"What happened?"
Nicole and Laurel immediately ran up. The moment they opened the door, both of them were stunned.
Joseph broke free from Samuel's embrace and bumped into a flower stand on the side. The vase on
the flower stand fell to the ground and broke into two. Meanwhile, Joseph curled up in the corner of the
wall with his arms around his knees and his head buried in his knees, feeling extremely insecure like a
hurt animal.
A lump suddenly came into Nicole's throat.
"Joseph."
Laurel was also heartbroken when she saw this.
"Joseph, come here. Come to me. I love you most."
However, Joseph still did not respond to anyone no matter what they said.
He sat there like a statue, quiet and expressionless. It was really a heartbreaking scene.
Samuel walked over and squatted down in front of Joseph directly, ignoring the glass fragments of the
vase.
"I know how you feel now. You can just cry. You are still a child and don't need to withhold. It's cold on
the ground. Let's stand up, okay?"
Samuel's voice was soft and gentle, but Joseph didn't seem to hear it.
Nicole couldn't help but take a step forward and came to Joseph.
"Joseph, let me take you back to rest. It's really cold on the ground. Or do you want Lucas to come
back to accompany you?"
Hearing this, Laurel was dumbfounded.
"Right, where's Lucas? Where did Lucas go?"
Their people said, "Young Master went to City A. We haven't heard from him yet."
"What?"
Nicole suddenly became flustered.
They were in such a mess in City A, but Lucas still didn't show up. Did he have any trouble?
"When did he leave? Send people to find him now!"
"Yes!"
After their people left, Nicole looked at Joseph in front of her and felt sorry again.
"Joseph, come to me, will you?"
Joseph resisted.
He was resisting everyone, muttering something.
Only when Nicole got closer did she hear it clearly.
He said, "I want my daddy. I want my own daddy!"
Nicole cried again.
Everyone had their reasons, but no matter what, as long as they hurt an innocent kid, they were
unforgivable.
Nicole couldn't help but hug him directly. She sobbed out, "Sorry, I didn't protect your daddy well. It was
my fault. Can you give me a chance to love you well? Joseph, you are the best kid in the world. Let's
go to sleep now, then I will take you to buy some snacks and toys, okay?"
"I want Daddy."
Joseph kept repeating.
Laurel felt so sorry when she saw this.
"Joseph, it was my fault. I'm sorry. Actually, that person isn't your..."
"Mom, that's enough. Please go back and rest now."
Samuel interrupted Laurel immediately.
When things already ended up like this and the damage was done, Joseph would be hurt again if they
told him that person was not his daddy and his daddy died five years ago.
Laurel immediately stopped.
How could she be so senile and didn't realize this?
Five years ago, they thought their plan to lure Mark out was almost flawless. Now that Mark appeared,
what did they get?
Her dead son couldn't come back, and Bruce was also dead. Now, even her grandson became like
this. Moreover, she didn't know if Mark was still alive. It was not worth it at all. How could she lost her
mind and be so persistent back then?
Laurel seemed to be ten years older in the blink of an eye.
She trembled and wanted Wendy to help her stand steady, only to find Wendy was no longer here.
Sure enough, she also lost Wendy. Moreover, she lost Samuel's love for her.
Feeling bad, Laurel put her hand on her heart and turned around to leave step by step. Her lonely
figure was pitiful.
Joseph did not have much reaction to all of this. He seemed to have locked himself in his own world,
ignoring everyone and saying nothing.
Nicole felt so sorry that she didn't know what to do and looked helplessly at Samuel.
"What should we do?"
"Take him to rest now."
Samuel forcibly picked Joseph up.
This time, Joseph did not struggle. Samuel carried him to the bed easily. However, he quickly curled up
at the edge of the bed, lying with his back facing everyone.
The small kid looked extremely weak, lonely, helpless, and fragile on the large bed.
Nicole sat by the bed and said softly, "Joseph, have a good rest. Tell me what you want to eat, and I will
cook for you, okay? Don't you like the dishes I cook most?"
Joseph didn't respond.
Samuel sighed lightly. He asked someone to tidy up the room and said to Nicole, "Let him rest alone for
a while. How is your arm? Do you need Gabrielle to come and check you up?"
"No, I'm good."
Nicole was still a little worried, but now Joseph seemed to be asleep.
Nicole felt that Joseph, a kid, was too quiet now after such a bad thing happened. However, now that
Joseph refused to communicate with them, she had no choice but to hope that Joseph could slowly
walk out of the shadow of losing his daddy.
The two of them gently closed the door.
The entire Green family became somewhat depressed because of what happened to Joseph.
"By the way, Satan gave me an address and a phone number. She said this person is a master in
hypnosis. Go to see him. Perhaps he can help you remove the hypnosis command in your mind."
Nicole took out the note immediately.
However, Samuel frowned and said, "I'll wait for now and see how Joseph does. Besides, we haven't
heard from Lucas yet. How long has he been gone?"
When their people heard Samuel's question, they said immediately, "He's been gone for a while. He
went by helicopter."
"Then he should have arrived long ago. Why haven't we heard anything from him? Send someone to
check his route."
"Got it!"
Nicole thought for a moment and whispered, "Joseph likes Zoe most. Should we bring Zoe back?
Perhaps Zoe can cheer him up."
"Sounds good. Too many things have happened these days and our family is breaking down. From
now on, no matter what happens, let's be together forever. Joseph will be our son from now on, okay?"
Samuel looked at Nicole with pain deep in his eyes.
Nobody felt worse than him.
Before he could digest the sad news that Vincent was fake and his younger brother had passed away
five years ago, Joseph broke down.
Samuel took care of Joseph for four years and had been treating him as his own son since Joseph was
young. Now, Samuel felt really agonized as if he was being cut into pieces seeing Joseph like this.
"Sure, he has always been our child. I will love him more and treat him better."
Nicole always felt a lump at her throat.
"Thank you, Nicole. I appreciate it."
Samuel hugged Nicole tightly and whispered, "I want to hug you for a while. Just for a while."
He was so fragile. It was so sad.
Nicole hugged him tightly and said softly, "It will be OK. Everything will be fine. It was Mark's fault. I will
not let him go."
"Me neither, but now it's not time to deal with him yet. My heart seems to be about to explode. I want to
kill people. I want to scream. I want to vent my anger. But I can't do anything. I am the backbone of the
Green family and Joseph's father, so I have to hold on. But darling, I'm afraid I really can't hold on any
longer."
Samuel had never said these to Nicole before, but now he was like a child showing his fragility in front
of her. Nicole felt extremely sorry.
"You will be fine. You still have me and I'll help you. I'll help you get through and support the Green
family. From now on, no matter what happens, I won't stand behind under your protection. Samuel, I
really want to protect you and take care of you."
Samuel hugged Nicole tightly. Nicole felt something warm dripped onto her shoulder, turning hot and
burning.
He cried!
Nicole barely saw Samuel cry. She didn't know if he was crying over Vincent's death or Joseph's
sorrow but clearly knew that this was Samuel's most vulnerable moment. She had never felt so sorry.
After about five minutes, Samuel finally calmed down.
He let go of Nicole and said somewhat embarrassedly, "Am I lame?"
"No. That makes you a man of flesh and blood who doesn't seem so unreachable to me. Thank you for
showing me your fragility. Samuel, let's work hard together, and everything will be fine."
"Sure!"
Samuel pulled Nicole's hand to his lips and kissed it. "I will leave the families to you. There are still
many things I have to deal with out there. The design drawing and the authorization contract were sent
out. I don't know what they will do. This is very important and I can't ignore it, but Joseph and Lucas..."
"Don't worry. I'm here. I will take good care of them."
Hearing Nicole's words, Samuel felt relieved.
"And my mother..."
Samuel eventually looked at Laurel's room with a trace of sadness flashed in his eyes. He said in a low
voice, "Although I am very angry, she is old. I know the harm she gave you can't be erased with an
apology. Although she did this to revenge for Vincent, it was her fault to risk your life. I won't interfere
as long as you can vent your anger. "
Nicole paused for a moment.
Indeed, although what Laurel and Bruce did was understandable, she still couldn't forgive them
completely.
Laurel, who had treated her so well, could actually risk her life at the last moment. Nicole felt bitterly
disappointed.
She had really wanted to treat Laurel as her biological mother. But now, she didn't know when she
could forgive Laurel completely.
"Aren't you afraid that I will really do something to her? What if you get the reputation as an unfilial
son?"
Samuel shook his head and said, "Don't worry about me. I couldn't stop my mother from risking your
life, and I can't help you untie your emotional knot now. I'm sorry that you have to go through all this
with me."
Nicole almost burst into tears again.
She had endured so much to love and marry Samuel. Now, when Samuel said he was sorry, she
actually recalled all the sadness she had went through.
She suddenly threw herself into Samuel's embrace and whispered, "I'm happy to hear you say that."
"Silly girl!"
Samuel stroked her hair and comforted her.
The news of Lucas came.
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