Her whole body was trembling, as if she’d used up every last bit of strength in her, wishing she could bite that finger clean off.

The obvious taste of blood on her tongue still didn’t make Xylia Xandrell stop.

Louis Lawrence just let her bite him like that.

Aside from the slight twitch between his brows at the beginning, afterward he didn’t even react.

As if what Xylia Xandrell was biting was her own finger.

After quite a while, Louis Lawrence suddenly raised his hand, pried open Xylia Xandrell’s mouth, and rescued his finger.

Then he grabbed a towel from the side and stuffed it straight into Xylia Xandrell’s mouth.

"If you still need to vent, bite this."

Xylia Xandrell spat the towel out, full of disgust, and also full of anger.

Her gaze glared fiercely at Louis Lawrence.

Louis Lawrence flexed his finger a little, the end of his brow lifting slightly. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

"If you’d bitten a couple more times, I’m afraid you’d have chewed right through the bone. Are you part dog?"

Hearing the man’s words, Xylia Xandrell couldn’t help the flush that climbed her cheeks, and she turned her eyes away.

Guilt and self-reproach churned inside her.

She hadn’t done it on purpose just now. She thought she must have gone crazy to almost bite Louis Lawrence’s finger off.

"Sorry."

The girl’s voice was hoarse to the point of being unrecognizable, like it had been ground over with grit and sand.

Louis Lawrence didn’t say anything.

"Can you drive?"

Xylia Xandrell shook her head.

She’d never even touched a steering wheel, how could she possibly know how to drive.

Seeing this, Louis Lawrence said nothing and started the car again.

"My finger’s this messed up. Who knows if forcing myself to drive will leave some kind of permanent damage."

Hearing that, Xylia Xandrell jumped in fright and hurriedly looked at that finger, a blur of blood and torn flesh, her teeth aching just from looking at it.

Had she really bitten down that hard just now?

"Maybe we should go to the hospital."

Listening to the girl’s now-calm tone, Louis Lawrence teased her.

"What, you’re not going after Mason Bennett anymore?"

A stabbing pain flickered through Xylia Xandrell’s eyes.

She’d heard that name from Bella Green many times before.

But back then, she’d just laughed it off.

Yet now, hearing this name again, Xylia Xandrell found she couldn’t laugh at all.

That was her Ah Jiu’s name...

And at the same time, it was also her younger sister’s boyfriend’s name.

How could she possibly still laugh?

Xylia Xandrell felt like her heart was being clutched in a giant fist, kneaded over and over, the pain so sharp it hurt even to breathe.

"I’m not going." she murmured.

Leaning back against the seat, staring out at the scenery beyond the car window, she looked as desolate as a fragile porcelain doll.

Louis Lawrence glanced at her, said nothing, and kept driving.

...

On the other side, Mason Bennett and the others had no idea what was happening with Xylia Xandrell.

Bella Green curled up in the back seat, staring blankly out the window, as if her soul had been stripped away.

Indeed, what had happened today was no small blow to her.

The mother she’d always been closest to was actually a thief.

She had stolen her from the Lawrence Family, and not only that, she’d given her, still in swaddling clothes, to Francesca Willis.

Then she’d had Francesca Willis "lose" her and take her home.

When she came of age, she was sent back to the Green Family.

Bella Green had no idea what Chloe Johnson’s real purpose was.

She just felt that her entire life was a joke.

As for Matthew Lawrence, she didn’t completely believe his explanation.

Whatever the reason, Matthew Lawrence had known she’d been taken away by Chloe Johnson.

So it wouldn’t have been that hard to find her, even if he’d had a car accident and been injured.

There was no way he wouldn’t have found her for all these years.

Now that he’d finally come for her, it probably wasn’t as simple as just "acknowledging his bloodline" either...

Bella Green wanted to laugh.

So many parents, and not a single one truly treated her with a sincere heart.