Grace stood by the door, watching the scene unfold with a speechless
expression.
"Why are you crying? You're about to turn 20-can you try acting your age?" she teased.
A look of lingering fear spread across Liam's face. He rubbed his eyes hard. "I'm never coming back to this place again. I swear, Grace, I'll never come back here for the rest of my life."
He looked like he was ready to swear it on his grave.
Grace just gave a small smile, watching him excitedly shove his books into the
car.
She drove him back to the villa, which meant, unfortunately, they'd have to run into Andrea.
The moment Andrea saw Liam return, her face lit up with joy. "Liam, you're out! This is amazing. Let's just stay here together for the rest of our lives, okay?"
The moment Liam saw her, his smile faded a few notches. He silently set the books down on the coffee table and headed for the door.
Andrea grabbed his sleeve. "Where are you going? It's almost Christmas. I want to go shopping with you!"
Liam yanked his arm free. "It's been a long time since I've had time alone with my sister. Stay here. I'll be back soon."
Andrea's expression darkened. Her hand at her side clenched tight, then suddenly flew to her stomach.
"Liam, my stomach really hurts. Can you take me to the hospital?"
Her acting was truly convincing. Cold sweat suddenly appeared on her forehead, and her whole body looked unsteady, as if she might collapse.
his voice
hurts... I just want you with me. Maybe the baby wants us
helplessly
faking it. Honestly, she could've gone head-to-head with
off, leaving a few words behind. "Take care of her, then. I already bought some Christmas stuff. Those string lights around your house and the wreath on
to take a step after
drained of color as she said, "Liam... I missed
He slowly sank into the couch,
anger boiling inside her. She couldn't
off right away. Her phone buzzed,
Do you want me to bring some over? Are
Liam's place. Are you off work already?"
as she said, "Yeah, I got a break. I'm free all week. If you're thinking of going somewhere, I'll come with
in work and hadn't even considered taking time to relax. She was about to respond when she suddenly heard a loud knock on
she could react, someone
masked men with steel pipes shattered the glass. One of them grabbed a jagged shard and slashed
just in time-but then someone dumped a full bucket
a
kicked open the passenger door and threw herself backward, slamming her head against the pavement so hard
past
startled Liam inside the villa. He ran
"Grace!"
him to get back inside, afraid the attackers might go after him
still smell the gasoline soaked into her
were shaking. "What the
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
The Novel will be updated daily. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!