Chapter 17

Luna was unfazed at the man’s cold gaze as she nodded lightly. “Understood.” She then headed upstairs, but she paused just as she reached the top. “Ms. Gibson came to the house early this morning and smashed the photos. Ms. Nellie was unhappy all day. If you can’t handle your relationship with Ms. Gibson, don’t just fulfill Nellie’s request, then there won’t be a situation where both women are unhappy.” Joshua looked at her back that faced him, his voice colder than the surrounding air as he uttered, “Are you trying to teach me how I should handle my affairs?” “It’s just a suggestion.” Luna’s voice was calm and emotionless. “After all, if Ms. Nellie is always unhappy, it will only increase my workload.” With that, she raised her feet and headed upstairs, leaving behind nothing but an indifferent back view. The man sat on the sofa and frowned at her retreating form. ... Early the next morning, Aura received a call from Lucas before she even woke up. “Ms. Gibson, I’m downstairs. Mr. Lynch told me to come and pick you up. He wants to see you.” “Joshua wants to see me!?” Aura jumped out of her bed in excitement. It was the first time throughout the years Joshua approached her early in the morning. “One minute. I’ll be downstairs after I put on some makeup!” An hour later, Aura, with a delicate layer of makeup on her face and a long dress wrapped around her frame, stepped out and opened the car door elegantly. In the back seat of the car, Joshua, dressed in black, sat with closed eyes as he rested. When she got into the car, she was so surprised that her voice trembled, “Joshua, I didn’t expect you to come personally...” The man interrupted her calmly, “Lucas, go to the restaurant.” At the restaurant… Joshua lowered his head as he, eating his breakfast, began lightly, “In half a month, I plan to take you to grandma’s birthday party. After all, you’ve lived as my fiancée for six years. It’s time for a change of your status.” Aura’s eyes lit up. Sure enough, Joshua came to her early in the morning because he had good news to announce! She was inwardly delighted, yet she maintained a shy disposition. “I don’t mind… I do.” Joshua merely looked up at her indifferently. “I’ll announce on the day of my grandma’s birthday party that our engagement is over.” Clang! Aura’s fork suddenly fell on the table as she gawked at Joshua in shock. “Joshua, what do you mean?” Joshua ate his breakfast gracefully. “I promised to maintain my relationship with you as an unmarried couple, firstly to fulfill Luna Gibson’s last wish. Second, once she died, we would have nothing to do with each other, so you needed another identity for me to protect you. “I also said at the beginning that if you and I meet someone we love in the future, this ridiculous engagement can be terminated at any time.” Aura bit her lip firmly. “But Joshua, neither you nor I met the person we love.” “But Nellie came back.” Joshua put down his knife and fork and looked at Aura’s face indifferently. “Nellie’s existence proves that Luna Gibson didn’t die six years ago. Since my wife is still alive, I shouldn’t maintain this relationship with you. “Besides.” The man lowered his head to drink his soup. “You don’t get along well with Nellie. The servant said yesterday that you made Nellie unhappy all day, so this contract ends here.” He put down the empty bowl. “On Grandma’s birthday, I’ll announce Nellie’s identity first, and then announce the dissolution of our engagement.” With that, he got up and strode away. Aura remained at her seat, her hands clenched into fists. Seeing Joshua’s car leaving mercilessly, Aura finally broke down and swept all the tableware on the table to the ground! Crash! Shing! Clang! She was under the impression she was in for a beautiful start when he asked to meet her early in the morning, but he suddenly wanted to break their engagement because of Nellie, that little brat! The woman’s eyes narrowed angrily. It was all the little brat’s fault! Joshua would not treat her like this if she did not come back! She had just returned for three days, and Joshua no longer wanted her! If she did not get rid of that little brat, she was no Aura Gibson! Luna Gibson did not dare to show up by herself and instead sent a little girl like her as a sacrificial lamb. So be it! ... Noon. Aura carried a lunch box into the Lynch Group building. When she entered Joshua’s office, he had just finished his morning meeting. The man frowned. “What are you doing here?” Aura smiled and put down the lunch box. “To bring you food, Brother-in-law.” The term startled Joshua. He frowned. “Why are you calling me that?” “Since my sister is still alive and our engagement will be dissolved soon, I’ll address you as Brother-in-law from now on, just like before.” Aura smiled and passed the food to Joshua. “After our talk in the morning, I thought about it a lot. You’re right; I haven’t been fulfilling my responsibility recently. “Even if we end our engagement, you will be my brother-in-law, and Nellie will be my niece, right?” Joshua nodded. “It’s only a pity that Nellie doesn’t like me...” The woman sighed and graciously handed the fork to Joshua. “Brother-in-law, I’d like to take Nellie out tomorrow afternoon for a bonding session. After all, we’ll all be a family in the future. I hope Nellie won’t hate me so much,” Aura said sincerely. Joshua hesitated for a while, then nodded. That was good. Judging from Aura’s attitude, she was regretting her actions. She and Nellie—one of them was Luna Gibson’s sister, and the other was her daughter. They should not be in conflict in the first place. “Thank you, Brother-in-law!” Malice twinkled momentarily in her eyes. “I’ll go make preparations, then!” At dinner, Joshua told Nellie of his decision. “I don’t want to hang out with her!” Nellie rolled her eyes, her expression full of aversion. “She’s so fierce!” Joshua sighed lightly. “Nellie, she is your aunt after all.” If Luna Gibson was there, she would be reluctant to see Nellie and Aura bicker and fight, would she not? In Luna’s eyes, however, his kindness held a different meaning. Aura hurt Nellie again and again, but Joshua still tried to persuade Nellie to bond with her... In this man’s heart, she did not know how important Nellie was, but she knew that Aura should be the most important one to him. Sadness surged in her chest. “Luna.” The man’s sudden call to her pulled her out of her thoughts. He glanced at her calmly. “You’ll go with Nellie tomorrow. I’ll also send a few extra guards to follow you.” Luna sighed. “Do I have to?” “This isn’t something you as a servant should care about; you just need to take good care of Nellie.” “...Yes, Sir.” After dinner, Nellie went back to her room and rolled over on her bed. “I don’t want to bond with that woman! I only have that much love, and after giving it to Mommy, I can’t give it to others anymore!” Her disposition amused Luna, and as she comforted her, she texted Nigel. It had been another day that she had not seen her son, and she missed the brat. [Mommy. Don’t go to Aura’s date tomorrow.] Looking at the contents of Aura’s phone synced on the tablet, it was clearly titled, [Kill the b*stard.] Although there was no specific plan, a chill grew in his chest as he read the title. [Mommy, don’t go, do you understand?!]