Chapter 72 Why Is It You?

What Joanna didn't know was that Audrey was still at the boutique's premises when Tiffany and the others ran out of the boutique crying about ghosts.

Unlike others who were afraid of Joanna's ghost, Audrey wasn't. And she proved this by walking into the boutique that none wanted to step foot into.

Audrey searched every nook and cranny of the boutique searching for Joanna's ghost.

It didn't matter whether she talked to the ghost or not, all she wanted was to get a glimpse of her even though it was a ghost.

"Do you hate me so much to the point that you wouldn't even do me the honour of seeing your ghost hmm," Audrey standing in front of the mirror asked while looking into the mirror?

"I am sure you must blame me for not saving you. You hate me because I didn't keep my word to protect you. Is this why you won't even appear in my dream or let me get a glimpse of your ghost like the others?"

Tears whelmed up in Audrey's eyes as she stared at herself in the mirror.

"Am I so hateful, Anna?" The tears she was suppressing fell.

Too bad Joanna wasn't there or else she would have revealed herself to her best friend in that instant because of her inability to see her friend in pain.

At the palace, Kayden moved from one meeting to the others.

At some point, he got so bored and distracted that Chris standing by his side had to call his attention to what was being discussed.

"When is the darn meeting gonna be over?" Kayden muttered in annoyance as he stared at his wristwatch for the twenty-fifth time since the meeting began.

Joanna continued roaming around the Kingdom after the incident at the boutique.

She walked aimlessly until she somehow found herself at her late mother's tomb.

Joanna stared at the tomb which was covered with weeds.

Since she died no one has paid money for the maintenance of the tombstone so she wasn't surprised to see the sorry state the tombstone was in.

Her mother was miserable when she was alive and she became even more pitiful when she died.

What an irony of life.

Joanna bent and pulled off the weeds from the tombstone. She spent ten minutes clearing the tombstone and the surrounding until it became presentable.

"Hello, how have you been?" Joanna asked, her attention focused on the tombstone which had her mother's name boldly engraved on it.

Unlike other tombstones which had a picture of the deceased, her mother's tombstone was missing a picture.

"I am sorry it took me so long to visit you. I know you won't blame me for coming just now since you are well aware of my situation right?"

Joanna stared at the tombstone with mixed feelings. She has seen other people weep at their loved ones' tombstones but she didn't feel like crying for some reason.

She was still very tiny when her mother died so she doesn't recall a thing about her, maybe that is why the connection was missing.

Maybe she would have felt sad if she had been visiting her tombstone but unfortunately she was forbidden by Adhara from coming anywhere close to her mother's graveyard.

The last time she snuck here was when she was six years old and Adhara learned about it, she was beaten severely and denied food for two days.

Ever since then she hasn't come anywhere close to the graveyard.

"I have heard of what you went through and I kinda feel bad for you…," Joanna trailed.

"Although I went through similar things and almost ended up dying miserably, I have been given a new chance at life. Now that I am reborn, I am no longer that weak girl everyone once knew," Joanna said with clasped fists when the memories of the last years of her life flashed before her eyes.

"We might be mother and daughter but I promise that I won't end up like you. I will fight for myself and what I want. I won't let what should have been mine get taken away by others, never!" Joanna said fiercely.

"Watch me as I go around teaching a lesson to my enemies and at the same time climbing to the top," Joanna said sternly.

She took a last glance at the tombstone before she left.

Since there was nothing fun to do at the Kingdom Joanna returned to the forest which had served as her home.

She was going through the cabinets at the hut when she came across a familiar gift box.

"Why does it look so familiar?" Joanna muttered as she stared at the rectangular flat gift box in her hand.

Pushed by curiosity she opened the gift box and in the gift box was a jewel set containing a necklace, bracelet and earrings.

All were made from gold and the shape of a phoenix.

"They are so beautiful. I never knew he had such great taste in jewels," Joanna smiled as she stared at the jewel set.

"In the Kingdom, it's well known that only the Queen can wear anything related to phoenix, I wonder whom he bought it…,"

Joanna paused what she wanted to say when she recalled where she saw the jewel box.

"Isn't this what he gave me on my eighteenth birthday?" Joanna asked, subconsciously smiling to herself.

"So he was serious about the proposal and here I thought he was kidding around," Joanna's heart softened at the thought of Kayden proposing to her.

Joanna was still daydreaming when suddenly the notification popped up for the second time that day.

<Daily mission: Do two more good deeds to earn a reward>

"Yeah, it's true that I still have to do good deeds to win my 5 experience points," Joanna muttered standing up from the bed.

She folded the gift box and dropped it on the bed.

"And for this, I would rather help the helpless animals in the forest like I normally do than save people who by far don't deserve my kindness".

Joanna walked out of the hut with Bacon flying ahead of her.

<Main mission: yet to be accomplished>

Another notification came on after she stepped foot out of the hut.

Joanna frowned at the sight of this particular mission. If she had the power she would have made sure to mute the notification but too bad she doesn't.

"If it's your wish to see my mood ruined that is why you suddenly made the mission pop up then you have failed. Because I won't give you the pleasure," Joanna muttered before she ran at an incredible speed into the dark forests.

Some minutes later Joanna was seen sitting on their usual big tree trunk enjoying the beautiful sky full of twinkling stars.

She lost her senses to the beauty of the sky when suddenly she felt a presence behind her.

In a flash, she jumped to her feet ready to defend herself.

"Why is it you?" Joanna asked with widened eyes as she stared at the person standing in front of her.

...

A/N: To all the readers who have been supporting this book, I just want want to say a big thank you.

Thank you for your love and support. Please keep it up.