The Moon of Those Days Never Came Back

Tracie was the first to break the tense silence. “Lumina caused some trouble a while ago, so Floydie decided to give her a little lesson. But who would’ve thought she’d go straight to Grandma Alice and complain? I don’t even know what she said, but whatever it was, she managed to make Grandma so angry that she fainted.”

With her carefully chosen words, Tracie easily shifted all the blame onto Lumina.

Erika frowned as she listened. “This Lumina really doesn’t know her place. When her parents were alive, I could understand, but now? What’s left of the Shields Family? It’s all been divided up by her uncles and aunts. If it weren’t for the Stuart Family, she’d be an orphan by now. And yet, she still dares to behave like this!”

Though Floyd was still seething with anger, hearing his family trash Lumina made him speak up in her defense, momentarily forgetting his earlier stance.

“Mom, Lumina’s father did help us a lot in the past. Without the funding from the Shields Family, we might’ve…”

“Enough! Let’s not dwell on the past.” Drew interrupted sharply, throwing a pointed look at Tracie.

He then turned to Floyd, his tone serious. “I hear you’re thinking of breaking off the engagement?”

Floyd remained silent, but Erika muttered under her breath, “Breaking it off would be for the best.”

“Besides her looks, what does she bring to the table? She’s been spoiled by Grandma Alice, acting entitled and arrogant. If she actually married into this family, who knows what kind of trouble she’d cause?”

Floyd instinctively wanted to refuse.

Although he had thrown away the engagement ring and said some harsh words, deep down, he never truly intended to break up with Lumina.

Tracie quickly placed a hand on his and whispered softly, “Your parents are already furious, Floyd. Don’t make them even angrier.”

With a smile at Erika, she added, “The engagement can wait. The real issue is that Grandma’s health can’t handle any more stress.”

“Why don’t we send Lumina abroad for now? Once Grandma is better, we can reassess the situation.”

“Alright, let’s do that,” Drew agreed.

After Drew and Erika left, Floyd let out a long sigh and took Tracie’s hand in his. “Thank you. If it weren’t for you…"

Earlier, Drew had been so angry that he might have forced Floyd to break up with Lumina. If that had happened, Floyd would have been caught in an impossible situation.

Tracie smiled knowingly. “There’s no need to thank me.”

“With everything Lumina has done to you, you still help her…” he said, a hint of disbelief in his voice.

“She’s just acting like a child. Do I really need to hold a grudge against her?”

After calming Floyd, Tracie finally had the chance to visit her brother, who had narrowly escaped a broken rib.

Sean was applying ointment to his wounds, wincing in pain while still grumbling, "What the hell were you thinking, causing this whole mess and bringing that damn old woman here?"

Tracie shot him an exasperated look, almost scolding him and sighed, "Do you really think you can keep Lumina's injuries hidden for much longer?"

"What if she dies because of you? Do you really think Floyd will let you off the hook? Forget about losing your position as head of surgery—your life won’t be safe either!"

"This..." Sean immediately panicked. "You’re the one who told me to cover up Lumina’s condition! You can’t just leave me to deal with this!"

"Exactly," Tracie responded coldly, "That’s why I’ve been setting this plan in motion—to send Lumina abroad. Once she has an ‘accident’ over there, no one will be able to trace it back to us."

"And only then will Floyd be free to marry someone else without a second thought."

The plan was set for two days later. In the meantime, Lumina was kept isolated in her hospital room.