When she was a student, Joanne was a legendary scholar.

But in matters of the heart, she had always been slightly slow on the uptake.

As such, even though she had met Brian when she was 10, she only discovered that she liked him many years later. And by then, she had already grown from a little girl to a young woman. Brian... she had already not seen him for many years. She did not know if he was still as good looking as he had been when he was 16 and did not know how he had grown to look like.

But she still liked him.

When she was in her first year of high school and received a love letter, which included a boy's picture in the scented envelope, she glanced at it, and an image of Brian appeared in her mind. The boy's nose was not as tall as Brian's, his eyes were not as deep and good looking as Brian's, and his hairstyle was not as natural as Brian's.

In her second year of high school, she would occasionally be stopped and someone would confess to her. The slovenly boys would ask her to be their girlfriends and said that she would be able to do whatever she wants in school and no one would dare to bully her. She seized the boy up and indeed, his disposition was negligible and unlike Brian. Those who glanced at Brian would be attracted by his calmness and elegance that those his age did not possess.

After that, Mia and her mother appeared and her mother suddenly passed away. She entered the eternal night of her life.

She would lock herself in her mother's room in the day and cry all night long. There were a few times when she felt that she could not go on living anymore. But in the end, she would always think of Brian.

When she had met him, his father had passed away in a car accident. Her mother told her that the older brother was very sad and asked her if she would accompany him.

Back then, her pestering Brian might have annoyed him, but right now, he had become a pillar of support for her.

Brian could face the fact that his father had passed away, why couldn't she? At least, she had to be strong, like him, so she could be a good match for him, right?

Just like this, she thought of Brian without him knowing, and she got through the most difficult time of her life.

She still did not sense that she liked Brian.

Just before she was about to graduate from high school, she saw him in a financial magazine by chance.

In her memories, Brother Brian was still a 16-year-old who wore a sweater and lounge pants. But in the magazine, he wore an expensive bespoke suit and his features had grown colder and sharper. His gaze had grown even deeper and hard to understand. He was also much taller than he had been at 16.

He had turned from a youth to a successful business elite.

She suddenly understood that Brian was already a man.

At that moment, her heart suddenly jumped hard. Her classmates saw her spacing out and teased her laughingly, "Joanne, there's a day when you have also fallen in love! This new financial guru is super handsome! Do you like him?"

She liked him. Joanne could hear the voice of her heart. She had always liked him.

Then, she only slowly understood why she could not be like a normal girl who would fall in love with a boy her age and have a youthful relationship with them. She understood why she would compare the boys against Brian no matter whether it was the naughty boy sitting at the back of the classroom or the boy every girl in school liked. And in the end, she would feel that they were no match for Brian.

Actually, she had already fallen in love when she was 10. She had fallen for Brian but had only realized now.

After her hurried graduation from high school, she entered A University. In the beginning, she liked to read all sorts of financial magazines because she would sometimes see news related to Brian or interviews he gave.

A few magazines online took photos of him. She downloaded them and hid them in a secret album in her phone that not even Freya knew about.

In her fourth year of university, she loved Brian like this, secretly. Sometimes when she called Iris or when she met her, she would also hear about Brian from her.

There were a few times Iris asked if she wanted to visit for dinner and said that Brian would be home that night and the two could meet.

Back then, Brian had already expanded Lambert Group into a business empire. He had become the dream lover of many girls and his rumors with Rosalyn had spread like wildfire. Pictures of the two of them together were everywhere on the Internet. She shook her head in refusal and used her busy schoolwork as an excuse.

Actually, she was afraid of seeing him with someone else.

Even so, she still felt that she was much more fortunate than other girls who were secretly in love. At least she had already met Brian long ago and could still find out about his news any time.

After graduation, Chris asked her to study abroad. She chose the school Brian graduated from.

During her years of studying in Columbia, Brian had also been a famous figure. Professors still remembered him even though he had graduated many years ago. She would occasionally still hear professors or classmates telling stories about his years studying there. So she had felt happy for no reason. Shawn wondered if she had seen too many corpses in her years studying abroad, that she would sometimes smile for no reason like a lunatic.

So be it if she seemed like a lunatic. Liking Brian was her own business.

In the two years she had studied abroad, Chris and Everbridge Group grew quickly. Everbridge Group started to go against Scott Groups, pressuring Steven. Steven thought of kidnapping her to threaten Chris.

When Chris and Iris came up with the idea of her and Brian marrying, her first reaction was to be afraid.

The person whom she had secretly liked for so many years was so outstanding, but she worked with corpses all day long. Furthermore... he seemed to have someone he liked.

She was already very satisfied, keeping up with him secretly. How could she marry him?

"Joanne, this is your only chance." Chris told her. "I know you like him."

She looked at her brother and could not speak for some time. She felt like a little girl who had secretly dressed up in her mother's high heels and had been discovered. Her face was so red and she wanted badly to disappear.

"You have to fight for the things you like, it's the same for the person you like." Chris patted her head and told her. "Think about it, would you be sad if he marries someone else?"

She nodded dazedly. Chris continued, "Then marry him. Don't give him up to someone else. You have to at least fight for yourself once."

Then, she nodded her agreement and married Brian, becoming his wife. Brian, however, told her that they would get a divorce in two years.

"Oh, what a coincidence, I don't have much feelings for you." Back then, she had been lying when she replied Brian. Her heart had actually felt a little sad.

Brian had once asked her why she had agreed to marry him. It was because she liked him. When the pervert killer's knife had approached her face and Shawn asked if she had anything to say to Brian, she wanted to tell Brian that she liked him. But she thought about it carefully, that if he was with Rosalyn, then there was no need to do so.

After all, she was already satisfied to be able to marry him.

She had liked Brian secretly for so many years, she did not even dare to imagine being with him, much less getting married. Even if she was killed, at least she had been married to Brian for two months. Even though it was not a long time, at least she had no regret in her life.

Look, her affection for him had turned the pride in her bones into inferiority. That was why she did not dare to mention it and did not dare to tell anyone else about it.

But she had never thought that Shawn would see through all of it.

Joanne was no longer as panicky as she had been when Chris had seen through her. She smiled and said with a pleading tone, "Don't tell anyone."

Shawn was so angry his liver heard, "Useless!"

"Who said that? My use is just somewhere else!"

"What's the use of bickering with me?" Shawn said, "Go fight with Rosalyn. It's more useful to snatch Brian over!"

Joanne thought of the photographs in which Rosalyn and Brian's clothing were ruffled. "I probably can't snatch him? They have feelings for each other."

"Joanne, I suddenly feel that you are a little pitiful."

"I'm healthy, and I get food to eat and have clothes to wear. I married the person I like most. How is that pitiful?" Joanne pursed her lips. "You might as well pity Freya. Her dad cut off her spending money again..."

Shawn tsked, "She's braver than you are."

Joanne paused for a moment and smiled.

Indeed, Freya was braver than she was. She would confess loudly the moment she liked someone. And if the person did not accept her, it was alright, she would go after him.

She took her phone and the thermos and got up. "I'll bring you lunch tomorrow."

Shawn would not refuse her. "Drive safe."

It was late when Joanne got home. She parked the car and brought the thermos into the house. She saw Brian sitting on the living room sofa alone and there were many cigarette butts on the ashtray in front of him. The scent of smoke was still floating in the air.

Brian did not smoke according to what she knew.

She walked over and asked, "Are you alright?"

Brian looked up lightly, "I'm alright. Have you stayed in the hospital all this while?"

Joanne nodded. "Freya's there as well. We... chatted for a bit."

Brian made a sound of acknowledgment. He reached out for the cigarettes and matchbox on the table and then, for some reason, held back. He looked at Joanne and said, "Sleep early if there's nothing else."

"Yesterday..." Joanne hesitated for a moment and then continued, "I left my phone at Freya's house, so I didn't know you called me. You... had something to tell me?"

She did not deny that she felt a little excited. However, Brian's expression remained the same as he said, "It's nothing."

He did not seem as if he wanted to talk to her anymore. Joanne hid the disappointment she felt and made a sound of acknowledgment. She put down the thermos and went upstairs.

Joanne only felt the pain behind her head after her shower when she lay on her bed.

She suddenly remembered that the murderer had hit her on the back of her head last night and then she had fainted. It was normal that she would hurt now.

She had better found the first aid kit downstairs for safety's sake.

It was past 11. The chandelier in the living room was already switched off, leaving only the warm yellow light coming from the wall lamps. Joanne smelt the thick scent of cigarette smoke.

She looked toward the sofa subconsciously. Brian was still seated on the sofa, his fingers surrounded by smoke while the figure of his back seemed extremely lonely.

Joanne had read a book that said that a person's face could hide everything, but a person's back could not.

Whether a person was blissful or lonely and helpless. It could all be seen from his back.

Brian... did he belong to the latter? Otherwise, why would he sit on the sofa alone, smoking at this hour?

Joanne's heart felt as if it had been pierced by needles. Her feet brought her to Brian's front, out of her control.

Even if he did not like her to go close to him, she cannot pretend as if she had not seen anything and left him alone.

Brian had not thought that Joanne would still come downstairs so late at night. He put out his cigarette. "Didn't I tell you to sleep early?"

"I..." Joanne stammered for a little. "I came down to look for the first aid kit."

Brian's pupils suddenly narrowed and he asked, "Where have you been injured?"