“That’s impossible, right?” Tina asked, dumfounded.Samuel hated her guts, so why would he take her to the banquet?Victor couldn’t be bothered to explain anything to her. Instead, he handed her a banquet invitation. “Miss Lynd, this is the invitation to the banquet. Please keep it safe at all times. I'll guard the door.”It was obvious he didn’t want to be around Tina at all.Tina, however, didn’t mind the bodyguard’s behavior. She glanced at the invitation in her hands, noticing that the date was set for the next weekend.She had no idea why Samuel wanted her to be at the banquet. However, she was confident that he definitely had no intentions of letting her stay with him throughout the entire night. She was most likely attending the banquet as an invisible extra.The designers of the studio were very experienced. After an in-depth analysis of Tina’s body type, they quickly found a gown for her to wear.When Tina exited the fitting room, she had an awkward look on her face.A
All of a sudden, loud commotion exploded from outside the designer studio.“Miss, only VIPs are allowed to enter the studio,” a voice reprimanded.“What do you mean by that?! I’m here to look for someone! Hey, Tina! Don’t you dare hide there without making a sound! I saw you entering this place! Come out if you dare!”“How dare you not keep in contact with us? We’re your family! This is way over the line, Tina!”Ellen and Pearl’s shrieks drifted from outside the studio.“I’m so sorry, Miss Lynd. Two women decided to show up and start a ruckus outside. Don’t worry, we’ll dispatch someone to remove them from our premises immediately,” one of the designers said apologetically to Tina.Tina frowned immediately. “I know them. Let them in.”She wanted to know what Ellen and Pearl were up to this time.Ellen and Pearl were soon permitted entry into the studio. The moment they saw the piles of expensive gowns, their eyes lit up immediately before envy took over.“Wow, Tina. Aren’t you
The moment she finished speaking, Tina spun on her heel and left.Just then, the staff member, who was done packing up the gown for Tina, showed up. She asked in surprise, “Miss Lynd, your gown is ready… Huh? Where did she go?”Pearl snatched the gown from the staff member’s hands rudely. Smug, she sneered, “It’s fine. She’s not going to the banquet, so this gown’s now mine!”Tina left the designer studio with the intention to inform Sylvia of the good news.Victor, who was supposed to be guarding the door, was nowhere to be found. A while later, he finally reappeared.“Where did you go just now?” Tina asked curiously.“There’s no need for me to report my private matters to you, is there, Miss Lynd?” Victor replied rudely. His gaze then swept Tina from head to toe. “Where’s your gown, Miss Lynd?”Tina decided to let Victor have a taste of his own medicine. “There’s no need for me to report my private matters to you, right?”“You…” Disgust and disdain filled Victor’s eyes. It wa
Eight years old…?John made some quick calculations in his head. He immediately deduced that Tina and Coco were about the same age.His heart started pumping wildly. Doe-like eyes stared at Tina intently as he asked, “Miss Lynd, I’d like to know if you have any birthmarks on your body.”That question caught Tina off guard. She was stunned for a moment. “Huh?”Seeing as she was confused, John hurriedly explained, “Please don’t misunderstand me, Miss Lynd. It’s just that when I first saw you, I had a feeling that you look exactly like my long-lost sister. Her name’s Coco Carter, and she’s your age. Most importantly, she was born with a birthmark.”A trace of hope lingered in his grim tone.However, Tina shook her head. “Mr. Carter… I don’t have any birthmarks on my body.”It was true that she didn’t have any birthmarks at all. However, there were a few scars on her waist that refused to fade away no matter what. According to the doctor, those scars were remnants of the time she go
Tina didn’t hesitate to accept the invitation with a nod. “Sure thing!”“Good. I’ll pick you up on that day. Are you going home now? Do you need a ride?” John asked.“There’s no need for that. I didn’t come here on my own.” Tina waved the offer away. “By the way, I haven’t returned your jacket yet…”“You don’t have to worry about that. On the day of the banquet, I’ll pick you up. You can always return the jacket to me by then,” John said kindly.Tina then set a meeting time with John before waving him goodbye. She walked all the way to the hospital’s exit, feeling as if she was still stuck in a trance.Victor asked coldly, “Miss Lynd, is there anywhere else you’d like to go?”“Nope. Let’s go home,” Tina replied.The moment she returned to the mansion and entered her room, a notification sound blared from her phone. It was a text message from John, asking if she had already reached home safely.At that moment, Tina finally realized what exactly happened to her.Good heavens, sh
John lifted a curious eyebrow in response. “Did you just call me Mr. Carter? Shouldn’t you be calling me something else?” Tina blushed in embarrassment and hurriedly amended her words. “Right. John.”Happiness was evident in John’s eyes upon hearing Tina calling his name. He might have only met her a few times in the past, but destiny tended to work wonders. He even had a feeling that Tina was the younger sister whom he had taken care of since they were young.“Let’s go,” he said. “I’ll take you somewhere you change into new clothes.”Tina finally realized that she didn’t know where they were going. “Um… Where are we going, by the way?” she asked.“We’re attending the banquet hosted by the Langfords,” John replied.Tina was shocked to hear the answer. She had just given her spot to Pearl, but she never expected that she had the chance to attend the banquet again.Then again, John was Samuel’s collaboration partner. It was common courtesy to invite him to the banquet the latter
Pearl was clad in a black gown. She glared at Tina, envy burning in her eyes.“I knew it, Tina! I was wondering why you’d let me attend the banquet and give me your gown out of kindness! Turns out, you’ve been planning for this exact moment!”Tina looked so radiant in her expensive gown. She had completely outshone Pearl in terms of appearance and aura, much to Pearl’s dismay.The enraged woman was eager to tear Tina’s mask of deceit off her face. She raised her hand, ready to deliver a heavy slap. “I swear, I’ll…!”But Pearl’s slap never connected with Tina’s cheek. The next thing everyone knew, John had blocked the slap for Tina.His unexpected interference shook Pearl to her core. She didn’t expect that someone would jump out in Tina’s defense. Plus, the man seemed to have an extraordinary identity she couldn’t afford to mess with.“Who are you?” Pearl demanded, seething.John ignored her question. Instead, he said with a frown, “I’ll call security.”His words made Pearl go
“Cough! Cough! Cough!”Tina had already regained her consciousness by then. She was in the midst of coughing heavily.Still dazed, she asked hoarsely, “Did I get rescued?”“Thank god you’re alright!” John didn’t hesitate to scoop Tina into a tight hug, delighted. He was clearly frustrated at himself as he declared in determination, “I won’t let anything happen to you ever again!”He felt as if his heart was grasped by an invisible fist tightly throughout the rescue earlier.Back then, Coco disappeared because of his negligence. Because of that, they were separated forever. John spent the last ten years tracking her down, but to no avail.Fate had brought John and Tina together as siblings, but she almost lost her life because of his negligence once more.However, the duo didn’t realize a white flash appearing from a dark corner of the hotel grounds. A camera had captured the scene of them hugging each other tightly.Thanks to the pool incident, Tina’s gown was completely ruined