Lisa hugged Anna. Her heart was aching. "I don't need you to protect me, Ms. Anna. You only have to protect yourself..."
Anna leaned against Lisa's shoulder. She thought about her past self when she was just a child. "At that time, I've always leaned on your shoulders this way and let you coax me to sleep.
"You even told me stories as you carried me."
Thinking back on those times also made Lisa feel as if they happened a lifetime ago.
"Time sure passes by quickly. In the blink of an eye, you're grown from this tiny person into a young lady! 0 n the other hand, I am getting older and older by the day. I can’t carry you as I tell you stories anymore."
A warm yet bitter feeling welled up in Anna’s heart as she gazed at the old woman who had been by her side since she was a child.
"Lisa, you're worked hard all these years. Only with you around can I feel the warmth of home in this house."
Lisa gazed at her and spoke in a voice brimming with sympathy. "Ms. Anna, this is your home. Everything is supposed to be yours!"
Anna smiled wryly. 'Is this still my home?’
"If it weren't for my wish to protect... I would have left this house long ago."
Anna held Lisa's hand as she searched for first aid. She gently helped Lisa apply medication to her wound.
Seeing her red and swollen arm made Anna feel a sharp pain in her chest again.
"Lisa... I'm sorry to have involved you in this."
"Ms. Anna, don't say that!"
"Lisa..." Anna endured the pain in her heart. She hesitated for a while, then murmured, "Although I am reluctant to part with you, I can help you find a better place than here."
"What? Ms. Anna, are you laying me off?"
"I don’t want you to stay here and be tormented by Nicole and Chloe! They were never this bold in the past, but now that I have nothing, they’ve become unscrupulous!
"Lisa, I don't want you to suffer through this because o f me! You're already so old!"
"Ms. Anna, I refuse to leave! I won't leave you... If I do, you'll have no one left by your side... Madam has always treated me with kindness. In this lifetime, I will never leave you..."
As Lisa spoke, she started to wail.
"In the past... I was diagnosed with a serious disease but had no money for treatment. Just as I was about to give up treatment, Madam paid for it and saved my life ... The life I live now is all bestowed upon me by her..."
Anna frowned. "Lisa, I've always wanted to ask, my mother... She has always been in good health... How did she suddenly get a heart attack and crashed her car?"
Lisa’s whole body trembled abruptly. Her hands grew slightly cold.
Anna could feel the change in temperature of Lisa's palms. It puzzled and staggered her even more. "Lisa, what's with you? Do you know something about this?"
"No! No, I don't! I don't know anything about it!”
Lisa panicked a little. As she stared at Anna, who resembled Elena Lincoln a great deal, she could not help but fall into a daze. She was abruptly reminded o f the incident on a stormy night twenty years ago. Her expression turned even more terror-stricken.
Lisa quickly retracted her hands. Her palms were covered in a cold sweat. She tried her best to hide her panic. "I left the stove on for Ms. Chloe's soup!
"Oh, what a bad memory I have! If I over boil it, Ms. Chloe will get mad again!"
Lisa quickly stood up. "Ms. Anna, I'll be heading out."
Lisa’s panicked behavior confused Anna even more.
'What is Lisa so afraid of?
'What is she hiding this time?'
An unpleasant thought flashed through her mind. Her hairs could not help but stand on end.
In Liam’s office.
He put down the document in his hands and massaged his aching temples.
Seeing Liam's weary manner made James worry. "Mr. Ackman, you haven't rested for days because of this project. Please go home and take some rest! Let me take care of the rest.”
Liam drank a sip of his coffee. His weathered expression did not affect his handsomeness at all. In fact, it added a sense of worn maturity to his appearance.
"It's okay. This project is the first difficult task I have taken on ever since I got back. Although we have secured the project, we can’t let there be any mistakes at this time!
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Take Control of Yourself, Please novel (Anna and Liam)