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Suppressing the strange feeling, Xylia lowered her gaze and stopped speaking.
Joshua drove steadily. Mount Evermore was a tourist spot, and they couldn’t drive all the way to the top. For thest stretch, they took a cable car to reach the summit, considering her injured foot.
The scenery at the top was beautiful, but they were the only two tourists around, making the ce feel empty.
Xylia furrowed her brows. “It’s the weekend. There should be a lot of people visiting, but where is everyone?”
Joshua suddenly chuckled, ncing at his phone with a meaningful look. “Yeah, howe there are no other tourists?” he said casually.
Xylia didn’t think much of it, and they found a spot to sit at the top.
The sun slowly dipped below the horizon, turning the clouds a fiery red.
As she took in the view, Xylia feltpletely rxed, her mood lightened.
Joshua kept watching her, noticing the change in her. He smiled. It seemed his n to have the ce all to themselves was working.
Feeling his gaze, Xylia turned and met his eyes. “What are you looking at?”
Joshua, unfazed, propped his head up on his hand, looking rxed. “You’re beautiful. I can’t help but look.” His tone made it hard to tell if he was joking or being serious.
Xylia blinked, giving him a quick re. “Stop talking nonsense.”
Joshua’s mood lifted. He pulled a medicated patch from his bag. “I talked to a friend who’s a traditional medicine doctor. He made this for you. Says it works pretty well. You should give it a try.”
As he spoke, he gently pulled her injured right hand over, applying the patch to her wrist. His palm was warm, but the patch felt cool against her skin.
Xylia looked at him, noticing the sunset’s warm glow on his face, softening <i>his </i>features. For a moment, she couldn’t believe this was the same harsh young man she once knew.
“Thank you,” she said softly. After her release from prison and learning about everything Connor and Sonny had done to her, she was crushed. It was almost too much to bear.
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Joshua had given her warmth. He found her a ce to stay and cared for her injury.
While applying the patch, Joshua said casually, “No need to thank me. I’ll make you repay me someday.” His voice was teasing, his gaze intense.
Xylia froze, but figured he was just joking. Changing the subject, she asked, “You really have a lot of friends, huh?”
Thewyer’s business card he gave herst time turned out to belong to a very well–known attorney.
This medicated patch was no ordinary one either. As someone who studied medicine, she could tell it wasn’t something a regr doctor could make.
Hiswork seemed too impressive. He knew top professionals from all kinds of fields.
Joshua’s expression darkened slightly, a faint smile tugging at his lips, but he didn’t answer. Instead, he shifted the topic.
*****
By the time she returned to Ford Mansion, it was already dark. Xylia walked in with a smile on her face, feeling much more at ease. She still held the bag of medicated patches in her hand.
Connor was sitting on the couch, texting, his expression soft.
Seeing the look on his face, Xylia instantly guessed who was on the other end of the phone.
A sharp pain pierced her heart for a brief moment before quickly fading. She averted her gaze, walking up the stairs without a word.
Connor’s expression turned cold the moment he saw her. He asked, “Where did you go?”
“Nowhere,” Xylia answered indifferently.
Connor, irritated, stepped forward and blocked her path. His eyesnded on the bag she was holding, and he snatched it from her.
Inside were the medicated patches. ncing at her wrist, he sneered, “You went out just to buy these?”
Xylia snatched the bag back, her voice cold. “It’s none of your business.”
Connor was frustrated by her attitude. He had let her return without forcing her to apologize to Tessa, which he thought was enough.
Yet, she acted like she had been wronged and was still angry with him.
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He sneered, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “You’re a useless wreck now. No medicated patch can fix that.”
He knew exactly how to hurt her. The thought of her hands and feet being damaged, unable to dance or hold a scalpel, was what tormented her the most.
“Instead of trying to pick a fight, how about thinking about divorce?” Xylia tried to walk away, but Connor grabbed her wrist.
“Divorce? Xylia, you’re pathetic. In front of Grandpa, you pretend to be a perfect granddaughter–inw. But in front of me, you’re always talking about leaving.
“Are you trying to win sympathy from Grandpa by acting like a victim?” he said.
Xylia didn’t want to argue, so she yanked her wrist away from his grip, her tone icy. “Let go of me!”
But Connor tightened his hold, squeezing her injured wrist without mercy. The pain shot through her arm, making her tremble.
“Xylia, if you want to keep yourfortable life, you’d better stay in your ce. Be more like your sister, generous and sensible.” With that, Connor released her with a sharp push and walked upstairs.
Clutching her wrist, Xylia waited for the pain to subside before heading upstairs. She and Connor didn’t share a bedroom. It was her choice, and Connor hadn’t protested. Mnie certainly didn’t mind.
Once in her room, she set down the bag of medicated patches. Her wrist still had red marks from where he had gripped it so tightly.
Xylia stared at her hand for a moment before remembering Joshua’s words earlier at Mount Evermore.
“If you want to earn money on your own, you can go for an interview with my friend’spany in two days. But first, you need to design a piece of work to bring with you,” Joshua had said earlier.
Xylia had thought about it. Even though she had been down after injuring her hand, she didn’t n to give up on her future,
If Joshua, someone she hadn’t seen in a long time, was willing to help her, then she shouldn’t give up so easily.
She made up her mind to design something in the next two days and go to the interview. Her life, she would take control of it.