Chapter 473 The Tender Side of Him


    “Did he tell you anything about what he did in Irnd?” Joanna paused for a moment before lowering


    her head again. She looked upset. “I’m the one who got him in trouble,” Joanna said after a while.


    “Joanna, don’t me yourself. All of that was in the past! You should stop dwelling on the bad


    memories now that he’s doing great. He’s such a good guy! | would have married him if | wasn’t


    married,” Anna said. She gotpletely into character and began talking gibberish. Somehow, she


    even found it amusing.


    Hearing that, Joanna flushed.


    “I’ve heard you two met in Irnd. Can you tell me more about it?” Anna changed the topic.


    Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDra/ma.O(r)g!


    “I went to Irnd at the time to visit my rtives. A friend of mine took me to a pub one day. We had


    too much to drink, and some hooligans hit on us. Bill was working at that bar that day, and he saved


    me. Weter became friends,” Joanna said, smilingly.


    Then she continued, “Bill used to work as a bouncer at the bar, and | often went there with him. Nearly


    every day, he had to fight to maintain the order and was frequently in danger as a result. | couldn’t stop


    crying every time while bandaging his wounds. And whenever he smiled at me, | felt as if nothing else


    mattered.”


    “Do you like him?” Anna asked, observing her expression.


    Joanna’s eyes widened immediately. She was about to deny it when she was ovee with sadness.


    She felt nothing was important to her


    right now since she would die soon. ‘472 The Tender Side of Him


    With a mocking expression, she nodded her head and answered, “One time, as his boss requested, Bill


    had to fight for his boss’ girlfriend. In the fight. Bill was stabbed through the stomach several times.


    When the fight Was over, he thought he was going to die, so he told me he loved me right away. He


    said that if he had met me sooner, he would have married me.”


    “And what happened then?” Anna asked. She was surprised to hear such a story and had mixed


    feelings when she looked at Joanna’s slim figure


    Though her eyes were welling up with tears, Joanna tried hard to suppress her sadness. Secondster,


    she smiled and said, “He survived. But after that, he refused to see me and refused to admit that he


    told me he loved me that day. | was pissed by his attitude and asked him what was going on. And he


    told me he would treat me as his sister. That’s why he told everyone I’m his sister from then on.”


    Hearing that, Anna furrowed her brow. She didn’te to hear their love story, but she still felt sad


    about what happened between them. Having thought for a while, Anna exined, “I guess he did so


    because he didn’t want to be a burden to you.”


    Although Anna’s words weren’t pleasant, Joanna had no choice but to nod as she also had the same


    thought. Of course, she was aware of Bill’s concerns, except that she believed love was the most


    powerful thing in the world back then.


    “I knew he had wanted to leave the gang for years. He had promised to take me back to Ennd after


    that and that he wanted to live a peaceful life with me in a vige. Then the police arrested the whole


    gang. But before that happened, there was already an internal conflict in the gang. | heard that the


    boss’s girlfriend exposed them to the cops.” ‘472 The Tender Side of Him


    Boss’ girlfriend? Is it possible that it’s Ada? Anna couldn’t stop thinking about the possibility, but she


    didn’t believe it was possible.


    Joanna continued, “Bill knew that all of this would happen, so he brought me to Ennd ahead of time.


    We then lived in a small vige. But | got sick just as | thought everything was going to be fine.”


    Anna took Joanna’s hand in hers, tightening her grip as she touched those thin fingers. As she touched


    the thin fingers, she subconsciously tightened her grip. “Didn’t your doctors find you a bone marrow


    match?” She asked.


    Joanna didn’t appear to be at ease and said worriedly, “Well, the operation costs a lot. We don’t have


    that much money. Bill told meter that he was about to gain enough money for the surgery. Somehow,


    | have a feeling that he’s doing something illegal to raise the money.”


    As Joanna realized she had said too much, she immediately shut her mouth.


    “By the way, | saw a womane to our store looking for him the other day,” Anna said after a brief


    pause.


    Joanna widened her eyes and tightened her grip on Anna’s arm. She appeared terrified and nervous.


    Then she asked sharply, reaching out her right hand and pointing to the back of her left hand, “What?


    What does she look like? Does she have a tattoo here on the back of her hand?”


    “No,” Anna replied. When she saw Joanna’s reaction, Anna instantly knew her guesses were correct.


    She paused for a moment before deciding not to continue the topic.


    With a faint smile, Anna shook her head and said, “No. The woman Was around twenty years old, and


    dressed in style. She was skinny and tall, with long curly hair.”


    Joanna felt less anxious and realized she had overreacted. “That’s not ‘472 The Tender Side of Him


    her,” she said as she sat down again, holding the chair behind her with an awkward smile.


    Anna nodded, pretending not to notice Joanna’s reaction. She then got to her feet, grabbed her bag,


    and said, “Thank you very much, Joanna. | have a shiftter, so I’m leaving now. I’lle back and


    visit youter. You are avery kind woman, and Bill is a lucky guy to have you.”


    When Anna said that, she meant it. She tightened her grip on her bag and turned to stride away. She


    felt they’d run into each other again, but everything would be different by then.


    When Isabe returned to the vi, Gary had been waiting for her at the door all morning. His eyes


    widened as he noticed Isabe approaching. Excitedly, he snatched the maid’s hand and jumped on


    Isabe.


    Isabe burst outughing. When she looked down, she noticed the little guy rubbing his head against


    her thigh. He was so adorable that Isabe, an eighteen-year-old girl, wanted to be his mother.


    “Gary! What are you doing here?” Isabe asked him as she took Gary’s hand and led him to the


    sightseeing car. She didn’t expect Gary to be waiting for her at the gate, a ten-minute walk from the


    house.


    Wendy, the maid, exined, “Gary has been here since seven o’clock in the morning. He wouldn’t


    leave until he saw you. He’s been sitting on this stone bench since the morning.”


    Hearing Wendy’s words, Isabe was both surprised and regretful. She leaned in, trying to say


    something. Suddenly, she noticed Gary looking at her with delight.


    “I’m sorry, I’ll be here on time from now on,” Isabe said as she smiled and reached out to touch the


    little guy’s nose. She raised her right hand as if she was swearing. ‘472 The Tender Side of Him Gary


    smiled, nodded, and said, “Okay.” Taken aback, Isabe pinched Gary’s pale little face. When she let


    go, two white fingerprints appeared on his face, but they quickly vanished. “That hurts,” Gary said as he


    patted his face.


    Gary, you can talk now?”