Her heart throbbed with pain as if there was something squeezing her heart tightly.
After a while, she put away her phone and seriously looked at the cake on the table. Maybe she was too lonely. Maybe her mood was a disaster now.
A voice in her heart was telling her to look for the man dressed entirely in black. The man that had been following her. She yearned to talk with him and probably had a drink with him.
After a while, she shook her head vehemently to throw away the ridiculous thought.
The man had been following her for a long time but never had once tried to get close to her or talked with her. That said the man only wanted to protect him from afar and did not wish to have any close contact with her.
Maybe he was just a bodyguard whom Brettley and Bethan hired to protect her. There was no point in Gwen breaking the peacefulness between them. She sighed and sat back on the chair to enjoy the cake.
After a few bites, her phone beeped. It was a text message from Winson. [Are you free tomorrow?]
Gwen could not help frowning as she stared at the text.
She was not a child anymore. Winson’s insistence on sending her home and his sudden interest in her sent a clear message.
Besides, she remembered a time when Winson used to have a crush on her in high school, just like Ben. However, she turned him down and chose to be with Ben instead.
After a moment’s hesitation, Gwen took out her phone and replied, [I’m not up to anything in particular tomorrow, but I don’t want to waste your time, Winson. Ever since my ex-boyfriend passed away, I don’t think I can fall for anyone else anymore. Let’s remain friends.]
With that, she let out a sigh, put down her phone, and strode out onto the balcony.
The moon was exceptionally bright and full that night but emanated a cold hue, much like her heart.
As she closed her eyes, Luke’s face appeared in her mind’s eye. She had come to terms with Luke’s passing, but she could no longer find it in herself to open her heart to someone new. It was as though Luke’s death had taken away the key to her heart, and no one else was able to access it once more.
However…
Gwen opened her eyes and glanced at the street beneath her.
The man in black was sitting in a chair on the street right across from her, nibbling on the cake she ordered for him.
Although he was busy eating, he still took great care to keep his head lowered so that no one could see what he looked like.
Theoretically speaking, Gwen should have been afraid of him, but for some reason, she could not help feeling that he was following her just to look out for her.
However, knowing that her intuition was not always right, as evidenced by her past mistakes, she kept her guard up. After some time, she finally confirmed that her initial suspicions were right.
The man had not meant her any harm at all, and all he was doing was protecting her. Gwen did not know who sent him here, but she could not help feeling safe whenever she saw him around.
Not only that, but after finding out that Luke’s former subordinates were searching all over the place for her, she could not help growing even more grateful for this man’s presence. He was like a beam of sunlight in her dark, desolate days.
A slice of cake could not even begin to express her gratitude toward him, but without any knowledge of him, Gwen was not certain whether this man would be willing to get any closer to her.
Therefore, she did not dare to go out of her way to get in contact with him.
What if…What if it turned out that he was just following someone else’s orders?
At the thought of this, Gwen returned to her room, took out her phone, and logged into her old Whatzapp account.
The moment she got connected, her phone began to buzz endlessly with new messages.
Dozens of messages appeared on her screen, most of them from the group that Bethan created for her, Bonnie, and Anne.
A woman’s piercing scream echoed through the master bedroom of Orchard Manor. Bethan finally caught sight of Gwen’s message the moment she returned to the room. She could not help letting out a shriek of excitement, and, ignoring a drunken Brettley entirely, plopped onto the bed to reply to her message. [Gwennie, did you see our wedding photos? Where are you now? Bonnie told me that you’ve lost touch with us ever since what happened with Anne and me, and I thought you decided to cut all ties with me!]
When they were getting their makeup done shortly before the ceremony, Bethan had been talking about this to Bonnie.
Everyone that she knew had come to the wedding, save for the two most important people in her life- Anne and Gwen.
Unfortunately, Anne would never be able to share the joy with her anymore, and as for Gwen…
Bethan was not certain whether Gwen had chosen to leave out of disgust for her actions.
She was so ashamed by this that she could not even pluck up the courage to call Gwen.
They used to be two peas in a pod, but after Anne’s death…
If Gwen was not willing to talk to her ever again, Bethan did not think she was in any place to ask for forgiveness.
Bonnie, on the other hand, disagreed with her. “I think Gwen has run away because she’s lost all hope in everything after Luke’s death. Even if she were to see you, there’s nothing you could do except cry over Anne’s death together. Perhaps this is why she chose not to return and instead left in silence.
“After you got arrested, we had gotten in touch with Sean to ask about this, and he told us that although Gwen seems to be at peace with Luke’s death now, she appears to have lost every ounce of her emotions. She’s no different from a piece of plywood– frozen and rigid with no emotion, so…”
Bonnie sighed and continued, ‘Perhaps this is the reason she refused to see you. She has lost everything including her emotions after Luke’s death, and refuses to see you in a state like this.’
Bethan could not help feeling even more desolate after hearing this. She knew that she should have stayed by Gwen’s side after all that happened, and if she had been there for her, perhaps Gwen never would have ended up like this nor lost hope in everything, but…
It was too late for regrets.
She had not hesitated for even one moment when Brettley left Saigen City for Adrian’s wedding.
Bethan had too many people to take care of. She had intended to return to Saigen City to be with Gwen as soon as they settled everything with Adrian, but unfortunately…
Neither Bethan nor Bonnie expected this response from her. They sent her a playful sticker in reply, retorting, [I can’t believe this. We’re just concerned about you, yet you’ve resorted to attacking our husbands. We’re going to tell them about this now, and they’ll find a way to track you down and capture you home!]
[Please don’t. I was kidding, I’m fully aware of Brettley and Jim’s ferocity.] Gwen snickered at this. [I’m not done having fun yet, so I’m not ready to come home.]
Bethan could not help sighing at this. She tilted onto her side, trying to ease her sore muscles, and continued typing, [Haven’t you had enough fun, considering how long you’ve spent out there all by yourself now? When are you coming home? We all miss you dearly.]
[I don’t have any plans for that as of now.] Gwen paused, then told them everything her father had told her on the phone. [Banyan City and Sea City are too close to each other. I think I’d better stay away for now, lest I get in trouble.]
[What are you afraid of?] Bonnie pursed her lips as she extended her high heeled foot to Jim’s side.
Jim grinned at her, then gently removed her shoe and prepared her footbath. Bonnie let out a sigh of relief as she lowered her exhausted feet into the warm water, then continued typing, [Banyan City is Brettley’s territory, and as much as those thugs would like to think they’re omnipotent, they wouldn’t dare stir up trouble right under Brettley’s nose.]
[Bonnie’s right.] Bethan’s reply came quickly. [With Brettley around, there’s nothing you have to be scared of!]
[Hey, Brettley has sacrificed enough for you, and I’m not going to elevate his burden.] Gwen was determined. [Besides, they know where I am, but I have no idea where they’re hidden. If I return to Banyan City, they will surely keep a close eye on me, and perhaps one day, when Brettley is out of sight, they’ll capture me and bring me back to Sea City, so I think I should stay put.]
Bethan hesitated a moment when she saw this but did not try to argue.
The truth was, she had matured a lot during her time in prison, and she finally began to understand that Brettley was not as omnipotent as they all thought. He still had his limitations, and she could not allow him to expend any more energy taking care of her messes.
It was tiring enough for him to constantly be cleaning up after her messes, and she could not allow him to be burdened by taking care of Gwen too.
Besides, the biggest lesson she had learned was that…sometimes it paid off to be alone than be with friends. She did not want the tragedy of Anne’s death to repeat itself.
Bethan was dumbstruck when she saw the text Gwen sent. Dazedly, she looked back at Brettley. “Did… you send someone to protect Gwen?”
Brettley, playing with his phone at the moment, paused and nodded. ”Yes.”
It only triggered more questions in Bethan’s mind. “When did you arrange that?”
After she was released, she did ask Bonnie about Gwen. At that time, Bonnie said Gwen told no one when she left, and no one knew where she was headed to.
Why would Brettley arrange for people to protect Gwen? If he did that, why did he not mention it when she talked about Gwen with him?
“I did it after you went to jail.”
Brettley coughed and looked in another direction to avoid looking into Bethan’s eyes. “I was afraid someone is going to hurt your friends after what happened to Anne. Bonnie has Jim with her, so I wasn’t worried about her. Gwen, on the other hand, has no one, so I asked a friend to protect her.*
Bethan’s eyebrows furrowed. “Your friend?”
When did Brettley have a friend who worked as a bodyguard?
After a moment of silence, Brettley nodded. “Yes. I have a friend who used to work as a bodyguard. He’s very skilled at fighting.”
He turned and looked into Bethan’s eyes solemnly. “I told my friend to stay hidden while he watches over Gwen, careful not to alert her as he did.
However, since Gwen has found out about it… Tell Gwen to stay away from him, and let my friend do his job by protecting her from a distance.*
Bethan frowned in confusion. “Why?*
She understood it was for Gwen’s well-being to have the man remain in the dark if Gwen had not discovered him. Why, however, was it necessary to request Gwen to stay away from the man if Gwen had noticed him?
“He’s a peculiar man. His face was ruined in a certain incident, and it’s not a sight one will easily forget. He’s afraid that this will scare Gwen,’ Brettley explained, sighing and looking at Bethan. “It’s the type of face that’ll give you nightmares for many nights.”
Bethan pursed her lips. ‘Fine, I understand.”
She picked up her phone and sent a text to Gwen about what Brettley told her. Not forgetting to remind Gwen, [Don’t get close to him; just let him watch over you from a distance.]
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.