Chapter 993
+15 BONUS
Just as Thomas was about to follow from the shadows, someone lightly tugged at the hem of his sleeve.
“Thomas.”
Thomas turned and found himself facing Johanna.
Her smile bloomed, bright and radiant. “Thomas, what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be with Sharon?”
Without betraying the slightest emotion, Thomas slipped his sleeve free from her grasp.
“Do you need something?”
Johanna glanced around, then lowered her voice. “Thomas, I have something to tell you. Will you walk with me for a bit?”
He had nothing pressing at the moment, and after a brief thought, agreed.
Johanna had always admired Thomas. Once she discovered his true identity was more than a match for her own status, the last lingering doubt in her heart vanished. Now, the more she looked at him, the more she liked him.
The two strolled into the quiet, secluded rear garden.
Thomas’s identity had yet to be made public. Johanna, eager to appear as though she cared only for the man himself and not his rank or power, chose her words with painstaking care. She dared not ask whether his closeness to Sharon was tied to acquiring Kalen Group shares.
Studying his expression cautiously, she ventured, “Thomas… between you and Jamie–could there have been some kind of misunderstanding?”
After Jamie’s injuries healed, Johanna had once questioned Thomas about the attempt on her brother’s life. Just as Victoria had suspected, Jamie had said he had seen Thomas at the hospital.
“Perhaps,” Thomas replied evenly. “After all, he once came to me and told me to stay away from you. He said I wasn’t worthy.”
Johanna’s expression shifted. “Jamie did that? When was this? Why didn’t I know about it?”
Thomas paused deliberately, as if recalling. “Hmm… not long before he was injured and admitted to the hospital, I think.”
That didn’t make sense. She distinctly remembered calling Jamie then, bringing up Thomas. At the time, Jamie had praised her for her sharp judgment, encouraged her even, saying Thomas could be an asset to the Walton family.
A chill stirred in her chest. “What exactly did he say to you?”
Thomas’s tone remained calm. “He said many strange things. That maybe I was mistaken about you being the person I’d been looking for. That your violin playing wasn’t as good as Victoria’s. That Victoria also had the same earrings, also played violin–so why must I insist it was you? Finally, he told me to stay away. He said someone like me, a cursed orphan without parents, could never be worthy of you.”
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Chapter 993
+15 BONUS
Johanna’s hands curled into tight fists.
No wonder Thomas had grown so distant back then. Jamie had approached him.
But why? Jamie clearly knew who Thomas truly was–why would he say such things?
Suddenly, a realization struck her.
Victoria.
Jamie must have been doing it for Victoria.
With Thomas’s help, Victoria would have no trouble entering the Kalen Group, no obstacle to acquiring Sharon’s original shares.
And as it happened, Thomas was now stationed right at Sharon’s side.
If it were for Victoria’s sake, pulling all this together would be far too easy.
Yes, it meant adding another rival in love. But if it were for Victoria, Jamie might be willing to accept even that. He might even share Victoria with someone else if it meant helping her.
Most people would never betray their own sister just to win over the person they loved.
But Jamie absolutely would.
Johanna knew well that in her brother’s heart, she could never compare to Victoria.
Back then, she had told herself it didn’t matter. She had been too weak anyway–helpless, surviving only under her brother’s protection.
It wasn’t until she met Victoria that she found, with Victoria’s guidance, the strength to protect herself.
