CHAPTER 85: CHAPTER 85: AFTER DOING ENOUGH, WILL GO BACK

When he was fifteen, he suffered a severe injury due to a plotted accident, leaving his legs disabled. His mother took him away from this treacherous place to recover in Cloudsea.

But the Harper Family didn’t intend to let him off.

"No way!" Florence Fuller’s voice trembled, "Ethan Harper, you must be lying to me... you must be!"

Abigail Monrose was perhaps, besides Amelia Linney, the best elder to her.

After she returned to the Fuller Family, Laura Yates and Michael Fuller directly arranged everything for her to re-enroll in school. Her academic progress couldn’t keep up, and she wanted to continue learning the violin, but the Fuller Family refused her, citing her poor academic performance.

She wanted to study abroad, but the Fuller Family didn’t allow it either.

Then Abigail came over, and Florence didn’t know how she convinced Laura Yates and Michael Fuller.

Ethan became her tutor. On the surface, Abigail became her cello teacher, but in fact, she hired a teacher outside to come and teach her at her own expense.

So she could stay for long periods at Ethan’s house, and Abigail even prepared a room specifically for her.

The Fuller Family became a place she increasingly hated to return to.

Ethan Harper held her silently, and in his embrace, Florence cried, even if she didn’t want to believe it, she knew deep down that Ethan would never joke with her.

She wouldn’t dare to speak recklessly about it either.

So, Aunt Monrose really...

Florence raised her head, her teary eyes overflowing: "Where... where is she?"

"France... in the Harper family cemetery." Ethan looked at her, "Later on... we’ll send her back to the Monrose Family, it’s our mother’s last wish."

"Can’t we... do it now?" Florence asked.

"Can you leave here now?" Ethan responded gently, "You haven’t resolved the matters at hand yet."

"She surely dislikes it there... The longer Aunt Monrose stays there, the more uneasy she’ll be. Once I’m done here... we’ll send her home."

Ethan looked at her deeply, "Alright."

Florence wiped her incessant tears away, her appetite gone in front of the table full of dishes.

She suddenly got up and quietly walked towards her bedroom.

Not long after, Ethan saw her carrying out a secure combination box.

Florence placed it on the table, entered the code, and with a click, the lock sprang open.

Her hand rested on the box for a moment before she shakily opened it.

Inside the velvet box, a set of sapphire blue jewelry was neatly displayed, glistening under the lights.

Crown, earrings, necklace, and ring.

"Aunt Monrose’s coming-of-age gift on my eighteenth birthday." Tears landed on the sapphire of the crown, and Florence gently wiped them away: "At the time, I wondered why she was so silly to give such expensive things to a child unrelated by blood."

Ethan said nothing.

"She said this set was her coming-of-age gift when she was eighteen, she was very happy, very excited, and wore it to her own coming-of-age ceremony."

As someone who’d been through it, Abigail obviously understood a girl’s thoughts. When she gave this sapphire set to Florence, she also wished this child could feel the same joy she did when she received it back then.

Excitement, happiness, joy, awe.

Abigail indeed felt that way.

She even joked with her, "Once you marry Ethan, all my things will be yours."

Florence was too shy to accept the things back then, and this remark made her blush entirely.

"She really wanted to throw a grand banquet for you... but unfortunately..." Ethan looked at her.

Florence was the child of the Fuller Family; they wouldn’t meddle in arranging such a grand celebration, but thankfully, her birthday was still a happy day.

The entire sapphire set was taken care of by Ethan; he equipped it with a safe and a box and handed it to her for safekeeping.

In the three years Florence left Cloudsea, the whole sapphire set remained stored here.

Looking at the items brought memories flooding back, with infinite sadness.

This dreadful news was a heavy blow to Florence, a night of sleepless agony, and the next day’s eyes were red and swollen.

She decided to stay at the Starlight Residence for a few days.

When Lily Hart came to report the situation, she noticed her pale face and poor spirits.

Florence hadn’t returned to the hotel since her birthday, it had been almost a week, and she hesitated to tell Florence about Luke Gardiner’s situation.

"Let’s leave it at that; Christopher Fuller will contact me if anything happens next. You just keep an eye on the follow-up issues." Florence instructed.

She leaned back on the sofa, covered in a blanket, wearing home clothes and her hair down, looking like a frail, sickly beauty.

"Boss... are you sick?" After discussing work, Lily couldn’t help but express concern for her superior.

"No."

She hadn’t gone out these past few days.

"Um..." Lily looked at her hesitantly.

Florence guessed, "Are you thinking about Luke Gardiner?"

Lily nodded quickly, "Did you know?"

"Know what?" Mentioning Luke Gardiner, Florence’s brows furrowed involuntarily: "What’s up with him now?"

These past few days, he hadn’t stopped calling her, changing numbers constantly, but Florence didn’t answer unfamiliar numbers.

He bombarded her with texts, and Florence still checked them for the first couple of days, then opted to ignore them completely.

She had no mood to argue or fight with Luke Gardiner.

Lily said: "On your birthday, when you went out, he seemed to have waited for you all night. When you didn’t return, he wrecked the stuff in the presidential suite’s living room."

Florence closed her eyes in annoyance: "I’m so annoyed by his spoiled temperament."

Being pressed for Florence’s whereabouts made Lily almost go insane, but she adhered strictly to her professional ethics and maintained her boss’s privacy.

No matter how Luke asked, she consistently claimed ignorance.

At that time, she felt like her earnest, humble appearance was just short of self-disemboweling to prove it to Luke.

"Hasn’t he returned to SJ yet?"

Lily shook her head.

The presidential suite was now just occupied by him; Lily had moved out, and Laura Yates, in fear, moved back to her original room.

"Forget it, he’ll leave when he’s done with his antics. Don’t worry about it."

"What about you?" Lily asked, "Are you going to stay here for now?"

Florence nodded.

Lily silently glanced around the spacious living room, then noticed a row of photo frames on the TV cabinet.

Most were pictures of Florence, but there were also some of her with a man.

Florence observed her little actions without missing a beat, slightly raising an eyebrow: "Do you want to say something?"

"No, no ~" Lily waved her hand in a sycophantic manner at Florence, "How could I say my boss is secretly keeping a man?"

If Lily Lancaster were here and saw traces of another man in this house, she’d probably be happier than Florence.

She just wished Florence wouldn’t remain pure for Luke Gardiner, as Luke was wildly unfaithful outside, while Florence dedicatedly pursued her career alone.

Lily Lancaster would feel uncomfortable.