“What’s wrong?“ Theo stood up as soon as he noticed Luna’s peculiar expression. “Does your wound hurt? Are you upset because you don’t want to meet my parents?“

An alarmed expression flashed across Theo’s face. “If you don’t want to meet them, I can give them a call right away…“

Luna shook her head. “No, it’s not that. “ She lifted her head to gaze at him and said, “Can we have dinner someplace else instead? It’s just that I…don’t like Bamboo Palace.“

Luna was worried that she would run into Joshua during dinner. If they bumped into each other this night, Luna feared Joshua would cause a scene and humiliate Theo in front of his parents.

“Oh, is that it?“ Theo’s face lit up almost immediately, and he stood up. “That’s easy! My parents’ plane will be landing at Banyan City Airport in an hour. I’ll pick them up now and ask them to change the venue to someplace else.“

Theo shot Luna an excited glance and added, “You… You’d better dress up! I ‘ll send you the address of the new venue in a while! “

Luna could not help laughing when she saw how thrilled Theo was. “Alright.“

An hour later, she received a text message from Theo. (My parents told me the reason why they wanted to meet you at the Bamboo Palace is that they had a business meeting there. Don’t worry! I told them you live too far away from there, so they discussed with the other party and agreed to change the venue to the restaurant beneath Starhill Hotel.]

Theo even sent her a smiley face along with another message that read, (My mom saw a picture of you in the news and even looked through your portfolio. They seem very fond of you! ]

Luna sighed at the texts.

She did not know what to tell Theo. She felt that it was too cruel to keep on emphasizing to him that they were only a fake couple, but if she did not do that…

Luna sighed, picked up her phone, and called Anne. “ Come shopping with me.“

Luna arrived at the Starhill Hotel entrance at 6 p.m. on the dot. She wore a black skirt with a white chiffon top that made her look elegant and ladylike. The breeze picked up a few strands of her long hair, giving her an air of sophistication and charm.

Theo stood at the hotel entrance, and as soon as he saw her getting out of the taxi, his entire body froze, mesmerized. He knew that Luna was gorgeous, but…

She was so stunning that even a simple outfit like that somehow brought out her beauty. He continued to stare at her, awestruck.

Luna caught sight of Theo and waved at him before she sashayed toward him in her high heels.

“Are Mr. and Mrs. Allen inside?“

Theo finally came to after hearing Luna’s voice. He coughed slightly and replied, “Yes.“ He scratched his head somewhat sheepishly and said, “I thought my parents came all the way to Banyan City just to see you, but it turns out they have a business meeting arranged.“

“That’s okay.“ Luna held onto Theo’s arm and smiled. “If they had flown over just for me, it would’ve made me feel very guilty.“

Theo sighed, his brows furrowed. Then, he linked hands with Luna and walked into the hotel lobby together.

However, what happened next was beyond their wildest imaginations.

While they waited for the elevator, they heard a familiar voice ring out from behind them, “Joshua, why are we meeting here all of a sudden? I waited at Bamboo Palace for a long time.“

As soon as Alice finished speaking, Joshua’s voice rang out, “Maybe they didn’t like Bamboo Palace.“

Luna’s mind went blank. She glanced in the direction of the voices from out of the corner of her eye.

Joshua stood at the hotel entrance in his black suit and appeared to be on the phone with someone.

Alice, standing next to him, looked serene and captivating in her sparkling, navy blue dress.

Luna looked away from them and felt a sudden twinge of pain shoot through her heart.

“Luna?“ Theo’s questioning voice rang out. Luna immediately came to and realized that the elevator door before her had already opened.

She exhaled and hastily entered the elevator as though running away from something.

“This Mr. and Mrs. Allen that you’re meeting with seem like strange people. “ Alice pursed her lips in indignation. “They’d already decided to send one of their subordinates to meet with us on their behalf, but they oh -so suddenly changed their minds and decided to come themselves.

“They agreed to meet at Bamboo Palace, and I even went all out and decorated the entire place to welcome them, but they changed the venue at the last minute. Don’t you think they’re a little stuck-up? It’s not like they’re the only people that can provide the specific kind of special ore we’re looking for.“

Joshua hung up the phone indifferently. “Maybe Mr. and Mrs. Allen changed the venue due to private matters.“

Alice rolled her eyes. “Haven’t they been living overseas for a long time now? What kind of private matters would they have to attend to here in Banyan City?“

Joshua did not answer and instead strode toward the elevator, appearing unconcerned. “Well, you’ll know soon enough.“

Joshua had just found out the vendor that would be providing Lynch Group with the precious ore they needed…was Theo’s family business.

This would be interesting.

“Dad, Mom, this is Luna.“

As soon as they arrived at the booth upstairs, Theo smilingly introduced Luna to his parents.

“Ms. Luna, please take a seat! “ Theo’s mother, Celeste, beamed at Luna and invited her to sit.

“Where are you from, Ms. Luna?“

“How many family members do you have?“ “How did you and Theo meet?“

As soon as Luna sat down, Celeste bombarded her with a series of questions that left her a little unnerved.

It was, in fact, Luna’s first time meeting a boyfriend’s parents. Even though she had been married to Joshua in the past, Joshua grew up with a single parent, and his father did not pay much attention to him at all. Therefore, Luna never had to experience the awkwardness of meeting her boyfriend’s parents for the first time.

“I’ve looked at your portfolio, Ms. Luna. Your designs are absolutely beautiful! You truly are a talented jewelry designer! “ Theo’s father, Nathan, chimed in and praised Luna as he stroked his beard. “ Ms. Luna, our family runs a business selling ores meant for jewelry making. In the future, if you and Theo get married, we can build a jewelry company of our own! “

Luna’s heart sank as soon as she heard that. She frowned and asked, “Uncle, did you just say…that your family sells ores to jewelry companies?“

If she remembered correctly…

Joshua had a business meeting with a vendor that would be supplying valuable ores to the Lynch Group this very night.

“Yes, that’s correct. “ Nathan stroked his beard and let out a hearty laugh. “Although we work with a lot of big companies, we’ve always been very low-rofile and discreet. Not even Theo knows about all this! I wouldn’t have told you this if I didn’t know you were a jewelry designer.“

With that, he gave a triumphant smile and added, “In fact, besides meeting you, we’re also here tonight to discuss a collaborating opportunity with a very well-established company! “

Luna’s hand, hidden underneath the table all this while, gripped the hem of her shirt tightly. If her suspicions were right…

“The company we’re going to be working with is Lynch Group from Banyan City! “

As soon as Nathan proudly declared the name of the company, Luna and Theo’s expressions darkened, but Nathan did not seem to notice that. Instead, he lowered his head to glance at his watch and remarked, “Mr. Lynch called a while ago to tell me he’s already downstairs. What’s taking him so long?”

As soon as he finished his sentence, someone knocked on the door. “Hello, is this Mr. Nathan Allen’s booth?”

Luna and Theo exchanged glances as soon as they heard the voice coming from the other side of the door. They were more than familiar with it.

“Yes, it is!“ Nathan leaped out of his seat excitedly, strode over, and flung open the door.

A young couple stood outside the door. The man was tall and slender with an aura of sophistication about him, while the woman looked serene and charming.

“You must be Mr. Lynch! “ Nathan immediately extended his hand out to shake Joshua’s. “Please come in! “

Joshua offered a small smile and eyed Luna, who sat inside the booth. She wore a formal and elegant skirt, and she even put on makeup. She looked much

more stunning than how she usually looked at work.

It was clear that Luna had put in the effort to look good for Theo’s parents.

Joshua narrowed his eyes and pulled Alice into the room impassively.

Alice strolled in with a smile on her face, but as soon as she caught sight of Theo and Luna in the corner, she froze. After a moment, however, she plastered a smile on her face and greeted, “Hello, Mr. Allen. Nice to meet you. I’m Joshua’s wife.“

She then glanced at the two people sitting in the corner. “And these two are…“

Celeste immediately stood up and pulled Theo and Luna up with her. “Mr. and Mrs. Lynch, I’m Nathan’s wife. This is my son and our future daughter-in- law!“

Everyone in the room fell silent as soon as they heard that.

Joshua narrowed his eyes and shot Luna a cold glance.

Luna frowned and looked a little pale while Theo furrowed his brows and tugged on his mother’s arm. “Mom, please don’t say nonsense like this. Luna and I —“

“Oh, I didn’t know you were engaged.“ Alice let go of Joshua and sat down next to Luna with a gentle smile. “Congratulations.“ She looked up at Nathan and Celeste, who both appeared surprised by that. “ I ‘m not sure if you know this, but Luna and I have been friends for a very long time now.“

She smiled faintly at Luna. “How long have we known each other now? Six years?“

Luna forced out a smile and glanced at Alice. “More than six years. I think we’ve known each other for… eight years now.“

The color drained from Alice’s face.

She had claimed to have known Luna for six years, which was when Luna gave birth to Neil and Nellie so that it would match up with her lies. She had previously accused Luna of getting close to her and stealing her children, so she had to make sure the lies were aligned.

as eight years ago.

and cast Luna a stern look.

immediately stiffened. She knew Luna had said that on purpose to trip her up and force her to invent

into slits. “I think Luna is mistaken. Eight years ago? We didn’t even know each other at that time.” “Maybe she knew of you, but you didn’t, ”

Joshua’s gaze.

and recalled what Jude had said to him earlier

but I do hope that beautiful employee of yours isn’t Hailey Walter. Otherwise, it’d be disgusting to know that you slept

stare at Luna stiffly. Eight years ago was indeed the first time Hailey ever met

parents, Mr. and Mrs.

expose her, so she hastily agreed with Theo. “He’s right. Mr. and Mrs. Allen are here today to talk business. Please, don’t let our chatter interfere with your work progress!

before he finally turned around to talk to Nathan. After a while, they started to discuss the ore extraction process as well as negotiate prices. Alice did not understand anything, Theo did not want to, and Luna refused to have anything to do with

six people within the room

distinctive groups: three discussing business, while

Alice smiled and pretended to adjust Luna’s shirt button, but she whispered underneath her breath threateningly, ”Watch what you speak! If you dare to expose me, I ‘ll make you and your two kids pay for

you going to ask your father, who’s stuck in prison, to come after me, or are you going to use your bankrupt family’s

through Alice’s gaze. ”Luna! Just because the Walters are bankrupt now doesn’t mean I can’t make your

me be very honest with you. Yesterday, when your two children were sent abroad… I convinced Joshua to assign some

”You’ve assigned

.” Alice lowered her voice and hovered close to Luna’s ear. ”Did you forget that Joshua’s father…is

glared at Alice. ”He wouldn’t dare do anything to his

to the rest of the people with a smile, ”I always thought Theo was just a

Celeste. “The Allens are very fortunate to have Luna as well. Luna is a talented jewelry designer, and you own

that she grinned from ear to ear. “That’s right! Theo and Luna are a match

were you, Mrs. Allen, I’d set a date for Luna and Theo’s wedding right now. The sooner you

merry here tonight, I ‘d like to invite Mr. and Mrs. Lynch to be witnesses. Our entire family sincerely hopes that Ms. Luna will be willing to

soon as Nathan finished his sentence. “What if I’m not willing to be a

grew silent as

a long pause, Nathan smiled and said, “What are you talking about, Mr. Lynch? We’re going to become work partners soon. Plus,

responded Joshua as he pointed his bony finger at Luna, “she’s not a

so silent

drained from Luna’s face, but

looked at

finally managed to

like this? Do you know what’ll happen if you

voice and appeared to be whispering in Joshua’s

there did not seem to be anything wrong with what Alice said. However, upon further scrutiny, she implied that there was something wrong with Luna’s character, which led to her having

lifted her head to glance at Luna,

Nathan’s expression darkened. ”Mr. Lynch, you claim that Luna isn’t a good

interjected, ”Luna works for Lynch Group. Mr. Lynch was just worried that if Luna and I got

he opened the jewelry box spitefully, displaying the exquisite,

ring. This was the first ring she had made with her bare hands while she was abroad. At that time, she had sold this ring

after all, belonged to

Allens had prepared in advance before their visit to Banyan City. Not only did they spend a lot of money, but they had put in the effort to track this ring

Allens otherwise, and Nathan immediately grinned. ”Ms. Luna, please accept this gift. We found out that this was the first ring you ever made yourself, so

“That’s right, Ms. Luna. The diamond stone on this ring is just as beautiful and pure

sentence. “Pure?“ He lifted his head to gaze at Luna. “Do you think

got! She narrowed her eyes and met his gaze. “Why don’t you tell me what you think, Mr. Lynch? What

did I refuse to admit the truth and instead continue

“ The only thing I know is that a promiscuous woman such as yourself doesn’t

immediately

a pure and honest person! She’s a perfect match for our family! “ Theo clenched his teeth, took out the ring from the jewelry box, and

was, the harder it was for him to slip it onto her finger. Finally,

do so, Luna stood up. She approached Nathan and Celeste and gave them both a respectful bow. ”Theo and

Celeste

exhale. “I ‘m not a good match for Theo. He’s such a kind and gentle person; I don’t think I deserve him at all.

turned around. However, just as she was about to leave, she paused as if she had recalled something and took a step

Luna slowly approached Joshua and smiled at him. “Are

in indignation and gently set down the

flashed across her eyes. A second later, a smack landed on Joshua’s

a forceful blow that his face was struck to one side from the

hand and chided, “ Anyone can think I’m impure and promiscuous, but you, Mr. Lynch? You have no right. “ With that, she turned around to

Alice immediately grabbed onto Luna’s wrist and leaped out of her seat in a fury. “How dare you slap

“If you want

with a huff and slammed the

watched everything

around to chase after

that woman?“

“Luna’s not that kind of person at all! It’s all just

her?“ He pressed Theo’s hand forcefully against

Joshua’s cheek. “ Joshua, how dare she behave like that? Can’t we

respond. Instead, he stared at a distance, his eyes

finished putting ice on Joshua’s face, Celeste approached her cautiously and asked, “Mrs. Lynch, you’re friends with Luna. You… You should know what kind of person she

let out a sigh. “That’s Luna’s personal business. I don’t have a say in anything at all. She’s a very gifted designer, and I’ll have to give her

private

all artists,

as she heard that. She turned around and glanced at

Theo’s

look and said, “

farewell. After the three of them left, Alice continued to sit next to Joshua for

don’t we go home now?“ she asked coyly

recalled the look in Luna’s eyes when she

Despair, anger, hatred.

was the first time Luna had ever looked

Joshua’s phone rang. It was

on the Bay Bridge right now!

felt as though his blood had run cold. He

frantic voice rang out from the other end of the line.

had tried to compose himself, but as soon as he heard that, his calm facade crumbled. He roared into the phone, “Keep an

that, he hung up the phone

Alice finally came to, Joshua had already disappeared

furious that she immediately smashed the tableware onto the

Luna! That b*tch!

die, they should just let her

should have died

He harshly stepped on the gas pedal and sped toward Bay Bridge as fast as his

why Luna had

that she wanted to take

not let

away from Bay Bridge, but Joshua managed to arrive within five minutes. When he finally

shoes and removed her jacket, sitting barefoot on the railing as she gazed at the night

next to his ear, “ She’s been sitting there ever since I called you. I didn’t dare get close or peep a single word lest I trigger

at Luna’s chiseled side –

moment, her eyes were etched with despair,

Luna was indeed reminiscing.

the railing as she stared out at the

had ended up in her accident with Joshua’s driver and plummeted into the ocean right at this very

led her to start a new

where she and Joshua’s lives veered off in

on the railing and lamented her fate. She had survived a car crash, facial

this led her to her

still managed to persevere

currently experienced paled in

so upset by this. She should not have

Suddenly, a low voice rang out next to

the blue startled her, causing her entire body to jolt, tipping her slightly in the

sure she was safe, he roared, “Why are you so upset by this? It’s just a little hiccup. Are you that desperate to marry

Joshua think she wanted

worry —I won’t die.

many despicable things, was still alive. How could she kill

like laughing. “Well, if you’re not going to

head to gaze at the water beneath her.

at

Joshua to recall that this was the

meant and

his eyes. “You’re going to commit suicide and frame

This does sound like a good idea.“ She let out a sigh and gazed at a

that

The Novel will be updated daily. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

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