To, youâre awakel Madelyn shot to her feet, and tears flowed from the corners of her eyes.
If the hospital director Hadnât agreed to the operation last night. Josie would have died in Henryâs absence.
âOh, my Jo. You donât owe Henry anything Josie was the eldest daughter of the Gibson family.
Henry was nothing more than an heir who John adopted.
âOweâ¦â Josie mumbled with a hoarse voice.
âWhen Grandpa forced Henry to marry me, I already owed him,â she thought.
âBut I donât owe him anything anymore nowâ¦â
Josie took her motherâs family name. Her mother was a dancer with low status, but her father, Hayden, had a crush on her mother.
In that era, parentsâ orders were absolute commands. John objected to Haydenâs marriage to her mother. Despite Haydenâs persuasion, the Gibson family members wouldnât let her mother marry into the Gibson family.
Josie was envious of her mother. At least Josieâs father didnât give in to the pressure from his family members. He eloped with Josieâs mother to a place where no one knew them and lived an ordinary life.
When Josie was 15 years old, her parents had a car accident.
Josie watched her parents die in front of her and hadnât dared to ride alone in private cars ever since.
John found her that year and took her back to the Gibson family.
Even though John didnât like her, she was still the eldest daughter of the Gibson family.
That year when she returned to the Gibson family, John had already been raising Henry as his heir for ten years.
Henry was 18 years old, and Josie was 15 years old.
âJo, I will protect you from now on.â
She looked up into a pair of gentle eyes when she shrunk herself into a ball in a corner of the mansion that unwelcomed her. Josie fell in love with Henry at first sight.
The ignorant love of youth was like wine. The longer it aged, the better the taste.
Josie was quiet and obedient, so John slowly accepted her.
When John passed away three years ago, Henry was able to manage the Gibson Corporation alone and led it back to its peak in just two years.
From an outsiderâs perspective, Henry was the favored son and the only heir of the Gibson family.
However, only Josie knew Henry was adopted. If he wanted to gain the full inheritance right to Gibson Corporation, he had to marry her, a woman with the blood of the Gibson family.
Josie guessed that Henry wanted to hide her because her identity was a shame to him.
If everyone knew Josie was the legitimate daughter of the Gibson family, then what was Henry? Did he marry into the $12.39 Wed, 8 May M Gibson family?
Josie had always been sensible and obedient. She obediently agreed when Henry asked for a secret marriage.
Henry told her to pretend to be strangers if they ever ran into each other outside, so she never mentioned her marriage to апÑÑпе.
Henry was nice to her at home. He had never missed an anniversary or birthday in their three years of marriage.
He often said, âJo, I will give you everything as long as you be good. No one can threaten your status.â
However, that was never what Josie desired.
The glory hidden in the shadows of the stars was worthless.
She had loved Henry for close to ten years. During those ten years, she gleefully formed a family with him, thinking someone would finally protect and care for her for the rest of her life.
She was greedy for Henryâs warmth to a state where she almost lost herself.
She deceived and immersed herself in the secret dream Henry drew up and refused to wake up.
âJo, you almost died last night. Yet he was with that celebrity⦠Madelyn didnât want to hurt Josie, but she wanted to smother any hope Josie had for Henry.
âHe splurges for Ashley but never cares about you! Did you see the necklace Ashley wore around her neck at the film festival a few days ago?â Madelyn pulled up the photos with trembling fingers on her phone. She knew Josie had never looked at them.
Josie felt as though a knife had stabbed into her heart. It didnât bleed, but it hurt.
In the photo, the emerald necklace was a token of love Hayden gave to her mother.
John said that it was reserved for his future daughterâinâlaw.
Although the Gibson family had never accepted her mother, her father still gave her the necklace.
When her parents passed away, Josie returned the necklace to John John probably regarded Henry as his own child, but that necklace was for Henryâs future wife.
John thought that it would return to his granddaughter.
Yet he didnât know Henry gave it to a celebrity.
Ha⦠Tears were brimming in Josieâs eyes.
She still couldnât capture Henryâs heart despite three years of marriage.
âMaddy, Iâm so tired.
âIâm exhausted,â she thought.
Meanwhile, at the Lake House.
Henry returned home early in the morning after finally coaxing Ashley to sleep. When he got home, he saw the mess and a small patch of blood stain on the ground.
âJo!â Henryâs heart tightened at the sight. He frantically opened the bedroom door but didnât see Josie inside.
Henry turned on his phone in a hurry. When he saw the hundreds of missed calls, he felt coldness engulfing him.