Chapter 334 The Burden of Being “Lucky”
Jonathan’s casual claim that he wasn’t busy nearly made Zion cry.
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Work was piling so high it could crush a man, yet here Jonathan was, tossing out lines sweet enough to rot teeth. Zion had no choice but to swallow the syrup every time he even thought about complaining.
“Really not busy?” Anneliese didn’t sound convinced, though her hand gripped his sleeve tighter.
Deep down, she just didn’t want him to go.
Jonathan gently covered her tense grip with his palm, a helpless smile spreading across his face. “Not convinced? Check with Zion.”
Her eyes
shifted toward Zion. He bobbed his head instantly. “Don’t worry, Mrs. Fullbuster. Mr. Fullbuster’s had plenty of free time lately. It’s almost lunch anyway–I’ll go buy us some bites.”
He hurried off, leaving the two of them alone. Jonathan tilted her head gently until it rested against his shoulder.
His scent was crisp, grounding, and for some reason, it made Anneliese’s chest ache. Words
stop them. spilled out before she could
“They took me in when I was five. My parents were amazing–Dad was a fire chief, Mom taught art. They loved each other, and they loved me as if I were truly theirs.
“Between five and nine, life couldn’t have been better. I had a family, a warm little home. We weren’t rich, but we had everything that mattered. For a while, I believed that happiness would last forever. Then…”
Her voice shook. Tears slipped down her cheeks.
She didn’t notice Jonathan stiffen beside her or the storm brewing in his dark eyes.
my brother’s “Good things never last. That year, Mom got pregnant at last. They kept saying I was the lucky star who gave them a complete family. Everyone was counting the days until birth. Then Dad…
“He died. Mom, already fragile, collapsed the moment she heard. She fell on the stairs, and the doctors fought through the night, but…”
Over a decade had passed. Time dulled the blade, but speaking it aloud now cut her
all open
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Chapter 334 The Burden of Being “Lucky”
over again.
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Grandma is the only family I have left. If I lost her as well, what then? Anneliese bit her lip until it hurt. A bitter laugh broke from her trembling lips.
“Lucky star? Guess I’m more like a curse.”
The words clawed their way out, heavy as stone.
Anneliese thought, Swapped at birth, abandoned, and I’m still here. Maybe just surviving is the curse. My adoptive parents died too early, my real ones wanted nothing to do with me, and now Grandma’s lying on that table because of me.
The guilt was suffocating.
“Anne! Stop it. You’re not a curse.” Jonathan framed her face in his hands, rough palms wiping at her tears. His voice was low, fierce, steady–like a drum cutting through fog.
Her lashes fluttered. She looked up, startled. Jonathan’s usual composure was gone. His face was tight with worry, his eyes raw with something she couldn’t even name.
“Aren’t I? If I had told Grandma everything earlier, maybe she wouldn’t be in surgery right now. I knew what the Shaws were like. Why didn’t I hire protection for the hospital? They came for her on purpose, and it’s my fault. I…”
Her voice cracked, guilt gnawing at every word.
Then the memories she tried so hard to bury came rushing back.
‘Kids from orphanages always bring misfortune. Look at her–Frederick’s whole family gone in just a few years.‘
‘Ms. Alston was too old to have a baby. Frederick had to support two kids and too many bills. If he hadn’t been working himself to death, maybe he’d still be alive today. Maybe none of this would have happened if they hadn’t adopted Anne.‘
Just the other day, I saw Frederick get his little girl a brand–new schoolbag. Not cheap either. Maybe that girl really is cursed.”
At her adoptive parents‘ funeral, the whispers had been like knives. Relatives pointed, voices dripping with poison.
Nishay had been the only shield Anneliese had. Wreath in hand, she had stood before her and silenced them all.
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Chapter 334 The Burden of Being “Lucky”
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She told Anneliese those people were only after Frederick’s compensation and the house, that their venom was nothing but greed, that she should never let their words stick.
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