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“What’s there to thank me for? Everything you need is already here. We’re heading out,” Joshua said.

Watching their car fade into the distance, Joshua scooped Xylia into his arms and headed back to their cozy little vi.

Inside, the air was warm–the AC had been running ahead of time–wrapping them infort the second they stepped through the door.

He carried Xylia straight to the bedroom, lowering his gaze to meet her exhausted, drowsy eyes.

‘Why won’t this fear go away?‘ Joshua thought, feeling the leftover terror gnaw at his heart.

His throat felt thick, almost clogged, as he reached out and gently brushed his hand over Xylia’s cheeks.

“Xylia, wake up,” Joshua called to her, his voice gentle with a deep warmth.

He repeated her name softly, again and again, the tenderness in his tone unmistakable.

Xylia slowly woke up, her eyelids fluttering. She blinked at the unfamiliar room, her mind suddenly sharp for a brief second as she tried to figure out where she was.

But the moment she sensed Joshua right there with her, she let herself rxpletely.

Xylia asked groggily, “What’s wrong?” Her voice was a bit husky from sleep.

Joshua furrowed his brows just slightly. “We’ve arrived. Why don’t you take a nice hot bath before going back to sleep? I’ll make us both some ginger tea.”

Joshua gently pulled her upright, and Xylia just melted into his arms, barely able to keep herself standing. “I don’t want to move,” she murmured, clinging to him like her whole body refused to cooperate.

‘Honestly, I can’t move an inch,‘ Xylia thought, totally spent. ‘I’ve never hiked this much in my whole life.

“Need me to give you a hand in the shower?” Joshua teased, a mischievous glint in his eye.

Xylia struggled upright, grumbling sleepily but stubborn. “I can walk on my own.”

Joshua couldn’t help butugh as he watched her shuffle drowsily toward the bathroom.

“Hey, aren’t you forgetting something?” he called, still grinning.

Xylia dragged herself back, snatched her clothes from the closet, and finally trudged into the bathroom.

Joshua grabbed his clothes and headed to the other bathroom. After a quick shower, he went to the kitchen and put on a pot of ginger tea, tossing in a couple bowls of noodles just to be safe.

Just in case they caught a cold.

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:

Joshua found some cold medicine, grabbed two pills, and carried everything to the bedroom.

He arrived just as Xylia was finishing her bath. fn1c48 ?? ??? ???? ?? ???? ???? ???????s, ????s? ??s?? fι?dnοvel/fn1c48

Xylia had nearly drifted off in the bathtub earlier.

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“Here, have some noodles, drink this ginger tea, and take these pills to keep you from catching a cold. Then you can go back to sleep,” Joshua said, setting everything down.

‘I know going straight to bed after eating isn’t really healthy, Xylia thought, ‘but after the day we’ve had, who cares? This is definitely an exception.”

Xylia, her mind and body finally unwinding for real, followed Joshua over to the little coffee table, feeling safe and rxed for the first time in ages.

Instead of grabbing the noodles, Xylia gently held Joshua’s face and kissed him lightly on the lips.

“Thank you,” Xylia whispered.

Joshua’s throat tightened as he looked away.

“You can thank meter,” he said, a little gruffly.

Xylia cocked her head at him, teasing, “Shouldn’t you be saying, ‘No need to thank me; bit’s /bjust what I ought to do‘?”

“Sure, it’s my job, but I still expect a little thank–you gift,” Joshua replied with a yful grin.

Joshua shed her a mischievous look.

Xylia simply turned away and started in on her noodles.

With her stomach warm and content from the noodles and tea, Xylia finally curled up in bed and drifted off to sleep.

Once he was sure Xylia was peacefully asleep, Joshua slipped out of the bedroom as quietly as he could.

He headed into the living room, grabbed hisptop, and began digging deep into Richard’stest moves.

Odell State was inplete chaos.

Richard and Philia were going at it with everything they’ve got—the brutal turf war between their factions had the cops swarming in.

This time, Richard was neck–deep in trouble.

But Joshua knew that wasn’t nearly enough. He needed to figure out a way to wipe Richard out for good.

Suddenly remembering something, Joshua pulled out his phone and called his dad back in Alvend.

It was almost noon there.

When Aaron picked up, he sounded anxious, “Did you manage to get her out?”

“Yeah, she’s safe now,” Joshua replied.

On the other end, Aaron let out a huge sigh of relief.

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“Your mom’s been worrying herself sick these days. Once she hears the news, she’ll finally be able to rx a little,” Aaron said.

Joshua grunted in agreement, then said, “Dad, Richard can’t be allowed to stay in the game. I’ll need your help with this.”

“If possible, taking him out through the Daltonian police would be ideal,” Joshua continued.

Joshua gave a quiet, amused chuckle.

“Great minds think alike–even more so between father and son. Leave it to me–I’ll reach out to the right guy,” Aaron replied.

Aaron seemed a bit unsure for a moment.

He fiddled with his phone and texted Joshua a string of numbers.

“You’ll have to sort it out yourself. I’ve got things to handle–catch youter,” Aaron said, ending the call.

“Hey!” Joshua blurted out, but Aaron had already hung up.

The dial tone hummed in his ear, leaving Joshua staring at his phone in frustration.

After all these years, both father and son were just as stubborn as ever.

But honestly, going there himself wasn’t much of a big deal.

He shut down hisptop, headed back to the bedroom, slid under the covers, and pulled Xylia into his arms as he drifted into a deep sleep.

The next day, the two of them crashed out so hard, they didn’t even wake up until almost noon.

When Xylia finally opened her eyes, her arms and legs felt like borrowed propspletely useless, definitely not her own anymore.

She melted into the mattress and seriously wondered if she’d ever have the energy to move again.

Meanwhile, Joshua was up and about like nothing had happened. After a quick shower, he sat on the edge of the bed, teasing her.

“Not feeling like getting up?” Joshua asked, a yful grin on his face.

“My arms and legs are so sore. I can’t move,” Xylia groaned, her voice muffled by the pillow.

Joshua pulled back the covers and gently started massaging her calves.

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“I need to visit someone important today an elder. Are youing with me, or do you want to stay here?” Joshua asked.

“If you decide to stay, I’ll have someone here to make sure you’re safe,” Joshua added.

As soon as he said that, Xylia sat up straight.

“I’ming with you.” Xylia replied without a second thought.

The truth was, she really was scared.

Leaving Joshua’s side? No way–Xylia couldn’t even begin to guess what kind of trouble she’d get into alone. No matter how dangerous things got, she knew she’d rather face it all with him than without him.

Joshua’s brow furrowed as he took in how rattled she was.

‘She must have gone through hell with Richard. I swear, I’ll make him pay for every bit of it, Joshua thought, his jaw tightening.

He scooped Xylia up and carried her to the bathroom.

“Let’s grab something to eat, and then we’ll head out,” Joshua said.

Xylia looked at Joshua, who was so full of energy, and had to admit–it felt totally unfair.

They’d taken the exact same path, and Joshua had carried her for a good stretch of the way. Yet here she was, practically paralyzed this morning, while Joshua acted like nothing had happened.

“Don’t your legs hurt at all?” Xylia asked, a little frustrated.

Joshua just grinned. “Come on, you know I’ve got endless stamina, right?”

‘Why did that sound so suggestiveing from him?‘ Xylia thought, cheeks turning pink.

Xylia shot him a disgruntled look and gave Joshua a couple of halfhearted smacks, then wandered off to wash up, determined to ignore his teasing–at least for now.

When she finished freshening up, Joshua wasted no time in scooping her into his arms again. He carried her effortlessly downstairs and, humming under his breath, headed to the kitchen to whip up breakfast.

After breakfast, they set out together to visit the senior Joshua had mentioned.

Everything around them was unfamiliar–the streets, even the air itself felt foreign.

But with Joshua right next to her, Xylia could finally let go of all the tension she’d been holding onto these past days.

“I’ve already asked David to help out at your studio, so don’t worry about a thing,” Joshua said, his voice calm and reassuring.

The driver sped them along a straight road, the cityscape blurring past while Joshua and Xylia sat together in

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the backseat.

Xylia couldn’t help but pout, then leaned in and hugged Joshua’s arm, clinging to him tightly.

“Why are you so good to me?” Xylia murmured, her voice tinged with wonder.

Joshua hade all this way to save her, yet he still took care of everything she might need.

With him around, Xylia didn’t have a single thing to worry about.

Joshua smiled and softly grazed her cheek with his hand.

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Xylia suddenly looked up at him. “By the way, who is this elder we’re going to visit? Did you get a gift?”

“I haven’t, actually…” Joshua replied.

“You can’t just show up empty–handed! Let’s go grab something first,” Xylia suggested. Then, it hit her–‘Wait, this is Daltonia. This is where Richard’s been living all these years, Xylia thought, suddenly feeling a bit tense.

‘What if he’s still after us?‘ Xylia wondered anxiously, her nerves on edge.

She voiced her concerns, and Joshua just smiledfortingly as he ruffled her hair.

“Rx, it’s safe now. If Richard darese near us, I’ll beat him up so badly he’ll look like a pig’s head,” Joshua joked with a yful glint.

Xylia burst outughing at his silly threat.

Honestly, she just wished the local cops would hurry up and throw Richard behind bars.

“Oh, did you end up reporting him to the cops?” Xylia asked, brow slightly furrowed.

Joshua’s smile faded a bit. “Of course I did.”

‘How else am I ever gonna get that piece of trash Richard out of the picture for good?‘ Joshua thought, his mood turning grim.