bChapter /bb181 /b

Ste thought, ‘He really is out of touch. But as long as there’s a glimmer of hope, he won’t give up.‘

Lionel quickly grabbed Ste’s hand and crawled toward her on his kneesb. /b“Tell me, what do I have to do to get your help? bI’ll /bbdo /banything you ask.”

Ste was getting annoyed. “Do you have a problem? Can you stop bothering me?”

Lionel froze for a moment, but still didn’t give up. “Ste, please, give me one more chance. Just one chance, I swear, I’ll do whatever you

want.”

Ste was really fed up. “Fine, you said you’d do anything, right? Alright then, how about you break your own legs?”

Lionel stared at her in shock.

“You can’t do that, right? Then don’t say another word,” Ste said, reaching for the car door.

Lionel suddenly spoke up, “Ste, if I really did that, would you agree to coborate with me?”

“I might consider it.” Ste tossed out before walking away.

Lionel copsed on the ground, surrounded by people pointing and whispering, but he couldn’t see them.

1

To Ste, it was clear that Lionel would never do such a thing. His legs were too important to him. She just wanted to use this method to make him go away and stop bothering her.

But as soon as she got home, she received a call from an unknown number. Assuming it was a clientb, /bshe was surprised to find it was Lionel’s

mother calling.

Erica said, “Ste, how can you be so cruel? What will it take for you to leave Lionel alone? He loves you so much and has done so much for you. Do you really need to destroy him to be satisfied?”

Ste found itughable. “Mrs. Quinn, how Lionel feels has nothing to do with me. Stop calling me. I don’t have time for this nonsenseb./bb” /b

She was about to hang up when Erica suddenly yelled, “Lionel said that if he breaks his legs, you’d help him. He’s already tried several times, but we’ve stopped him each time, yet he still hasn’t changed his mind.

“Ste, didn’t you love Lionel the most? Why are you doing this?”

Ste’s expression turned icy. “You’re right. I did love him before, but people learn from experience. I now realize I was mistaken; I was blind.

“I did say that if he breaks his legs, I’d consider helping your family. But I’ve changed my mind. Even if he does that, I won’t help you. Stop calling me.”

Ste hung up and blocked the number. Finally, the world felt quiet again for her.

Ste’s phone buzzed with a new email notification. She casually opened it and saw the message. [Do you want to bknow /bbwhy /bbthe /bbQuinn /bfamily is in trouble iso /iquickly?]

Ste replied to the email: [Who are you?],

[Don’t worry about who I am. I just want bto /bknow if you want to find out?]

[I don’t know you. Why should I itr /i

you?]

b1/3 /b

[But you’re curious, aren’t you? The fact that you’re replying proves you want to know.!

Ste sent another message: [You’re wasting your time; I don’t want to know.]

The reply came back: [But I really want to tell you, and it’s rted to your husband.]

Ste didn’t respond, and the other person didn’t message again.

Furrowing her brows, Ste knew that Jordan’s actions weren’t just because of her; there had to be personal reasons behind it.

As for what those reasons were, the sender wanted her to find out, but she wouldn’t ask, and therefore, they wouldn’t sayb. /bbThe /bbsudden /bcontact meant the person wanted something from her, and she wouldn’t give in.

When Jordan came home, Ste acted like nothing was wrong. “Jordan, you’re back.”

He replied, “You look like you’re in a good mood.”

Ste smiled slightly. “Of course. I’ve sorted out a lot of things, so I’m happy. By the way, how’s everything at yourpanyb?/b”

“Everything is normal, don’t worry about me.” Jordan leaned in and gently kissed her.

Ste felt surrounded by love, a warm and sweet feeling. But suddenly, her eyes widened with confusion. “How did that person find bmy /bemail? How do they know this stuff? What do they want?‘

Jordan noticed her sudden change and asked curiously, “What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

Ste thought that since this person contacted her and didn’t reveal everything this time, they would likely reach out again. She decided to wait and see what they were really after.

She smiled, acting as if nothing had happened. “No, I’m just a little hungry. Let’s go eat.”

Jordan replied, “Sure, let’s go.”

As Jordan took her hand, he exchanged a knowing nce with Mary.

Ste sensed something was off. “What are you two looking at each other for? Did you do something behind my back?”

Jordan affectionately flicked her nose. “You’re right. We have done a few things without you knowing.”

His frank admission made Ste feel a little embarrassed. She thought, ‘Maybe I’m overthinking this. What could they possibly do behind my

back?‘

When they sat down, Ste noticed the meal was morevish than usual, almost like it was someone’s birthday. She remembered that today wasn’t Jordan’s birthday; that had already passed.

Last time, when Jordan celebrated her birthday, she thought about making his next one special, bonly /bbto /brealize bit /bbhad /bbalready /be and gone.

Ste asked, “What holiday is it today?”

Jordan grinned. “Today marks two months since we got married.”

Ste burst iout /iughing. “Two months? You actually remember that like a schoolgirl.”

Jordan replied, “I know you don’t pay much attention to these things, but I do. I can’t believe bwe’ve /bbbeen /bbtogether /bbfor /bbtwo /bbmonths/bb. /bbI’m /bso happy, Ste. Being with you makes all the pain I went through before feel worth it.”

15:27 P1, 8 bAug /b

Ste thought he was going to say something deeper, but on such a joyful asion, Jordan didn’t. “From now bon/bb, /bbwe’ll /bcelebrate every month and every year. I’ll always make sure we have anniversaries.”

Ste eximed, “That’s too many. Do we have to celebrate every single one?”

Jordan nodded.

“But I’m worried that over time you might get tired of it,” Ste said. As a girl, she naturally enjoyed celebrating anniversariesb–/bbgood /bfood a nice atmosphere, all making her feel very happy.

Jordan reassured her, “I won’t. I’m doing it because I want to, not because you need it.”

Ste couldn’t help butugh.

Jórdan kept looking at her, remembering how she used to be expressionless, her eyes lifeless like dead wells. Now, she finally bshowed /bbsome /bspark.

He loved seeing her like this, knowing the change was partly due to him. “Ste.”