Chapter 144



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The man in front of me was kind and mild-mannered. His eyes were slightly narrowed and he seemed quite polite. However, his way of speaking sounded a bit strange.

Nora found his question ridiculous.

It was only the second time they had met and yet he was already starting to take note of her private life?

Although she found him quite sympathetic, she couldn’t be bothered to talk to him about such things. She raised her eyebrows slightly and said coolly, “You seem to mind more than your own business, Mr. Smith.”

She had had a very good impression of him when she first met him back then.

However, when she realized that his wife was the one bullying Tanya, Nora could no longer be bothered to be civil to him.

She left immediately.

Joel frowned as he watched her from behind. He couldn’t help but go after her and say, “Miss Smith, may I remind you that Mr. Hunt already has a son!”.

Nora, “?”

She looked back and raised an eyebrow. “¿Y?”

After a long silence, Joel finally smiled bitterly and said, “From what I understand, Mr. Hunt intends to marry the child’s mother. It doesn’t seem like a good idea for him to come between them like that.”

“The child’s mother?”

“Yes, that’s right. The child ultimately still needs a mother…,” Joel said with some difficulty.

At the time, it was precisely because he felt that Mia needed a mother – in addition to the fact that he had no intention of remarrying – that he had allowed Hillary to move in.

However, now that I thought about it again, that wasn’t true at all.

Watching Joel in such an internal struggle, something seemed to click in Nora’s mind. The corners of her lips curved upward as she raised her eyebrows and asked, “The mother of the child you’re referring to, is that Tanya?”

From the looks of her, Nora also knew of Tanya’s existence.

Joel nodded. “Yes, that’s right.”

If Nora approached Justin, judging by Tanya’s personality, she would no doubt be sad, wouldn’t she? Or perhaps she would compromise for the sake of the child?

Therefore, the best solution was for Nora to take the initiative to withdraw from the relationship.

That way, she would also be fulfilling Tanya’s wishes a bit, wouldn’t she?

A surge of irritability arose within Joel. In keeping with his character, he would rather drag Tanya down with him and keep her by his side.

Just like what he had done then….

But he knew Tanya too well. That woman would never let herself be controlled by him.

He looked at Nora and said, “As long as you’re willing to leave Justin Hunt, I can fulfill one of your wishes for you.”

Nora, “?”

She suddenly smiled and said, “You’re going to make me misunderstand you if you do that, Mr. Smith.”

Joel’s heart sank.

If he found out that Tanya had been involved with him and told Justin, Tanya would probably have a hard time in the future.

Joel’s expression turned a little cold. Just as he was deep in thought, he heard the girl’s cool, crisp voice.

“Are you interested in Mr. Hunt, Mr. Smith?”

Joel, “????”

“If so, I’m willing to get out of the relationship and give in to both of you.”

“…”

Nora’s bright, clear eyes were full of joy as she watched Joel’s facial expression, which looked like he was about to break. Then she rounded on him and headed for the parking lot.

That guy must have misunderstood Tanya, right?

But, despite that, he was still willing to go to that length for her. Not bad.

After Nora took a few steps forward, the man in the back came after her again. After letting out a sigh, he said resignedly, “Even if you haven’t agreed to my request, I can still fulfill one of your wishes for you, Miss Smith.”

Nora was a bit taken aback. “Why?”

Since she had not allowed him to treat Ian’s illness, that meant they must still harbor resentment toward the Andersons. Why was Joel suddenly approaching her?

However, Joel stared at her for a while before slowly replying, “It’s because he did me a favor.”

Nora was puzzled. “What favor have I done for you?”

Joel, however, did not explain further. He stepped back and said, “I’m a man of my word. Goodbye.”

Nora was speechless.

After that, Joel went upstairs. Having not slept a wink the night before, he rested sleepily on the couch in Ian’s living room and closed his eyes.

His executive assistant-bodyguard, who had been with Joel the whole time, couldn’t help but ask, “Has Miss Smith helped you in any way, Mr. Smith?”

Joel opened his eyes. The deep look in his eyes made it impossible for people to guess what he was thinking.

He looked at Ian on the bed and answered slowly, “Of course. You saved Uncle Ian’s life.”

The executive assistant, “Did he?”

He was confused by Joel’s response. Wasn’t it Tina York who saved Mr. Ian? Why did she suddenly become Miss Smith instead? However, it was clear that Joel had no intention of explaining further, so he just kept quiet.

After resting for a while, Joel finally instructed, “Get Anti.”

The assistant nodded. “We have already started investigating Anti’s whereabouts last night, but have been unable to find anything so far. We have also placed a reward for his whereabouts on international forums. So far, what we have found out is that Anti once treated Elder Lady Hunt in the past. It seems that it was Justin Hunt who found him that time.”

At the mention of Justin, a competitive look came into Joel’s eyes and he said coldly, “You think I can’t find someone Justin Hunt could?”

All the warmth and softness that surrounded Joel disappeared in that instant, and his entire being seemed to be tinged with a layer of black, making him look like a demon from hell itself.

At that moment, they heard a slight movement on the bed.

Joel, who had sensed it immediately, hurried over. Sure enough, he saw Ian slowly open his eyes.

An anxious Joel said, “Uncle Ian.”

Ian looked up at him. Seeing the shadows under his eyes-obviously, he hadn’t slept all night-he said, “That must have been hard on you.”

Joel shook his head. “Don’t worry, Uncle Ian, I’m sure I’ll find Anti. I’ll drag him down here and force him to treat your illness even if he’s unwilling to do so.”

Ian sighed and said, “If I go, so be it. What’s the use of doing all this?”

Determination filled Joel’s eyes as he held Ian’s shoulders. He said, “No, Uncle Ian, you have to go on living…”.

He paused for a moment before continuing and said, “You’re my only relative now.

Your only family….

If outsiders heard what he said, they would definitely find his words very strange because there were still many members of the Smiths. By rights, based on blood relations, he still had a lot of relatives.

However, Ian seemed to understand what he meant. His jaw tensed as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he did not. He merely let out a deep sigh.

🍙 🍙 🍙 🍙 🍙

Back at the Anderson’s house, Nora called Tanya after some thought.

Tanya answered quickly. She sounded very anxious as she asked, “How is Cherry, why did they ask you to come in the middle of the night, is it serious?”

Nora looked straight ahead and answered tersely, “It’s not going to kill her.”

‘He’s not going to kill her’….

Tanya panicked. “That means it’s very serious, doesn’t it? Is she at Finest Hospital? What ward is she in? I’m going there right now.”

Nora lazily told her the ward number and hung up.

Obviously, Joel had misunderstood her situation. In that case, he would let Tanya sort out the misunderstanding herself.

Nora hated misunderstandings the most.

After resolving the misunderstanding, if it was still possible between the two of them, then they could be together. If not, then they could break up properly….

Upon receiving the news, Tanya hailed a cab and rushed to the hospital. As soon as she got in, she immediately saw Joel coming out of Ian’s room….

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