The owner of the cocky voice was Bryan Stell. He had a cigarette in his mouth and five underlings following behind as they walked over to Joanna.
"Remember how your parents owe me a f*ck ton of money and then decided to report me to the police for illegal trade? Yeah, I had to pay a fine of millions and was held in custody for two whole weeks!"
"When I was finally out and ready to get revenge, I found out those two wimps ended up jumping off a building! F*cking hell! You're their only child, aren't you? Now that we've bumped into each other, tell me… just how many times are you going to grovel to earn my forgiveness?"
Clara jumped out of her seat and scowled at Bryan. "Grovel?! Over my dead body! Get lost if you don't want to die!"
Bryan was furious to have been insulted. Shoving his finger in front of Clara's nose, he said, "Who even are you, you little brat?! This is a personal matter, so you should take your own advice and get lost!"
"Consider this a warning!" Clara stood in between Joanna and Bryan, and her tone was dangerous, "You should run while you still can. If you make my girl angry… You'll definitely regret ever crossing paths with her."
Upon hearing this, Bryan and his underlings froze for a second, then cracked up instead.
"Hahahaha, regret? You probably don't know this yet, little brat, but the Morans have kicked this unlucky b*tch out of their family! She's nothing without the Moran family, you know? I can do whatever I want with her now!"
Bryan had been trying to make Joanna pay for what her parents did for years. However, he could only suppress his fury when she married the most influential figure in the City. Two days ago, he
discovered that Ace kicked her out of the house, not to mention that the mistress moved into the very same house soon after. Thus, he knew that it was finally time for revenge.
"Haha, the universe is on my side today. Now that we're here, it's time to pay up! If you don't have the money, I won't mind if you compensate with your body instead!" Bryan exclaimed as he stared at Joanna's gorgeous face.
He felt so lustful that he even extended his hand to touch her.
'Hmph, if I get to f*ck a woman who's slept with Ace Moran before, that'll be quite the story to tell! I'll come out winning regardless!'
Joanna dodged his advances, taking a sip of her water calmly. "Sure, I can do that. But are you sure you're ready to handle this?"
Bryan grinned slyly in response. "Of course I am!"
The woman placed her glass down and stared back at Bryan, replying in a seductive tone. "Alright then, let's head to the back of that park over there!"
With that, the two actually started walking towards the park. Bryan's underlings were stunned, watching their boss with sheer envy.
Clara seemed to be the only one who was somewhat worried as she placed her hand on her forehead. After hesitating for another few seconds, she decided to call out to the two.
"Hey, uh…"
Bryan looked visibly excited at this point, giggling profusely and ignoring the underlying concern in her tone. "Don't worry. I'll be gentle. I need to keep this pretty lady around for later use, after all."
Clara fell silent as she looked at Bryan with a pitiful gaze.
'This poor guy is so unlucky. He ended up messing with Joanna Pierce, of all people! Not to mention that she's just been betrayed by the man she once loved!'
'D*mn, it's up to his chubby body to save him now. I'm not even sure if he'd survive this, to be honest…'
A few minutes later, an alarmingly loud scream could be heard from the back of the park.
"Ahhh! No! Please, I beg of you! Have mercy!
However, those screams were not of Joanna's, but instead Bryan's.
"Wh…What happened?" The underlings exchanged looks of unease.
Five minutes later, Joanna returned without a scratch on her. She cracked her neck and her face remained expressionless as if nothing had happened. Not even a single strand of her hair was out of place.
"Have you dealt with him?" Clara asked.
"Mm-hmm, it's been years since I did this, so I'm a little rusty. It took me two extra seconds to finish him."
"Don't be so humble, Joanna. You may have used an extra two seconds, but it sounds like you got ten times stronger! That guy screams like he saw an actual ghost! Is he even alive?"
"He's probably still breathing, at least," Joanna said coldly as she turned to the underlings. "If you wish to see your boss live, get him to a hospital right now."
Although the underlings had no clue, they could tell that something was off after hearing their boss' wailing. Hence, all of them rushed off, visibly worried and afraid.
Clara, on the other hand, wasn't surprised at all. When both she and Liam were kidnapped back then, Joanna was the one who took on ten kidnappers alone and saved the twins before they were killed.
They saw firsthand just how agile Joanna was. That was when they realized the power that lurked beneath her gentle facade.
While they were astonished in the beginning, they slowly grew accustomed to it. Now… They were simply numb to the sight of her bloodshed.
Their boss was the late General Pierce's only granddaughter after all. It'd be ridiculous if she was a helpless damsel.
It was a shame that the Morans had overlooked Joanna's unique abilities.
'Were they blind or something?' Clara wondered.
"Joanna, I was worried that you'd get taken advantage of after getting married. For the longest time, you were acting as a meek little wife. It was so good that I thought you'd actually become one…"
"Looks like I was just being a worrywart. No one could possibly take advantage of you, because you're literally on the top of the food chain! I feel much relieved now!"
Clara then clinked her glass against Joanna's, adding. "Whatever here's to freedom!"
Joanna giggled softly. "To freedom!"
'That's right. I'll no longer have any ties to the Moran family from now on. I won't have to act like a dignified young mistress, nor do I have to wonder what type of girl Ace Moran likes.' She thought.
'From now on… I'll live for myself! Freedom tastes amazing!'
The next day, Joanna arrived early at the private clinic for her appointment.
Not only did this clinic have an excellent reputation, but it also kept every patient's information absolutely confidential. No one else in this entire world would ever find out that she was pregnant, let alone the fact that she would get an abortion.
It would be as if the fetus in her belly never existed at all!
As the time for surgery drew nearer, Joanna felt her heart thumping against her ribcage. Anxiety was painted all over her tense, gorgeous face.
'You can do this, Joanna. This is just one small step. Once the abortion is done, your life will get back on track!' She thought in an attempt to cheer herself up.
"Joanna Pierce," the nurse called out from the office.
"Coming," said Joanna before taking a deep breath.
"I've looked over your report, and there appear to be no contraindications. If you wish to proceed, we can start operating now." The doctor's face was stone-cold as she flipped over the pages."
"Are you sure about this operation?" she asked.
"I'm sure."
"Alright, you may follow the nurse to the changing room. Once you're done, I need you to lay down on the operation table…"
A moment later, Joanna heard the doctor sigh softly. "Ah, what a shame. Have you looked at the report yourself? Do you know how different your pregnancy is?"