Wayne gave Sean a cold stare, snorted, and asked, “Jail? Do you really think we will end up in jail that easily?”
With contempt, he looked over at Lauren, who was crying uncontrollably. Then Wayne continued, “She isn’t going to call the cops. Even if you do that, she’d try everything she could to stop you.”
Sean was taken aback, and a chill ran down his spine. He took a big step forward, shielding Lauren behind him.
“I don’t mind solving the problem that way, but you seem to have a better idea to offer,” Anna said, smiling.
“I’ll let her delete all of the photos, including those saved in the cloud.”
Hearing Sean’s words, Lauren immediately nodded.
Then Wayne walked to Anna. He waved his hand, knowing Anna thought it was a good idea. The bodyguards then all left.
“Delete them,” Anna said condescendingly.
Lauren shivered and pulled her phone from her bag. Sean stood up and turned his head away from the photos, not wanting to look at them. Lauren then handed Anna her phone and cautiously said, “I’ve already deleted them.”
Anna didn’t look at the screen. Lauren was already intimidated, so Anna knew she wouldn’t dare to keep the pictures anymore.
Before leaving, Anna turned back and said to Lauren, who was shaking, “I was going to let you experience the pain. But since Sean has pleaded for you, I won’t do anything further to you. But I want to remind you that you’d better stay away from Isabella in the future. If she gets hurt in any way, I will suspect you first!”
Wayne smiled as he watched Anna leave, and he no longer appeared exhausted.
After leaving the hotel, Wayne and Anna got into their car. Anna was upset the entire way, as if she recalled an unpleasant memory. She was about to cry when she felt someone take her hand in his. When she looked up, she noticed Wayne staring at her. And the colorful neon from the street reflected on his face. It wasn’t until then that she came back to her senses.
Finally, they were together happily. Still, Anna constantly remembered she was terrified when she walked out of the hotel more than a decade ago. She had suffered from insomnia since then and would frequently wake up in the middle of the night from nightmares.
Wayne knew what she was thinking and realized she was drowning in grief. He couldn’t talk about it because he was the one who had hurt her back then. Moreover, he realized that no matter what he said, it would not relieve her pain.
“I found out about the man’s sister,” Wayne said after a brief pause breaking the ice.
Anna’s eyes brightened. “Where is she?” she asked, tightening her grip on his hand.
“In a hospital in the suburbs.”
“Hmm? Why?” Anna asked, puzzled.
“Because she has leukemia,” Wayne said calmly.
Anna nodded, not looking surprised. The vast majority of those protesting were family members of the patients, including the man. Anna knew he did it for a reason. If not because he hated her, it was because he wanted something from her.
Looking at Anna tenderly, Wayne started telling their story, “The man is named Bill, and his sister is Joanna. But the truth is, they are not biological siblings, nor are they related in any way. They met a few years ago in Ireland and returned to England together last year. Six months ago, Joanna was diagnosed with leukemia and is receiving treatment in a hospital. She never worked for Lemon, though.”
Hearing Wayne’s words, Anna gradually realized that everything was coming together. Following the incident, Lemon presented evidence denying that the workers’ illness was related to them. Yet, Anna provided financial assistance to those twelve workers after privately confirming their condition. Those people then stopped causing problems. Joanna, however, was not on that list.
“Joanna is likely unaware of what is going on. She had found a perfect match for the bone marrow, but that would cost her a lot of money. I think Bill is doing this for the money. So perhaps we should meet with her and get some information from her,” Wayne suggested.
“I’ll go to the hospital and see her tomorrow,” Anna said, nodding.
Titling his head against the window, Wayne looked at her and nodded. As he felt tired, he closed his eyes after that.
They didn’t say anything after that. Anna leaned against the other side of the car window and looked out. It was late at night, and the streets looked empty. Everything in the world suddenly seemed meaningless to her.
Then, she felt a weight on her shoulder. And she was shocked to find Wayne leaning his head against hers as if it was the only way he could sleep soundly.
At three o’clock in the morning, they returned home. When Anna awoke the next morning, she touched the pillow beside her. To her disappointment, Wayne was not there.
When she opened her eyes and checked the time, it was eleven o’clock in the morning. Anna then stood up and entered the dining room, where she found Isabella eating at the table. Because there was toast and milk on the table, Anna assumed she was eating breakfast.
Seeing Anna sit across from her, Isabella glanced at her several times. Under her gaze, Anna took a toast from the plate, smeared it with strawberry jam, and began eating it. She didn’t seem to want to talk about what had happened the night before with Isabella.
Meanwhile, Anna’s attitude caused Isabella to fidget even more. The last thing she could remember about last night was Jasmine and Lauren taking her into the hotel. So, she was confused about why she woke up in Wright’s house.
“Anna, about last night…” Isabella paused for a moment before dropping the half-eaten toast in her hand.
“Do you want to know what happened last night? You can’t remember it yourself, can you?” Anna yawned and asked calmly.
Isabella became very relaxed when she realized how calm Anna appeared. “I don’t remember,” she admitted honestly.
“Isabella, you should never get so drunk again. Jasper told me you were at that bar. He was worried that something would happen to you, so he asked me to pick you up.”
The moment she heard Jasper’s name, Isabella immediately lost her appetite. She forced a smile before getting up, heading out and saying, “I got it. I’m going back to Jasper’s house.”
“Don’t you have to go to school today?” Anna asked.
“It’s finally the weekend! Besides, I promised Gary that I’d stay with him for the weekend,” Isabella said as she cheerfully walked out.
Anna gently shook her head and lowered her head to finish the last bite of toast in her hand. At this point, the maid arrived with a glass of milk. Anna reached for it, then looked at the bag the maid was carrying and asked, “What is this?”
“Mr. Wright told Noel to bring it over this morning. He asked you to take this with you because you were going to see someone else later.”
“I see,” Anna said as she sipped her milk and looked at the store’s name on the top of the box.
***
“Joanna, a friend has come to see you,” A nurse informed Joanna.
Dressed in her hospital gown, Joanna was sitting at the table by the window, peeling an apple. Hearing the nurse, she looked up before she could pause and head for the door.
Anna entered the room wearing a beige trench coat. She gave Joanna a soft smile as if she had come to see an old friend she hadn’t seen in a long time.
Billhad warned Joanna to be wary of strangers, so she nervously approached Anna and asked, “Hello?”
Because she had been in a hospital bed for a long time, Joanna appeared tired. She appeared frail, but her eyes shone brightly. And Anna could tell that Joanna was a beautiful woman before she became ill.
“Bill said you like puffs from this store, so I just bought some for you,” Anna said as she held up the box.
Hearing that, Joanna let her guard down and stopped frowning. “You know Bill?” she asked, smiling.
Anna sat next to her and nodded as she set the box down. “How would I know you were here if I don’t know him? Bill always talks about you. To be honest, he only looks less aggressive when he talks about you.”
Joanna couldn’t help but smile when she remembered Bill’s grim expression. She was one of the few people who had ever seen Bill laugh, so the contrast was hilarious to her. Nodding and smiling, she said, “Yeah, he usually appears quite frightening.”
“Tell me about it! When the restaurant was empty, our boss would blame him for scaring the customers away.” As she opened the box, Anna said. The next second, the room was instantly filled with the fresh scent of vanilla cream. Then she took a puff and handed it to Joanna.
“When did you two meet each other?” Joanna reached out, took the puff, and ate it. She was no longer defensive about Anna. And she even valued the opportunity to spend time with Anna.
“We used to work together in a restaurant. I made a mistake the other day, and Bill took the blame for me. So, our boss fired him. I’ve always felt bad about it. That’s why I came to see you. I know the person he cares the most about is you. And I am here to show my gratitude.”
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.