From the age of five to eighteen, over the course of thirteen years, he taught her many things: etiquette, languages, combat, driving, horseback riding...and killing. He took her to many places, showing her both the beauty and the darkness of this world.
Once, he was her mentor, as well as her friend, kin, and family...someone she had sworn to protect with her life.
"Sir!" An underling approached cautiously, "Your phone..."
Moses glanced sideways, his eyes filled with murderous intent.
The underling choked back the words at the tip of his tongue, hastily retreating as Moses’s gaze returned to Gan Yuan’s face.
"Miss Gan, you have not yet answered my question."
This time, his tone was tinged with displeasure.
Gripping the ice-cold soda water, the cool temperature soothed her palm as Gan Yuan’s emotions gradually calmed down.
How could she forget who he was?
He was Moses; how could he possibly forgive? In his dictionary, there were conquest and slaughter...but forgiveness was never a word to be found.
Even if he could accept her existence, what about Gan Tang? Could he accept him?
Could he accept it if he knew that child was hers and Huangfu Jue’s?
Could he accept it if he knew that because of that child and Huangfu Jue, she had betrayed him?!
"If Miss Gaia were still alive, she would surely be grateful to you."
The cup in Moses’s hand shattered under the force of his grip, the dark-red wine splashing out, staining the table and also her face.
Drops of water slid down her forehead, sticking to her long eyelashes, resembling tears like blood, on the brink of falling but not quite.
When his gaze swept over the droplets on her eyelashes, Moses noticed he had lost control of his emotions and raised his palm to his forehead.
Gan Yuan wiped the wine from her face with a napkin.
Off to the side, the phone vibrated once again, an underling picked up the call, looked at Moses, and approached with trepidation.
"Sir, it’s really important," the underling glanced warily at Gan Yuan before whispering into Moses’s ear, "about...Qiao Liang!"
His voice was low, indiscernible, but still, Gan Yuan read the familiar name from his lips.
He indeed was in Moses’s hands.
Moses took the phone to his ear, listened for a couple of sentences, and his brow furrowed.
"I’ll be there immediately."
He tossed the phone to his underling and took a deep breath.
"There’s an urgent matter that I need to deal with right now; I’ll have to invite Miss Gan for a chat another day."
Gan Yuan raised her hand, holding his necklace out to him, "Your necklace."
Moses extended his hand and, as his fingers accidentally brushed hers when receiving the necklace, Gan Yuan instinctively recoiled, almost causing the necklace to drop. Luckily, Moses’s quick reflexes saved it.
He raised an eyebrow, gripping the necklace tightly, "Take Miss Gan back."
"No need, my car is right downstairs."
He nodded, then strode away from the table.
Watching him until he disappeared at the exit, Gan Yuan immediately grabbed her bag and rose, rushing out of the hall, into the safety stairwell, and sprinted downstairs. She carefully burst out through a side door, quickly scanning her surroundings, then headed to a red sedan parked by the road. With one elbow thrust, she shattered the window, pulled open the door, and slid into the driver’s seat.
By the time she yanked the wires and started the car, Moses and his men had just exited the restaurant.
Seeing their convoy driving off, Gan Yuan grabbed the sunglasses from the dash, put them on with caution, and carefully started the car, trailing from a distance behind the convoy.