Chapter 12

After Skylar paid the deposit, she arranged to collect the car tomorrow. As she was walking out of the car dealership, she received a call from Amelia. "How have you been, Skye? Why didn't you come visit me in the hospital?" Amelia's voice made Skye remember how she had treated Amelia like her own mom in her past life. Whenever Amelia had been in the hospital, Skylar had accompanied her. The patients in the same ward had even thought she was Amelia's daughter. But in the end, she had found out that Amelia had known that Christopher and Maisy were together. After Skylar had amputated her legs, Amelia called her and made her break up with Christopher, saying that she wasn't a good match for Christopher. She had said that since Skylar was an amputee, she was an even worse match than she had been to begin with. Her harsh and sharp tone on that call was completely different from how warm and polite she sounded now. In Skylar's past life, she had cried after being hurt by that phone call. Now, she was numb. "I've broken up with Christopher like you hoped for. Stop calling me." "Wh—" Skylar had already hung up. Amelia lay on the hospital bed and looked at her phone. She was stunned. Skylar had been trying to please her and Christopher so much. Why was she so angsty today? Wasn't she afraid that Amelia would be angry at her? She frowned and sent a voice message to Christopher. "I just spoke with Skye. She said she's broken up with you. She even hung up on me! What's happening?" Christopher was enjoying his dinner with Maisy. When he received Amelia's voice message, he opted to convert it into text. He started to feel anxious after he read it. What was going on with Skylar? … Joe stood looking at the night view of Lindfield at 10:00 pm from the top level of Jubilance Hotel's presidential suite. Paul knocked on the door and walked in agitatedly. "Mr. Martin, Ms. Sullivan was right! My emerald charm has a tainted past! It's a stolen good!" He'd sent someone to investigate, and he was shocked by the results. The previous owner of his emerald charm had been poisoned to death! No one knew what poison had been used. After the emerald charm had been stolen, it had turned black and purple. It had only been restored to its original emerald color after some repairs. After he explained everything to Joe, he raised his arm. "The hairs on my hand are standing, even now!" Joe raised the cigarette between his fingers to his thin lips. There was a hint of surprise in his unreadable gaze. "If that's the case, return the emerald charm as she advised." "I've just sent it out! I don't want it anymore. It's caused me bad luck again and again. It's too scary!" Paul replied fearfully. … Three days later, Skylar drove her new energy vehicle back from the antique street to Pearlhall Residence. She'd received a call from Gloria 40 minutes ago. Gloria was feeling unwell. Skylar gave her car keys to Edgar so that he could park her car in the parking space. Then, she walked into the mansion anxiously. Skylar saw Joe as soon as she walked in. He was wearing a white shirt. He had broad shoulders, long legs, and outstanding physical features. When Joe heard her enter, he raised his head to look at her. His gaze was warm when he was caring for Gloria. However, when he looked at her, his eyes were void of any emotion. Skylar paused when she saw that Joe was frowning slightly. Skylar belatedly realized that she was wearing a very plain set of casual sportswear. Furthermore, her white T-shirt was clearly spotted with stains. She had rushed to the mansion without changing her clothes before she had left Daniel's store. She raised her head again after glancing down at her appearance. "How's Grandma?" Joe replied coldly, "She's upstairs." Skylar didn't care about Joe's cold tone or how he treated her. She gave him a nod and went up the stairs. When she walked past Joe, he stopped her. "Ms. Sullivan, let's talk about something before you see Grandma." Skylar stopped and tilted her head at him. "What is it, Mr. Martin?" "Grandma's not feeling well, and she needs company. She wants us to stay at the mansion for a few days." Joe's gaze turned serious. Skylar agreed. "I've no problem with that. I can stay with Grandma here." "She wants us to stay in a room together." Joe's eyes darkened as he looked at Skylar. Skylar was slightly taken aback. Her long eyelashes trembled. "I… I'll talk to Grandma—" "You know her health condition. We wouldn't have gotten married if it hadn't been for her. The doctor said we shouldn't upset her too much. So, we can just put up an act when we are in front of her," Joe said. "We don't love each other. This is just an act. Don't worry, I won't touch you." He went upstairs first after he finished speaking. Skylar was left stunned on the spot as she looked at his well-dressed figure. She quickly came to her senses. It was just an act. She would do it as long as it could make Gloria happy. However, Joe had intentionally mentioned that they didn't love each other. Was he reminding her that it was just an act and that she shouldn't fall in love with him? He was worried for nothing. If he hadn't left so fast, she would have told him he had nothing to worry about. When she reached upstairs, she saw that Gloria was lying weakly on the bed. She quickly went up to the bed. "Grandma." When Gloria heard Skylar's soft voice, she pushed Joe aside. "Skye, come over quickly." Joe's mouth twitched; he couldn't help but feel abandoned. Skylar came to the bedside and asked gently, "How are you, Grandma? Where are you feeling unwell?" Gloria shook her head weakly. "I'm alright. I'm just feeling weak. I feel better after seeing you two." "Are you having a headache? I'll give you a massage. When I was in the countryside, Grandma Viola liked my head massages. I'll go wash my hands." Skylar walked out. She'd forgotten to wash her hands before coming up. Joe raised his brows silently. She was trying hard to please Gloria. He didn't believe that she had no ulterior motives. After Skylar left, Gloria turned to look at the cold and unmoving Joe. She snorted inwardly. What use was he? He even had to rely on his grandmother to get a wife! When Skylar returned after washing her hands, Gloria shook her head tiredly and said, "I'm tired. I'm going to take a nap. Skye, Joe has always had migraines. Why don't you give him a massage instead?" Skylar froze. Joe hadn't expected Gloria to say that either. "Edgar, observe and learn from Skye. She probably has better skills than any masseuse or physiotherapist out there. You can give me more massage sessions after learning from her." Gloria was sharp enough to ask Edgar to keep an eye on them.