George glanced at her and felt his heart ache. He had never seen Duanmu Xue in this state before; she looked pathetic—like something the cat dragged in. In the past, she had always stood at the top, looking down on everyone else. But what about now?
His lips curled up in a contemptuous sneer. He approached her with large strides, then crouched down in front of her. “How does it feel to hit rock bottom? It sucks, right?”
A look of bewilderment flashed across Duanmu Xue’s eyes at his words. What does George mean by that? However, at the sight of him crouching down before her, she didn’t feel as hopeless as she was before.
George… is somebody who used to like me! Although she couldn’t fathom why he later stopped following her around, it didn’t bother her at the time. She thought that it was a good thing as she preferred not having to meet him every day anyway. Besides, he wasn’t the only suitor chasing after her hand. Even if he wasn’t there, there were many others in his stead—his existence had been of no importance to her. Still, seeing him appear before her in this situation, she seemed to have grasped onto hope.
She looked at him for a while, then suddenly reached out to grab his shoulder. “George, please help me. Please help me! It wasn’t intentional! I never meant to hurt her!”
George paused for a moment when she grabbed his shoulder. Looking down at where she was holding on to him, his eyes wavered for a bit, but they soon cooled noticeably. “Never meant to hurt her? Who was it… that pushed her down the stairs just now?”
Fear flitted across Duanmu Xue’s face at his words. “Will you believe me if I said it was an accident? We were planning to go down together, but when I heard your voices suddenly, I-I got scared…”
He looked at her, amused. “So, you pushed her down the stairs because you were afraid? Were you trying to use her to create a chance to escape?”
She stared at him blankly. How could he see through all my intentions so quickly?
“Did you know that I used to like you?” George asked all of a sudden.
Rory, who was standing not too far behind, immediately pricked up her ears inquisitively. Oh dear, and here I thought we were here to help… I would never have expected George to have experienced a love-hate relationship like this!
At his confession, Duanmu Xue felt hope blossoming in her. She avoided his question and said, “If you like me, then can you please help me? I didn’t do it on purpose. At that time… my head was in a mess, so I…”
“Huh, so it wasn’t intentional? Then, what about the time you drugged Yuchi? Was that also an accident?”
Duanmu Xue couldn’t say a word in reply.
“Did you know what I used to like about you?” he asked. Without giving her a chance to reply, he continued himself, “I liked your sincerity, your kindness, and your virtue.” As he spoke, his eyes darkened significantly, and his voice became lower. “However, I learned later on that everything I saw was an illusion. Do you remember the last time I visited the Duanmu Family? I heard every single word you said to your servant.”
His last sentence completely crushed any hope she had left. The hand holding on to his arm slowly lost its grip and fell to the floor limply. No wonder he suddenly stopped following me around… At that time, I couldn’t care less… Now I know why…
“So, I find it ironic every time I think about all the good points about you that I used to like. ” He gave a small smile. “However, I have to thank God for giving me that chance—it allowed me to see your true colors.”
She felt like it was getting difficult to breathe. At first, she had placed a sliver of hope on him, but now, she could only pray that her brother, Duanmu Zhe, would arrive soon.
“I can let you go this time,” George said suddenly.
“What did you say? Really?” Duanmu Xue looked at him with surprise and doubt.
“That’s right, but you have to apologize for the words you’ve said about me in the past. You have to apologize and admit that you were wrong for trampling on my feelings.”
A person she used to look down on was demanding for her to apologize to him right now. If it was in the past, she would have given him a backhanded slap. But what about right now? She had committed a crime and was trapped in here; if George reported it to the police, she would be brought in for questioning immediately. If he could let her go with something as simple as an apology, then what did it matter if she had to say it once? She blurted out, “I’m sorry!”
His smile froze on his lips as he stared at her in shock.
Duanmu Xue grabbed his shoulder. “I’m sorry; I was in the wrong. I shouldn’t have been so callous about your feelings. I’ve apologized; can you let me go now?”
George couldn’t understand the swirl of emotions in his heart right now. She had apologized, just as he had wanted, but the pain in his heart had not left. After a moment, he sneered, “Alright, but this is the last time. If you ever do something like this again, I will personally bring you in.” Then, he got up and turned around to leave.
The surrounding crowd wasn’t expecting things to end so quickly; he had not captured anybody and had simply left after a quick visit.
Rory stood in the room watching Duanmu Xue for a bit, then suddenly chased after him and followed beside him. “Are we letting her go just like this? What if she does something unfavorable to Muzi again in the future?”
George’s steps paused, then stopped. She thought he was disgruntled over what she had said, but he simply stared straight ahead. Thus, she followed his gaze.
Duanmu Zhe was walking in their direction; his strides were long and he quickly arrived in front of George. “George, Xue…”
George grinned. “She’s hiding inside. I say, Duanmu Zhe, she actually pushed Muzi down the stairs. Is the Duanmu Family unwilling to punish her? After doing something like that, how could you still allow her to keep making the same mistakes over and over again? Perhaps, the Duanmu Family needs a little help from the police in disciplining her?”
These words made Duanmu Zhe very uncomfortable. Nevertheless, his sister was the one in the wrong—there was nothing he could say to refute it. He pursed his lips and replied coldly, “Thanks.”
“Don’t thank me. If it wasn’t for our friendship in the past, I’d have called the cops early on. However, I can guarantee you that there won’t be a second time.” George took Rory’s hand and walked away.
After being dragged for quite a distance, Rory finally had enough and reminded him, “Why are you holding on to my hand?”
Hearing that, George came back to his senses and released his grip on her hand. “Sorry.”
She could clearly sense the dismay radiating from his body, so she helplessly said, “You haven’t gotten over her, have you?”
“What nonsense are you talking about? I got over her a long time ago!” He glared at her fiercely and gritted his teeth. “I gave up on her the day she said those words about me. It’s just that some of my feelings have been suppressed for so long. I finally managed to vent it all out today.”
“Really?” she muttered. He claimed that he managed to vent it all out, but when Duanmu Xue apologized to him, he seemed to be in more pain than before.
Having no intention to continue the topic, George curtly changed the subject. “Now that we’re done here, I’ll treat you to some drinks and food.”
Seeing as he didn’t want to talk about it, Rory took the hint. “Sure! I played a huge role in accompanying you this time around! I definitely need a drink!”
With that, they left together.
