The next morning, Ashley rode to work with her brother in his car.

From the corner of his eye, Mike looked at Ashley. He noticed she was eerily calm. “Ashley, do you know that Joseph has returned?”

Since there was cooperation between the Empire Group and the Guzman Group, the news of Joseph’s arrival reached Mike pretty soon. In spite of this, he had decided against speaking about it with his sister. However, yesterday, the news of the acquisition of the Synder Group by the Empire Group came out in the public. It was widely reported hence it became common knowledge to everyone that the leader of the Empire Group had personally inspected the new commercial places. He assumed Ashley knew about his arrival.

“Yes, I am aware. What’s the matter?” she asked nonchalantly.

“How is it going to be if you come face to face with him in the future?” he asked curiously.

Ashley had kept her intimate relationship with Joseph a secret from her family. It was only natural for her brother, who was oblivious of everything, to be concerned about this.

“Nature will take its course. There is no need for you to stress over it,” Ashley replied in a rather indifferent manner.

She wanted to come clean and confess everything. However, things hadn’t become official yet. She saw no point in telling him now. She really didn’t want to stress herself over it. From what she knew, Joseph would take care of everything. She simply had to wait for the plans he had.

Mike noticed Ashley was eerily calm and hadn’t shown an ounce of sadness at the mention of Joseph. “Ashley, tell me the truth. How do you feel about Joseph?” he asked.

Mike knew the reason behind their breakup. He couldn’t let her walk that path again. If the two of them met again, he knew there were chances for them to get together. The flame from the past could be rekindled. He wouldn’t let that happen at any cost. It wasn’t that he hated Joseph. In fact, Mike liked his character. If it wasn’t for his dangerous background, he would have been happy with their relationship. They were perfect for each other.

“Mike, why do you seem determined to bug me with Joseph’s name?” Instead of answering his question, Ashley asked him a question. It was beginning to get quite annoying.

“Don’t dodge my question. Please answer it honestly,” he insisted.

Her brother had hardly mentioned Joseph after their breakup. She couldn’t help but feel a little confused as she watched him talk so seriously about Joseph as of this moment. At first, she was about to lie. However, in the end, she said firmly, “I still love him.”

Having gone through so many hardships with Joseph, her love for him had only grown. She knew he was the man she wished to spend the rest of her life with.

As soon as these words left her mouth, a trace of seriousness flashed through Mike’s eyes. He had known Joseph had a big place in his sister’s heart. It had been more than a month since their breakup but her love hadn’t reduced a bit.

The two of them sat in dumb silence. It was Ashley who finally broke it. “Mike, I have answered your question. It’s your turn to tell me why you have decided to ask me these questions today!”

“I asked them to check if my suspicions were right and make sure you lead a happy life.” He made no effort to hide his disappointment. He went on, “Joseph is not an ordinary man. You can’t expect a peaceful life with him. Ashley, take my advice and forget that man.”

On learning Ashley had been injured while abroad, Mike had sent someone to investigate Joseph’s background. The things he learned were quite alarming. At first, they couldn’t figure anything out. After a thorough investigation, they couldn’t replace Joseph’s files in the primary and middle schools as named in his background information. It felt like such a person had never existed there.

This notched his suspicion even further. Mike wanted to get to the bottom of this and figure out what he had done during his primary and middle school years. If there were no records of it, then how did he manage to become an outstanding student of a well-known university in the United States? Besides, Joseph had said he would look after business affairs after Ashley left. What business affair was he talking about? Why couldn’t Mike replace out anything about that?

Therefore, according to the investigation done on Joseph and his whereabouts, it seemed pretty clear he had two identities. One didn’t have to be a genius to know that this second identity was a dangerous one. It had the ability to cause serious injuries to his sister.

Love wasn’t all it took to lead a happy life. Happy life required peace. If being with Joseph meant Ashley’s life would be in danger, then it was best if she stayed away from him.

Mike’s face grew solemn. Seeing this, Ashley thought for a moment and said, “Mike, you haven’t told me anything that I don’t already know. I am aware he isn’t an ordinary man. However, I don’t care.”

There was a firm resolve in her voice. Mike remained frozen for a while. Her words reverberated in his mind. She just confessed his identity didn’t matter to her! She was so blind in love, she couldn’t see anything.

Mike turned and his eyes bore into her. He let out a heavy sigh. ‘My sister who knew nothing about love is long gone. Now I am dealing with a woman who is head over heels in love. She has grown up and is capable of forming her own opinion about things. She won’t let me intervene in her personal matters,’ he thought. He couldn’t understand if her growth was a good thing or a bad thing.

Once again he decided to explain. “Ashley, have you really taken time out to consider his dangerous background? Is that what you are going to do? Perhaps you don’t care enough about yourself, but what about our parents? They are going to worry about you all the time. Are you so madly in love that your family means nothing to you anymore?”

“Mike, don’t you think you are being too harsh and exaggerating things? I admit I might not lead a peaceful life. However, it isn’t like you said. My life isn’t always going to be in danger. Believe it or not, Joseph is capable of protecting me.” After a short pause, she continued, “As for our family, how can you even say such a thing? I care for you all more than I care for anyone! You are wasting your time assuming things. You have no reason to worry about my safety.”

Once she was done speaking, she recalled the serious injury she had suffered. That was how she had learned his true identity. Every time she was in danger, Joseph would appear and protect her. No man could give her such a strong sense of security! And the best part was he wasn’t a selfish man. He told her his concerns about her. He gave her the option to leave, worrying his dark world would contaminate hers.

How could she leave a man who loved her more than he loved himself? How could such pure love not tug at her heartstrings? She would rather live a short life with him than a peaceful but loveless life with another man. If luck was on their side, then perhaps they could spend the rest of their lives together.

“Ashley, I want nothing but your happiness. I am not your enemy. I want you to see you are wishing for the impossible. And let’s not forget he has betrayed you. If a man does that once, there is nothing that will stop him from doing it again!” Mike spoke these words, hoping it would knock some sense into his sister.

“Mike, what’s wrong with you today? Did he do something to you?” Ashley asked, unable to understand the reason behind this hostility.

“No, he has done nothing to me. I am concerned about you and your future,” he said.

“Your words are exaggerating the situation. I don’t think I am hoping for the impossible. And our future isn’t going to be as eventful as you think. On the contrary, after having been with each other through thick and thin, our love has grown more. We will definitely have a happy future.”

Mike stared at her unyielding face and asked, “In that case, you don’t mind his betrayal. So you have decided to let it slide? It won’t be easy to guard him against such a thing. It might happen again.”

“Stop saying that! He didn’t betray me. And even if he did, I know for a fact that he still loves me. I would be willing to offer him a second chance,” she retorted angrily. As Ashley expressed her thoughts, her voice sounded calm and resolute.

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