Winner Takes All

The Rolls-Royce was speeding on the road, and Jack was in the driver's seat with his eyes trained on the road ahead while Mr. Ward was seat on the passenger's seat. Brent was holding Daisy in the backseat. He was comforting her gently.

His soft demeanour was a far cry from his infuriated and blood-seeking self just some time ago.

Daisy was curled up in Brent's embrace, and she was crying silently.Text © by N0ve/lDrama.Org.

Perhaps she had been crying too much to the point that she could no longer produce any sound. Only her tears were trickling down her cheeks.

Her hands were clutching Brent's sleeves tightly.

Mr. Ward watched them through the rear-view mirror and said with an amused smile on his lips, "You are really shameless."

Jack couldn't help but chuckle while covering the rear-view mirror.

Then, he pressed a button that activated a screen that came in between the front and rear part of the car. They were now separated from Brent and Daisy completely as if they were in two different worlds. Mr. Ward raised his brows and asked, "Is it wrong for me to steal a look at them?"

"You are peeking into others' privacy." Jack rolled his eyes, "If you are making out with an old lady in her seventies and I am just right beside you, would you feel comfortable?"

Mr. Ward dismissed Jack with a laugh, "I only have my eyes on young eighteen-year-old women."

After some joking amongst themselves, they were able to get some pent-up anger off their chest and returned to their normal self.

Mr. Ward stopped smiling while turning around to face Jack. He patted Jack lightly on his shoulders while pointing backwards.

He was obviously asking for Jack's opinion on how to deal with Daisy after this.

Jack understood immediately and flashed a smile, "She is still my mother's daughter after all."

Mr. Ward nodded and stopped digging around this topic.

After returning to the city, it was already three in the morning.

Jack didn't go back to TM Villa District immediately, but instead headed to a late-night coffee shop nearby.

He wouldn't estrange Daisy just yet, but he figured it was time to dig deep into certain things.

Before that, he made a call to his mother to announce his safe arrival at home.

In their call, at the mention of Daisy, Sophie sounded considerably more at ease. She just reminded Jack to get home after everything was said and done.

In the coffee shop, everything was blanketed in silence.

Only a few lamps were on, which cast a shadowy glow around the room.

It was already dawn, but there were still two person sitting in the corner of the room. They seemed to be minding their own businesses with their earphones on, silently relishing the peacefulness of the night. Daisy was already in a much calmer state.

She was holding a cup of coffee while leaning against the wall.

At the moment, her eyes were bulging because of too much crying, and her face was deathly pale.

Jack and the others felt sorry for her.

In reality, Daisy was not that bad-looking. Although she couldn't hold a candle to Amber, what with her exceptional temperament and otherworldly looks, she was still pretty to say the least.

In their daily interactions, Daisy always put on her brightest smile on her face.

However, she looked forlorn and broken at the moment as if all traces of hope had disappeared from his existence.

"Whew... Thank you so much, Mr. Hughes, Mr. Ward and Brent."

Finally, Daisy took the initiative and broke the silence. She forced a smile and added, "If you guys were not by my side, I would have been long dead."

She was not talking about literal death, but rather something even worse than death.

"You are one of us. Why are you standing on ceremony?" Jack revealed a faint smile.

Daisy lowered her head and began her story.

Jack and the others listened intently.

It turned out that when Daisy was still a child, her father was a drunkard and a chronic gambler. He would beat up her mother whenever he lost money in gambling and drank too much alcohol. In the end, her mother couldn't take it anymore, so she got up and disappeared without a trace, leaving Daisy behind.

After her mother was gone, her father turned the brunt of his rage onto Daisy.

Throughout her childhood, Daisy always lived in his father's shadows, but that horrible fate of hers didn't deter her from longing for a better tomorrow. She believed fully that with hard work, brighter days would

come.

In fact, her hard work actually did pay off. Although her father squandered penny in the family due to his addiction to gambling and drinking, the other villagers were kind enough to sponsor her education fees. When she was ten years old, she was being chosen as an athlete by her school.

Daisy was fortunate enough to be chosen and trained as a free boxing athlete, and thus began her days of hard work. Although her progress was as slow as a snail, she was still working towards her goals steadily.

When she represented her city as a free boxer, she managed to garner championship accolades for herself during the several times she participated in the meets.

She believed that her hard work would lead her to a better future.

However, by the time she was already a full-fledged athlete, her father's addiction to gambling took a turn for the worse. There was one time he didn't manage to pay back his debt and this incident was being escalated and finally affected her. Her blossoming career as an athlete was cut short there and then, and she could only retire helplessly.

Despite that, Daisy never gave up. Although she was without any distinguishing skills, she was energetic and full of vigor. She entered the construction site and worked her butt off just to earn money and pay off her father's debt.

She always hoped for a better job, and she chanced upon a high-paying nanny job introduced by an agency.

Luckily, she was being chosen by Jack and she was able to leave her working life in the construction site behind.

However, her cheerful days didn't last very long. One day, she got wind of her father's latest debt which was a monstrous amount, and that was what led them to their current situation.

After finishing her story, Daisy's head was sunken even lower, and her frame was shaking with tears trickling off her cheeks.

Jack, Brent and Mr. Ward were all stunned.

Daisy's story was short and straight to the point, as if she was trying to conceal her terrible past and remove herself from the all-too-familiar pain from grabbing her. Despite her efforts, they could still feel her original emotions from her very concise words.

Powerlessness, anguish and despair were lurking in every corner wherever she set her eyes on, and with her father's sin weighing down on her, she felt herself sinking deeper and deeper into a dark abyss. Jack's gaze was wandering now, and he suddenly recalled the first time he met Daisy. At that time, he remembered that her hands were full of calluses.

Daisy wasn't much older than him, but from a woman, life had forced her to become a man!

How tenacious she must be to be able to keep herself together?

"Mr. Hughes..." Daisy suddenly looked up and looked into Jack with eyes full of fear.

Jack displayed a warm smile and said, "Let's go home for now. My mother has made a soup and she is waiting for us to go home."

Daisy looked stunned for a very long time before scrambling up and bowed repeatedly, "Thank you, Mr. Hughes. Thank you so much..."

Jack didn't respond to her, he just signaled Brent to take care of Daisy before exiting the coffee shop with Mr. Ward.

The night breeze was mildly cold.

On the deserted streets, Jack took a deep breath before exhaling audibly. He had a bitter smile on his face.

"We are both hailing from the darkness, but now only I know that I am much fortunate compared to Daisy. At least I still have my mother by my side and I can run towards hope without any reserve. On the othe hand, Daisy was being dragged down by his father, and whenever rays of hope were within her grasp, she was being dragged back into darkness once again."

"This is life." Mr. Ward let out a long sigh.

By the time they reached home, it was already four in the morning.

What came as a surprise to Jack was that his mother wasn't asleep yet.

She was silently waiting in the living room.

Upon seeing their return, Sophie got up hastily with reddened eyes and hurried towards Daisy. She asked with great concern, "Oh my god, you really scares me a lot, my daughter. Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?"

Sophie examined the bruises on Daisy's face and her bulging eyes worriedly.

"I'm fine, Miss Burton. Jack and the others were able to arrive in the nick of time and save my life." Although Daisy tried to maintain a smile on her face, her tears still trickled down her cheeks involuntarily. "You don't need to cry, my dear."

Sophie thumbed away Daisy's tears while she hugged her. Then, she held Daisy's hand and brought her to the dining room, "I have boiled some soup and it is still hot. Drink them and calm yourself down. My daughter, I really got a huge scare because of you. If something were to happen to you, what would become of me?"

Jack stood rooted to the spot and muttered, "Mr. Ward, Brent, why do I feel like an outsider in my own house?"

Brent and Mr. Ward simply exchanged a smiley glance.

Before they could say anything, Jack declared, "Never mind, let's have ourselves some soup. I want to have you know that my mother's soup is the tastiest."

Jack stretched himself while heading towards the dining room with a smile on his face, "Mum, make me a bowl of soup too."☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐