“Steven? Where else do you think he‘d be?” Mrs. Hughes chuckled. “He went out to find Kate, of
course. Your brother and Kate are growing closer and closer.” She glanced surreptitiously at Denise
and added, “By the way, how are you and Thomas doing now?
“This morning, your Aunt Tina told me she’d been trying to set you and Thomas up; how did everything
go?”
Denise‘s heart turned cold when she heard this.
After listening to the audio recordings that Nigel had sent her, Denise finally knew the truth.
The reason Tina had so willingly treated her like a tool against Thomas was all because of Mrs.
Hughes, her ‘mother.‘
Mrs. Hughes had once promised Tina that her daughter would listen to her every command. Not only
that, but Mrs. Hughes was the one who had given Tina the idea to use Denise to seduce Thomas.
“She came from a poor family, and if she hadn‘t caught my eye when she was a child because of her
looks, she might‘ve been sold by her family and be working as a prostitute by now. It‘s her blessing to
be able to live such a comfortable life.
“Sleeping with Thomas once isn‘t going to do her any harm. If she‘s lucky and gets herself pregnant
with Thomas‘ child, she‘ll be able to live the rest of her life worry–free.
“The best thing you can do is use this against Thomas to keep him tied to your side, but you can‘t
overdo it either. If Thomas isn‘t willing to marry Denise, you shouldn‘t try to argue with him–think of it as
Denise‘s loss.
“After all, with such modern technology nowadays, we can always reconstruct her hymen, and she‘ll be
able to sleep with other rich men again…”
Mrs. Hughes and Tina‘s voices rang in her ear over and over.
Denise never thought that Mrs. Hughes, the woman who had treated her like her own daughter for so
many years, turned out to be using her all along.
She never cared about Denise‘s thoughts or feelings. In her eyes, she was nothing more than a pretty
girl who had managed to catch their attention.
“Denise?” Mrs. Hughes furrowed her brow when she noticed that Denise was staring into space instead
of answering her question. “I‘m talking to you.”
Denise finally snapped out of her stupor. She curled her lips into a smile and said, “Don‘t worry, Mother;
Aunt Tina‘s plan worked. I‘m sure that in no time, Thomas will change his mind and return to my side.”
As she said this, Denise placed her hand strategically on her belly as though there really was a baby in
there.
Mrs. Hughes was happy to see this. She quickly ordered the servants to bring Denise another bowl of
soup, then turned to grin at her. “I‘m so happy to hear this, my dear. It‘s always been a dream of mine
to see you become Thomas‘ wife, and now it‘s finally coming true.”
Denise lowered her head, chuckling. “You‘re right, Mother.” After lunch. Mrs. Hughes had intended to
sit Denise down for a chat, but she acted as though she was not feeling well and disappeared upstairs.
She pretended to close the door but secretly hid behind the staircase railing and peeped around the
side to watch Mr. and Mrs. Hughes.
“Didn’t Tina say that…they had failed?” Mr. Hughes furrowed his brow and asked in a low voice, “Didn‘t
she say that Steven had even taken Denise‘s phone and stopped her from getting in touch with Denise
again?”
Mrs. Hughes rolled her eyes at him. “Don‘t you know how soft–hearted your son is? I wouldn‘t be
surprised if he gave her phone back. Besides, Denise is such an obedient girl, so even if Steven were
in the way, she‘d find a way of accomplishing her task.” Then, she furrowed her brows and added,
“However… I still want to straighten some things out with Tina in person.”
Mr. Hughes was silent for a moment, then nodded. “Let‘s go. I‘ll come with you.”
With that, the two of them put on their coats and left. Denise let out a sigh of relief when she heard the
car pull away, then stood up and tiptoed towards Mr. Hughes‘ study. If she remembered correctly…all
the evidence of Luke‘s surgery would be kept there.
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