Chapter 154

Fifteen minutes later, the road leading to Alverton echoed with the loud roar of a sports car. At first, the villagers were puzzled, thinking another outsider had arrived. However, when the car door swung open and a flamboyant figure stepped out, the onlookers exchanged glances and promptly turned to leave as if trying to avoid something filthy. The figure was Shawn.

When the Fuller family still lived in Alverton, Shawn had a notorious reputation for petty theft and mischief. He was caught harassing young ladies and married women by the river multiple times, often leading to confrontations. Yet Howell and Tabitha, his parents, were utterly shameless. They not only failed to get any justice but were also experts at turning the tables and blaming others.

Over time, his name became synonymous with disgrace. Naturally, the villagers preferred to keep their distance whenever he appeared.

Seeing him now, they were quick to steer clear.

Shawn returned to the village in a high-profile manner, flaunting a rented sports car to show off his former wealth. He believed that his status had risen above that of the villagers, whom he looked down upon as mere ants. But the villagers didn't buy his act. They turned and walked away, leaving him with no one to impress.

Fuming, Shawn grabbed the nearest villager, ready to boast. But before he could say a word, the villager scoffed. "Make sure to take good care of that rented car. Otherwise, you might not get your deposit back!" Laughter erupted around him.

Shawn's face flushed with rage.

Yes, the car was indeed rented.

After receiving the huge sum of 50 million dollars from the Fuller family, he bought a sports car, but Lance seized it to cover his debts. So, he was left with no choice but to rent this car.

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Shawn would never admit to his disgrace. Instead, he sneered, "You group of frogs in a well, you dare to look down on me? Do you even know what my status is now?"

The villager he had grabbed, who was actually Cody, shot him a cold glance and retorted, "What status? What's the status of a debtor with missing fingers? That sounds rather pathetic."

The villagers observed with keen interest as Shawn's hand was wrapped in thick bandages. Two of his fingers were missing.

Infuriated by this remark, Shawn's face twisted with rage. "Did Felicia tell you about it?"

No one responded to him.

But in Shawn's mind, that was the only possibility. His expression darkened further as he spat out, "That little brat thinks she's untouchable, but I'll deal with her sooner or later!"

Cody, who was standing closest to him, overheard that. Though he was typically kind-hearted, he wasted no time before slapping Shawn across the face. "You bastard! Just start behaving like a decent person already, would you?"

Shawn staggered from the slap, his eyes glinting with malice. Just as he was about to retaliate, other villagers rushed in to pull him away.

Even Charles West, the village chief, looked furious. His expression was a mix of anger and disappointment. "Get lost! You're not welcome here!"

Shawn was ready to explode, but he

I.ne

suddenly noticed how much had changed in the village. Behind the village lay fields abundant with. crops and further ahead were fows of vegetable greenhouses that stretched out of sight.

The villagers' spirits seemed to have lifted, and every household had repaired their homes. There were even numerous construction projects underway, depicting a scene of vibrant prosperity. Shawn stood there, dumbfounded. Was this still the impoverished village he remembered?

Chapter 153

Kayla's eyes turned red, and she dug her nails deep into her palms as she suppressed the almost frenzied and twisted emotions threatening to erupt. She managed to hold back her anger, though just barely. "Arnie, my foot hurts. Can you carry me over there?" she asked, her voice laced with vulnerability.

The car had broken down, and the driver needed to stay behind to arrange repairs. Moreover, Kayla had traveled such a long way to get here; it was impossible for her to be sent away now. For this reason, Kayla would have to stay in Alverton by Arnold's side for a while.

Arnold felt a sense of helplessness but ultimately did not refuse. He examined her foot and found nothing wrong with it, yet Kayla insisted that she had injured it in the accident and couldn't walk. "Arnie, I really can't walk anymore..." she whined.

Having already cried once and after being terrified all night, her face was pale and pitiful. It made it hard for Arnold to turn her down.

He bent down, offering, "Get on my back. I'll carry you."

"You're the best, Arnie!" Kayla beamed, her joy evident as she jumped onto his back. She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck.

Amidst numerous gazes, Arnold carried Kayla back to Alverton.

It was no big deal for the villagers since they didn't know them, but the students participating in the training program couldn't help but make a few teasing remarks about their apparent intimacy. Kayla giggled, occasionally blushing shyly.

Upon returning to the village, Arnold originally intended to have the village head find another family for Kayla to stay with. However, with all the other families' houses already full and Kayla stubbornly refusing to be separated from him, he had no choice but to take her back to the farm where he was staying.

Unfortunately, there was only one empty room in that house.

"Alright, you rest well," Arnold said after the college doctor checked Kayla's foot and confirmed it wasn't serious. Feeling relieved, he placed her on the bed and turned to leave.

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Kayla hurriedly grabbed his arm, "Arnie, where are you going? Are you really going to leave me here alone? I'm not familiar with this place, and I'm scared..." Arnold had been planning to find a separate place to stay. After all, it would be scandalous for them to share a room. He had to consider her reputation.

But Kayla wouldn't let it go, presenting a pitiful facade as her shoulders trembled and her eyes glistened with unshed tears.

Seeing her like this made Arnold's heart soften, but he still insisted, "You get some rest. I'll be in the living room. If you need anything, just call me." With that, he stepped out of the room.

Tears finally fell from Kayla's eyes, giving way to a burgeoning anger that threatened to explode! "Felicia!" she hissed through gritted teeth, her sense of crisis and jealousy amplifying tenfold.

She was determined to eliminate Felicia, the thorn in her side, at all costs!

With a cold expression, her brows furrowed in fierce determination. She called Shawn, her voice low as she snapped, "Why haven't you arrived yet? It's been two days! Have you gotten everything prepared? Don't you want the rest of the money?"

Shawn's voice sounded distant on the other end as if he were driving. "It's all set! I'll be at Alverton in no more than 20 minutes!"

Hearing this, Kayla felt a sense of

reluctant Satisfaction. After all, the money she had invested was considerable. As long as Shawn's actions bore fruit, it would alDbe worth it!

Chapter 152

The early morning chaos came to an end, and Felicia didn't bother to find out who would tow the Fuller family's car away after she left.

It wasn't until after she had left that Kayla finally snapped back to reality from the shock of the night before. Clinging tightly to Arnold's waist, she looked up at him with teary eyes and said, "Arnie, I rushed over to see you and almost didn't make it..."

Arnold opened his mouth, intending to say, "This slope isn't high; it's not as dangerous as you think." However, the words were caught in his throat, and he ultimately swallowed them. Instead, he said, "It's alright now. Don't cry."

Last night's events must have scared Kayla terribly-just like when he first arrived at the scene panic-stricken. It was only after Felicia scolded him that he realized his concern was causing him to lose focus. The terrain looked frightening, but there was no real deadly cliff here.

However, it was too late to say such things.

go, he would

of students who had heard about the incident rushed over to see the commotion and caught sight of

She must have rushed over in the middle

on the list for this training program. She had only gotten wind of the situation because her good friend, Olivia, had

some resentment toward Kayla after yesterday's events,

could make Felicia's life miserable was welcome

and said, "Kayla, what terrible duck you had, getting into a car

words were laced with sarcasm, and Arnold could clearly hear it. He shot her a glance, but Olivia

after initially feeling scared. She began to pick up on the

it was clear that something had happened over the past few days. Otherwise, he wouldn't be so distant and

followed Arnold's gaze and was taken aback to find that he was consistently looking in

past few days. You even hung up on me yesterday. Do you know I almost died? I

Arnold seemed to tune her out

a pained smile and asked, "Arnie,

an unexpected reaction from Arnold. He immediately denied it, his voice filled with resistance as he replied, "Don't talk nonsense. How could

initially wanted to

even if he verbally claimed not to like her, often indicated that he had begun to

Chapter 151

Ruben, she asked, "Ruben, what caused

one of the Fuller family's dedicated drivers. He was always on standby and had years of driving

Felicia, Ruben replied, "Ms. Felicia, good morning. Yesterday, Ms. Kayla urged me to drive her to Alverton. I wasn't familiar with the road and mistakenly followed the wrong route according to the navigation. Ms. Kayla

had also taken out her frustration on him by kicking his seat while

car to veer off the road and get stuck on the edge of the slope. From their perspective inside the vehicle, it felt like they were hanging over a precipice, so they didn't dare to move. Even when their phone fell at their feet, they hesitated to pick it up, fearing that bending down would make the car sway dangerously. It wasn't until Arnold called this morning that the

Ruben thought about it, the angrier he became. If it hadn't been for Kayla distracting

for the Fuller family and that she would make sure he was

his reason, he would

on this, he tightened his

If Kayla pushed him too far, he had evidence

Felicia didn't pry further.

villagers felt relieved and began

by Arnold earlier, tried to leave but was stopped by Felicia.

She walked

to Arnold and saw

up to

he was tightly

was crying. He

they had just endured

separation. Unable to hold back, she spoke up, "Sorry to

turned his attention to Felicia. "What is

tone was cold as she stated, "You should

tugged at Felicia's sleeve. "Licia, let's

she let

Felicia stood her ground.

another city. Any daughter would be upset if she found out

an apology; it wasn't like she was asking for a piece of Arnold's flesh. An apology was

Regardless of

apologize to Cody, "I'm sorry, Mr. Gibbs. I

satisfied, Felicia turned

She climbed back onto the

Chapter 150

recognized the familiar license plate of the black luxury car that was hanging dangerously over

person trapped inside was none

thought crossed her mind, she heard Kayla's terrified voice from inside the

in a state of

night, he received news that Kayla had come to Alverton,

Kayla's nearly suffocating presence. She seemed to

impatience during their phone call.

by her cries, Arnold ended the call

he still hadn't received any updates from Kayla, he asked around,

by the news that she had been in a

moment, he called the rescue team and urged them to

proposed a simple yet effective solution. First, they'd move the rocks to

furrowed his brows in concern. He feared that the villagers' methods, while well-meaning, could be foolish and might endanger Kayla's life instead of save her. The rescue efforts hit a

had suggested the plan, saying, "Can you guarantee the safety of the people in the car? Can you assure me that this method has

villager an older man known

help others, felt embarrassed and flustered under Arnold's harsh words. His face reddened

Felicia stepped forward with a cold laugh. "Arnold, where did your

He usually softened his tone in the face of her provocation, but he was too agitated this

"Mr. Todd, grab a couple of small rocks and brace them under the front of the car. Put a few in front of the

Romeo immediately complied.

nearly exploded, angrily accusing Felicia, "Kayla is a member of the Fuller

terror inside the car, "Don't come over!

shouted, the car swayed a little but quickly steadied again as Romeo and the others placed stones to stabilize

She tilted her head and sarcastically said, "Do you

not fall, but the dense trees below would act as a buffer even if the

at all-just a gentle slope common

door and yanked Kayla out, who

instinct was to cling

her, gently patting

was rescued,

driver,

His gaze toward Kayla was filled with a mix of emotions

Chapter 149

"Yes, Mr. Russell."

his subordinate promptly acknowledged from the other end of the line and cautiously asked, "Mr.

at the lights of the village. He absentmindedly stroked the puppy's head while adding, "The scenery here is quite nice. Let's find a place to settle down first."

...

made her way back to Macey's house, massaging her neck as she entered. The commotion earlier hadn't been loud enough to

back into her room. As she

Where did it go?

taken the puppy

a month old. Macey mentioned that it was one of the pups from the neighbor's dog, and she brought the chubby white one home to

but at night, it would obediently return when Macey called.

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