Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Lewis was also wearing a black wool coat today, his imposing demeanor on a par with that of the handsome man facing Keira.
He got out of the car with a cold expression and went inside, but it seemed he sensed something, and he turned to look toward Keira.
Seeing the girl waving at him, Lewisâs expression softened.
It was only then he noticed that there was someone sitting across from Keira.
He was about to see who it was when his phone suddenly rang.
Lewis immediately answered, and a shrill voice came from the other side.
âLewis, where are you? I want to see you!â
Lewis frowned. âSorry, Iâm having dinner with my wife.â
âCan you come over, please? Lewis, when we were kids, you promised to marry me when we grew up, how can you not come? Iâm waiting for you!â
Madeleine started to cry, a sound that only made Lewis feel waves of irritation.
At nine years old, he was sold by Oliver to traffickers and was detained in a mountain village with a group of children.
At that time, all the other children were trembling with fear, crying out for their parents, all except for a four-year-old girl who was different.
She asked curiously, âTheyâre neither hitting us nor scolding us, and they even give us food, why are you all crying?â
That was when Lewis started to notice her.
Later, the traffickers saw that she was well-behaved and obedient, so they let her go outside to work and gradually began to trust her.
She became friends with Lewis.
When Lewis asked her name, she replied that her mother hadnât named her yet⦠At that time, he was almost shocked. A four-year-old child who didnât have a name yet? How badly did her family treat her?
No wonder she even felt that the traffickers were better than her motherâ¦
As time went by, there were fewer and fewer children around, and Lewis knew he couldnât wait any longer. Aside from his grandmother, no one in the Horton family genuinely wanted him back; he had to save himself.
He asked the only little girl who could move freely to put sleeping pills in the traffickersâ food. At first, the girl didnât want to do it.
She said, âBrother, the traffickers always let me eat half a bread at every meal. I donât want to go home. Do you want to go home?â
He answered, âI do.â
The little girl fell silent for a moment. âOkay, then Iâll help you.â
She drugged the food and unlocked the door.
All the children ran out.
Lewis also wanted to run, but seeing the little girl obediently sitting at the doorway, he asked, âWhy donât you run?â
âI donât want to go home.â
But she had to go home. She was the one who had let all the children escape. If she stayed here, the traffickers would kill her.
Lewis grabbed her hand, âThen come home with me.â
The little girlâs eyes lit up, âOkay.â
They walked a very long distance until the police found them and then used the child trafficking records to locate their homes for them.
At that time, Lewis lived in his old home, not yet in Oceanion.
The little girl needed to be taken to her home in Oceanion. She clung to Lewisâs hand and wouldnât let go, crying loudly. Her voice was very high-pitched. âBrother, you said youâd take me with you, you liar!
Lewis looked at the police officer. âI want to take her home with me, and she wants to come with me, too.â
The police officer couldnât help but smile and shake his head. âYouâre both still young. Each of you needs to go back to your respective homes. You canât take her awayâ¦â
The girl cried even harder, her face covered in tears. Her eyes were barely open, and she looked extremely disheveled. âI donât want to go home! I want to go with him Big brother, what do I have to do to become a part of your family?â She looked so unsightly while crying, but Lewis thought of the three months they were held captive, where his reserved personality meant the other children didnât interact with him. Only the little girl stayed with himâ¦
He thought about how the little girl had drugged the human trafficker in order to save him.
Lewis looked at her and said seriously, âHow about this? When you turn twenty, Iâll come to marry you! Once Iâve married you, you can come home with
me!â
âReally?â
âYes!â
âPinky promise]!â
II II
Later, after he returned home, his grandmother, wanting to protect him from further abuse by the first branch of the family, sent him abroad to study while he was still very young.
It wasnât until he gradually built his own power that he sent people back to look for the little girl.
But too much time had passed, and the police station from that era didnât have internet, and there had been a fire, destroying all the records.
He could only find the officer who was responsible for the trafficking case back then and searched house by house until he finally found Madeleine.
Madeleine wasnât from a good background; her father was an alcoholic, and her mother a gambling addict.
She had been bullied since she was little and didnât even have a name until she was four years old. It was only because of the human trafficking case and the policeâs requirement that she was given a name.
She knew everything about Lewis and the little girl s pastâ¦
Clutching at his collar, she cried out, âIf it hadnât been for your effort to rescue everyone, I might have been sold to a nice family and lived a peaceful life!
Instead of coming back to this hell! Why did you come to pick me up so late?!â At 18, Madeleine was nothing like the stubborn, obstinate, yet bright little girl of her childhood. The doctors said that growing up in such an environment, she was bound to have problems.
Madeleine was severely depressed and had post-traumatic stress disorder.
She was in a complete mental breakdown.
She was no longer the person he remembered.
But Lewis still honored his promise and took her abroad to help her escape that cesspool.
Madeleine kept asking him to marry herâ¦
However, Lewis didnât know if a childâs promise made at the age of nine could be taken seriously.
Only after growing up did he understand the true meaning of marriage.
So he kept delaying the fulfillment of his promise.
As Lewis came back to his senses, he wanted to tell her he was already married and ask Madeleine to keep her distance in the future, but before he could speak, her mobile phone was snatched away, and the voice of a medical staff person came through.
âMr. Horton, please come quickly, Miss Davis is having another episode! We canât control her! Miss Davis has severe self-harming tendencies right now. Sheâs holding a fruit knife, and thereâs a risk to her life! Only you can redeem her! Sheâll calm down only if you come!â
Lewis took a deep breath, clenched his fingers tightly, and could only say in resignation, âIâm on my way now.â
He turned and got into the car.
In the end, the root of the matter was that he owed Madeleine.
After getting in the car, he sent a WhatsApp message to Keira. âSorry, something urgent came up.â
Keira watched him leave, still in a daze.
It wasnât until her phone vibrated that she received Lewisâs WhatsApp message. She looked down at it and replied, âItâs okay. Next time.â
Putting down her phone, she said to the middle-aged man, âMy husband had something urgent and couldnât make it.â
âHe stood you up. Thatâs not nice,â Uncle Olsen commented.
Keira didnât defend Lewis; she had gotten used to this man suddenly disappearing.
As the dishes were served, Uncle Olsen suddenly looked at Keira.. âI havenât asked yet, whatâs your name?â