Chapter 480 Take His Place In Prison
Even an outsider knows that my parents would only think of me when they need my help. I’m the only one who’s still lying to myself that they love me. I flashed him a wry smile in response.
“Well? What are you planning on doing about it?” Ronan pressed on when he heard no response from me, the look in his eyes still as calm as ever.
“I don’t know. My mind is in a complete mess right now, and I have no idea what I should do.”
I knew I should stand firm against their request, but I simply couldn’t bring myself to do so. That weakness of mine was something that I hated very much about myself.
I felt like I was losing my mind from my parents forcing me to save Steven, and the fact that I didn’t know what to do only made things worse.
Ronan had heartache written all over his face as he looked at me.
“I think you should listen to Michael’s advice if you want to truly solve your family’s problems. You might find it cruel, but this is the only solution. You have no other choice, Anna. Unless, of course, you want your parents to continue forcing you like this.”
Ronan’s suggestions in the past had always been on point. Although I was a little surprised that he took Michael’s side in this, I knew full well that his reasoning made sense.
Everyone else could clearly see what was going on here. I hated the fact that I kept lying to myself about it.
“I know what needs to be done, but I just can’t bring myself to do it! What am I supposed to do about this?” I asked Ronan with a helpless look on my face.
It’s easy for outsiders like him to say such things, but these are my family members we’re talking about here! How am I supposed to be so cruel toward them?
Ronan frowned slightly as he said with a pained expression, “You don’t have a choice in this, Anna. You have to do it or you’ll end up suffering. Do you want to spend the rest of your life like this?”
Of course, I knew Ronan meant well. After taking a deep breath, I told myself I had to stop being so indecisive or I would just end up being hurt.
I thought Ronan would leave soon, but he kept on following me all the way to Dad’s ward.
Standing at the door, I turned to face him and said, “I’m here. You can carry on with whatever it is you have to do. Don’t worry about me.”
“Since I’m already here, I might as well go in with you. He is your father, so I should pay him a visit anyway.”
Instead of leaving, Ronan took the initiative and pushed the door open before I could even react. For some reason, I could sense that his feelings for me hadn’t changed even though he didn’t do anything to express them.
Because he had been behaving like a friend the whole time, I wasn’t really sure if I was just overthinking things. In fact, I didn’t even know what exactly gave me that idea, to begin with.
After following Ronan into the ward, I realized that my parents weren’t the only ones inside. Michael had dropped by while I was gone earlier, and a slight frown formed on his face when he saw me and Ronan come in together.
I know that Michael doesn’t like me being around Ronan. He has warned me about it many times a year ago, but a lot of things have changed by now. He wouldn’t still get jealous, would he?
Ronan paused slightly when he saw Michael, but was quick to regain his composure.
“Oh, you’re here too? Shouldn’t you be at work today?” Ronan asked in his usual carefree tone while wrapping his arm around Michael’s shoulder.
After shooting Ronan a glance, Michael ignored him and shifted his gaze toward me as he asked in a questioning tone, “Why are you two together?”
“I…”
“We ran into each other downstairs. I heard Anna’s father had been hospitalized, so I decided to drop by for a visit.”
Ronan spoke up while I was struggling to find the words to explain myself. I felt a little grateful as I knew he was trying to help me out and prevent Michael from suspecting me.
I then looked away to avoid Michael’s hostile gaze as I walked up to my dad.
“I bought you some sandwiches, Dad. Here you go,” I said while serving up the sandwiches.
Dad simply gave me a look and began eating the sandwiches.
The entire ward then fell into complete silence, and the atmosphere felt incredibly awkward despite there being so many people around.
After finishing the sandwiches, Dad handed me the empty plate and turned to look at Michael.
“You and Anna are married, so that makes Steven your brother-in-law. Are you guys seriously going to have him locked up in prison?” he asked in a weak voice.
I knew exactly what Dad was going to say next when I heard that. He knew I would never agree to his request, so he was trying his luck with Michael instead.
Unhappy with what he was doing, I protested, “We’ve talked about this, Dad! There is nothing we can do! Steven brought this upon himself! He has to pay the price for his actions!”
What Steven did was reprehensible, and he should be punished for his actions. If we forgive him so easily, he might end up doing far worse things in the future! Is the Shaw family supposed to just put up with his bullsh*t every time?
Michael simply kept quiet and maintained a cold look on his face.
“Anna, have you forgotten your roots after marrying into the Shaw family? Your brother is the one going to prison right now! Shouldn’t you be doing everything you can to save him? What are you trying to imply with that statement of yours, huh? Do you want your brother to remain locked up in prison?” Dad shouted while glaring at me angrily.
His eyes were filled with a burning rage that I had never seen before.
“I don’t mean it that way, Dad. I told you, Steven won’t remain in prison forever! He’ll be locked up for a few years at most. In fact, they’ll even release him early if he shows good behavior,” I replied with a frown.
Hearing what Dad said left a rather unpleasant feeling in my heart. Despite everything I have done for their sake, they saw me as nothing but an ungrateful person who had forgotten her roots.
“For a few years at most? That’s easy for you to say! Why don’t you take his place in prison, then? I bet you told the Shaw family the truth on purpose! You were worried that you’d get sent back to prison, weren’t you?”
Mom spoke up all of a sudden. Every sentence she said was filled with hatred toward me, and every word stabbed at my heart like a knife.
