Chapter 357: Before the Finale

After seeing to 166, Simon Lockwood returned from Liam Valentine’s place. While still a distance away, he saw Joanna Kennedy standing by the side of the road.

“What are you doing just standing there? Don’t you know it’s cold out?” Simon Lockwood got out of the car, strode over to Joanna Kennedy, and opened his black cashmere coat, pulling her into his arms and wrapping her inside it.

He had left early this morning, dressed simply in a white sweater with the black cashmere coat over it. A dark gray scarf was neatly wrapped around his neck, making him look both handsome and refined.

Even though he was wearing fewer layers than Joanna, when she hugged him, she felt like she was embracing a life-sized, perfectly warm heating pad.

The pleasant warmth of his body was so comfortable that Joanna’s mischievous hands snaked inside his sweater. She felt the muscles beneath her touch tense up, and she let out a long, contented sigh. “Sooo warm…”

“…”

Simon Lockwood froze, not daring to move a muscle.

“Simon Lockwood, are you secretly wearing a heat pack?” Joanna looked up, her cute, haughty expression seeming to say, ‘Confess, and I’ll spare your hide.’

“…No,” Simon Lockwood said. “Let’s go home first.”

He didn’t pull her cold hands out from under his sweater. Instead, he simply picked her up in his arms in that awkward position. Joanna shifted into a more comfortable posture, and her other hand mischievously slipped inside his sweater as well.

Simon Lockwood’s steps faltered for a moment, and then he walked even faster.

The moment they were inside and the door had just clicked shut, Simon Lockwood eagerly bent down. The whole thing took only a few seconds. Before Joanna could even react, he was pressing her into a long, deep kiss.

When the kiss ended, Joanna rested in his arms, panting softly. Her alluring eyes were misty, giving her a look that practically begged to be teased.

The look in Simon Lockwood’s eyes darkened almost instantly. He barely managed to suppress his less-than-wholesome thoughts, peppering light, intermittent kisses on her moist, red lips.

“What were you doing downstairs just now?”

“…What?”

Joanna’s oxygen-deprived brain was slow to respond. Simon Lockwood chuckled softly and repeated the question.

It took Joanna several seconds to come to her senses. “I was seeing Mindy off,” she said.

“She approved my vacation.” Joanna looked up at Simon Lockwood and told him the result of her discussion with Mindy Morgan. “Two weeks.”

Two weeks was the time she could stay in Aethelburg. In truth, Joanna could have waited until she had more free time instead of rushing during this crucial stage of her career.

But perhaps that’s just human psychology—always impatient. Once you have the chance to do something, you want to do it right away, or else the waiting becomes unbearable.

*

Liam Valentine had told them that this Blue Rose could help her and Simon Lockwood return to the parallel world. He had also specifically mentioned a side effect: due to an unstable magnetic field during transport, they might not arrive at the same destination.

So when Joanna woke up and didn’t see Simon Lockwood, she didn’t panic too much.

Joanna was awakened by deafening music.

Colorful lights flashed before her eyes. Men and women swayed to the music on the dance floor. Everything told Joanna she had been transported to a bar.

Joanna: “…”

‘Well, at least it wasn’t the middle of the street. Otherwise, appearing out of thin air like that would’ve scared people to death.’

She glanced around. No one seemed to notice an extra person had suddenly appeared in the corner. Joanna walked out of the bar with practiced ease and felt a little dazed as she looked at the familiar city.

‘It’s only been a little over a year since I left. Why does it feel a bit strange? It’s like a dream.’ Standing on this soil, Joanna suddenly realized how naive her thoughts had been.

She wouldn’t be able to get into the villa district where Anna Yates lived. Besides, Anna hadn’t gone back there often since coming of age.

Joanna wanted to find Anna Yates, but the truth was, she had no idea where Anna even was right now.

Joanna racked her brain, trying to think of places Anna Yates liked to go. Finally, she turned around, her gaze landing on the bar behind her. The corner of her mouth twitched, and Joanna walked back inside, resigned to her fate.

In a traditional courtyard in Marinus, Liam Valentine was sipping tea with elegant movements, not at all surprised by the uninvited guest who had suddenly appeared in the yard.

“I thought it would be a while longer before you arrived,” Liam Valentine said.

Simon Lockwood ignored his remark. “Where’s Joanna Kennedy?”

“Hmm… I’m not sure,” Liam Valentine said. Seeing Simon Lockwood’s expression darken, he sighed. “Don’t worry, she’s not in any danger.”

“Take a look.” Liam Valentine placed a resume in front of Simon Lockwood. “This is the person I’ve chosen to be your replacement.”

Simon Lockwood frowned, his gaze shifting to the paper.

Seth Crowe, 24. Parents both living, one adopted older sister. A member of the Crowe family from Jornheim, a true Crown Prince of the Capital Circle with an impeccable pedigree. Director of Division One, National Medical Machinery Research Institute…

The background check was exhaustive; his entire life story, from childhood to the present, was laid out on this single, thin sheet of paper. It seemed Liam Valentine was very pleased with the partner he had personally chosen.

“Congratulations,” Simon Lockwood said flatly.

Liam Valentine raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything, changing the subject instead. “Since you’re already here, aren’t you going to go see your friends?”

After Simon Lockwood left, Southland Group also faded from the public’s memory. Grant Group rose to prominence, becoming the leading enterprise in Aethelburg’s business world.

Liam Valentine knew that Simon Lockwood had transferred all of Southland’s projects to the Grant Group, while its real estate assets had been transferred to his assistant, Jack Warren.

Liam Valentine figured that Simon Lockwood must still care about those two people, at least to some extent.

“No regrets?” Liam Valentine asked this question again. Simon Lockwood seemed to find the question childish; he frowned and didn’t answer, which was the best answer of all.

A man like Simon Lockwood only had one heart, and he had already given it to Joanna Kennedy.

*

Joanna searched the entire bar and even brazenly went to ask the manager if any young female customers had ordered a male escort that night.

The manager was momentarily dazzled by Joanna’s beauty. The look of amazement had yet to fade from his eyes when he heard her question, and his expression immediately became suggestive. “Miss, you… wish to hire a male escort?”

‘With a face like that, if she hired an escort, it’s hard to say who’d be getting the better end of the deal.’

“No, no, no, not me.” Seeing the manager’s increasingly suggestive gaze, Joanna waved her hands frantically and explained, “I just wanted to ask if any other young women, around my age, have hired one.”

“…Well, yes, there is one,” the manager said. “But that’s a customer’s private information. We can’t disclose it.”

“Alright, thank you.”

“Don’t mention it. If you need anything, just let a server know.”

Joanna’s mouth twitched. “…Uh, okay.”

Joanna sat bored on the ground floor of the bar, wondering what to do for the next fourteen days. She’d brought her phone, but it had been fried by the magnetic field disturbance.

Luckily, she had grabbed some cash, so at least she wouldn’t starve. Lost in thought, she didn’t even notice when someone came to a stop in front of her.

“…Joanna?” The woman’s voice was hesitant, and if one listened closely, you could hear a tremor of disbelief. “Are you Joanna Kennedy?”

Joanna paused, looking up in confusion. When she got a clear look at the person’s face, she couldn’t quite believe it for a moment. “…Serena Sutton?”