Mr. Hawthorne, Your Wife Wants a Divorce Again-Chapter 1108: Black Swan

As soon as she spoke, Josiah Keaton’s heart skipped a beat.

The Ann Vaughn before him seemed to have suddenly transformed into a different person, drenched, with ink-black hair clinging to her cheeks and shoulders, disheveled yet possessing an indescribable elegance.

But this beauty was not due to her face, it emanated from her aura.

Cold, commanding, clever, like a black swan poised to take flight.

His gaze could no longer easily shift away from her.

Zeke opened his eyes wide, struggling to breathe as he tried to pry Ann Vaughn’s hand from his neck.

Despite being pampered for decades, and though she was quick-witted and decisive, she was still no match for Ann Vaughn’s strength.

These hands could wield a Golden Needle scalpel, and also... could kill.

"Turn around, Josiah Keaton," Ann Vaughn commanded, waiting for Josiah to turn before thoroughly inspecting Zeke.

Ann Vaughn was an expert at hiding things, well aware of the intricacies, finding them with precision.

She discarded small knives, soft blades, knockout drugs, poisons, blow darts, and mini handguns onto the ground.

With each item retrieved from his body, Zeke’s eyes filled more and more with disbelief.

What kind of devil is this woman?!

She even pulled out the mini handgun hidden inside her brassiere?!

Is she not embarrassed to touch her chest?!

Even Josiah Keaton, turning back, was startled by the arsenal, "Whoa, is she hiding a treasure bag on her body?"

"See if there’s anything useful, let’s split them," Ann Vaughn said, sitting to the side, picking up the mini handgun.

But as soon as she grasped it, Ann Vaughn’s body inexplicably quivered.

A sharp pain exploded in her mind, as if it were tearing her in two, coming on so fiercely it almost caused her to faint.

In the fleeting moment of an unclear consciousness, Ann Vaughn seemed to hear the sound of gunfire.

Blood sprayed before her eyes, someone’s chest stained red, face pale white, yet cupping her face, gently wiping tears from her cheeks.

She saw her own hand trembling, panic-stricken, as emotions of both anguish and reluctance struggled within her gaze, sinking her further into despair.

She had no idea what she was doing, but the piercing pain spread from her right palm throughout her body, ultimately fracturing into countless spikes in her heart, triggering a subconscious urge to weep.

Ann Vaughn, unable to discern whether this was a hallucination or a memory.

She strained to see the face of the blood-stained person, but suddenly snapped back awake.

"What just happened to you? Are you uncomfortable?" Josiah Keaton asked worriedly, feeling Ann Vaughn’s forehead, supporting her back to prevent her from collapsing due to exhaustion.

Ann Vaughn, drenched in sweat, her face frighteningly pale, long trapped in the nightmare she couldn’t shake off, her heart contracting tightly.

The familiar sense of drowning resurged.

Yet she remained at a loss.

"Wait here for me," Josiah Keaton said, helping Ann Vaughn under a shaded tree, tossing Zeke nearby, then heading toward the beach.

Suddenly remembering something, Josiah returned, striking Zeke with a hand chop, knocking her out, and then leaving with peace of mind.

Zeke, unable to resist: "..."

Thinking she escaped hell, only realizing true hell was so near?

It didn’t take long before Josiah brought back an opened coconut to Ann Vaughn, waking her and handing the coconut to her.

"Just opened, have a drink."

Ann Vaughn furrowed her slender brows tightly, forcing herself to sit up, inhaling the coconut’s freshness, and spoke in a hoarse voice, "No need, you drink it, I’m not thirsty."

"Your lips are cracking dry and you’re still pretending?" Josiah forcefully gave the coconut to her, "Once you’re unable to stand, it’ll be a burden to me, understand?"

Unable to counter his twisted logic, Ann Vaughn took the coconut, drinking a few sips to soothe her parched throat, easing her strained mind.

Josiah watched her sip coconut juice, almost clutching his chest.

Damn.

Drinking water is so adorable.

Go ahead and cuteness overload me to death.

Ann Vaughn, unaware of his thoughts, wiped her mouth with her sleeve, "I’ve had enough."

"Give it here," Josiah said, taking the coconut, hesitated to drink directly in case Ann Vaughn minded, then rotated it before finishing the remainder.

Seeing Ann Vaughn showing the same expression again, Josiah’s lips curved slightly, then he suddenly asked a question.

"Annie, have you ever considered you might have a serious psychological issue?"

Ann Vaughn tapped her palm with her fingertips, "Never considered."

Even after confirming with Echo Lynch, she hadn’t taken the so-called mental illness seriously, believing she was already well.

Until earlier.

"I know a great psychologist, once we leave here and return to S Country, let me take you to meet him?" Josiah asked again.

"Thanks for the thought, but I’m already seeing a doctor, I should be better soon."

For some unknown reason, Ann Vaughn lied.

She didn’t want to see any doctor.

Nor ever repeat the earlier nightmare.

She didn’t want... to witness herself shooting through someone’s chest.

She wanted none of it.

Josiah sensed Ann Vaughn’s current condition wasn’t right, she seemed encased in a thick shell, radiating avoidance.

Having studied psychology himself, Josiah understood how certain states could crush a person’s will.

But he was tongue-tied, born to pursue a girl for the first time, lacking the experience to bring joy with his words.

So, Josiah’s gaze settled on Zeke.

He recalled Ann Vaughn mentioning wanting to question her?

Zeke awoke again.

This time, differently, she was shaken awake.

And upon opening her eyes, she heard Josiah say to Ann Vaughn, "Annie, I’ve woken her, ask her whatever you’re planning."

Zeke: "..."

Having led a princess-like pampered life at the base for years, suddenly falling to such circumstances, Zeke couldn’t adapt.

But no one cared about her adaptation.

"I ask you, what is your relation to Nathan Hawthorne, why did he do so much for you?" Ann Vaughn, full of curiosity, directly queried without hesitation.

Based on Zeke’s apparent age, she could pass as Nathan Hawthorne’s daughter.

But she was an ageless person, her real age far exceeding the apparent, suggesting a complex relationship with Nathan Hawthorne.