"Beckett!" Laurel Quinn sharply cut Beckett off. "That''s all in the past. Don''t bring it up again. And Joshua doesn''t owe me anything. Everything I did, I did willingly."


    Beckett''s tone was sarcastic. "He didn''t keep the promise he made to me. Does saying he was hypnotized and forgot give him a free pass to break his word without a second thought?"


    Laurel Quinn shook her head, looking somewhat helpless.


    "Those were my choices, and they had nothing to do with Joshua. Beckett, you shouldn''t direct your anger about it at him. Since I made the decision, I have to bear the consequences."


    "But you were the one who was hurt the most by it!" Beckett argued. "And everyone around him misunderstands you..."


    "That was also my choice," Laurel Quinn said, her expression indifferent. "Now, all three of us have achieved our goals and gotten what we wanted. We all have new lives. Stop dwelling on the past. You need to move forward too."


    Beckett looked at his sister, who was always so rational and clear-headed, his eyes filled with pity and pain. He knew that herposure was just a defense mechanism. She had been like this ever since they were children.


    Beckett had known Laurel Quinn long before he met Joshua. At the time, he was just a foster child living with the Quinn family, an outcast just like her.


    He would never forget how the eight-year-old Laurel Quinn had looked at him for the first time and said she wished she had a handsome older brother like him. Later, on her tenth birthday, she made a wish over a cake made of mud, hoping he would be her brother. He had finally granted her wish.


    "Are you two done with your little performance?"


    Joshua''s cool voice broke through Beckett''s drifting thoughts.


    He was leaning casually against the wall, a slight curve to his lips, as if he were watching an amusing y. He crossed his arms and teased them.


    "With all this drama, you two should


    gour


    make a movie. You might even get a fanbase shipping you, tragic fairytale of undying devotion and unrequited love."


    Laurel Quinn was at a loss for words.


    So was Beckett.


    Laurel Quinn knew Joshua''s personality and didn''t take his words to heart. She said softly, "I''m truly sorry that Ms. Cameron was involved in this..."


    Joshua raised an eyebrow. "As an apology, are you nning to send over another business deal this time?"


    Laurel Quinn froze for a few seconds


    before her expression slowly


    changed. She looked at Joshua with aplex mix of admiration, appreciation, and a faint trace of disappointment.


    She gave a bitter smile. "You saw right through me again."


    "The news about the global bounty I put out is hardly a secret," Joshua said. "You gave Ste that deal not just because of my involvement, but also because you hoped I''d let Beckett off the hook, right? You. knew that even if I didn''t have time to deal with him now, I''d get to him eventually. You also knew that pleading with me would be useless, so you chose topensate Ste instead. And since I don''t like being indebted to anyone, and Ste has already epted, I''ll drop the matter with Beckett for her sake."


    Laurel Quinn closed her eyes and then gave a slight nod. "Yes, you''re right."


    Just then, Beckett''s mocking voice cut in from the side.