Ivan Warren ignored Maisie Lynch, his gaze fixed absently on Melody Summers’s departing figure.

’So beautiful...’

’Even more beautiful than in college.’

Ivan Warren thought obsessively, ’A beauty of Melody Summers’s caliber—gorgeous, brilliant, and highly educated—that’s the kind of woman worthy of me!’

The truth was, back in college, Ivan Warren would never have dared to pursue a girl like Melody Summers.

He knew he was average-looking, with average abilities and a very ordinary family background. He had no standing to compete with someone like Austin Hale, who was tall, handsome, and from a middle-class family.

So, he had chosen Maisie Lynch—a plain-looking girl from a poor background. Maisie wouldn’t dare ask for a car or a house. If he got her pregnant by accident, she wouldn’t even dare ask for a bride price. She was a top-tier bargain.

But things were different now. This was an apocalypse!

As the old saying goes: "In times of chaos, a beauty is worth half a loaf of bread; in times of peace, she’s worth ten thousand taels of gold."

Ivan Warren felt that if he wanted to pursue Melody Summers now, he could probably win her over easily with just a few supplies...

Seeing Ivan Warren staring at the door to 1606 as if he wanted to glue his eyes to it, Maisie Lynch bit her lip, unwilling to accept it.

She gently shook Ivan Warren’s arm and whispered, "Honey, did you hear what I just said? Do you think Melody Summers is renting or did she buy this apartment? ... She must be renting, right? She only graduated two years ago, there’s no way she could afford to buy a place..."

Maisie Lynch’s words shattered Ivan Warren’s fantasy. He turned to look at her plain, unremarkable face and frowned in displeasure.

’Right now, Maisie Lynch is just an ordinary girl from the countryside with a high school diploma. Her body is average, her face is plain—she’s not worthy of me at all!’

Ivan Warren impatiently shook off the hand she had wrapped around his arm. "Enough of this nonsense," he snapped. "Hurry up and go back to pack! It’s freezing!"

Hearing this, a flicker of hurt crossed Maisie’s eyes, but she still lowered her head and said, "I know... Don’t be mad, honey. I’ll go pack right now..."

The Lancaster Villa.

Sylvia Lancaster drank some water and took her medicine, but her temperature still hadn’t fully gone down.

Even so, she gritted her teeth and dragged her heavy body to the kitchen to cook for the Lancaster family.

Elaine Hughes, wrapped in thick clothes, watched as Sylvia placed the vegetable congee on the table with trembling hands. She snorted coldly and said, "You really are spineless. You won’t do a thing unless I curse you out!"

Faced with Elaine Hughes’s tirade, Sylvia was uncharacteristically blank-faced.

She acted as if she hadn’t heard a thing, showing none of her usual sadness, hurt, or grief, nor did she try to defend herself.

Listening to Elaine Hughes’s sharp and biting words to Sylvia, Robert Lancaster just spoke up coolly, "That’s enough. Stop talking and let’s eat."

Silas Lancaster didn’t even spare Sylvia a glance, simply picking up his bowl and starting to eat.

Seeing that the three of them at the table had started eating, Sylvia quietly turned and went back to the kitchen.

Standing before the kitchen stove, Sylvia looked up at the window, silently beginning a countdown in her mind.

In the living room, just as the three Lancasters finished the congee in their bowls, a deafening crash suddenly echoed through the house: BOOM!

The sound was like a clap of thunder, making the three of them look up in astonishment—

The living room walls began to shake, and dust rained down from the ceiling.

Staring at the scene before him, Silas Lancaster stammered in shock, "Wh-what was that sound... Was that an earthquake..."

Before he could finish his sentence, there was another deafening BOOM—! and this time, even the floor shook a few times.

The three Lancasters were stunned by the two loud bangs. They stared at each other, at a loss for what to do.

After a long moment, Robert Lancaster was the first to react.

He shot to his feet, slammed his congee bowl down on the table with a CLACK, and shouted as he ran upstairs, "This is bad! The house might be collapsing!"

Elaine Hughes and Silas Lancaster froze for a second, then quickly got up and followed him upstairs.

Robert Lancaster’s prediction was correct. Nearly half of the Lancaster Villa had collapsed. Starting from the crack in the wall of Silas Lancaster’s room, the walls and floors of two entire stories had come crashing down.

Fortunately, Simon Lancaster’s room was on the other side of the villa; otherwise, he likely would have been crushed by the collapse in his sleep.

Fierce winds tore through the destroyed exterior wall like a savage beast, pouring madly into the villa and making the already cold house even more bone-chilling.

Looking at the ruins, Robert Lancaster’s knees went weak, and he fell to the ground with a THUD. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

His fists were clenched and his eyes were bloodshot. He banged his head on the floor, wailing incessantly, "Aaaah—! My house—!!"

In the kitchen, Sylvia Lancaster listened to the crying from upstairs and smiled faintly.

Then, she picked up her phone and called Joanne White.

The call connected quickly. Sylvia spoke first, "Joanne White, have you told Mr. Simmons what I said?"

Joanne White on the other end of the line sounded very nervous. She said in a slightly trembling voice, "I-I told him everything... M-Mr. Simmons said he agrees... He said he’ll be at the Nimbus Hotel for the next two days, waiting for you. As long as you can deliver on your promise, he can arrange a new place for you all and even prepare some supplies..."

Hearing this, Sylvia felt a great weight lift from her chest.

She hummed in acknowledgment and said, "We will contact Mr. Simmons again when the time comes."

Then, Sylvia was about to hang up.

But Joanne White on the other end suddenly said, "Wait! Don’t hang up yet!"

Sylvia frowned. "Is there something else?"

Joanne asked in a worried tone, "I’ve done everything you asked, so... will you keep your promise to me? You said that if I helped, you wouldn’t tell anyone about my... business..."

Sylvia chuckled at her words. "Don’t you worry, Miss White. I always keep my word. No one will ever know about what you and Austin Hale did. You just relax and wait to become Mrs. Shepherd."

After saying this, Sylvia hung up.

...

On the other end of the line, Joanne White stared blankly at her phone, feeling a bit dazed.

’I hope she keeps her word,’ she thought. ’She can’t let what I did in the past get out...’

Suddenly, she heard a voice from behind her. "What are you doing?"

The voice made Joanne jump, and she lost her grip on her phone. It fell to the floor with a THUD.

She turned around, trembling, and saw Lucy White standing in the doorway.

Seeing it was her younger sister, Joanne breathed a small sigh of relief. She complained to Lucy, "It’s just you. You scared me to death! ... Why are you so quiet when you walk?!"

Lucy White didn’t say anything. She just walked forward, bent down to pick up the phone Joanne had dropped, and silently handed it back to her.

Joanne’s hand trembled slightly as she took the phone. She turned her body slightly, avoiding Lucy’s probing gaze.

Lucy looked at the unconcealable panic in Joanne’s expression and frowned. "Sis, what’s wrong with you? What happened?"

Joanne’s eyes darted away. She answered guiltily, "It’s nothing. It has nothing to do with you, so don’t ask."

Lucy’s frown deepened. She stared intently at Joanne and said, "Don’t lie to me. I saw everything. You snuck into Mr. Simmons’s room and stayed in there for a long time... Sis, what is going on with you?!"