At the very least, Gwen figured she should show him the respect he deserved.
Since Gwen had made up her mind, Bethan knew nothing was going to change her mind. She sighed.
[Alright, then. Take care of yourself.]
[Stay away from Winson!]
Gwen replied, [I know.]
Bethan sighed helplessly as she read Gwen’s reply, massaging her glabella while she was at it. Then, she opened the chat window she had with Bonnie and texted her.
[I failed. Gwen missed a chance to reunite with Luke.]
Bonnie corrected her, [It’s a chance to reunite with Luke and Steven. Don’t forget they’re in the same body now.]
Bethan pursed her lips and continued, [Bonnie, do you think the man watching over Gwen is Steven after all?]
Bonnie replied with an emoji and a sentence. [99.9%!]
[Other than the two brothers, who else do you think it could be? Who else had the time to follow her around the world after you were in trouble, following her wherever she went? Also, it’s very weird that he needs to cover his face with a mask.
[I’ve checked. Fairier Town is a small town, and the weather over there is much warmer than here.]
[Obviously, the man is scared Gwen will recognize him. That’s why he rather covers his face with a mask despite the hot weather.]
Bethan replied, [But Brettley said the man’s face is disfigured…]
[He’s lying.] Bonnie replied instantly.
At the moment, she was laying on the couch with her facial mask on. She rolled her eyes.
[I mean, he can’t tell you the man is wearing a mask because the man doesn’t want Gwen to know what he looks like. Right?]
Bethan texted back, [Since you’ve made your deduction, why don’t you tell Gwen?]
Bonnie answered, [Gosh. What’s the point of him covering himself if you tell Gwen about it?]
Bethan rolled her eyes. [Am I that kind of person?]
Bonnie nodded. [Yes.]]
“Your noodles, Miss.”
The waiter placed Gwen’s noodles in front of her, then did the same for the man.
Within a few meters of each other, Gwen could clearly hear the man pick up his fork, remove his mask, and begin to eat.
For a split second, she could not help wondering what she would see if she turned around right that instant.
However, it did not take her long to dismiss that thought.
She could not do this, not after promising Bethan she would not force the man to remove his mask if he did not want to, so why was she so curious about him all of a sudden?
At the thought of this, Gwen let out a sigh, picked up her fork, and began eating as well.
At the table behind her, the man curled his lips into a smile as he watched her.
After their meal, the two of them paid their separate bills and exited the restaurant, making their way into town, with the man following a few paces behind Gwen.
They had not gone too far when all of a sudden, they were surrounded by burly men.
“You messed with the wrong person, Gwen.”
Winson emerged from among these men and strode over to Gwen, his gaze fixated intently on her face. “I didn’t think you’d want to do this the hard way. I can’t believe even after inviting you to a nice art show, you’d still treat me like this…”
With that, he sneered. “Since that’s how you think of me, I don’t think there’s anything else I’d like to reminisce about our past with you anymore.”
This time, there was no longer any hint of the adoration he had for her in his eyes.
Gwen furrowed her brows and instinctively took a step back.
To her surprise, she bumped into the man behind her.
This act of fear and apprehension was received by Winson to be Gwen’s way of acting out toward him and deliberately choosing someone else over him!
A glimmer of malice flashed through Winson’s eyes at this realization. “Very well, Gwen. I’m sure you’re fairly aware of this man’s intentions toward you. I can’t believe you’d rather give this faceless man a chance over an old friend like me!”
With that, he gestured to the guards standing next to him. “Beat the shit out of that man!”
Gwen froze at this.
“Don’t you dare!”
A split second later, she extended her arms out to her sides, shielding the man behind her like a protective hen. “
Don’t make me hate you, Winson!”
As combative and agile the man was, she knew he could not overpower so many men at the same time, not to mention that he had suffered injuries over his arm and back because of her.
How could an injured man like him possibly match up against so many guards at the same time?
“Hate me?”
Winson cackled. “So be it! You can’t possibly think I’m still in love with you, can you, Gwen? If I wanted you, neither Ben nor Luke would’ve stood a chance!
“I could’ve won your heart anytime I wanted. The only reason I didn’t do so, not even once during our high school days or even after you broke up with Ben, is because I never once had a thing for you!
“If it weren’t for the fact that you’re Luke’s ex-girlfriend, and if it weren’t for the fact that the heart beating in your chest right now belongs to Luke, I wouldn’t have bothered tracking you down!”
With that, he brushed his nose and added, “Oh, you probably don’t know this, but every single gang in Sea City is searching for you, and they’ve put up a hefty prize for your capture.
“I just heard that your father was also captured because of you!”
The color drained from Gwen’s face when she heard this. She lunged forward and grabbed hold of Winson’s arm. “What did you just say?”
Her father had told her he was fine on the phone a few days ago! He even emphasized to her that since everyone thought they had fallen out, none of the gangsters would even attempt to harm him…
“Got your attention now, huh?”
Winson curled his lips into a sneer. “It turns out I was right; you still care about that old geezer. I can’t believe those idiots in Sea City were dumb enough to think you’d fallen out! If I hadn’t told them how loyal you were to the people around you, none of them would’ve even dared to capture him!”
Gwen froze when she heard this. She bit her lip and turned to gape at Winson incredulously. “You…”
Winson was the reason her father had gotten captured?
“I, what?”
Winson’s cackle echoed through the cold air. “Don’t blame me for being so ruthless. If you had given me a chance and gone on that date with me and behaved properly, none of this would’ve happened. Don’t be too upset, will you?”
He narrowed his eyes and looked down at Gwen, who was clutching his arm. “I’m going to bring you back to Sea City, and don’t worry, you’ll be reunited with that old geezer again before you die!”
With that, he pulled her into his arms, his grip as tight as a vice, and yelled to the guards, “What are you waiting for?”
The only person protecting Gwen was that man dressed in black, and as long as they got rid of him somehow, Gwen would be utterly defenseless.
The guard stormed forward and surrounded the man in black, as per Winson’s orders. “You’d better surrender now, and if you do,’ we might consider going easy on you!”
The man curled his lips into a smirk His cold, desolate gaze pierced through the crowd and landed on Winson instead.
At this moment, that wretched man was trying to get ahold of Gwen by pulling him into his arms as tightly as he could, as though he was confident that Gwen would fall into his hands.
“You’re dead.”
The man in black tore off the sleeve of his jacket, wrapped it around his knuckles, and began to engage in combat against the guards.
Meanwhile, Gwen struggled against Winson’s grip, and although she could not see anything that was going on behind her, she could hear the grunts and noises of people fighting amongst each other.
Her entire heart was gripped with fear and worry.
The man in black had injured himself because of her, so how could he possibly be a match against those burly men of Winson’s?
She was certain that he would suffer greatly, and the more she thought about it, the more upset she became.
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.