Luke raised his hand to touch his forehead in a defeated manner. “I can’t believe it–my reputation’s all gone.”
To everyone else, Luke had always been the ruthless and invincible gangster, one whose dignity would never be challenged. Even his death was a chosen one–he willingly sacrificed himself for the woman he loved, as opposed to dying due to illness or combat.
However, he never thought that after his death, his subordinates would eventually find out he had been tricked out of his life…
The reputation he had so carefully built up over these years was destroyed.
Luke was so humiliated that he could not help willing for the ground beneath him to open up and swallow him whole right that instant.
“Not only did they find out, but they were even determined to come over to Saigen City and take revenge on the Miller and Hughes families,”
Thomas could not help adding. “They couldn’t bear seeing their leader being tricked like this, so they were determined to make the culprits pay the price.
“Unfortunately, Saigen City is too far away from both Sea City and Merchant City. Even if your subordinates had come, they wouldn’t be able to adapt to the weather conditions here anyway, but most importantly, Saigen City belongs to the Miller and Hughes families. No matter how many of them come, they won’t stand a chance against the gangsters here.
“Therefore, Brettley and I managed to persuade them to give up on their plans. Instead, they agreed to send Jim’s brother, Sean, over here to check on Steven and see whether you were doing well.”
Luke furrowed his brow when he heard this. He turned to glance at Thomas as though he wanted to say something, but after a moment, he heaved a sigh and decided to stay quiet instead.
“Don’t worry.”
Brettley patted his shoulder reassuringly. “Your subordinates never once laughed at your demise. Instead, they were so outraged by this that they wanted to avenge your death.
“Even though they were worried about you, they still had their wits about them. After Thomas, Jim, and I analyzed the situation at hand for them, they were willing to accept the truth and put things into our hands.”
Luke nodded and heaved another sigh. You can’t deny that my men…are extremely kind and reasonable people.”
Luke, too, had fought tooth and nail, like his men, to climb to the top of the food chain, so he knew exactly what they were going through.
“Listen.”
He took out his phone and handed it to Brettley. “Help me take a video and show it to them.”
Brettley hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
He pulled up the phone’s camera function, and as he did so, he could not help sighing. “If I show them this video, Jim and I will have to go through the extra trouble of explaining to them that you’ve now become a split personality of Steven’s mind…”
“Is that very troubling to you?”
Luke snickered but did not show any intention of changing his mind. “Well, I’m sorry to trouble you then, and thanks for your help in advance.”
Brettley curled his lips into a defeated smile and proceeded to record the video as Luke instructed. Behind them, Gwen watched quietly as Luke spoke to the camera, a small smile playing on her lips.
Back when she first lost Luke, she had been so consumed by the thought of having him back that she was willing to do anything, even at the expense of Steven’s life.
However, Luke finally returned, and it was as though his appearance was the cure to her anxiety. She was no longer engulfed by the thoughts of losing him anymore.
No matter what happened, she was more than grateful to be able to see him again, even if it was just once.
After finishing the recording, Luke let out an exhale and strode over to Gwen’s side. “Now that I’m done with that, the remainder of my time belongs to you. Shall we go out for a stroll?”
Gwen nodded and reached out to clasp his hand. She took a deep breath and asked, “When will you be leaving?”
Luke shook his head. “I have no idea either.”
The truth was, when it came to his miraculous resurrection from death, he was just as clueless as the next person. Nonetheless, he was more than grateful to be given the chance to see Gwen once again, even if it was in the most bizarre of ways.
He held her hand so tenderly as though he was holding the world’s most precious treasure.
Then, he turned to glance at Brettley. “I’ll leave the rest to you.”
Brettley nodded. “Don’t worry; I’ll take care of everything.”
Finally, Luke shifted his gaze to Thomas. “I hope you’ll send some of your people to help search for Denise too. After all, Steven doesn’t have much help.”
Even though Steven’s men were trying their best, Luke knew from experience that a mere few of them were not enough to find a woman hiding in the slums.
Thomas was silent for a moment before finally nodding.
“However-” he curled his lips into a smile as he met Luke’s gaze. “What am I supposed to do about the fact that your brother punched me?”
Luke broke into a smile. “Well, you can bring that up with me, but you’ll have to win against me first.”
Thomas rolled his eyes at him and waved his hand dismissively. “Alright, alright. You can go now. You’d better cherish your time together before Steven returns.”
Gwen’s face flushed red when she heard this. She bit her lip, glancing at Luke’s side profile, as a surge of inexplicable warmth spread into her heart.
Even though Luke and Steven were identical, the two of them seemed to stir up entirely different feelings in her heart.
Every time she was faced with Steven, she never once felt an inkling of attraction toward him. All she felt was familiarity, as though she was talking to an old friend. However, as soon as Luke took over, everything he did and said tugged at her heartstrings like he was strumming a harp.
“Haven’t you gotten enough of me already?”
Luke could not help smiling when he noticed her staring. He reached out to stroke her hair tenderly. “I thought that after being together for so long, you would’ve gotten sick of me by now.”
“How can that be?”
Gwen replied as she followed him out of the hotel and onto the snow–covered streets. “I’d never get sick of you, not for the rest of my life.”
“Unfortunately, I won’t be around to see that happen.”
Luke sighed and wrapped his arm around Gwen’s waist. “But…seeing you happy and healthy is more than enough.”
Gwen was both touched and upset by this.
Luke had sacrificed his life in exchange for her health…
At the thought of this, a wave of despair washed over her, wrapping around her body and suffocating her little by little.
“The truth is, Steven likes you a lot.”
Luke could sense that she was upset, and quickly tried to change the topic. “What do you think about him?”
Gwen immediately broke out of her stupor and shook her head in response. “He’s a kind and thoughtful person…and this was the kind of man I used to envision spending the rest of my life with, but…”
She lifted her head to stare at Luke. “After meeting you, there’s no way I’d ever be able to fall for someone else, not even Steven. I think of him only as a friend and member of my close circle.”
Luke paused when he heard this. “But he looks exactly like me.”
“No, he doesn’t.”
Gwen smiled, shaking her head. “To me, you two will never be the same.”
She was smiling as she said this, but tears slid down her cheeks.
It was clear what she thought of this.
When he saw this, Luke was silent for a moment before finally sighing. “It’s okay. If you don’t think of him that way, none of us will force you into liking him.”
However…
He would be truly, genuinely happy if Gwen were to fall for Steven and be with him.
Luke had spent most of his life clawing his way up to the top of the food chain, and because of this, had failed to give Gwen what she truly deserved–a life of peace and tranquility.
He of all people knew what Steven was capable of, which was why he was hoping Steven and Gwen would end up together.
However, since Gwen was unwilling to, he would not force it upon her.
Snow began to fall once more as the two of them made their way down the street. As the weather got colder and colder, people began to scatter and enter indoors.
White snowflakes fell on Luke and Gwen’s hair and clothes as they trudged through the streets hand– in- hand.
“I remember that quote that you read to me once; to watch a snowfall together is to experience a thousand seasons.”
Luke reached out to gently stroke Gwen’s hair. “Well, have we experienced a thousand seasons together?”
Gwen lifted her head to meet his gaze, tears brimming in her eyes. “Of course we have. We’ve watched snowfall together, so it means we’ve experienced a thousand seasons together. We’ve spent the best of our lives with each other.”
Luke chuckled and pulled her into his arms.
Initially, the two of them had intended to spend the rest of the day walking in the snow, but they had underestimated the sheer force of the northern wind.
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.