“Hansen, I know what you’re thinking right now, but I want to tell you that if we don’t deal with the terrorists today, at your wedding tomorrow, the one who will suffer the most will be Richards Manor. After these terrorists enter the country, they will definitely follow after Reid and lurk into Richards Manor. At that time, the battlefield will be at Richards Manor, not here. Imagine how serious the consequences will be if that happens.” Christopher saw through Hansen’s mind and threw a punch at him while explaining fiercely.
Hansen leaned to one side and dodged his fist. Then, he grasped Christopher’s collar and clenched his teeth, saying angrily, “You’d better do a good job tomorrow. I will not tolerate any failure. Otherwise, I will make you suffer.”
After saying those words in a vicious manner, he let go of him and walked forward.
“Hey, brat, your luck in love affairs really is good.” Christopher caught up with him and said sarcastically, “By the way, I heard that you keep having love affairs, but why can’t I experience it even once? It’s too unfair.”
Hansen’s face was as dark as charcoal.
However, Christopher’s words were right. If he didn’t deal with those terrorists there that day, Richards Manor would definitely encounter a disaster the day after. He understood that point, but he still felt extremely irritated!
The midsummer night was hot and dry. Nevertheless, Richards Manor, which was surrounded by greenery, was quite cool.
Liya sat on the bed without a hint of drowsiness at all.
Oscar had returned to B City and had finally let her go.
Perhaps, Oscar knew that she was going to marry Hansen. So, he didn’t dare to touch her anymore. Therefore, she didn’t receive a phone call from Oscar that night.
The pure white wedding dress was hung in the wardrobe, looking clean and beautiful.
In the past, Liya had dreamed of putting on a beautiful wedding dress countless times. Then, she would imagine holding onto her handsome beloved man, like Hansen, and walk into the church together.
Those were scenes that could only be seen in her dreams.
Nevertheless, that day, she was finally going to achieve it.
That was true. She was going to marry the man of her dreams.
She didn’t care even if he already had a wife.
As long as Hansen loved her and cared for her, she did not care at all.
However, right then, her heart felt as if it had been stuffed with sand, which made her feel very uncomfortable, and she didn’t feel any trace of happiness at all.
Hansen did not love her, and it would be impossible for him to fall for her in the future as well.
Right then, no one in the entire Richards Manor loved her and thought highly of her. Just like when she was young, she and her mother had suffered all kinds of humiliation and disdain there. Then, they were chased away like dogs, and her mother suffered a terrible death due to it.
She curled up into a ball as she felt cold all over. She tried her best to hold herself tightly, but she still couldn’t stop herself from trembling.
Why, why was her life so miserable?
She could not accept it.
Gradually, flames of fury burned in her eyes. She stared straight outside, as she bit her lips till it bled.
She then stood up and wandered outside aimlessly, without any destination in mind.
It was already dark outside and the majority of the lamp posts in the garden had been turned off. As the cool and refreshing night breeze blew, cricket sounds could be heard coming from the bushes.
Under the hazy moonlight, the stars were shining brightly. There were some clouds in the night sky. It revealed a bit of deep blue color as it extended into the distance.
Liya walked aimlessly, as if she was a wandering ghost.
For her, every place there was familiar yet strange to her at the same time. She was left with a dignified and gorgeous impression along with the chilling coldness of it when she was young, not allowing her to look down on it.
Was she going to marry Hansen the day after?
That felt unreal.
Where was he right then?
Liya didn’t see him that day. She recalled that at dinner that day, Jenna was hesitating and was reluctant to say something. She felt bitter as she looked at it, and it was evident that she was hiding something, but she wouldn’t say it, or perhaps she didn’t want to tell it to her.
At that moment, she had reason to believe that Jenna had hidden Hansen and disallowed him to attend the wedding with her the day after.
The anger in her eyes grew thicker and stronger, and her footsteps became even more unsteady.
An old-fashioned villa, made of black bricks and green tiles, appeared in front of Liya. It was dignified and luxurious beyond words.
When she was a child, she remembered that the villa was called the ‘Green-Tiled Building’. The Ink Garden was just its formal name.
She stood there, dumbfounded. She was surprised that she had unknowingly come to that place, the Ink Garden, the center of authority in Richards Manor.
She thought that she must have been possessed by the devil to have even come to that place where everybody revered.
Her pair of black eyes stared at the crimson gate motionlessly.
There was no one at the door. Liya didn’t know where the security guards had gone.
That day, due to the fact that they had to prepare for her and Hansen’s wedding the day after, all the servants of Richards Manor had been busy the entire day, and all of them had gone to bed early. At that moment, Richards Manor was like a garden in the center of the big city. It was quiet and peaceful, as if it was isolated from the rest of the world.
That night was bound to be unusual.
A sense of anxiety and unease that she had never felt before weighed in her mind.
As if someone was holding her hand, Liya lifted her foot and walked towards the Ink Garden, step by step.
She arrived at Vivian’s bedroom without being obstructed by anyone.
At that moment, Vivian was lying on her side on the bed with a blanket covering her body. Her silver hair was scattered on the pillow at the head of the bed. Her face looked thin and pale, and a pair of withered hands were placed on her chest.
Liya walked closer and stared at her. No matter how one looked at her, the old woman in front of her seemed like an old woman in her declining years. Her life was slowly being exhausted.
Liya respected that old woman when she was a child. After she grew up, she hated her until Jenna told her that Vivian was the one who helped her through college. She had once felt conflicted. In fact, she neither had any love nor hatred for that old woman who was dying.
She didn’t know why she went there. She just went there without thinking.
It was just a coincidence.
Vivian lay on the bed motionlessly. After a while, Liya heard Vivian gasping for breath. She was shocked, and she bent down to have a look.
The only light in the room was the wall lamp.
She saw that Vivian’s throat seemed to have been blocked by something. Her face was purplish, and she was panting heavily. It was as if she would die if it continued that way.
Liya was a little scared.
She was about to retreat.
The moment Liya lifted her head, she saw that Vivian’s five fingers were twisting forcefully. It was obvious that they were cramping.
Vivian’s five fingers were like skeletons, and they looked terrifying under the dim yellow light. Seeing that, Liya trembled with fear, but her eyes were attracted to the black case in Vivian’s hand.