Back then, when Joanna had fallen in love with Ace at first sight, wasn’t it also because of his appearance? If he didn’t have that handso face of his, she wouldn’t have foolishly waited for him for four years, and she likely wouldn’t have agreed to marry him.
That’s why being obsessed with appearances only called for bad luck. Despite that, she was a die-hard lover of outward looks, even now!
"I see..." Mr. Q said with a sigh as disappointnt streaked across his face. "If that’s the reason, then I really can’t compare. I used to be very handso, but unfortunately, I’m disfigured now. The scar on my face... let’s not even ntion others; even I can’t stand the sight of it!"
Joanna couldn’t help but feel a twinge of sympathy upon seeing the proud and arrogant man suddenly beco so self-deprecating and downtrodden,
She forced a smile on her face and comforted him, "Hey, it’s okay. n don’t have to rely on looks to get a wife, you know? The treasures in your collection alone are enough to buy you ten wives. You can have as many children as you want with them too!’
"No!" Mr. Q said seriously. "You’ve piqued my interest. I want to marry you and have cute children like Adie and Abby with you. No other woman can take your place. If you marry , you don’t have to return the money to , and all the treasures in Carmine Pawnshop will be yours. Deal?"
"Sigh. Why are you so stubborn? I told you that I’m a sucker for good looks! Why don’t you find soone who isn’t as concerned as looks like ?" Joanna refused exasperatedly.
In fact, the man’s conditions were sincere and tempting, and her children liked him so much that they even saw him as their father. It wouldn’t be such a bad outco if she agreed to marry him.
But... Deep inside her heart, there was still a wall. She couldn’t bring herself to accept anyone as her husband except for a certain man.
"Sucker for good looks..."
Mr. Q suddenly beca angry and slamd his fist on the wall.
"It’s all Ace’s fault! If he hadn’t cut my face with a knife back then, I wouldn’t need to wear a mask like this! I’ve decided to get back at him! I’m going to cut his face in the sa manner, so he’ll also have a taste of what it’s like to be disfigured!"
"N-no! Don’t do that!" Joanna hurriedly tried to discourage him. "You two have fought for so long, and it was so tough to call for a truce, so don’t repeat the sa mistake. In case you fail, he’ll not only disfigure you but break your limbs and ruin your career! It’s not worth it!"
"You’re so panicky. Are you afraid that I would really ruin Ace’s face?" Mr. Q asked. "You’re Ace’s ex-wife, so could your two children be his flesh and blood? I was wondering why Adie looked so familiar... He’s actually Ace’s son!"
"No!" Joanna vehently denied it. "I’m not an idiot. Since I’ve already divorced him, why would I have his children? I’m not that free... I still have to care for my own children, okay?’
"Who knows? Perhaps you loved him so much that even after he divorced you, you still want to keep sothing of his," Mr. Q pressed further, leaving Joanna unsure how to respond.
She exploded in frustration, "Stop guessing pointlessly! Who are you to pry into my privacy? You’re not a good person! I will call the kids here to let them see how awful you are! I also won’t turn a blind eye to your imprisoning of young girls!"
Just as Joanna was about to call out to her children. Chase brought them over.
"Adie, Abby, you both ca at the right ti! This man that you repeatedly claid to be good... I’ll let you see his true colors!"
Aiden and Abigail blinked their big, innocent eyes and imdiately jumped to Mr. Q’s defense.
"Mommy, you must have misunderstood Daddy Q! He’s the most gentle and kind person I’ve ever t besides Daddy Liam! How could he be a bad guy?"
"Abby is right!" Aiden said as he rubbed his chin, a serious expression on his face. "I introduce Mr. Q to you as a husband candidate after careful consideration. You may not believe in my sister’s judgnt, but you must believe in my intelligence."
"Well..." Joanna was montarily speechless.
Disregarding everything else, Aiden’s intelligence was truly unbeatable.
Anyone who passed his assessnt was either a super intelligent person who could beat Aiden, or genuinely a good person.
Currently, Mr. Q didn’t seem like a good person at all. That ant his intelligence must be extrely high to have the two little children be so obedient to him.
"It doesn’t matter if you don’t believe . Once I kick down this door, you’ll understand my good intentions."
Joanna didn’t want to keep going around in circles and decided to let the facts speak for themselves.
Tightening her fists, she stretched her legs and gathered all her strength before fiercely kicking the door.
As she kicked down the door, she gestured for the two children to back away.
"Back up a little, you two. I don’t know how depraved this villain is. There may be sothing inappropriate behind this, so it’s best to stay back than risk getting traumatized by anything here!"
The two children were a little scared after hearing her words, and they hid behind Mr. Q and cautiously peeked around him to stare at the door.
Embarrassingly, Joanna attacked the door for a long ti, but it didn’t even budge a single inch. She was exhausted from her efforts after a while. She couldn’t understand why, as it was only a small wooden door. She should have been able to break it with her strength.
"Are you tired? Do you want to rest for a while?" Mr. Q asked "kindly" as his lips curled up slightly as if he were an outsider detached from this situation.
"Shove that fake kindness away! I can definitely break this door into pieces! " Joanna shot back and wiped away her sweat as she prepared to exert herself again.
Mr. Q suddenly said coldly, "Perhaps it’s best if you save your strength. This door is made of authentic Zambawi birch wood, which is harder than even iron. Even if you kick non-stop until tomorrow, you won’t be able to damage it."
"So that’s it!" Joanna exclaid, then frowned at the man. "You’re really sick, aren’t you? Choosing this kind of wood as a door to ensure that the people inside wouldn’t have a chance to escape. What kind of illegal things are you doing here? Aren’t you afraid of encountering ghosts at night for doing so many bad things?"
Joanna had already imagined a tragic situation of the tortured girls behind this door and was convinced that more than one girl was being held here for torture!
Mr. Q hadn’t refuted any of her accusations either and simply smiled and said, "If you really can’t break it down, you can ask Chase for the key to open it directly."
"Hah! Drop that innocent act! The evidence of your cris are hidden inside here. Once it’s opened, your hypocritical act will be up! Do you dare open it?"
"I haven’t done anything wrong, so there’s nothing I wouldn’t dare about it," Mr. Q replied, then paused before adding, "However, the rule of Carmine Pawnshop is that the restricted area is not a place where one can casually enter. You broke a rule and must be punished."
Joanna, who was in an extrely stubborn mood right now, said, "If you dare open this door, I’m willing to accept the punishnt. I’m not unreasonable, after all."
Mr. Q turned to Chase and said, "Open the door for her."
"But boss, isn’t it inappropriate to do so? I’m afraid that guy will go crazy and scare the kids..." Chase trailed off, looking toward the door but making no move to approach it.
At the sa ti, he also thought Mr. Q was acting strange. Why would he indulge this woman so much and let her take charge of the situation like this?
"Hah! Look at that! You’re guilty, aren’t you? I told you sothing unusual is going on here!"
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