That night, Liam and the rest left the Pierce residence reluctantly under Joanna's request.
Before leaving, Clara held on to Joanna's hand and asked worriedly, "Are you sure you're okay living alone in the huge mansion? I heard that there are ghosts at night. Aren't you scared?"
"Of course, I'm not. This is my house. Even if there are ghosts around, they're my family, so they won't hurt me," Joanna said with a smile.
They only left after getting her affirmation.
After all, ghosts were not as terrifying as the terrible people Joanna had previously encountered!
After the three of them left, the temporarily vibrant home became silent, with the property's moist odor permeating the surroundings as though confirming nobody had been here for years.
However, Joanna was unbothered by it.
She started cleaning the dishes while humming a tune to herself. She then filled the vase with water and placed the sunflowers inside before setting them next to her bed.
Although the mansion looked decayed from the outside, everything was still the same as it was on the inside three years ago.
She hoped she was dreaming, and when she awoke, her grandpa, father, and mother still existed.
They would be sitting by her bed and gently woke her up by saying, "Princess Joan, time to wake up."
It was getting real late.
Joanna lay on her little bed, once her favorite, reminiscing about the past as her mind drifted off.
In a daze, she heard weird noises coming from the master bedroom that once belonged to her parents.
It sounded like a woman's voice. She seemed to be crying and laughing. Her voice sounded scary in the quiet night.
At first, she didn't really care as she thought she was either dreaming or hallucinating because of the tiredness.
But slowly, the voice got louder, and she heard it through the closed door.
"Boohoo. I died so tragically. Who can save me? I'm in so much pain…"
"Hahahaha. I'm so bored. Does anyone want to play? It's cold down here."
The voice didn't belong to her mother.
Joanna was a realist, yet the hair on her neck stood up. Beads of cold sweat sprouted on her forehead
She instantly covered herself with the blanket and trembled in fear.
"Dear God, I never did anything bad in life. Don't let anything come at me!"
After a while, the voice stopped.
Joanna breathed out a sigh of relief. She was sweating so profusely that her shirt was almost drenched.
The babies in her tummy seemed to be affected as well as she felt a slight pain in her stomach.
She quickly touched her belly and comforted them. "My baby, don't be scared. No matter what happens, I'll be here to protect you. I'm tough, and I won't let anything hurt you."
Only then did the pain subside.
"What a coward I am!' she couldn't help but scold herself for being scared.
She still believed that humans were scarier than ghosts.
With the thought in mind, she boldly came out from the quilt.
Immediately, she let out a loud scream and almost peed her pants!
"Ghost!"
Under the moonlight, she saw a white shadow hovering in front of her window. The sight in front of her was more terrifying than a horror film.
"God help me…"
She instantly shut her eyes, and with trembling teeth, she began to pray.
The rumors were true! There were indeed ghosts in the house!
Although it was her house, she couldn't live in an environment like this!
Joanna jumped down from the bed and was about to leave when a white shadow emerged in front of her. It inspected Joanna with a pair of eyes before it spoke….
"Miss Joan, is that you?"
As it got closer to Joanna, the gruff voice became a little more excited.
Joanna was scared to death. She waved her hands around and shouted, "Go away! Don't make me summon a priest to exorcise you!"
"Don't be scared. Miss Joan, it's me. Your favorite, Nancy."
The skinny 'ghost' pulled Joanna's wrist with one hand and pushed away the hair with the other to reveal her pale face.
"Nancy?"
Joanna instantly quieted down and carefully opened her eyes.
After taking a good look at the 'ghost', she couldn't believe her own eyes.
"Nancy, how? Didn't you…"
Nancy was the Pierce residence's housekeeper and Joanna's nanny.
Joanna was closer to Nancy than she was to her mother on some levels.
Ever since the Pierce family went bankrupt, and Joanna's parents ended their life, Nancy had been guarding the house. In the end, Nancy was rumored to be beaten to death and buried.
That was what Joanna heard after marrying into the Moran family.
By the time she got back to the Pierce residence, it was too late. She went to the graveyard but couldn't find Nancy's
body.
After she went home, she got sick and was in a coma for more than half a month. She seemed to be possessed, blurting out random things from time to time.
It was then that Susan decided that she was bad luck.
Joanna had vowed that one day she would seek revenge for Nancy.
Coincidentally she was looking for the few men who murdered her!
"Could it be that Nancy knew about it and came to see me?' she thought to herself.
"Miss Joan, don't be afraid. I'm not a ghost. Touch me. I'm warm."
Nancy was worried that she might have scared Joanna, so she instantly put Joanna's hand over her forehead. Her grin remained as warm as before.
Joanna touched her forehead carefully and found that Nancy was indeed warm!
"You're alive! This is amazing!"
Joanna was so happy and excited that she cried tears of joy.
The joy of suddenly having a family again was overwhelming.
"Miss Joan, you still like to cry like when you were small. Are you hungry? I'll make you some food."
Nancy's sole responsibility was to look after the Pierce residence and Joanna, and it gave her meaning and a sense of
purpose.
She had been waiting for this day for three years!
"No, I'm not hungry. I'm not in the mood to eat. I have so many questions. I need your explanation. Otherwise, I won't sleep!"
Joanna switched on the light and pulled Nancy to sit down on the sofa. She wanted to know what happened after she left the Pierce residence.
"Okay, I'll tell you all about it."
Nancy gently held Joanna's hand and wiped her tears as she began to speak.