Chapter 212
Paloma returned to her room but didn’t rest right away. She curled up under the covers, slid a new SIM card into her phone, and texted Brian: [Have you found Landon?]
Brian replied almost instantly: [No, he was first locked up at the estate, but then the Montgomery family took him away.]
[The Montgomery family?] Paloma was shocked. The Montgomery family was the second-in-command of the Kington Gang.
‘What could they possibly want with Landon?’ Paloma couldn’t help but think.
Brian replied: [Monica has her eyes on Landon and wants to marry him. I have no idea what method they used, but they’ve wiped his memory.]
[But what about Amelia?] Paloma blurted out, anxiety twisting in her chest. Amelia was pregnant, and now her husband had forgotten all about her and was off somewhere about to marry another woman. This was just too heartbreaking. Paloma seriously wanted to punch Landon.
‘Love is instinct, it’s a magnetic force,’ Paloma fumed to herself. ‘Losing your memory is no excuse to go marry someone else.’ If one truly loved someone, even if they lost their memory a hundred times, they’d still end up falling for the same person. For example, Cameron. He was her husband, Aiden’s older brother, and the former heir to the Kington Gang. He lost his memory three times, and every single time he woke up, he’d fall for that same woman all over again at first sight.
Brian sent, trying to comfort her. [Don’t worry. I’ll keep digging. The Flying Tiger Sect has already covered this up, so it shouldn’t get back to Ms. Edwards.]
Paloma was a bundle of nerves. ‘The Kyle family was seriously obsessive. Aiden had spent so long trying to win Amelia over,’ she thought. Even she couldn’t guess what crazy thing Aiden might do next, and right now, Amelia couldn’t take any more shocks.
Brian sent: [Miss, do you want to go back to the Kingsley family?]
Paloma paused, her hand gently touching her own face. She wondered if she should go back. With the way she looked now, would anyone there even recognize her?
Brian sent: [Miss, this is your best chance to go back to the Kingsley family.]
Paloma replied: [I’ll think about it. Gotta go.]
Brian sent: [Alright, just let me know anytime.]
The phone screen went dark, connection lost. Brian placed his phone next to his pillow and stared blankly at the ceiling—sleep was the last thing on his mind. God knows, just to wait for Paloma’s messages, he not only kept his phone on 24/7 but even set up special notifications for her. He waited constantly, day and night, without a break.
‘When will I finally get to talk to Paloma out in the open, without hiding?’ he wondered.
Meanwhile, Paloma got up and took off her mask, finally showing her real face. Her features were delicate—sometimes as gentle as water, sometimes as fierce as a warrior woman. Years of wearing a mask had left her skin sickly pale. Her right cheek was stunning, but there was a walnut-sized scar there—bright red, like a fresh wound, or maybe a birthmark. Paloma couldn’t stop her hand from trembling as she touched the scar. She was so hideous now, even she couldn’t bear to look at herself.
‘How could I possibly let anyone else see me like this?’ she thought. Especially now, when she couldn’t even remember who she used to be. If it hadn’t been for Amelia getting that DNA test, she wouldn’t even know she was the daughter of the Kingsley family. She just didn’t have the courage to go back, and she really didn’t want to upset the balance or bring any trouble to the Kingsley family.
Aiden seemed utterly dejected. For the next few days, he just holed up in his hotel room and didn’t step outside at all. He didn’t go after Amelia or cause her any more trouble, either.
Meanwhile, Daniel was on edge. He had his people keeping a close watch on Grand Vista Hotel, and the entire Zuckerberg family estate was locked down tight.
A few more days went by before Aiden finally called to compromise. “Mr. Zuckerberg, I accept your terms. But you’d better deliver the antidote on time. Otherwise…”
“Alright,” Daniel said, finally letting out a sigh of relief. No doubt, Aiden had racked his brains these past few days trying every antidote he could think of, but nothing worked.
‘Serves him right! This is just great,’ Daniel gloated inwardly.
“Aiden, do you want me to book you a flight home?” Daniel asked, barely able to hide how eager he was to get rid of this jinx.
“My sister likes it here. She wants to stay and have some fun for a few more days,” Aiden replied.
“Suit yourselves,” Daniel said.
“Don’t you want to take her back to the Kingsley family?” Aiden asked.
Daniel chuckled. “First of all, she has amnesia and doesn’t remember who she is. Second, Amelia said she’s not in good health and can’t handle any more shocks."
“You can take Amelia back, but leave my sister alone,” Aiden warned. “Otherwise, I won’t be able to protect you.”
“Alright,” Daniel said.
Daniel narrowed his eyes. The only people in the Kington Gang not under Aiden’s control were Eddie and her husband, right? Paloma’s identity and status were all granted by Eddie. If you looked at it optimistically, Paloma was probably the wife of the Kyle family’s late eldest son, Cameron—somehow, she ended up becoming a daughter instead. But if you weren’t so optimistic, Paloma might very well be the product of Eddie Meyers’s warped psyche.
Daniel wasn’t in any rush. He planned to wait until Landon returned before dealing with it. As long as he wasn’t absolutely sure, he wouldn’t risk upsetting the balance. But what he didn’t see coming was that, while the Kyle family’s balance stayed intact, things on his own side were about to get thrown into chaos…
Once Amelia found out Aiden wasn’t going to cause any more trouble, she finally relaxed and started exploring Lunova. Edith took her all over the malls, shopping and sampling every kind of delicious food they could find. Maisie tagged along, though she was clearly not happy about it. Every time they went out, they’d leave with just their purses, but come back loaded down with bags—they were absolute shopping machines.
“Amelia, the maternity clothes here are so cute! Come check them out,” Edith said enthusiastically, dragging Amelia into the store.
Amelia let out a helpless sigh. “Edith, didn’t we just buy five sets of maternity clothes yesterday?”
“You’ve still got seven months left! Five outfits just won’t cut it,” Maisie chimed in.
Amelia was speechless. They weren’t even shopping for themselves—everything they picked out was for her and the baby. Forget about the maternity clothes—just the baby outfits alone could last the kid until he turned two.
“You guys are too much…” Amelia said helplessly, but still picked out a few more things.
After they finished checking out, she suddenly spotted Landon’s face on one of the big ad screens in the mall.
“Honey?” Amelia blurted out, completely stunned.
On the video playing across the big screen, Landon was dressed in an elegant tailcoat, down on one knee as he proposed to a woman in a flowing white bridal gown. He held a lavish bouquet of roses in his hands, along with an enormous yellow diamond ring. She couldn’t hear what he was saying, but his smile was as radiant as the morning sun, and the woman he was proposing to had happiness written all over her face, sweet as honey.
“Landon?” Edith and Maisie both pointed at the man on the screen, utterly stunned.
“Is that him?” Edith blurted out.
“How could that be him?” Maisie exclaimed.
“It must just be someone who looks like him,” Edith said, shaking her head.
The ad screen was stuck on repeat, playing Landon’s engagement video again and again without switching to anything else.
Amelia locked her eyes on the man in the video, her breath hitching in her chest. ‘That’s Landon! There’s no way I’m mistaken!’ Amelia thought. ‘Wasn’t he supposed to be on a secret mission? How could he possibly be getting engaged to another woman?’ Amelia’s mind reeled in disbelief.
“Amelia, that can’t be Landon. And even if it looks like him, the video must be edited or something,” Edith reacted quickly, grabbing Amelia’s arm and trying to pull her away.
Amelia stood frozen, her hand shaking as she called Tuff. “What mission is Landon on?” she demanded.
“Amelia, I told you already—it’s classified, I really can’t say anything,” Tuff replied.
“Then at least tell me—who’s the woman he’s engaged to?” Amelia pursued.
Tuff was stunned, grabbing at his men, thinking, ‘Didn’t we already have that engagement video blocked everywhere in Nusmin?’
“Mr. Prescott, someone just put the video up on the mall’s big screen…” one of his men reported.