brettley was already on his way to rescue Thomas and Yannie, Bethan still felt that it would be better if she went as well since she had already promised Mrs. Flores to help Yannie.
Besides, even if she had not made that promise, she and Yannie were friends, so she had to check on her.
Brettley hesitated for a moment before replying, “I have some men stationed outside your hotel room to protect you. You can go out and request them to bring you here.
“Howard Mansion is closer to you than it is to me, so you might even make it there before I do.”
Bethan paused for a moment, returned to the room, and flung open the front door.
A few bodyguards dressed in black were standing outside, and all of them froze as though they had not expected her to suddenly check in on them. “Ma’am…”
A surge of warmth spread into Bethan’s heart when she saw this. She pursed her lips and said into the phone, “Have you…been keeping an eye on me this whole time?”
She thought Brettley had been so busy that he would not have the time to check on her.
“That’s right.”
Brettley nodded. “These men have been watching over you all this while, but unfortunately, the last batch of guards weren’t responsible enough and didn’t notice Gwen sneaking out on the day she got drunk, so I switched all of them out. Since they’re new, I’m guessing they wouldn’t dare to commit such a mistake.”
Then, he curled his lips into a smile and added, “Lucas was the one who hand–picked them, so I’m sure they’re trustworthy enough.”
Bethan pursed her lips when she heard this. “Thank you.”
With that, she hung up the phone.
“What happened?”
Rachel and Gwen had come up behind her when they noticed Bethan opening the door all of a sudden. They had that foreboding feeling that something was wrong.
Bethan glanced at them and hesitated for a moment before grabbing their hands. “Let’s go. I’ll explain everything on the way.”
Then, she glanced at the guards and said, “Bring us to Howard Mansion.”
The guards froze for a moment, then led the three women downstairs and into the car.
As soon as they got into the car, Bethan finally sighed and explained everything to Gwen and Rachel. Finally, she furrowed her brow and added, “I hadn’t wanted to bring you along, but…”
After all, she could not be sure if it was truly safe to bring them there.
“I can’t help feeling that …”
She glanced at Gwen. “You need something to distract you from thinking about Steven. Not only that…”
She turned to glance at Rachel. “You’re a doctor, and according to what I heard from Mrs. Flores, Thomas and Yannie had probably been poisoned. “I’m guessing that Brettley probably hadn’t thought of this possibility yet, so he probably wouldn’t have thought of bringing a doctor with him.”
“Don’t worry,”
Rachel piped up. “Even though I’m not as good of a chemist as your mother, I’m still far better than most doctors when it comes to toxicology.”
The car soon arrived at Howard Mansion.
Brettley was right; their hotel was so close to Howard Mansion that Brettley’s car was still nowhere in sight when they arrived.
Bethan immediately got out of the car and instructed her men to kick down the front door without waiting for Brettley.
With a loud slam, Bethan’s bodyguard kicked open the door to Howard Mansion, and Bethan rushed into the mansion with Gwen and Rachel. The moment they did, they saw a few maids rushing around to clean and do their duties.
The maids were astonished to see people barging into the mansion. Subsequently, they understood the purpose of why they were here. The head house–maid thus pointed to the upper floor as she lowered her voice, saying, “Ms. Hughes, Young Master, and Ms. Yannie are all in the guest room at the end of the hallway. If…you guys are here to save them, then you should hurry. It’s been ten minutes…and you’re probably too late.”
Bethan was shocked to have heard this. Not wasting a second, she dashed up the stairs to the second floor and immediately spotted Yannie, her hands and legs tied to the guard rail of the hallway and a towel stuffed into her mouth.
She was evidently struggling against her restraints to loosen the ropes that tied her. As she was struggling, she heard footsteps coming from the stairs, and she instinctively looked up.
She spotted Bethan running toward her from the staircase while Gwen, Rachel, and several bodyguards followed suit. Yannie could no longer hold back as she burst into tears at the sight. She tried to open her mouth widely to say something out of relief but could not.
Bethan quickly took out the towel that was stuffed in Yannie’s mouth the moment she reached her. “Yannie.”
“Bethan…”
Yannie’s tears were ceaseless. She looked to the side as she tearfully begged, “Forget me. Go save Thomas! Denise brought him to the room. He’s,”
She could not bear to finish her words.
When she was brought upstairs by Denise, she did not know what she was about to do to her until she sent someone to tie her up at the guardrail.
‘Yannie, I’m going to sleep with Thomas. Godmom and I had taken the antidote before lunch. In fact, this poison affects men more than women. You thought you suffered more seriously, but that’s not true. Thomas has been holding hard and pretending, but he’s actually all hot and bothered now!
‘Me? Well, to successfully bear Thomas’ child, I’ve taken a fertility drug that stimulates ovulation. Today is the most suitable day.’
Denise’s voice echoed in Yannie’s ear.
‘I’m gonna let you listen to how Thomas and I have sex! This is the price for you to pay to snatch my man from me!’
Yannie cried even harder at the memory. “Save Thomas! Quick!”
Bethan paused for a while and quickly looked at the bodyguards behind her. The bodyguards saw her look and understood what she wanted them to do. They rushed to the door of the room at the end of the hallway.
Slam! They kicked open the door.
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.