CHAPTER 10: CHAPTER 10: HER LUNA, ALSO HIS

These past few years, he felt a sense of disappointment towards Annelise Winter, like a brother watching his little sister grow up, only to see her stagnate.

They never spoke whenever they met.

Seeing Annelise’s self-destructive behavior today left him even more disheartened!

Elias Warner’s deep and enigmatic gaze pierced through the car window, looking into the curtain of rain, "Alright, get out of the car!"

Eric Thorne didn’t dare linger, "Mm, then I’ll head off first, brother!"

He couldn’t let Annelise waste another chance to hurt Elias Warner.

Eric left the car without looking back.

The rain was heavy, and Annelise hadn’t brought an umbrella.

She ran alone to the bus stop and only realized she was injured once she sat on the bench.

Her fair calf was covered in cuts from broken glass, with her wrist sprained, hurting intensely.

With pole dancing demanding so much strength, the pain now brought cold sweat to Annelise’s forehead; she might not be able to dance for a while.

Thankfully, she got the money from Leo Lockwood tonight, more than a hundred thousand.

The cold wind mixed with sudden rain pounded onto her face, the biting pain branding the softest corners of her heart.

The icy temperature seemed to freeze her heartbeat along with it.

The lonelier and more helpless she felt, the easier it was to remember the times when someone cherished her.

In the past, Elias Warner would never have allowed her to appear in such places, nor let her dance in front of so many people.

He wouldn’t even let her drink.

There was no way he would let other men catch a glimpse of her.

No one in their circle dared to approach her.

She was spoiled like a pampered princess with a bad temper.

What has she become now, without him by her side?

Yet everything that happened, wasn’t it all her doing?

In a moment of self-loathing, she looked up to see Eric Thorne stepping out from a luxury car.

Eric approached Annelise with an umbrella, deliberately blocking the car to stop them from seeing each other.

He looked down at Annelise with disdain, "Never thought you’d finish dancing with Leo so soon? How much did you earn?"

Annelise was unbearably wretched, still wearing her dance dress.

One of the shoulder straps had been torn by Leo, her clothes soaked by the rain, cold and sticky against her skin, her lips already turning pale.

She brushed away the rainwater dripping from her temples, her expression unchanged, "Yes, I’m done."

"So what now? Are you making yourself look like this just to gain Elias’s attention? I’m warning you, Annelise, it was you who didn’t cherish him back then! It’s too late to regret now, so stop with all your useless fantasies," Eric warned her, his eyes burning with anger.

Back then, the group was really close.

But five years ago, what Annelise did was too hurtful, causing those who grew up together to fall apart, even becoming enemies.

The wind and rain lifted a corner of her skirt.

Annelise didn’t look back at that car, sitting alone beneath the sign, her fragile beauty breathtaking and heartbreaking, "Don’t worry, I won’t. From now on, I’ll avoid Young Master Warner’s car entirely!"

Suppressing the pain tearing at her heart, Annelise said, "But I’m standing here waiting for the bus, it doesn’t concern you, right? If you don’t want to see me, you can leave."

When Annelise was stubborn, nobody could stand against her.

Eric was infuriated and utterly disappointed in Annelise, glaring at the car lingering in the rain, gritting his teeth, muttering curses as he stormed off.

Little did he know, not long after he left—

Someone from the hazard-lighting car got out.

It was Uncle Ford, the butler.

Uncle Ford approached Annelise, "Miss Annelise, the young master asked if you made any money tonight?"

Annelise clutched her bag tightly, hiding it behind her back, "What do you mean?"

"The young master said, if you made money, could you pay back part of that three million debt first? He’s worried you won’t repay it."

Annelise hadn’t expected he was waiting there to ask her for money.

She had even naively thought maybe Elias Warner still had a shred of compassion for her, that seeing her dance for Leo might make him feel a bit unhappy or begrudging.

Once, his possessiveness was so strong he wouldn’t even let others glance at her.

Now, he couldn’t wait for her to sell herself at a higher price.

That’s right, she owed him in the first place!

The debts she once incurred, she would have to repay someday!

But Annelise almost bit through her lip.

Through the rain, she looked at that limited edition luxury car, a symbol of wealth and status.

"Could you ask Mr. Warner if he could grant me leniency on this payment and give me a year to pay in installments? I promise I’ll make the payments on time to his account, and won’t use this as a reason to pester him during this period."

Uncle Ford went back to the car under his umbrella.

The car window rolled down, revealing the sharp profile of a man.

After a while, Uncle Ford came back, "Miss Annelise, the young master rejected your proposal. Please pay the money."

Thinking of her daughter, Annelise bit her lip hard, "I promise, as long as Young Master Warner extends me a grace period, he’ll be free to punish me however he sees fit afterward!"

He could punish her however he wanted.

She accepted that.

She just hoped he would wait until after her daughter’s surgery.

To Elias Warner, ten thousand was negligible, but to her and Luna, it was almost two or three months of Luna’s convalescent fees.

Her Luna...

His too.

If he knew of Luna’s existence... would he...

She didn’t dare to imagine, because there were no "ifs" in this situation.

Uncle Ford stood in the rain with a large black umbrella, "Miss Annelise, you should know our young master isn’t a charity, and you’re not even friends now, so there’s no need to consider your difficulties. If you don’t pay now, the next person to chase you for debt won’t be me! You know those debt collectors’ methods, right?"

Annelise bit her lip, her heart stung.

Her gaze shifted back to the car parked there, she had no choice but to persist, "I want to see him."

Uncle Ford frowned, "The young master said you should stay away from him in the future, and Miss Annelise, have you forgotten the promise you made tonight?"

She had promised not to pester him, to stay far away from him.

Just before meeting him at the bar.

But since Elias Warner took back the Peace Lock and insisted on her repaying the three million now.

She couldn’t gather it, and she needed money for her daughter, she just wanted to ask him for a temporary reprieve.

No matter, breaking a promise is breaking a promise; Annelise had reached a dead end, for her daughter’s sake, she would have to be shameless once.

Wiping the rain off her face, she walked directly towards that car.

Uncle Ford wanted to stop her but it was too late.

She had already opened the rear door and squeezed inside.

Elias Warner was sitting there, and Annelise’s emotions surged inside her.

She wanted to push him to the other side upon entering but didn’t expect him to be as immovable as a mountain, causing Annelise to accidentally land on Elias Warner’s lap.