“I’m sure we’ll be able to find her. You…”
Gwen paused mid–sentence, unsure of how to console him.
A split second later, she let out a sigh. It seemed as though nothing she could say would effectively ease Steven’s worries.
All of a sudden, the door swung open, and Thomas strode out of the room. “Is that Steven?”
He leaned against the doorframe, glancing coldly at Steven and Gwen. “Did you come back by yourself?! guess you didn’t manage to find her after all.”
The disdain in Thomas’ voice made Steven’s blood boil.
He could not believe that the culprit of his sister’s disappearance would dare to show his face, much less be so rude to him!
Steven clenched his fists so hard that his knuckles cracked. “Thomas Howard! I know Denise had crossed you many times in the past, but she’s learned her mistake now, so how dare you pick on a defenseless girl like her!”
“A defenseless girl?”
Thomas raised his brows and curled his lips into a sneer. “Are you talking about the same girl who drugged me and had sex with me without my consent, all the while forcing the woman I love to listen to everything from outside the door?
“This defenseless girl you’re talking about ruined everything I had with Yannie!”
Steven’s entire body stiffened upon hearing this.
The truth was, he did not know what had truly happened between Denise and Thomas the day before. All he knew was that Denise had done something wrong and crossed Thomas, but he never thought that… Denise would do something like this.
Steven furrowed his brow. Even though he was starting to change his mind, he still could not help trying to defend Denise. “Perhaps that wasn’t her plan at all.”
“That wasn’t her plan?”
Thomas sneered. “Are you suggesting that as long as it wasn’t the person’s original intention to do something, I should automatically forgive every mistake they’ve committed?
“Even though you hadn’t meant to steal Luke’s body for your own, it still happened anyway; does that mean you’re automatically forgiven just because you had no intention of it happening?
Thomas fixated his cold gaze on Steven. “I can’t believe I underestimated you, Steven. Everyone from the Hughes family is selfish and greedy, including you!”
With that, he strode over to Steven’s side, towering over him, and added, “Didn’t you say that you’d unleash your wrath on me if you couldn’t find Denise within an hour?
“Well, I’m standing here right in front of you, so do whatever you want!”
Thomas’ appearance made Steven furrow his brow in annoyance. He stared coldly back at Thomas and said, “I’ll never be able to fully understand the pain you’ve gone through, and I never once said that you should forgive Denise for her wrongdoings, but you’re a man, Thomas, so do you honestly think it’s appropriate for you to punish a woman this way?
“There are plenty of ways to get revenge on a woman who crossed you, so why do you have to choose such an undignified way and force her to sell her own body and soul? Not only that, but you even said you’d send some people to help her if she couldn’t accomplish her task by daylight. How the hell are you going to do that?”
Thomas narrowed his eyes upon hearing this. “I don’t think I have to explain anything more to you.”
“You-“
Steven narrowed his eyes menacingly. “Do you think just because I’ve always been a mild- mannered person I wouldn’t dare to lay a finger on you?”
With that, he pulled his sleeves up and took a small step toward Thomas. “I admit that oftentimes, I’d choose to settle conflicts civilly over violence, and in some people’s opinions, I do this because I’m a coward, but things are different now.
“This time, I’m doing this to protect my family!”
He lunged in Thomas’ direction and swung his fist right at Thomas’ face!
Thomas never expected that Steven, the always mild–mannered and polite gentleman, would resort to violence. Thus, he did not manage to dodge his punch in time, and Steven’s fist struck his face hard. Steven’s punch packed so much that Thomas staggered backward, having to take two steps to steady himself. However, before he could even regain his composure, Steven raised his other fist.
He was so swift that Thomas did not even have the time to react. He watched as Steven’s fist sailed toward him, and, knowing that he would not be able to dodge this in time either, he closed his eyes in surfender.
To his surprise, the blow did not come.
Thomas opened his eyes slowly and came face–to–face with a veiny, muscular arm that belonged to none other than Brettley.
Brettley had stopped Steven’s punch just in time. However, judging from the sheer strength exerted by Brettley in defense, it was clear that Steven had put his entire body into this punch.
Thomas instinctively took a step backward, all of a sudden regretting provoking Steven this much.
He knew just how strong Brettley was; the fact that Brettley was struggling to hold Steven back demonstrated the sheer force and anger behind Steven’s advances.
He did not dare to imagine what would happen if Brettley had not shown up in time!
“Let go of me!”
Steven glared daggers at Brettley. “This is between me and him, so don’t you dare interfere.
“You can’t beat him to death.”
Brettley did not intend to back down at all. “He’s my cousin, so I can’t just stand by and watch you beat him up.”
He curled his lips into a smile as he stared at Steven. “You’re becoming more and more like Luke.”
Even though Luke did not appear to be a particularly strong man, his strength during combat was not to be underestimated. Otherwise, he would not have managed to rise to the throne as the leader of the biggest gang in Sea City, much less expand his power to Merchant City.
Steven was still miles away from becoming Luke, but Brettley had to admit that he was getting close.
“Is that so?”
Steven curled his lips into a smirk. “Well, if you think I’m becoming more and more like Luke, do you believe I’ll really beat him to death?”
He burst into a mischievous laugh and put down his fists. “Brettley, I only showed him mercy for your sake.
With that, he tucked his hands into his pockets and shot Thomas a cold look. “We’ve met before, Thomas Howard.”
The entire hallway fell silent.
Gwen’s eyes widened in shock as she stared at the man before her.
The tone of his voice, and the way he held himself…
“Luke?”
She stormed forward and grabbed hold of his hand. “Have you returned, Luke?”
She was absolutely certain.
She was certain that the man standing before her was none other than Luke!
Steven furrowed his brow when he heard Gwen’s voice.
He turned around, and his entire body froze when he caught sight of Gwen.
A split second later, he reached out and pulled Gwen into his arms as though there was no one else around there. “Yes, it’s me.”
Tenderness twinkled in his eyes as he held the woman he loved in his arms. “My love.”
Tears spilled down Gwen’s face when she heard this. She reached out to grab his sleeve, tears brimming in her eyes. “Is that really you, Luke?”
“Yes, it is.”
Luke furrowed his brow. “I don’t know what happened… but it seems as though I had just burst out of a cocoon.”
Everyone’s jaws dropped at this sight, including Thomas, who had been bracing himself for another slew of punches.
Brettley furrowed his brow in confusion.
Bethan, on the other hand, widened her eyes in shock, then strode over to Brettley’s side and gently tugged on his sleeve. She asked in a whisper, “What happened?”
How could Steven suddenly turn into Luke without warning?
Did the doctors not say that Luke’s consciousness had disappeared and would never return?
Judging from the way Gwen and Luke held each other, as well as the look in his eyes when he laid eyes on her, Bethan was certain that this was none other than Luke; Steven would never be able to put on such a genuine act. 1
After all, Steven had never met Luke before and thus would never know how Luke behaved in Gwen’s presence, much less imitate the tenderness and love he had toward her!
Gwen wrapped her arms tightly around Luke’s waist. She could not help feeling suffocated, as though she was engulfed with so much warmth that she could barely breathe.
A split second later, she let go of Luke and removed herself from his embrace. “What happened?”
She was wondering the same thing as Bethan.
She was just as surprised as all of them, even. As the person closest to him, she had no doubts that the man standing before her at this moment was Luke, but how could this be?
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.