Occasionally, Joanne was willing to return to this home because she could still find traces of her mother's life in the room where she had lived.

But they could only be found in this room. As soon as Patricia entered the house nine years ago, she changed the furniture and every decoration her mother bought. Fifteen-year-old Joanne stubbornly guarded the room, refusing to let anyone touch anything in it. As a result, Patricia slapped her in the face and she unceremoniously bit Patricia's arm, leaving a bruise on it.

At last, Steven compromised and moved to another room with Patricia. And this room was retained.

Back in the room, Joanne felt her mother still by her side. It seemed that as long as she stretched out her hand, it would be held by her mother's soft and warm hands.

But the dusty furniture told her cruelly that she had lost her mother for a long, long time.

Joanne rolled up her sleeves and fetched a basin of clear water, carefully sweeping the room.

Unconsciously, it was nearly noon. With Joanne did the cleaning, the dusty room became bright and clean.

Joanne felt better now. Walking out of the room, she happened to see Mia gallop past the door and stop in front of Brian, who had just gone upstairs.

"Brian!" Delicate nude makeup and well-arranged chestnut hair made Mia look particularly pure and charming. "I like the necklace you sent to me, thank you!" she said.

She stroked the expensive necklace around her neck and her joy almost overflowed from her bright smile.

Brian replied insipidly, "You're welcome."

"What are you doing up here? There's nothing to see on the second floor." Mia grasped Brian's arm involuntary and added, "Let's go downstairs together and let mom and dad look at the necklace you sent to me!"

Brian frowned and wanted to shake off Mia's hands. Mia, however, let out a cry and leaned against him, looking somewhat painful.

"Brian, please support me with your hands. I sprained my ankle the other day and I feel terribly painful now. I don't know if I ran too fast just now."

After finishing speaking, Mia bent down to check her ankle. And because of this action, the shoulder straps of her dress slipped down accidentally. Just as the parts below her shoulders were about to be exposed...

"Rest enough so that you can recover well." Joanne suddenly walked over and casually pulled up Mia's shoulder straps, adding with a smile, "Mia, you'd better stay put and don't run around. I'll ask Linda to come up and help you down."

When Linda, the housekeeper went upstairs, Joanne looked at Brian with a bright smile. "Darling, I'd like to ask you a question."

Her beautiful peach blossom eyes were sparkling. And when the intimate address jumped out from her pink lips without warning, Brian felt as if the tip of his heart had been scratched by a cat's paw. However, he just replied with a single word as if nothing happened. "Uh-huh."

"I remember that you said... you only like natural beauties, huh?"

After that, she shot Mia a quick glance, as if she was referring to her. Right at this moment, Mia's expression changed dramatically.

A faint smile crept over the corners of Brian's mouth.

"Yep." He gently pushed the long hair from Joanne's cheek behind her ear with affection. "I like someone like you, my dear."

"He called her dear?"

Joanne was terribly stunned and she stared at Brian in astonishment. It seemed to her as if his smile, playful and joyful, was about to be imprinted into her mind.

She suddenly felt her head go blank and could only vaguely remember the temperature and touch of Brian's fingers brushing her cheek.

Brian put his hand around Joanne's waist and hugged her tightly, signaling her to come to her senses, otherwise, their drama of "the display of affection" would be exposed.

Joanne felt an itch on her waist and that was the feeling Brian brought her. Surprisingly, she did not hate it.

After she came to her senses, she finally realized that she and Brian were too intimate right now. Instinctively, she wanted to escape, but she was held more tightly by Brian.

She gave Brian a charming but warning smile.

Brian continued to make Joanne stay in his embrace with pleasure as if he did not receive her warning. Linda finally came to the second floor.

Joanne had no choice but to command Linda, "Mia's ankle is bothering her. Help her down."

Linda obeyed the order and helped Mia, who was reluctant to go downstairs and whose heart was still fluttering with fear, down.

Joanne took the stiff smile off her face and shot Brian an angry glance, saying, "How much longer are you going to take advantage of me?" The guy's hand was still on her waist!

Brian frowned and there was actually a bit of grievance in his tone. "I didn't expect you to be such a person," he said. Then he pointed at Joanne's hand, which was still in his arm, and continued, "Obviously, it's you who take advantage of me much longer."

Damn it! Joanne withdrew her hand quickly. Brian released her at about the same time as well.

Joanne's face was strangely hot. She no longer argued about that topic with Brian and ran downstairs.