18 Floors Above the Apocalypse

Chapter 383

Lillian grabbed the supplies the Riley family had hidden away and hired a bounty hunter for protection. With her daughter Julia by her side, they made their way to the Kindle Society sanctuary. But things took a dark turn when they reached Swan Hill. The bounty hunter turned on them, and if it hadn't been for a patrolling soldier, Lillian and Julia wouldn't have made it. Clearly, getting to Kindle Society safely was no small feat.

When the soldiers questioned her, Lillian lied.

She told them they were relatives of Daniel and that Julia was his daughter.

It wasn't a huge stretch-Daniel had remained single for her sake, and she hadn't forgotten him all these years.

Hearing they were Daniel's kin, the military base helped make contact.

After over two decades, they finally reconnected through a satellite phone call.

Hearing his voice, Lillian was filled with regret.

If she had known this day would come, she never would have caved to her parents' wishes, never would have left Daniel to marry someone else to save the Riley family's business. She had fallen for Daniel at a friends' gathering and had pursued him persistently until they became a couple.

But their happy times were short-lived. Daniel received a classified mission and vanished. She had promised to wait a year for him, to marry him when he returned.

And now, she was pregnant.

The Rileys must never know. If they did, the alliance would crumble, and Lillian's family would be ruined.

So, she considered an abortion.

However, the doctor warned that her uterine walls were thin, and an abortion could leave her infertile.

With no other choice, she decided to have the baby.

Lillian's family kept it a secret, and after Julia was born, they quietly gave her away.

not grieve? But there was no better choice; Daniel's status couldn't help Lillian's

love could conquer all was just a

her child. Lillian found out that Julia had

planning the

was pregnant again, this

and her past

she hid the truth, and with tears streaming down her face, she told Daniel, "My family went bankrupt, you weren't there; I was pregnant, you weren't there; I miscarried, and you still weren't there; now I'm getting married, and I hope

on her belly, "I'm

look in Daniel's eyes-pain,

change anyone, especially

sorry, I lied to you back then. Our child didn't miscarry; she's

silence on the other end, then

him, but their love was no longer pure, tainted with

he had

else would he never reciprocate her advances over the years, only ensuring her and Julia's

became a stranger to her, inscrutable

now, Stella had

mother and daughter

I've got a ton on my plate

and steady, polite

matter how busy you are, you need to eat. If you can't come home, should I bring

a mess hall here, and it's a military zone. No outsiders

And that was it.

darkened, her

even if he didn't return home, he'd send a thoughtful gift or at least a blessing through

was nothing,

If he didn't want to give her a chance, why had he allowed her to come to

her and Julia's assumed

just doesn't love you," Julia said with a chill, "Stella's arrival must have tipped him off to