Quinn, who had come back to his senses, turned to run. Unfortunately, Nora had already stepped forward and grabbed his beard. "Old man, what are you running away for?"
Quinn cried out in pain. "Let go, Sleepyhead!"
Pete, who was next to them, was speechless.
He'd thought that Mommy was a very gentle person—after all, she was always sleeping. But after they went home last night, she insisted on taking off his pants. Mommy had been very cheeky then, and because of the chaos that had ensued, the two of them had become a lot closer.
Now, he also discovered that Mommy actually also had a very violent side to her.
She was just like a treasure trove that always gave him one novel surprise after another.
Nora plucked off two strands of hair from Quinn's beard before she finally let him go.
She really was rather mad.
The children didn't understand her pain, but as her teacher, how could Quinn possibly not understand? Yet he had still helped the two little fellows to keep it a secret from her.
Half an hour later, Justin sent Cherry over.
Nora's eyes reddened a little as she stared at the two identical faces, and contentment filled her heart.
Quinn circled around them. "It's so rare for boy-girl twins to be identical! Sleepyhead, I'm going to take them to practice once you've had enough of staring at them."
Nora nodded.
After Cherry went off to watch Quinn and Pete practice martial arts, Nora cast her eyes down and picked up her cell phone. She called her aunt and related what had happened to her. "… Say, if I run off with the two of them now, what will Justin Hunt do?"
Her aunt's voice was very carefree and hearty. She replied, "Why does it have to be him? He isn't just the head of the number one family… That man isn't one to be messed with. Even if you manage to escape, you'll be caught sooner or later anyway! I'd advise you to give up on that."
Nora leaned back on the recliner lazily. "What should I do, then? Do I pay to get my son back?"
"He seems to be richer than you."
"Then do I challenge him to a fight? Whoever wins gets the child?"
"He seems stronger than you."
"… Is there anything I'm better than him at?"
Her aunt thought for a while. Suddenly, she laughed and said, "You're better than him at sleeping. Why don't you conquer him in bed?"
"…"
Nora was speechless for a moment. Then, her aunt said jokingly, "Or why don't you get him to fall in love with you? The two of you can just get together!"
Nora thought for a while and came to a conclusion. "It's too much of a loss for me if I do that."
"What's your loss? He's pretty handsome, so he'll look okay next to you."
Nora sighed and replied, "I wanted a son, but if I do that, not only would I lose my daughter to him, but I'll also lose myself to him."
After a few cheeky exchanges with her aunt, Nora hung up.
After thinking about it, she decided that it might be better to have a good talk with Justin instead. After all, after interacting with him for some time, she had found that Justin wasn't as unreasonable as how he was rumored to be.
After giving Quinn and the children a heads-up, she went to Hospital Finest.
Justin and his younger brother were in the hallway. Neither of them saw her, so Nora walked over.
It was Sunday the next day, so Howard would be handling family matters on behalf of his grandfather at the family home.
Justin wanted Chester to keep Pete company when that happened.
Chester patted his chest and promised, "No problem! I'll watch over him and prevent anyone from bullying him!"
After he said that, he thought of the huge secret that he was hiding from his elder brother. He let out a guilty cough and asked, "Can I ask you something, Justin?"
Justin was as reticent as ever. "Say it."
Chester scratched his head. "If Pete's biological mother were to stand right in front of you, what would you do?"
Nora had just approached them when she heard his question.
After a short pause, she heard Justin's icy, hateful voice: "I will give her a terrible death."
"…"
A chill suddenly ran down her spine. The murderous aura around Justin in that instant, as well as the murderous look in his eyes, made her limbs turn cold.
This was the first time Nora realized what her aunt meant when she said that man wasn't to be messed with.
Chester was also shocked. He asked, "What did his mom do to make you hate her so much, Justin?"
However, Justin merely pressed his lips together tightly. He didn't want to bring it up again.
Nora stepped back quietly and turned the corner into the stairwell before the two men could discover her presence. Then, she took the stairs down and drove straight out of the hospital.
As she held the steering wheel, she frowned and wondered. Just what kind of feud did she have with Justin to actually make him harbor such great hatred toward her?
Was it related to her pregnancy back then? How exactly had she gotten pregnant? Surely she couldn't have taken him by force while she was sleepwalking, right? Cough.
Never mind. If she couldn't figure it out, then she would just hide it from him for now.
She had to stay in New York for a while longer anyway!
Nora went to the herbal store and pharmacy to collect the pills and topical ointments that she had made a custom order for the day before. During the collection process, the pharmacist asked, "Do you have a name for these pills? They smell so refreshing!"
Nora smiled and answered, "They are known as the Carefree Pills."
In the afternoon, while Justin wasn't there yet, she picked up Cherry from Quinn's and took her back to the Andersons.
At the Andersons.
Sheena was there again. She had a grave and worried look on her face, and even her suit and exquisite makeup couldn't hide her fatigue.
A pale Melissa asked, "What do we do, Sheena?"
The Andersons had always been the overlord of the pharmaceutical industry. The traditional medicines that they made had excellent effects, and the recipes were passed down from generation to generation. In their generation, their father had taught Nora's mother everything he knew and lauded her as a genius like no other when it came to pharmaceuticals.
Simon hadn't taken up the profession.
Sheena, however, picked up a little of it.
Thus, when Nora's mother ran away from home and caused the Andersons' gradual decline, Sheena had stepped forward to ensure and maintain their pharmaceutical factory's operation.
She was someone whose bark was worse than their bite. Her love for her sister had given rise to hate, which caused her to also feel resentment toward Nora.
Sheena's back was ramrod straight as she ranted. "The Myerses are too shameless! How dare they hire an expert to test and compare their Cooling Tablets to our Vitality Water! Their product does have better medicinal effects than ours, but we're both minding our own business here. What makes them think they can trample upon us so arrogantly?"
Simon, who had just been discharged, leaned on the sofa and heaved a huge sigh. "Sis once developed a formula for Carefree Pills, which are more effective than the Cooling Tablets. If she were still around, things wouldn't have come to this point."
Sheena's eyes immediately widened. Then, the tired woman's eyes reddened and she reprimanded Simon. "It's all her fault that the Andersons are in this predicament! Never mind that she left, but how can she take The Philosophies of Medicine with her and leave us with this mess?! That book was passed down from generation to generation in the Andersons!"
Simon didn't speak.
Melissa, however, suddenly suggested, "Why don't we ask Nora if she understands pharmacology?"
Sheena sneered, "Sis died when Nora wasn't even a year old. How could she possibly understand?!"
Nora entered the house with Cherry at this point. When she saw Sheena, she didn't bother going over to incur her resentment and just nodded slightly at her, intending to go upstairs to her grandmother.
Suddenly, a puzzled Melissa stopped her and asked, "Nora, what do you have in that bag?"