Let’s start all over again,shall we?

Chapter 236 Food Snatcher

Maggie’s eyes shimmered with moisture as she gave a weak smile, shifting the conversation.

Leo shared a similar background with Maggie, yet their paths diverged.

His mother, once Joshua’s mistress, was a fleeting figure that disappeared soon in his life.

She had hoped to manipulate Joshua through Leo, using cunning ways to conceive his child.

But when she tried to leverage the child, Joshua had grown indifferent, showing no interest in the child she had schemed to bring into the world.

The woman’s efforts to manipulate Joshua blew up in her face, resulting in threats, bribes, and finally. expulsion with a stern warning.

This descent into madness left Leo to navigate a childhood marred by abuse.

In her rare moments of clarity, she’d shower him with maternal affection, but in her darker times, she’d unleash verbal and physical torment upon him.

Raised without a father and in such tumultuous conditions, Leo forged a resilient and hardened shell,

Yet, he quickly learned that sheer strength wasn’t enough without a solid support network by his side.

Hence, the lad who once frolicked in the mud mastered the art of projecting the image of a model. student, at least on the surface.

He realised that by adopting the persona of a courteous and capable individual, he could earn trust effortlessly, bypassing the necessity for physical confrontation.

Experiencing the dark side of human behaviour from an early age, he cultivated a frostier demeanour, seamlessly merging it with his natural aloofness.

His interactions were always polite, never condescending, yet his true essence remained veiled. He observed others discreetly, responding to provocation with calculated ferocity.

Similar to Maggie, he was thrust into maturity ahead of his time, relegated to the role of a supporting

character.

comfort and every gesture of affection exacted

he savoured his beer, memories flooded Leo’s mind of the moments when Maggie had been his

grace that seemed distant yet luminous,

trouble?” she asked, a touch of exasperation in

at her interference, pushing her away as he struggled to stand amidst the pool of blood, snapping. “Stay out of it, just leave

he found her naivety and acquiescence

236 Food Snatcher

cold sweat and forcing him to crumple

commented, “Stubborn as a mule. No wonder you keep landing in trouble.”

beads of sweat trickling

her eyes bright and unflinching, undeterred by the blood

what kind of kids they prefer in orphanages?”

stayed mute, the torment of his fractured bones

feed bread crusts to children like you,”

his eyes shut against the

out from the rest, a girl with a darkness that

teased, holding out a bag

the hot, fragrant buns,

buns in his current condition, but the girl caught on with just one look. “Thinking about snatching them?” she teased.

just a thief. But with a few nice words, I’ll gladly hand them over. I

a twig, let alone a blade or bullet.

on the bun. Leo quietly tallied how many she devoured. One, two,

had purchased five buns, and two

contemplated whether a few words of kindness might convince her to hand over the last two

pocket came from his

gnawed with

for help, but in the blink

heading out. Farewell, she/bid

chuckled softly, marveling at her resilience.