For a mont, the air seed to freeze.
Through the swirling snow, Kylie Walsh gazed anxiously into Roman Rhodes’s eyes, as if searching for an answer to the obsession that had defined the first half of her life.
The next second, however, Roman looked directly at Kylie and said slowly, "I already have soone I like. So... I hope you won’t waste your feelings on , and please stop saying things that could be misunderstood."
Roman’s words were like a bomb, instantly detonating in Kylie’s heart.
Kylie’s face went pale. She staggered back a few steps, as if only now truly realizing that it had all been nothing more than her own wishful thinking...
’She couldn’t accept it!’
Tears swimming in her eyes, Kylie stubbornly demanded of Roman, "Who is it? ...Who the hell is it? ...I’ve had a crush on you for so many years, and you never gave a chance... Now you’re telling you have soone you like? Who is that woman?!"
Seeing this, Roman frowned and shook his head. "That has nothing to do with you," he replied.
But Kylie acted as if she hadn’t heard him. Her eyes filled with bitter resentnt, and she pressed on through gritted teeth, "Who is it? Is she the daughter of so prominent family? ...Is her family background better than mine? She’s younger than , isn’t she? Why do you like her? Tell !"
Roman looked at her, sighed helplessly, and stated flatly, "None of this has anything to do with you. As for Zara Walsh’s situation, you all can stop struggling. Instead of wasting your ti, you should try to convince her to confess for a lighter sentence. Maybe she can still get a reduced penalty."
With that, Roman got in his car and drove away.
Kylie stood alone in the snow for a while, until she was nearly frozen stiff. Only then did she get back in her car and drive back to the Walsh residence, utterly dejected.
Seeing Kylie return, Zara’s father—Kylie’s older brother, Shane Walsh—hurried over, grabbing her arm. "How did it go? Is Roman willing to help? With his current status, if he’s willing to put in a word with the higher-ups, this whole thing can be resolved easily..."
Kylie, however, just shook her head dazedly and mumbled, "No... He won’t help..."
Kylie still hadn’t recovered from the blow of learning Roman had soone he liked. She sat blankly on the sofa, staring at the ceiling. ’Who is that woman? ...’
Shane didn’t notice Kylie’s strange behavior. His brow was deeply furrowed as he said worriedly, "I called Paige, but I can’t believe even she won’t help! She told us to wait for the official outco!"
Not only that, but Paige had also indirectly berated Shane, implicitly and explicitly accusing him of failing to raise his daughter properly, for her to do sothing like withhold disaster relief supplies.
And don’t even get started on Bernard Simmons. Because Paige was in the middle of a divorce lawsuit with him, demanding a large portion of their marital assets, he got annoyed just hearing the na Walsh.
The mont Shane called him, he hung up imdiately, making it clear he had no intention of helping the Walsh family.
Shane also tried asking the family elders for help, to see if they could think of a solution, but they were powerless too, leaving Shane alone and at his wit’s end.
What Shane couldn’t figure out most was this: it was just an ordinary public accusation made under a real na. There were plenty of those these days, so why had this particular one escalated to such a degree?
He couldn’t wrap his head around it. He had a nagging feeling that soone was pulling strings behind the scenes...
*****
anwhile, watching Colin Sumrs, Grace Sutton, and lody Sumrs wheel in a pile of supplies, Caron Sumrs was so moved he burst into tears on the spot.
Caron rubbed his red, swollen eyes, grabbed Colin’s hand, and said repeatedly, "Big Brother, Sister-in-law, Niece, thank you! Thank you for saving our family of three..."
Before Caron could finish, Colin shoved his hand away and slapped him across the face.
A bright red handprint imdiately appeared on Caron’s face. He lowered his head, not daring to make a sound. He knew he deserved it; after all, he had once caused his older brother endless heartache.
After the first slap, Colin paused, but still felt it wasn’t enough to vent his anger.
He grabbed Caron by the collar, yanked him back, and yelled, "You listen to , you punk! We haven’t forgiven you! We brought this stuff for your wife and kid, not for you!"
Caron nodded frantically, repeating, "Yes, yes, I know, I know. It’s all my fault..."
Before Caron could finish, Colin barked, "And you rember this: take care of your wife and kid! If I ever catch you gambling again, I’ll throw you out the window myself and let you freeze to death in the snow!"
Caron imdiately swore to the heavens, promising, "Big Brother, don’t worry, I’ve really changed this ti! I’m done with gambling!"
Seeing this, Grace Sutton quickly pulled Colin back and tried to diate. "Alright, alright, Caron has turned over a new leaf. Don’t be so hard on him... Jade and Clark are here. At least let him save so face..."
Colin snorted. "He’s changed? You’re the only one who’d believe that. How many tis has he ’changed’? Has he ever ant it once?"
Caron had promised countless tis before that he would never gamble again, but each ti, he’d be back at it within a couple of days.
One ti, after losing a bet, he mortgaged the family’s ancestral ho. Colin was so furious that he impulsively grabbed a kitchen knife and chopped off Caron’s pinky finger!
They got him to a hospital in ti, and his pinky was reattached, but even that didn’t stop him from gambling again...
Incidents like this happened repeatedly over the years. Colin had absolutely no trust left for his younger brother.
If he wasn’t concerned for Caron’s wife and child, he would never have brought him any supplies.
Caron knew his actions over the years had broken his family’s heart. He could only prove his remorse through his actions.
He looked at Colin with a sincere expression and said, "Big Brother, I’ve really changed this ti. I’ve been working to pay off my debts for the last few years. I’ve already cleared the loans I owed, and as soon as this disaster is over, I’ll get back to work and pay back the money I owe the family, too!"
Hearing this, Colin just snorted, noncommittal.
Grace helped them set up the folding beds and lay out the bedding. The two beds were just enough for the three of them to sleep on.
lody Sumrs placed the coal stove and charcoal by the window. Then she turned, surveyed the empty room, and said, "Uncle Caron, there’s a community group chat for buying and selling used furniture. If you need anything else, you can buy it there later."
Caron waved his hands. "This is more than enough! We have beds, quilts, and coal. We’ll be able to survive the winter with this!"
Jade Rowan bent down and touched the sacks of rice, which weighed dozens of pounds. She asked emotionally, "Big Brother, Sister-in-law, are you really giving all this rice to us? This must have cost a fortune... If you give us all this, will you have enough for yourselves? Why don’t you take so of it back..."
Grace Sutton walked over and patted her hand reassuringly. "It’s fine, you keep it. Clark is too thin. He needs to eat more."
Then, Grace opened a cardboard box that was sitting on top of the rice. Neatly arranged inside were so sausages, chocolate, Lao Gan Ma, and chili sauce.
Seeing all this, Caron’s family of three was utterly dumbfounded.
Jade Rowan’s voice trembled as she asked, "This... is all this for us too? This is far too valuable!"
User Comments
0 comments from readers