Luna‘s eyebrows furrowed as she glanced at Denise, then grabbed her phone and
walked out of the room.
Gwen and Denise were the only people who remained in the room.
The air seemed to fall silent.
“Can you help me with something?” Denise was the first to break the silence.
Gwen immediately broke out of her stupor.
Denise raised her hands, which were still tied together, and smiled at Gwen. “My hands are beginning
to grow numb from the ropes.”
After contemplating for a moment, Gwen finally sighed and released Denise‘s bonds.
“Thank you.” Denise rubbed her arms, which sported burns from the rope, and let out a sigh.
11
“Did…did you and Steven used to be close?” Gwen asked tentatively as she watched the color return
to Denise‘s face.
Denise was silent for a moment before finally nodding.” We…used to be inseparable.”
She gazed out the window as her thoughts began to drift
away. “Steven used to treat me like a princess. Since he had never dated anyone, all his love and
affection were reserved for me…”
Denise could not help recalling all the things Steven had done for her all throughout the years.
Every time she complained about being hungry or thirsty, he would rush into the kitchen to bring her a
drink or make her some food.
Every time she expressed a desire to own a particular, limited–edition item of clothing, he would get in
touch with the owner and request them to sell the dress to him at a high price.
Even after he was rejected, Steven even picked up fashion design as a skill to make her a dress of her
own.
Even though he was not particularly good at it, nor was the dress of intricate quality, Denise truly could
feel just how much love and effort her brother put into this.
At that time, Denise did not know that she was adopted, so she always thought this was part of
Steven‘s obligation to her.
However, she finally found out that she and Steven were not true siblings at all, and he had known
about this for a long time. Still, he was willing to treat her like his own sister.
Even though five years later, they were no longer as close
never gave up on her.
Denise was touched by this.
She was grateful to the Hughes family for giving her a comfortable home, but at the same time, she
was utterly devastated by their betrayal and wanted revenge.
LL
This was why Denise wanted to use her final efforts to protect Steven as a means of repaying him.
Gwen clenched her fists when she heard this.
She had never tried to understand Steven as a person before; she had always thought of him as the
man who stole Luke‘s body. Even though Steven had not meant to do this, he still ended up benefiting
from the Hughes family‘s deceit.
Therefore, Gwen never once tried to understand Steven‘s point of view, nor did she ever try to find out
what kind of person he was.
However, as she listened to Denise‘s stories, the image of Steven in her mind began to grow more and
more vivid.
This was not the man who had taken Luke‘s body away from her; this was a man with a kind heart and
soul.
He was a good child, a supportive brother, and a responsible, ambitious man.
He…was not a carbon copy of Luke, but a living, breathing
human with a mind of his own.
“Ms. Larson.” Denise sighed as though she could understand what Gwen was thinking about. “I know
you‘re upset, but this was all the Miller and Hughes families‘ wrongdoing, and my brother had nothing
to do with this at all.
“After everything is over, I hope that you‘ll let him go and allow him to live his life.
“Please don‘t continue using Luke as a means of restraining him.”
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