Falling in Love With A One-Night Stand

Chapter 473 The Tender Side of Him

“Did he tell you anything about what he did in Ireland?” 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 blame 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 got completely into character and began talking gibberish. Somehow, she even found it amusing.

Hearing that, Joanna flushed.

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

“I went to Ireland at the time to visit my relatives. 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. We later 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 overcome 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. Seconds later, 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’t come to hear their love story, but she still felt sad about what happened between them. Having thought for a while, Anna explained, “I guess he did so because he didn’t want to become 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 England after that and that he wanted to live a peaceful life with me in a village. 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 England ahead of time. We then lived in a small village. 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 me later 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.” Property © NôvelDrama.Org.

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

“By the way, | saw a woman come 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 shift later, so I’m leaving now. I’ll come back and visit you later. 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 Isabella returned to the villa, Gary had been waiting for her at the door all morning. His eyes widened as he noticed Isabella approaching. Excitedly, he snatched the maid’s hand and jumped on Isabella.

Isabella burst out laughing. When she looked down, she noticed the little guy rubbing his head against her thigh. He was so adorable that Isabella, an eighteen-year-old girl, wanted to be his mother.

“Gary! What are you doing here?” Isabella 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, explained, “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, Isabella 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,” Isabella 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, Isabella 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?”