"Denise had knelt on the floor, begging for forgiveness from Thomas and Yannie. She told them she knew what she did was wrong, but T—Thomas made her…"Eva choked on her breath. "Thomas had Denise go to the slums and find ten homeless men to…do such a despicable thing, and he even told her to take photos. He also said…""What else did he say?" Steven furrowed his brow vehemently.The blue veins on his hand protruded due to how tightly he gripped his phone."He said…" Evan sniffled. "He said if Denise doesn't accomplish this by tomorrow morning, he'll bring people and make her do it anyway…"She burst into tears as the grief amounted. "Mr. Hughes, I know Denise isn't your biological sister, but you must still care for her as your sister! Even if she's done many wrong things in the past, it was fair enough for Thomas to want to end her life. He shouldn't have insulted and humiliated her like this!""What if Denise really did what he said? What future does Denise have then? How is sh
"Did anything happen to Denise?" said Gwen hurriedly, expressing her concern with a frown as soon as Steven hung up the phone.True, both she and Luna hated Denise because of what she did to Yannie, but her opinion toward Denise changed after they eavesdropped on the Hughes family's conversation and the things Denise did yesterday. She found herself thinking, from then on, that Denise was not entirely a terrible person. After all, she did receive help from Denise.If it were not for Denise, she would not have gotten the evidence of how the Hughes family and the Miller family colluded to trick Luke, not even if she had help from Joshua or Thomas.Therefore, she expressed concern after hearing Denise was in trouble from the phone call Steven was on.Steven closed his eyes and smiled bitterly. "She knew what she did was wrong. I thought she'd still be stubborn like before, but she probably knew an apology won't be enough to redeem herself. When Thomas requested a very absurd request f
Steven was stunned to hear Gwen's offer. He never thought she would willingly aid him to rescue Denise without the slightest hesitation. He assumed that she would hate Denise, what with being good friends with Luna and Yannie. She must have known the things Denise did.Gwen smiled as though she could read Steven's mind. "Is it that hard to believe I want to do a good thing?"Flustered, Steven shook his head. "I don't mean that. I…"Halfway through the sentence, he frowned and stopped himself from talking."You know, Denise talked a lot about you yesterday." Seeing how Steven was visibly struggling to reply, Gwen curled up her lips and smiled. "I know Denise isn't really a bad person."That sentence shocked Steven. After a while, he curled up his lips and smiled bitterly. He stood up and walked outside as he took his jacket.Sighing, he said, "I thought you were like the others and assumed Denise is a horrendous character. What did you two talk about?"Gwen stood up and walked wi
Steven thought for a while and said, "I'll bring some of my men with me to look for her in the slums. You go and look for Joshua and Thomas. If they're still in the hotel where they were, get them to stay there longer. Whether or not I find Denise after this, I'll go meet them an hour later."Gwen frowned. "What are you going to do?""If I find Denise, I'll bring her to go look for Thomas and tell him everything. Based on Denise's personality, she'd never forgive herself if she knew what she did was wrong, and Thomas never said that he had forgiven her. But, if I fail to find Denise…"Steven narrowed his eyes. "I'll make Thomas pay for the things he said tonight."With that, he straightened himself and walked out. Gwen stood there and looked at Steven leaving. She felt helpless and massaged her aching glabella. For some reason, she felt like Steven was beginning to resemble Luke.It was not just the face…The way he talked, and even his gaze, were starting to resemble Luke's, esp
Has Steven returned?Gwen stormed out the door.Steven was heading in her direction, and Gwen noticed that he was alone. She furrowed her brow and stared at him. "Denise…" "I couldn't find her." Steven frowned and sighed, his face full of despair and helplessness. "I've dispatched my men to search the entire city, even the slums on the outskirts of town, but none of them could find her."When she last appeared in the surveillance tapes, she was with a strange man I had never seen before. They walked out of view of the cameras, and we couldn't find any trace of them after that…" Steven's voice was full of sorrow. "Perhaps…we're already too late."Perhaps Denise had taken Thomas seriously and relented to sleeping with a strange man.Steven felt his breath catch in his throat.Denise had lost everything she had: Her parents hated her guts, Tina had been using her all this while, and Thomas—the man she thought she loved—wanted nothing more than to see her dead.Therefore, there wa
Thomas' appearance made Steven furrow his brow in annoyance. He stared coldly back at Thomas and said, "I'll never be able to fully understand the pain you've gone through, and I never once said that you should forgive Denise for her wrongdoings, but you're a man, Thomas, so do you honestly think it's appropriate for you to punish a woman this way?"There are plenty of ways to get revenge on a woman who crossed you, so why do you have to choose such an undignified way and force her to sell her own body and soul? Not only that, but you even said you'd send some people to help her if she couldn't accomplish her task by daylight. How the hell are you going to do that?"Thomas narrowed his eyes upon hearing this. "I don't think I have to explain anything more to you.""You—" Steven narrowed his eyes menacingly. "Do you think just because I've always been a mild-mannered person I wouldn't dare to lay a finger on you?"With that, he pulled his sleeves up and took a small step toward Thom
Steven furrowed his brow when he heard Gwen's voice.He turned around, and his entire body froze when he caught sight of Gwen.A split second later, he reached out and pulled Gwen into his arms as though there was no one else around there. "Yes, it's me."Tenderness twinkled in his eyes as he held the woman he loved in his arms. "My love."Tears spilled down Gwen's face when she heard this. She reached out to grab his sleeve, tears brimming in her eyes. "Is that really you, Luke?""Yes, it is." Luke furrowed his brow. "I don't know what happened…but it seems as though I had just burst out of a cocoon."Everyone's jaws dropped at this sight, including Thomas, who had been bracing himself for another slew of punches.Joshua furrowed his brow in confusion.Luna, on the other hand, widened her eyes in shock, then strode over to Joshua's side and gently tugged on his sleeve. She asked in a whisper, "What happened?"How could Steven suddenly turn into Luke without warning?Did the
Thomas scoffed when he heard this. "I thought that as a gang leader, you'd be cutthroat and merciless, but I'm surprised that you'd say something like this."He gave a stretch and added, "I never said I wouldn't show Denise mercy; she was the one who had agreed to my task on her own terms."Before you appeared, I had been talking to Joshua about what to do with Denise. Since she appeared genuine, I wouldn't be too harsh on her even if she failed to meet my task."Without the Hughes family protecting her, she'll be all alone, and even if she did cross me in the past, she wouldn't be much of a threat to Yannie and me in the future. Besides, she seemed to be really remorseful of her mistake, so I hadn't meant to challenge her even further, but…"He lifted his head to glance at the man standing before him. "I never thought Steven would be so angry over this that his split personality would be triggered, but I guess it's not exactly a bad thing."He glanced at Gwen as he said this. "Is