Chapter 73 Invasion
Inside the hospital.
"Harper, I'm sorry for dragging you into these troublesome matters with Thorne," Delaney said as tears welled up in her eyes. She was getting older and couldn't control her emotions when she was upset.
Harper's eyes also turned red. "Delaney, you used to protect me, and now it's my turn to protect you."
Thorne was a useless man who never stayed at home. Delaney had to support them by picking up garbage and endured a lot of hardships.
Because of her illness, Delaney had little chance of leaving the hospital.
"I'm not worried about other things. I'm just afraid that when I'm gone, there won't be anyone to take care of you. I won't be at peace even if I die," Delaney said.
Harper wiped away her tears and said, "Delaney, don't say that. You will definitely live a long life, and we agreed to go back to our ancestral home together after some time."
A glimmer of hope emerged in Delaney's cloudy eyes as she muttered, "Can we still go back?"
"Of course we can. Even though Thorne sold our ancestral home, I have rented it, and in the future, I will buy it back," Harper replied.
Delaney held Harper's hand and said happily, "That's great then."
She paused and added, "Harper, I don't know if I can wait until that day. Yesterday, I dreamt of your father. He wanted me to go see him. I feel like I don't have much time left."
Harper didn't want to cry in front of Delaney, but she couldn't control her tears.
Delaney trembled as he pulled out a red envelope and handed it to Harper. Inside was a piece of jewelry.
"This was something you carried with you when you were a child, and now you should keep it with you for your safety," Delaney said.
Every word Delaney spoke felt like a testament, and Harper felt a heavy sadness in her heart as she hugged Delaney and burst into tears.
"Delaney, I got married a long time ago, but the situation is a bit complicated, which is why I didn't tell you," Harper said.
Delaney was shocked and asked when it happened.
Harper explained the whole process in detail, only omitting the part about the contractual marriage.
Finally, she told Delaney, "He's someone I've liked for a long time. He will come to see you as soon as he's done with his work."
When Harper left the hospital, it was already dark outside.
She went straight back to the Moou Residence.
Thinking about what she had said to Delaney today, she sent Francis a text message asking if he had arrived.
Harper checked the flight schedule, and Francis should have arrived by now.
A long time passed, but there was no reply from the other side. Harper fell asleep.
Just as the day was breaking, her phone rang.
Still feeling groggy, Harper answered the call, and it was Francis's voice.
"Darling, did I wake you up?" Francis's voice was clear and sweet, even through the phone.
Still half asleep, Harper replied, "Are you done with your work?"
"Yes, there were a lot of things to attend to, but I just got my phone," he said.
The sound of footsteps came from the other end, and Harper casually asked, "Are you going back to the hotel now?"
"I've arrived. Would you like to come and keep me company?" Francis also teased her.
For some reason, Harper felt that after they reconciled, their relationship had taken on a slight dating-like feeling.
They hadn't had this kind of progression before, and their interactions with each other had mostly been confined to the bedroom.
"But you were supposed to come back soon," she said, turning over in bed.
There was a sudden pause on the other end, and after a while, Francis spoke again.
"Harper, are you trying to seduce me?" he asked.
Harper was taken aback. "What?"
"The way you are right now makes me want to fly back immediately," Francis said.
Harper was puzzled, then she looked at her phone and realized that Francis was making a video call.
And in the phone, she wasn't wearing anything under her pajamas, clearly showing her silhouette.
Full and enticing.
On the other end, Francis continued to unbutton his shirt with his fingers bent, his voice becoming hoarser. "Why do I feel like you've gotten bigger?"
In an instant, her face turned red, and she quickly covered herself tightly with a thin blanket.
But Francis didn't give her a chance to be shy, continuing, "I noticed it at the office, it seemed much bigger."
(Note: The translation has been modified to meet the given requirements.)
Thinking of that day in the office, he buried his head and kissed and nibbled. Harper immediately couldn't communicate anymore and exclaimed in embarrassment, "Francis!"
"This should be called darling." He said seriously.
Harper certainly couldn't say it, and Francis didn't hold on to it either. Instead, he said, "Let's call each other that once we go back, it's unbearable now."
Harper blushed and wanted to tell him about today's events, but at that moment, the doorbell suddenly rang.
Francis walked over and exchanged a few words with the person outside in a foreign language. The tone behind him became quite serious, and since he didn't hold his phone next to his face, Harper couldn't hear clearly.
Soon, he said, "Go back to sleep, I'm hanging up first."
Then, he hung up in a hurry.
Harper couldn't fall asleep now. She recalled that just now on the phone, it seemed like the person outside told Francis that a lady was looking for him.
Although she couldn't hear clearly, that uneasiness in her heart couldn't be suppressed.
She laid on the bed for a while, and Molly called to invite her to lunch.
When they arrived at the restaurant, Harper saw Molly and was taken aback. Molly had cut her long hair to just above her ears.
"You cut your hair?"
Molly touched her short hair and asked, "Don't you think it's good?"
"It feels different from before, but it looks good."
Molly was a beauty with long hair, and now with short hair, she was a wild beauty.
She felt particularly difficult to conquer.
Harper sensed that Molly's spirits were low and asked, "What's wrong?"
Molly smiled and said, "It's nothing. Someone used to say that they would marry me when my hair was long and reached my waist, but since no one is marrying me, I decided to cut it off."
Harper knew who Molly was referring to but didn't know how to console her, so she simply didn't say anything.
Molly suddenly asked, "Did Francis go abroad?"
Harper was stunned and asked, "Uh, how did you know?"
Molly had been busy dealing with Robert lately and had no idea about Harper and Francis reconciling.
She said, "I saw it on Chloe's social media."
Harper felt like her heart had dropped to the floor.
She tried to remain calm and asked, "What social media?"
Molly opened her phone and went to Chloe's profile. Inside was a selfie of herself wearing a light-colored beret, looking very healthy.
The caption read, "Someone picked me up from the airport, my heart feels warm."
It also included the location.
The post was made thirty minutes after Francis hung up the phone.
And Harper immediately saw Francis, who was holding her suitcase for her, in the photo, although only his profile was shown, he was still recognizable.
There were comments from people who knew both of them saying, "They have such a good relationship."
Chloe replied with a smiley face.
In the eyes of their mutual friends, they were a couple.
Harper couldn't find the words, her heart ached as if being twisted by knives.
Observing her distress, Molly sensed that something was amiss but opted to proceed nonetheless, feeling it was best to confront the issue head-on.
After a moment of silence, she said, "Harper, do you know what is the hardest thing to break through in the world? It's first love. It is the eternal redemption in a man's heart. Even if he likes you now, as long as something happens to his first love, you will only be a substitute. A man with first love in his heart will always see you as an alternative."
Just like Robert with Quinn, Quinn had a terrible reputation, but he was still willing to spend time and money to deal with her messes.
All because she was his first love.
After finishing their meal, the driver dropped off Harper, and Molly went to her own car.
After taking a few steps, she realized she forgot her bag and went back to get it, also stopping by the restroom.
But before she took a few more steps, she saw a familiar figure ahead.
Robert was accompanying Quinn for dinner. They seemed to have just arrived and were preparing to go to the private room upstairs.
As they walked toward each other, Molly lowered her head and felt a bit nervous, nearly bumping into Robert.
"Be careful," Robert's elegant voice rang in her ears.
Robert held onto Molly's arm with his large hand, his thumb rubbing against it briefly before letting go.
Molly's heart raced, unsure of what his gesture meant in front of Quinn.
She tried to remain calm and said, "Thank you."
She turned and went toward the restroom.
Quinn glanced at Robert's expression, then looked at Molly. She thought for a moment and said, "Is it that all you men like these kinds of wild women?"
Her voice was just loud enough for Molly to hear.
Immediately, Molly's footsteps halted, her face losing color.
Her short haircut was indeed refreshing.
Robert withdrew his gaze and calmly replied, "If it's just for fun, men like the flirtatious ones."
His voice was still elegant but felt like a slap to Molly's face.
Quinn smiled sweetly and stopped talking, linking arms with Robert and going upstairs.
Inside the restroom, Molly harshly splashed cold water on her face, tears welling up in her eyes.
She wasn't sad, but she felt like she had brought shame to the Koch family. In reality, news of Molly's situation had already spread within their social circle.
People were saying that as long as there was money, Molly, from the Koch family, knew more tricks than a circus troupe.
The door was pushed open.
Molly quickly wiped the corners of her eyes, took her bag, and prepared to leave.
Turning his head, he saw the face of Zhang Junmei, beautiful as ever, which startled him and left him unable to move.
Robert's aggression was evident in his eyes, causing Molly to panic subconsciously. Her mind went blank and she instinctively wanted to escape through the door.
But the man grabbed her wrist and locked the door with a click.
"What are you trying to do?" Molly's eyes were filled with panic.
Robert raised an eyebrow and pushed Molly onto the sink with a backhand.
He raised her hands high, his eyes filled with contempt. "Crash into me, aren't you just waiting for me?"
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