As puzzled as she was, she answered, “My brother’s name is
…John Young.”
She even shot Tara a rather quizzical look. “Miss Moore, your memory isn’t serving you anymore. How can you forget that?”
She failed to notice the expression on Bethan’s face as soon as she heard John’s name.
Tara knew immediately from the stunned look on Bethan’s face that she had played the right move. She smirked, then shoved the card back into Robyn’s hand. “I don’t take back what I’ve given out. If John insists on giving this money back to me, he should come to me himself instead of sending someone else to do it.”
With that, she turned to glance at an astonished Bethan. “Let’s go, Bethan.”
Bethan froze in shock for a long time.
Finally, she regained her composure and grabbed Robyn’s arm excitedly. “Are you saying that your brother was the one who saved the man everyone had been searching the entire city for?”
Robyn did not expect this reaction from Bethan at all. She took a small step backward in fear and nodded. “Yes… Yes.”
Why was Bethan so excited to hear this?
She furrowed her brow and asked, “Miss, do you…know my brother? Or are you somehow related to the old man from last night?”
Bethan was just about to say yes to both questions when Tara piped in. “Of course she’s related to the old man. She’s my cousin-in-law, which makes her a relative of the old man your brother saved. She’s just excited to meet the man who saved his life.”
With that, she glanced at Bethan. “Isn’t that right, Bethan?”
Bethan froze for a moment, then nodded. “Yes, I’m just happy he’s safe and sound now.”
With that, she turned to stare at Robyn once more. “How’s your brother doing now?”
“He’s fine.”
Robyn smiled. “The gunshot wound is on his shoulder, so it’s nothing major.”
With that, she could not help but ask, “Do you want to come in and visit him?”
Bethan was silent for a moment before finally replying, “No, it’s okay.”
She knew everything would change if John laid eyes on her.
Before coming to Sharnwick City, she promised Brettley she would not intrude on John and Sammie’s lives. Therefore, as much as she wanted to, she would not willingly see John in person.
However…
She glanced at Robyn. “Tell your brother the man he saved is very rich and won’t even notice the seventy-five thousand dollars. He should keep it and not overthink the meaning of this gift. If you don’t take the money, we’ll interpret it as being simply too little and will try to give him even more gifts in the future to compensate. We might even go so far as to harass you every day and perhaps even send some women to him as offerings.”
The color drained from Robyn’s face. “Um…”
“Tell him that.”
With that, Bethan turned and strode toward the elevator.
“Just tell him what she said.”
Tara patted Robyn’s shoulder before finally turning to follow Bethan.
The elevator doors slid shut.
Robyn let out a sigh as she watched the elevator disappear, then trudged back to the room.
Meanwhile, inside the elevator, Bethan narrowed her eyes at Tara.
Finally, Tara could not stand it anymore. She first frowned, then grinned mischievously at Bethan. “Are you staring at me because you think I’m pretty, Bethan?”
“What do you think?”
Bethan resisted the urge to roll her eyes.”
When did you know about John?”
Tara had just gotten to know her and Brettley for a little over a month, whereas Anne had passed away about half a year. Tara would never have known Anne or John. The only explanation was that Tara had secretly investigated Bethan and Brettley’s connections, or perhaps…
Perhaps Brettley told her everything. If this were the case, he certainly would have also told Tara about Gwen and Luke!
What was he doing, divulging all of Bethan’s secrets to his cousin?
“Bethan.”
Tara gave her a sheepish smile. “Would you believe me if I told you I’d known about all this since your friend Anne’s death?”
Bethan raised her brows at Tara questioningly. “Are you saying you’ve known about Anne and John since six months ago?”
Tara was silent for a moment before finally nodding. “Yes.”
She exhaled and stared solemnly at Bethan. “In the past, all I had ever heard about you was that you married my long-lost cousin and were blessed with triplets. I also heard that at one point, you were close with Christian, but I didn’t have any more information apart from this. One day, my aunt confided in me that you, my long-lost cousin-in-law, were none other than Moon, my favorite jewelry designer.
“Ever since this discovery, I started paying more attention to you and kept tabs on any news regarding you. With this, I was no stranger to your murder and trial, so I knew of Anne and John’s existence.”
Bethan’s eyes widened in shock.
She could not believe that Tara was secretly one of her fans, so much so that she would keep her eye out for any news of Bethan even though they lived in different cities.
However…
If Tara truly admired her so much, why would she attempt to get close to Brettley despite knowing Bethan despised this?
Tara seemed to know exactly what Bethan was thinking. She pursed her lips but did not respond to this. Instead, she changed the topic and asked, “Why don’t I bring you to visit Gwen and her father now?”
Bethan was silent for a moment, then finally shook her head.”
No, I want to see John.”
It had been a long time since she last saw John. She wondered how he was doing, and whether Sammie was coping well in this new city.
The truth was, she used to not be fond of John. At one point, she could not help blaming John for dragging Anne down with his unfortunate fate.
If Anne had not married John, she would have followed in her of the most renowned plastic surgeons in the world.
Because of John, Anne gave up the chance to further her training overseas, sacrificed fame and glory, and instead chose to remain in Banyan City as a rather ordinary plastic surgeon. Not only that, but after Sammie’s birth, she even quit her job and became a full-time housewife to take care of John and their daughter.
As her friend, Bethan could not help feeling that Anne had wasted her future, but she was in no place to comment.
Therefore, she could not help blaming John for this turn of events, since he was the main reason Anne had chosen to do all this in the first place.
Nevertheless…
After witnessing John’s reaction to Anne’s death, Bethan finally knew Anne’s decision and sacrifices were right.
Anne had never been an ambitious person; all she wanted was to lead an ordinary and peaceful life.
If it were not for Bethan, Anne and John would still be living peacefully in Banyan City…
With Anne no longer around, Bethan could finally let go of her frustration toward John.
She wanted nothing more than to sneak a glance at John and see what he was up to like old friends did. At the same time, knowing that he was doing well would give her some peace of mind.
Tara fell silent for a long time before finally nodding. “Alright then, but you have to control yourself and not make a sound, Bethan. Otherwise, he might see you.”
Bethan nodded. “I will.”
She knew that the last thing John wanted was to find out she was ‘spying’ on him.
“Come with me.”
Tara exhaled, grabbed Bethan’s hand, and led her to John’s room.
Bethan peeked through the crack in the door.
John, dressed in a hospital gown, sat up in his bed and ate while speaking to Robyn. “Did Miss Moore really say that?”
Robyn nodded. “I also bumped into the woman who bought you this lunch at the elevators just now. You won’t believe this, but she’s related to Miss Moore! They’re cousins by marriage!”
John’s hand froze mid-air, clearly surprised. He chuckled and asked, ‘Really? What a coincidence.”
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.