chapter577

Sandy was obsessed with the idea of becoming Miracle Hands' apprentice,

completely unaware that the legendary Miracle Hands was right beside her the whole time. She just hadn't realized it yet.

When Lydia heard about Sandy's plan, she couldn't help but laugh.

She wanted to be Lydia's apprentice? As if.

"If she wants to kneel, let her kneel," Lydia said, thinking Sandy would give up eventually. But this time, Sandy seemed determined. For three days straight, she went to the old lady's courtyard and knelt there, refusing to leave unless she got a yes.

On the third day, just before five in the afternoon, the sky turned dark, thick clouds rolling in until it looked like the whole world was covered by a huge black curtain. The wind roared through the trees, bending branches and ripping leaves free, sending them swirling to the ground. Moments later, the rain started, big heavy drops pounding down like beads from a broken necklace. The courtyard quickly became a mess of water and mud, and the rain only got heavier, turning into a total downpour.

Sandy knelt there, completely soaked, rainwater creeping up her knees. Upstairs, Mrs. Smith was cleaning in Lydia's little medicine room. She glanced out the window and saw Sandy still kneeling outside, unmoving, even as the storm raged around her. Mrs. Smith watched for a few minutes. Sandy didn't budge, not even a little.

The courtyard was flooding fast, water pooling around Sandy's legs. Mrs. Smith wasn't made of stone. She finally couldn't take it anymore and called out, "Get up."

Sandy heard her and looked up, eyes wide with hope, but the rain was pouring so hard she couldn't see the old lady's face at all.

"Grandma! Does that mean you'll say yes?" she shouted, her voice shaky but excited. She didn't complain about the rain, not even a little.

The old lady just said, Get up first."

Thinking she'd finally gotten through, Sandy jumped to her feet and called out, "Thank you, Grandma!" before rushing inside, dripping wet.

She'd barely made it inside when thunder crashed overhead, shaking the windows.

A loud bang echoed from somewhere in the village, and then, just like that, every light went out.

Someone's voice rang out in the darkness. "Oh man, with this rain, the transformer must have blown!"

"It blew for sure!"

"Call the village office!"

Meanwhile, Lydia was at Connor's villa, having just finished a call with Juna. The last few days had been

Lane Enterprises was on the brink of bankruptcy, not doing any better than Smith Corporation.

Clark and Vivia kept running between the Davis family and LYLX, trying to fix things, but nothing worked out of options, they'd stormed into Smith Corporation blaming the Smiths for everything that had happened to the Lane family, demanding they take responsibility.

Jenson and Milana weren't about to take the blame. The argument got heated fast,

and soon the two families were practically tearing the place apart.

Today, Lydia finally made her move. She offered to buy both Lane Enterprises and Smith Corporation at a bargain price if they agreed contracts would be signed. If not, they could wait for bankruptcy. She left Juna to handle the details.

Juna said that when the two families heard Lydia's offer, they were so furious they nearly flipped the tables. They were just short of shouting every curse word they knew.

Connor had to admit, he was impressed by his fianc e's tactics.

Lydia, there's a reason you turned LYLX into a global brand, he said.

Lydia shot him a look. Is that supposed to be a compliment? Because it kind of sounds like shade."

Connor just grinned. "No shade. I mean it."

"You're sure?"

"Absolutely."

They were still teasing each other when Lydia's phone rang. She glanced at the screen and saw it was her grandmother calling.