Chapter 385
Shermaine looked up. “What secret?”
He gently took Shermaine’s hand and placed it on the old scar on his chest. The scar was completely concealed by his tattoo, leaving no visible trace.
Joshua slowly said, “Back when I was injured, I honestly thought I wouldn’t make it back alive. But against all odds, a miracle happened.”
After completing his mission, he was pursued by mercenaries and driven into the West Forest of the uninhabited wilderness. Severely wounded, he found himself with no signal, no food, no medical supplies, and no way to contact anyone. He was completely cut off from the world.
With the rain pouring down, he had no choice but to take shelter in a cave. He could feel his pulse slowing, like his body was shutting down. At some point, he realized if he closed his eyes, that might be it. He might never open them again.
He managed to hold on for six hours, but with no rescue in sight, he finally slipped into a deep coma. When he finally regained consciousness, three days had already passed.
During those three days he was unconscious, his wounds had almost completely healed. And not just slightly—he’d recovered at a speed hundreds of times faster than what should’ve been humanly possible.
He had been injured before, but never experienced anything like this.
Given how utterly unbelievable it was, he remained in West Forest for a full month before reaching out to the outside world.
After all, everyone knew how badly he’d been injured. If he showed up completely fine, it might arouse suspicion from others.
Shermaine asked, “Besides the healing part, is there anything else different about your body? Like… data-wise?”
Joshua shook his head. “If there were, I wouldn’t have bothered going to Yaleview Hospital last year.”
“So, you lied about not feeling well back then?” Shermaine asked again.
Joshua was completely unapologetic. He leaned down and softly kissed Shermaine on the lips. “Yeah, I lied. I just needed an excuse to spend more time with you.”
Shermaine gave him a playful bite and grinned, “You’re so sneaky, Mr. York.”
Shermaine normally hated being lied to, but something about him opening up and telling her this wild, impossible truth tilted the scales. She just couldn’t stay mad at him.
At this moment, Shermaine found Joshua’s condition truly fascinating, and the scientist in her was intrigued. “I want to run some genetic tests on you,” she said, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
Joshua smirked. “Whatever you want, Sheary. I’m all yours.”
At Roy’s place, Danielle took her seat at the poker table. The icy, untouchable beauty suddenly transformed into a fierce little gambler—though somehow, she still managed to look effortlessly graceful.
Danielle pulled off another dazzling win with a full house. As the next round began, Henry teased, “Danielle, time to call it a night. Your boyfriend’s waiting for you.” Henry was this close to saying “to pamper you senseless.”
Danielle turned toward Ross with a playful pout, her voice soft and sweet. “Ross, I still wanna play.”
Ross, slightly tipsy and fully relaxed in his chair, replied lazily, “Half an hour.”
“Okay,” Danielle chirped happily.
That half hour flew by. Before they knew it, it was almost 1 AM. Roy, now a little sleepy from the alcohol, rubbed his eyes and offered, “Hey, why don’t you guys just stay the night? There are plenty of rooms here, and I’ll have fresh clothes sent over.”
Roy threw Ross a wink. “Don’t say I never did anything for you. If you miss this chance, it’s gone for good.”
Ross caught on immediately and gave him a subtle nod.
“My foot’s still healing,” Danielle said. In other words, she was saying that spending the night would just be a whole ordeal.
Roy grinned. “Come on, what’s the problem? You’ve got your dear Ross right here to take care of you.”
That was when Danielle realized Roy wasn’t as innocent and harmless as he looked—dude was sharp. She played along, smirking. “You’re right. Lucky for me, I’ve got Ross.”
Roy raised an eyebrow, surprised by how bold Danielle was. Then, he glanced at Ross, wondering to himself, ‘That guy just recovered from a serious illness. Can he really handle her?’
Henry stood up, cleared his throat, and said, “Alright, let’s call it a night. Everyone, go do your own thing.”
With that, everyone dispersed—some left, while others went upstairs to rest. Soon enough, the only two left in the living room were Danielle and Ross.
Ross looked at her with a gentle smile. “Did you enjoy yourself tonight?”
Danielle nodded and pulled out her phone to show him her poker winnings, her eyes crinkling into crescent moons. With a playful smile, she said, “Next time you have a get-together like this, be sure to invite me.”
Whenever Danielle sat down at a poker table, it was game over for everyone else.
Ross had no idea Danielle was so into poker. He nodded, then, after a brief pause, he added, “Danielle, why don’t we head upstairs and get some rest?”
Danielle arched an eyebrow, stood up, took Ross’ hand, and with a sultry smile, she cooed, “Carry me.”