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
Pearl was soon brought backstage. The waiter then told her, “In just a few moments, you’ll be able to meet Mr. Langford.”Pearl was nervous and excited at the same time, feeling that she had made the right decision by attending the banquet. She knew Samuel would definitely be attracted to her.‘Oh, Tina! I’m finally more superior than you!’ she thought smugly.At that time, the banquet was bustling with conversations and laughter.Samuel’s every move attracted everyone’s attention. It was as if he was a natural king; his aura was so domineering that people couldn’t help but want to submit to him.Cindy happened to be staring at him with a lovesick expression. She vowed to capture his heart once and for all.She was the only woman worthy enough to stand next to Samuel. Only she would become the king’s beloved queen.More noises erupted from the outside at that moment.“Madam Langford is here!”Cindy wasn’t the only one surprised by the announcement. The majority of Freesia’s el
Pearl approached Samuel, eager and ecstatic. She couldn’t wait to embrace him.But it was different from Samuel. The moment he laid his eyes on the unfamiliar woman in front of him, Samuel’s expression darkened immediately.“Who are you?!” he demanded.Pain flared from Pearl’s neck. The next thing she knew, Samuel had gripped her by her throat and was strangling her. The sudden attack scared her out of her wits.“M-Mr. Langford, please don’t hurt me! It’s me! I-I’m Pearl Lynd!” she choked out in desperation.Samuel had already known all about Tina’s background. Thus, he quickly recognized Pearl as Tina’s younger sister.“Why are you here?” His chilly gaze looked like it could easily swallow Pearl whole.Pearl was so frightened that she kept shivering uncontrollably. All she could think about at that moment was to blame someone else for what happened. She screamed, “Please don’t kill me, Mr. Langford! Tina was the one who told me to come here! I didn’t mean to seduce you! This
Madam Langford was so furious, her chest ached and her breathing halted temporarily. Her sudden collapse plunged the entire lobby into pure chaos.The ambulance arrived at the hotel soon enough. A group of paramedics quickly carted Madam Langford into the vehicle before rushing her toward the hospital.Cindy sat next to Samuel outside the emergency room, pretending to look weak and helpless.“Samuel, will Grandma Langford be alright?” she asked worriedly.The sight of Samuel’s tense expression encouraged her to go on. She pretended to be curious as she asked, “What’s going on, Samuel? Is the reason Grandma Langford showed up at the banquet to announce Miss Lynd as the future Mrs. Langford? Why did she go missing, then? Is there some sort of misunderstanding going on…?”“There aren’t any misunderstandings,” Samuel answered coldly.Either he was being too kind to Tina, or she was an incredible actress. He had completely forgotten that her true nature consisted of pure greed and dec
“Understood, Mr. Langford.” Sandy promptly left with the mission at hand.Meanwhile, Tina gradually regained consciousness on a hospital bed.She could hear John’s voice ringing from next to her ear the moment she opened her eyes. He heaved a sigh of relief before saying, “You’re finally awake, Tina.”“W-Where am I?” Her voice was hoarse, and her head was pounding. She tried to get up, only to feel John pushing her back firmly to the mattress.“Have you forgotten that you fell into a pool and almost drowned? You were in so much danger! Good thing the doctor’s checked you. You’re doing fine for now, but you need to be hospitalized for a few days.”Tina felt extremely dizzy and weak all over. She decided to lie down obediently.The sight of her pale and weak form broke John’s heart into pieces. Annoyance flashed in his eyes as he asked, “Tina, was that woman the one who shoved you into the pool? You need to tell me who she is.”Tina knew what that question meant. Obviously, John w