“Theo.“
When Theo’s hand was on the door handle, Luna frowned and called out to him, “Don’t go.“
Theo frowned, turned, and looked at her, confusion etched across his features. “Why not? He did those
things with you last night, then he brought me here, and made it look like the both of us were together!
Because he was worried his wife would find out ! A man like him, we should expose him in front of his
wife, and ruin his image! “
“What good will that do us?“ Luna closed her eyes and smiled bitterly. No one else knew Alice’s
identity, but she did. Back then, Hailey was so deeply in love with Joshua, she was even willing to go
through plastic surgery to look like the person she hated the most… She did all of that just to be
together with Joshua. That was why, even if Alice knew what happened between Luna and Joshua,
nothing would change. She would not leave him, at most she would make Joshua coax her and placate
her. It was meaningless.
Theo frowned. “Then we’ll just allow this incident to pass, just like this?“
Luna squinted. “For the moment, yes.“ She could not create too much of a fuss out of this. After all,
she had yet to get pregnant with Joshua’s child. She had to continue lying in wait.
Theo clenched his hands tightly into fists and slammed them onto the tabletop. “They’re too much! “
A long while later, he retracted his fists, raised his head, and looked at Luna seriously. “Can I… be your
boyfriend?“
Luna paused. A moment later, she smiled. “You deserve a better woman than me.“ With that, she left
the bed and entered the bathroom. “Can you go downstairs and buy me some breakfast? “ After last
night’s intense workout, she was fairly hungry.
Theo looked at her from behind and was about to say something, but stopped himself in the end.
“Joshua, eat something.“
In the room next door, Alice gently placed Joshua’s breakfast in front of him. “I purposely asked the
chef to prepare this for you, your favorite sandwich.“
Joshua glanced at the sandwich in her hands but had no appetite at all. His mind was filled with Luna’s
cold expression from the incident this morning.
“What right do you have to question me? Who are you to me?“
The man’s eyebrows furrowed.
What right did he have to question her? Who was he to her?
He was her boss! Was that enough?
He closed his eyes and smiled bitterly. A moment later, he opened them again. “I’m heading to the
office now.“ With that, he lifted his legs and left.
Alice looked at the sumptuous breakfast on the table and bit her lip harshly. She could tell Joshua still
cared. Still cared that Luna slept with Theo!
Her hands clenched tightly into fists. It seemed like just making them sleep together was not enough…
so, she took her phone. “Mr. Walter, send an email to all the news outlets…“
Luna had a hefty breakfast.
After breakfast, she curled up on the couch and video called Neil.
The two children were halfway through their flight and were now waiting in the airport waiting for their
connecting flight.
“Mommy, you have to take care of yourself! “ Neil said as he sipped on his juice, “This morning I
rejected Idiot Lynch when he asked whether we wanted you to come to send us off. I think you’ll cry. I
hate to see you cry.“
“Yeah, exactly. “ Beside him, Nellie smiled sweetly too, her eyes curving up into little crescents. “
Mommy, you have to take good care of yourself in the future! Don’t let Daddy bully you! “
Luna’s heart soured at the little girl’s words. Even when Nellie left her, she knew to remind her not to be
bullied by Joshua…
She sniffed and tempered her emotions. “Is your Mommy someone who’ll be bullied so easily?“
Nellie pouted. “Even though Mommy won’t be bullied, we will still worry! “
Luna sighed and continued chatting with the children for a while, only hanging up reluctantly when they
had to board the plane.
Not long later, Theo knocked on her room door. “ The car is ready.“
Joshua left without even telling her, and this was the countryside. Since the amusement park was
closed, not many taxis were available. That was why Theo only found a single taxi after searching
downstairs for a long time.
Luna sucked in a deep breath, packed her belongings, and went downstairs with Theo. But she never
expected…
The moment the two of them walked out of the door, they were surrounded by reporters.
“Mr. Theo Allen, can I know why you and Ms. Luna walked out from the hotel at the same time, what
relationship do the two of you share?“
“Mr. Theo Allen, someone said they saw you entering Ms. Luna’s room last night, and the two of you
spent the night together. Is that true?“
“I heard the two of you both stay in the same apartment building and on the same floor at the Swan
Lake Residences, were the two of you already together when you rented your apartments?“
“The two of you, one of you is a famous artist, and the other is a famous jewelry designer, it can be said
that the two of you are a match made in heaven, can I ask how the two of you got to know each other?“
The series of questions bombarded them like a round of gunshots.
In the chaos, Theo hurriedly protected Luna. But there were too many reporters. The two of them were
surrounded in the middle of the crowd and could hardly move.
Luna twisted her eyebrows.
How could so many reporters suddenly appear in such a remote place?
. It was weird. But now was not the time to worry about this.
The group of reporters aimed the long lenses of their cameras at Luna and Theo’s faces, as if they
would surround them here and not let them go, if they refused to answer their questions.
Finally, Theo made up his mind and pulled Luna into his arms. “That’s right, we’re together now. We
have been together for a long time. I was the one who helped Luna look for her apartment in Swan
Lake Residences. We were already together back then! “
The reporters were thrown into a frenzy at Theo’s words. They threw question after question at them
continuously, but Theo shot back at every one of them coldly. Finally, the reporters scattered away
angrily. Only then did Theo pull Luna behind him and they both climbed into the car.
“I’m sorry.“
After the car door was closed, Theo sucked in a deep breath. “With the situation just now, I had no
choice but to…“
“It’s okay.“
Luna turned and glanced at him softly. “Thank you.“
Looking at her face that was so beautiful it was nearly perfect, Theo gritted his teeth and asked her
again, “Luna, can I be your boyfriend?“
The top floor of the Lynch Group, the President’s office.
The tall and lean man sat in the large reclining chair, watching the news that was streaming on the
screen of his computer with cold eyes.
“That’s right, we’re together now. We have been together for a long time. I was the one who helped
Luna look for her apartment in Swan Lake Residences. We were already together back then! “
Luna had been staying in the Swan Lake Residences for more than a month. So, it turned out she was
already in a relationship with Theo back then. But, for the past month… Both of them, in the apartment
at the Swan Lake Residences, in Sea City…
The image of Luna in bed, hugging him tightly, floated in front of his eyes. His heart felt as if it had been
cut in half by a sharp object.
Alas, he did not see through her!
That’s right.
A woman who stole his and Alice’s children… How could she be so innocent?
”Joshua.” At that moment , the door to the office was pushed open. Jude Smith walked in. ”There is
news of Hailey Walter.”
News of Hailey Walter?
Joshua closed his laptop, raised his head, and looked at Jude. “What news?“
“Your guess was accurate.“ Jude placed a stack of photographs and documents on Joshua’s desk then
sat down in a chair. “The woman who died is not Hailey Walter. I looked into the dead Hailey’s identity
for two whole weeks before I finally found her body.“
Joshua frowned and took the document.
It was a DNA report comparing the DNA of the dead woman and Hailey’s DNA. Results showed that
the dead woman was not related to Hailey at all.
“The grave Dennis Walter prepared for Hailey is empty. I went to so much trouble and finally found this
body buried in Liam Clark’s backyard. It is confirmed to be the puppet that previously impersonated
Hailey. And it is also confirmed that the woman who died is not the real Hailey Walter.“
Joshua nodded. This was exactly the results that he expected.
“Then where is Hailey?“
“Do you remember the butler that was chased out of the Walter family?“ Jude raised his teacup and
took a light sip. “That butler had benefited heavily from working for the Walters all these years. Even
though on the surface, he was chased out of the family, his relationship with them remained. I
investigated him and finally found a few of his cronies. Where do you think they are now?”
Joshua frowned, raised his hand again, and lifted a few photos. ”In Banyan City?”
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt”That’s right, as expected of Joshua Lynch ! ” Jude gave him a big thumbs up. After making fun of him,
Jude heaved out a long sigh, ”For the past few days, these cronies have remained dormant, but my
men never gave up on following them. And finally, they moved last night.”
The man pointed to the photo in Joshua’s hand. ” They went to this place called Swan Lake
Residences last night and went to the house of a man named Theo Allen. They then went to his
neighbor’s house and got something. Right, his neighbor’s house is your beautiful subordinate, Luna’s
house, right?”
Joshua’s brows furrowed together, almost twisting together to form a knot.
Why would the Walter family’s remaining cronies go to Luna’s house? Even if the Walter family fell into
ruins because of Luna, murdering Luna now would not help improve their situation in any way.
Maybe because he had read Joshua’s mind clearly, Jude laughed lightly, ”No, according to my men’s
observation, they didn’t go there to harm her.”
As he spoke, he took a few photos scattered on top of the table and threw them in front of Joshua.
”Last night, my men clearly saw, the Walter family’s cronies brought this artist named Theo Allen, to the
hotel in the suburbs. They were very respectful of him the entire journey, even supporting him from the
front and back as he walked. And this Mr. Theo Allen was revealed today to be your beautiful
subordinate’s boyfriend.“
Joshua twisted his eyebrows and took a look at the photos.
The few people in the photos were indeed respectful to Theo. The only thing they did not do was carry
him in and out.
Joshua furrowed his brows.
Jude switched into a more comfortable position and leaned on the chair. “The remaining cronies of
Walter’s family would definitely be following Hailey’s orders. If she wasn’t in Banyan City, they wouldn’t
be here. They had been hiding here for so long, and now the first thing they did was take the
opportunity while Theo was surrounded by his fans and couldn’t go home, to first go to Theo’s home
and take something for him, then go to the hotel to pick him up, and finally send him to the hotel where
Luna was staying. What do you think this means?“
Joshua’s brows wrung tightly together, the doubts in his heart grew bigger and bigger.
Finally, Jude took out another photo from the pile on Joshua’s desk. “You’ve been to Luna’s house,
right? Have you seen this before?”
Joshua frowned, raised his eyes, and took a look. Instantly, his pupils dilated!
This was the thing he secretly placed in Luna’s bedside drawer! In the past, there had been a few times
when he and Luna failed to control themselves, but he still felt it would be bad for both him and Luna if
they did not take precautions.
That’s why he purposely prepared a whole box of these and placed them in Luna’s bedside drawer.
But, maybe it was a coincidence, but after he placed the box of stuff in her drawer, they never slept
together again.
Naturally, the box of stuff remained untouched. But now…
In the photos, not only was the box touched, a few of the items inside had been removed!
“The few Walter family cronies, they didn’t do anything when they went to Luna’s apartment, this was
all they took.“
With that, Jude yawned. “It does fulfill Hailey’s personality, her subordinates do everything for her.
Right, Hailey has been receiving plastic surgery continuously for the past few years. I thought she
would at least make herself look like your wife, to earn your attention. But unexpectedly, she made
herself look so beautiful, she doesn’t look like your wife at all. But her wager paid off, you quite like her,
don’t you?“
Jude’s words made Joshua’s hands clenched tightly into fists by his side.
“That’s impossible.“
After a long time, the man came to a solemn conclusion. “The Walter family had been targeting Luna
when we were in Sea City. She… it’s impossible…
Even if they threatened to kill him, he would not believe that Luna was Hailey! Besides, there were too
many mysteries that could not be explained.
For example, why the imposter Hailey would target Luna. For example, why would Hailey do so many
things to target Luna?
“Everything is possible.“ Jude laughed softly, “But I too hope your beautiful subordinate isn’t Hailey
Walter. Otherwise, you hated her so much back then, but in the end you slept with her so many times,
won’t you feel disgusted?“
Joshua raised his eyes and glared at him coldly.
Jude shrugged and stood up. “I’ll still investigate
this seriously. But…“ He lifted his eyebrows and side- eyed Joshua, “You be careful. I also looked into
your female subordinate’s identity for quite some time. I can tell you for sure that her identity is fake,
entirely made up by someone. As for her true identity and goal… I don’t think it will be too far from
Hailey’s.“ With that, Jude turned and left.
After he left, Joshua sat in his office, his gaze dark and bottomless as he flipped through each of the
photos…
A moment later, Shannon knocked on the door and entered. She placed a letter on his desk
respectfully. “ President Lynch, Director Luna asked me to pass this to you.” With that, the woman
turned and almost fled out of his office.
Joshua frowned and picked up the letter. He thought after the dispute with Luna this morning, she
would send him a resignation letter in a fit of anger. But unexpectedly…
When he opened the letter, two thousand dollars and a slip of paper fell out of the letter.
‘I looked into it, a night’s stay at the hotel costs 1750. I’ll give you 2000, the rest is hush money, as a
reward for you in keeping our secret.’
In the office of the design department, Shannon McCartney and a few other female employees were
busy engaging in gossip.
“Theo Allen, the great artist looks much better in person than he does on television! He really has the
demeanor of an artist, Director Luna is so lucky! “
“And previously the President’s wife suspected that Director Luna had feelings for President Lynch… It
turned out Director Luna and Mr. Theo Allen had gotten together a long time ago! “
“Exactly, Director Luna is a designer, of course, she would fall for an artist like Theo. Even if the
President is rich, handsome, and charming, he definitely isn’t Director Luna’s type…“
The moment Joshua walked through the door, he heard the low rumble of the women’s discussion. He
huffed angrily, expression cold, “Is that true?“
At the sound of his voice, the entire office fell deadly silent, so quiet that they could almost hear the
sound of a pin dropping.
Shannon raised her head stiffly, saw Joshua’s expression and her eyes filled with terror. “President
President Lynch.“
“You’re gossiping about your superiors during office hours?“ His expression remained cold, then he
turned and glanced at Lucas who had been following behind him all along. “Record their names, deduct
half of their year-end bonus.“ With that, Joshua raised his legs and headed in the direction of Luna’s
office.
After taking just two steps, behind him, Shannon hurriedly opened her mouth to remind him. “ President
Lynch… Mr. Theo Allen and Director Luna are in her office… you…“
Joshua paused slightly in his tracks. A moment later, he turned and smiled faintly at Shannon. “What, I
can’t go in when Theo Alle is there? This office belongs to my Lynch Group, it’s not her bedroom! “ With
that, he strode over and furiously kicked Luna’s office door open.
In the office, Luna sat in her chair with her head down, while Theo squatted in front of her, facing her
directly. Their positions were suspicious, as if they were doing something they should not be doing.
He was met with a sight like this the moment he opened the door. Joshua felt a bunch of furious flames
shooting upward from the depths of his chest. He walked up to them and lifted Theo up. “ What are you
doing?“
“Joshua Lynch! “ Watching as Joshua lifted Theo up, Luna frowned and hurriedly stood up, grabbing at
Joshua’s wrist. “Let go of him! “
“Let go? Why should I?“
Joshua narrowed his eyes, a vicious gaze sweeping over Luna’s face. “He’s trying to engage my
female employee in inappropriate activities, during office hours, and in my office. Why should I let go?“
“What inappropriate activities?“ Luna rolled her eyes. “Some paint splattered onto my skirt, Theo is just
helping me clean it since I hurt my shoulder! “
Joshua paused and unconsciously looked toward Luna’s skirt. As she said, there was indeed a fairly
large paint stain on her skirt. He frowned, then let go of Theo’s collar.
“Does Mr. Lynch care so deeply about every single one of your female employees?“ Theo lowered his
head, elegantly smoothing out his clothes, and looked at Joshua with faint, emotion less eyes. “We
were just cleaning up a stain, but even if I did do something with my girlfriend… you don’t have the right
to question us, do you, Mr. Lynch?“ He intentionally emphasized the words ‘my girlfriend ‘, declaring
sovereignty over Luna in front of Joshua.
The pressure of the surrounding atmosphere in the office was so low it was getting difficult to breathe.
A moment later, Joshua lifted his lips in a faint smile. He turned and sat down on the couch in a lazy yet
somehow elegant gesture. “Even if the two of you are boyfriend and girlfriend…“
He lowered his eyes, making a show of looking at the time on his wristwatch. “It’s now office hours. I
don’t think Mr. Theo Allen is an employee of the Lynch Group, right?“
“That’s right, he isn’t an employee of the Lynch Group, “ Luna laughed softly then stood in front of
Theo, blocking him from Joshua. “But he is now my assistant.“
Joshua lifted his eyebrows.
Luna sighed and said, “I remember you gave me the freedom to hire two assistants to work for me, Mr.
Lynch. Arianna is one of them. As for the other one, I’ve decided that I want to hire Theo.“
Joshua immediately frowned upon hearing. “No. I won’t allow it.“
Luna already knew that Joshua would reject her suggestion. She chuckled and lifted her head to stare
straight at him. “You promised me that I would have full authority over the candidate selection and that
no one would be able to interfere with my decision.“
Joshua squinted at her.
She was right. When he assigned this project over to Luna at the time, he had given her plenty of
authority. One of them was that she had the freedom to choose and hire two assistants to help her.
Joshua narrowed his eyes somewhat sinisterly. “ Luna, I gave you the authority to do so, but that
doesn’t mean you can bring private relations into your work.“
Luna chuckled, “What are you talking about, Mr. Lynch? How am I bringing my private life into work?“
She unbuttoned her shirt collar and showed Joshua her bandaged right shoulder. “Mr. Lynch, do you
remember how I got this injury? Your father-in- law stabbed me with a cutting knife right in the middle of
my right shoulder. Because of my injury, I can’t move my right arm as freely anymore, much less hold a
pencil like the way I used to.
”Therefore, I’ve decided to hire Theo to help me so that even though I can’ t sketch anymore , my ideas
and designs can still be brought to life.” Luna shot Joshua a contemptuous glance and said, ”I wanted
to hire him so that the project can be completed on time instead of being delayed due to my injury. Why
do you think otherwise?”
”She’s right.” Theo laughed and sat down in front of the easel. Then, he picked up Luna’s pencil and
started to sketch on the paper before him slowly. ”I admit that I ‘in not a world -famous artist. However, I
still have my standards, and if it wasn’t for Luna, I don’t think Lynch Group would have been able to
hire me in a million years.”
Joshua could not help but narrow his eyes into angry slits when he heard this. He was furious at this
sudden turn of events, but Luna’s reason for hiring Theo was perfectly reasonable and justified. Joshua
could not vent his anger at all!
He clenched his fists but did not reply. Finally, after a long while, he curled his lips into a smile and said,
” Mr. Allen is right. If it weren’t for Luna, Lynch Group would not have been able to hire such a talented
artist as yourself.”
With that, Joshua picked up the phone and barked to the person on the other line, ”Connect me to the
human resources department and ask them to process Theo Allen’s employment contract. Then,
instruct the public relations department to throw a welcome party for Mr. Allen.”
Luna gritted her teeth in anger. ”What are you trying to do, Mr. Lynch?”
Theo’s achievements and capabilities far surpassed that of everyone in Lynch Group. Therefore, Luna
felt it was extremely unfair for him to be appointed as a lowly assistant in the design department.
However, Theo was very insistent on his intention to help her with her work. Besides, she could not
work anyway due to her injury, so Luna had no choice but to relent.
Joshua smirked. “I’m throwing a party for Mr. Allen to show him my respect.“
Not only did Joshua draw up a contract of employment for Theo, but now, he also wanted to host a
welcome party for him?
Luna knew this was Joshua’s way of humiliating and degrading Theo.
He was a world-renowned artist, after all. If the rest of the employees found out that Theo was working
in Lynch Group as an assistant, it would affect his reputation and might even cause his artwork to lose
its value over time!
As soon as she thought of this, Luna clenched her fists and lowered her voice. “Theo, you should leave
now. I can draw my sketches on my own! “
Theo paused. “I won’t go.“ A split second later, he strode over and pulled Luna into his embrace. Then,
he shot Joshua a threatening look and said, “Since Mr. Lynch wants to throw me a welcome party, I
appreciate your effort. I want everyone to know that Luna is my girlfriend and that I’m willing to do
anything for her.”
Theo had meant for Joshua to hear this, but above all, it was meant for Luna.
Luna, who had been standing behind him all this while, paled as soon as she heard this. “Theo, what
on earth are you talking about?“
She and Theo had come to a mutual agreement that they would only pretend to be a couple in public.
However, in reality, they would only remain friends.
They just had to make it past this short period of time. Then, as soon as the media got tired of them
and moved on to something else, they would pretend to break up and end this relationship. What was
Theo doing, saying all this to Joshua?
Was Theo unaware that if everyone found out about his stint as an assistant at Lynch Group, his career
would suffer a blow?
“I’m perfectly calm right now. “ Theo smirked and fixed his gaze on Joshua. “When will my welcoming
party be, Mr. Lynch? How many reporters are you planning to invite?“
He slammed his phone down onto the desk and continued saying, “I can contact and invite some more
reporters from overseas if you need help. I’m even willing to pay for it myself so that this party will be
the most extravagant one the public has ever seen.
“I want everyone to know that from today onwards, Luna belongs to me, and me only. Any other men
apart from me should stay away from her! “ Theo narrowed his eyes on Joshua. “Especially those who
already have a family of their own.“
Joshua clenched his fists and glared at Theo, a disdainful smirk playing on his lips. “Are you really that
desperate, to the point where you’re willing to b e a third wheel?“
Theo glowered at him but did not respond. Joshua shifted into a more comfortable position,
took out his phone, and started toying around with him. “Since you’re together with Luna now, has she
ever told you how many times she and I have slept together? Has she ever told you how she tried to
seduce me in the past??“
The entire room fell silent. Theo bit down on his lips, trying to suppress his anger.
He knew that Luna’s real identity was Luna Gibson, Joshua’s ex-wife. Naturally, he also knew what
Luna was going through right now.
The reason Theo was falling more and more in love with Luna was that he knew how many hardships
she had been through!
She was heartbroken after Joshua’s betrayal, to the extent that she would rather change her
appearance and assume a new identity altogether!
After giving birth to the triplets, Luna should have been able to start her new life abroad. However,
because of Nigel’s condition, she had no choice but to return to Banyan City and return to the man who
had hurt her.
Theo knew that Luna and Joshua had slept together multiple times now. Even though this was the cold
hard truth, he could not stand just how nonchalantly Joshua brought this up.
Theo lifted his head and whispered through gritted teeth, “How dare you talk about her like that? Do
you think the love and admiration a woman has for you is some sort of bragging right?“
Joshua squinted his eyes and snickered, “Love? Admiration?“ He turned around and fixated his steely
gaze on Luna. “I used to think she loved me as well. However, now I finally realized the truth; she’s just
a shameless woman.“
Joshua lifted his head and shot Theo a glance. “ Maybe artists’ brains are built differently from normal
people’s. Otherwise, why else would a person voluntarily become a third wheel?“
Theo clenched his fists so hard that his knuckles cracked. “If you don’t appreciate and protect her,
someone else will! “
“Are you that someone?“ Joshua smirked, stood up slowly, and strode over to Luna.
Luna could not help but take a step back when she sensed the anger that seemed to envelop Joshua.
She frowned and asked warily, “Joshua, what are you…“
Before she could finish, however, Joshua pressed his lips against hers.
Joshua gently placed one hand under Luna’s chin, and the other on the back of her head, kissing her
with fervent and passion.
Luna widened her eyes. She struggled against him, trying to get away, to no avail.
Luna glared at this man. How dare he kiss her? Right in front of Theo, no less!
Even though she and Theo were just pretending, they were still a couple in public! How dare Joshua do
this to her? He had no respect for her dignity at all!
“Joshua Lynch! “ Theo growled through gritted teeth. He clenched his fists and grabbed Joshua’s collar.
Before Joshua could react, Theo drew back his fist and struck a blow towards Joshua’s face.
However, Joshua was quicker, and he immediately grabbed hold of Theo’s hand in mid-air. He said
nonchalantly, a hint of taunting in his gaze, “Look at this. How are you even supposed to protect her?“
Theo grew even more enraged upon hearing Joshua’s insulting tone. He clenched his teeth and swung
his other fist toward him.
This time, Joshua did not stop him, but instead, he stepped aside and dodged Theo’s blow. Then, he
curled his lips into a sneer and said mockingly, “Are all artists as slow as you?“
Before Theo could say anything in response, Joshua reared his arm back.
Seeing that Joshua’s knuckles were about to connect with Theo’s face, Luna immediately lunged
forward, putting herself right between the two fighting men.
A flash of surprise passed through Joshua’s eyes, but it was too late. He could not stop his arm
anymore.
Joshua’s fist connected forcefully with Luna’s body, right in the middle of her shoulder wound.
In the split second that he struck his blow, Luna could hear a ripping sound coming from the recently
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmsutured wound. The next moment, all she could feel was an excruciating pain that shot down her
shoulder and into her entire body, as if someone were ripping her apart!
“Luna! “ Theo immediately grabbed hold of her, but before that, Joshua had already stepped forward
and lifted her from the ground.
He burst out of the room, carrying Luna in his arms. “Lucas, get the car! “ Theo quickly followed suit.
However, by the time Theo made it to the ground floor of the building, Joshua had already carried Luna
into his car and was heading straight towards the hospital.
Theo frowned and had no choice but to wait for a taxi.
“Joshua.“ Luna furrowed her brows and stared up at the man holding her. “What are you… trying to do
to me?“
Joshua was the one who had spent the night with her. Yet he had set her and Theo up, attempting to
frame her as an unfaithful woman, all because he wanted to please Alice.
He had even tipped the media off so that Theo and Luna would be surrounded by reporters as soon as
they stepped out of the hotel, forcing them to admit that they were together.
Luna had abided by everything Joshua forced her to, but what had she gotten in return?
Nothing.
Joshua was still displeased with her, so he came over to her office to make things difficult for Theo. He
even kissed her right in front of Theo because he knew that this would enrage him. He had humiliated
not only Theo but Luna as well!
What did this man want from her?
Joshua frowned and pressed his hand against Luna’s bleeding wound. Then, he stared in the direction
in front of him and said, “I won’t allow this.”
“Won’t allow what?” “I won’t allow you to be together with Theo.”
Luna frowned and was about to ask Joshua further when the car suddenly jerked. She felt another
twinge of pain shot down her body, and curled herself up into a ball.
Luna felt like she was about to pass out at any minute now due to the excruciating pain.
However, just before she lost consciousness, she heard Joshua sigh and say, “I don’t want to… see
you two together.“
When Luna finally came to, she discovered that she was in the hospital.
Joshua was sitting next to her with a sullen expression on his face.
Luna rubbed her eyebrows and slowly propped herself up on the bed. Joshua saw this and immediately
helped her up. “Does it still hurt?“
Luna shook her head.
“Do you really care about Theo that much?“ Joshua frowned as soon as he took in her pale, sickly face.
“ You’re willing to jump in and take the blow for him, even if it means you get hurt again? If I hadn’t
seen her and stopped at the last second, your shoulder would probably be paralyzed now! “
Luna did not understand why Joshua was so furious. She chuckled and asked, “Why are you so angry,
Mr. Lynch? You and Theo got into a fight because of me,
so of course I had to jump in. Besides, Theo is my boyfriend. Who else would I protect, if not him?
Should I have protected you instead? The man who tried to frame and hurt me?“
Joshua’s expression darkened, and he immediately grabbed hold of Luna’s chin, forcing her to look
directly into his dark eyes. “Since when did I frame and hurt you?“
Joshua thought Luna was getting more and more outrageous! He had known since the start that Luna
had an ulterior motive for approaching him. Anyone who tried to get close to him in the past would give
up in the end because Joshua always ended up outsmarting them.
However, Luna was different.
Joshua did not care what her motives were, and he did not hold a grudge against her for having
kidnapped Neil and Nellie in the past. He did not even hold anything against her even though she had
humiliated him in front of everyone multiple times!
However, this time, Luna was the one in the wrong. She had approached him and gotten into a
complicated relationship with him, but at the same time, she cheated on him with Theo. How dare she
accuse him of trying to frame and hurt her?
Joshua could not recall when he hurt her, apart from his punch just now.
He had never attempted to frame her either!
Luna could not help but sneer when she saw the anger on Joshua’s face and the fury in his tone. “Are
you saying I misunderstood you?“ She took out her
phone, pulled up the video of her and Theo being surrounded by reporters at the hotel entrance, and
showed it to Joshua.
“Mr. Lynch, you’re a smart man. I don’t think I have to explain further. The hotel that we stayed at last
night was near the amusement park, and most of the people who stay there are visitors to the park.
“The amusement park’s grand opening was originally scheduled for yesterday, but you delayed their
opening by one week because of Neil and Nellie. Therefore, when we stayed at the hotel last night,
there weren’t many people around apart from the workers. How, then, could so many reporters arrive at
such a desolate place on the outskirts of the city? How could they surround Theo and me like this, to
the extent that we couldn’t get out at all?
“Would you believe me if I told you the press was there to interview Theo? Of course not. Although
he’s a famous artist, he certainly isn’t so important to the extent that reporters all over the city were
clamoring to interview him.“
Joshua frowned and took the phone from Luna, sweeping his glance across the screen.
It was footage of the interview that had enraged him so much that he almost broke his glass. Joshua
recognized the setting as at the front door of the hotel.
When he first caught sight of this interview, Joshua had not noticed the background. He was too fixated
on listening to Luna and Theo’s public announcement, but now…
Joshua turned around and glanced at Luna. ”Do you think I was the one who alerted the media and
sent them after you?”
Luna curled her lips into a cold sneer, ”I don’t know if anyone else is capable of doing this, apart from
you, Mr. Lynch.”
Joshua let out a sigh and put down the phone. “Why would I do that?“
“Well, of course it’s because…“ Luna tucked her phone away and said curtly, “You wanted to force
Theo and me to admit we’re together so that you wouldn’t be associated with me anymore.
“Otherwise, if Mrs. Lynch finds out… She won’t think you’re the devoted husband that spent six years
waiting for her faithfully anymore.“
Joshua gazed at Luna and narrowed his eyes, a mocking smile playing on his lips. “Do you think I care
about all this?“
“Don’t you?“ Luna lifted her head and met Joshua’s gaze directly. “Well then, why don’t you tell Alice
how many times you’ve slept with me, Mr. Lynch?“
Joshua froze upon hearing this. He continued to stare at Luna but did not say a word in response.
“You don’t have the guts to do so, don’t you?“ Luna sneered, “You’re worried that Alice might think
you’re unfaithful. You’re scared that Alice might think that everything was a lie, that you were only
pretending to wait for her for six years.“
“You don’t love Alice as much as you claim. In reality, the only thing you care about is what everyone
else thinks of you. If you really cared about her, you wouldn’t have slept with me so many times behind
her back. If you really cared about her, you wouldn’t have…“
“Enough! “ Joshua lifted Luna’s chin so forcefully that Luna felt as though her bones were about to
break. “Luna, you’ve known me for a long time now, so you should know what to say and what not to.
This is the first time.“
He narrowed his eyes, and a glimmer of malice flashed through his eyes, sending chills down Luna’s
spine. His lips curled into a sneer as he stared at Luna. “There won’t be a next time. You wouldn’t want
to find out what I’ll do to you if something like this happens again.“
With that, Joshua let go of her and turned around to leave.
Luna rubbed her chin, which was sore from Joshua’s grip. His heart jolted as soon as she heard the
thud of the door slamming shut behind him.
Luna knew that Joshua was outraged because she had seen right through him. She closed her eyes
and let out a bitter smile.
Luna knew that she was right. No one knew Joshua better than she did.
He was just an unfaithful scumbag who did not want to own up to his mistakes and instead chose to put
on a show for everyone around him.
Luna closed her eyes, leaned against the pillows, and was about to get some rest when she heard the
door open. Theo strode in, wearing a doctor’s coat and grinning. He sat down next to her and said, “
Joshua’s assistant was standing guard outside, stopping everyone from entering. I couldn’t make it
past him at all! Fortunately, I ran into one of my fans who’s a doctor here and managed to slip in with
his help.”
Luna gave him a faint smile. “Thank you for coming.”
“What are you thanking me for?” Theo poured her a glass of water. “Although I do have something that
I need your help with.”
Luna furrowed her brows. “What is it?”
“It… has something to do with our relationship.” Theo sighed and continued, “The interview this
morning was broadcasted everywhere, and my parents saw it from abroad. My parents want to meet
you, so they boarded a plane immediately, and they’re already on their way here. They’ve made a
reservation at the Bamboo Palace for tonight.”
Luna choked on her water. She coughed a few times and asked, “Where are we meeting?”
“At the Bamboo Palace.”
Luna frowned and felt her heart sink. If she remembered correctly, Joshua had a business meeting at
the Bamboo Palace tonight…