CHAPTER 820: CHAPTER 820: CAN’T HANDLE THIS ALREADY?

Jeanette Shaw’s eyes revealed emotion. She knew Ann Vaughn said this only because she didn’t want her to feel too burdened mentally. She wasn’t seeking her gratitude or repayment.

She and Hogan Halloway were fundamentally different people.

"Miss Vaughn..." Jeanette was so moved that she didn’t know what to say, when she heard a voice filled with surprise and joy coming from not far away.

"Jeanette!"

Jeanette froze, her eyes widening little by little, and when she turned her head, it was like a slow-motion replay, filled with hesitation and disbelief.

Ann Vaughn looked over in astonishment and saw Vinson Ashton, who had been waiting at the bottom of the steps, rushing up in a few quick strides.

He stopped in front of Jeanette and then hugged her tightly!

"I finally found you, I finally found you..." Vinson Ashton’s voice trembled, even choked with emotion, "I’ve been searching for you and our daughter for twenty years, twenty whole years, and you were so heartless, unwilling to come back to find me..."

Jeanette’s face was full of astonishment, clearly not having recovered from the shock.

Ann Vaughn was also a bit bewildered by the scene in front of her. She initially suspected Vinson Ashton was working with Howard Yates, but now it seemed he wasn’t?

...

Witnessing a couple reuniting after being separated for twenty years, Ann Vaughn was still filled with emotion when she returned to Villa No. 8.

"Their marital connection, it’s as if the Matchmaker tied them with rebar."

Isn’t it incredibly strong?

Cyrus Hawthorne, sitting sideways in a single sofa reviewing documents, glanced at her and said coolly, "Jealous?"

"Not really." Ann Vaughn was drying her hair as she walked to his side, sitting on the armrest, "Every day people in this world miss each other. Some find their way back, while others lose forever. Being able to return after twenty years like them is both a misfortune and a fortune."

The misfortune is the twenty-year gap between them.

The fortune is they have a chance for reconciliation afterwards.

Ann Vaughn couldn’t help but think about the four years separated from Cyrus Hawthorne. At the time, all she felt was the warm, bright sun and flourishing blossoms everywhere.

But now...

She couldn’t quite recall the specifics of those four years.

Noticing Ann Vaughn seemed distracted, Cyrus furrowed his brow slightly, casually placed the document aside, took the towel from her hand, and gently dried her hair.

Ann Vaughn didn’t notice this, lost in her own thoughts for a long time.

A quiet and warm atmosphere flowed through the room.

Not sure how much time passed, Ann Vaughn’s long hair was now completely dry.

Cyrus’s slender jade-like fingers twined around a lock of her hair, as a faint and subtle fragrance wafted by.

"What are you thinking about?" he softly interrupted her lengthy thoughts.

Ann Vaughn hadn’t fully come back to her senses, her mind repeating a question, so she blurted out without thinking:

"I’m thinking if back then I hadn’t returned for Kenny’s treatment and accidentally slept with you, would I not have been caught by you, and none of this would have happened?"

With her mindset at the time, she could have avoided him for a lifetime.

However, no sooner had she said this, the atmosphere in the room suddenly seemed to freeze.

Then her arm tightened, and she was unexpectedly pulled into a broad embrace.

Cyrus wrapped an arm around her soft slender waist, pinched her delicate chin with the other, and looked at her surprised expression with a half-smiling and half-serious gaze.

"You came back not to look for me, nor because you were attracted to my body to the point of drugging me, but for Kenny’s treatment?"

His voice was slow and cold, each word uttered without haste, yet it sent chills down one’s spine.

Kenny was suffering from leukemia.

If they couldn’t find a matching bone marrow donor, cord blood was their only possible option.

No matter how slim the chance, as long as there was a glimmer of hope, Ann Vaughn would try.

From the moment she returned, that was her purpose.

Cyrus’s gaze was sharp and intimidating, making Ann hesitant to meet his eyes, and her hands in front of her involuntarily clenched.

"Answer me." Cyrus increased the pressure on her chin slightly, his expression growing a bit fierce.

Ann Vaughn winced in pain, her fine brows furrowing. She pursed her red lips before speaking: "Yes. It was indeed for Kenny that I came back, and it was for Kenny’s treatment that I approached you and slept with you over and over!"

Saying these self-abandoning words, Ann Vaughn’s lips tightened even more.

To say she wasn’t guilty was impossible, because indeed she had thought of using Cyrus back then.

But the child wasn’t hers alone, she had just used him a tiny bit, without doing anything inherently wrong!

Why was he being so fierce!

"Ann Vaughn." Cyrus’s voice turned utterly cold, his narrow eyes dark as the tide, causing Ann to feel panicked.

Before she could ask "Are you angry?" Cyrus had already scooped her up and carried her off the sofa.

As the world spun, Ann felt herself sinking into an incredibly soft bed, as if she were floating on clouds.

But soon enough, the storm hit without warning.

Cyrus tore off his tie with one hand, a few buttons on his black shirt came undone, revealing large areas of strong, muscular chest, exuding an indescribable wild charm.

His legs, clad in black dress pants, appeared filled with explosive strength, assertively pinning down Ann’s slender legs, leaving her no room to escape, only tears of helplessness.

"Wait!" Ann’s heart skipped a beat, quickly coaxing him: "I admit I came back for Kenny’s sake, but equally for you - I missed you so much, I couldn’t eat or sleep!"

"Huh."

"I’m serious! Mmm - don’t bite me, Cyrus!"

Clearly, the attempt to placate him failed this time.

The Archfiend punished the little lamb, turning her over and over again, tirelessly repeating in her ear:

"Can’t take it?"

"There are consequences for sleeping with me repeatedly, hmm?"

If one listened closely, amidst the deep, hoarse voice of the man, there wasn’t any anger, only a teasing and satisfied tone.

As if the one who was angry just now wasn’t even him.

Yet the trembling body of Ann Vaughn, letting out pitiful whimpers, did not notice, her face flushed a rosy red, her beautiful eyes brimming with sparkling tears.

What she didn’t know was how sweetly seductive her voice sounded at this moment, making one want to bully her all the more when she said no.

A white light gradually blurred her vision, and Ann seemed to catch a glimpse of something.

Then, she felt a warm touch brush over her eyelids, leaving gentle kisses in its wake.

Ann’s muddled brain suddenly flashed with a moment of clarity, yet it didn’t last long before it was completely shattered again.