Chapter 2314
“Ivy- Ivy Can you hear me? Where are you? I’m here to pick you up!”
Startled at first, Ivy then realized it was Balfour calling out for her again. She quickly stood up to respond loudly, but in her haste, she forgot about her injured left foot and yelped as she crumpled back to the ground.
“Ah!”
The piercing scream sent Balfour into a panic, and he raced toward the deeper part of the woods where Ivy had fallen.
Upon reaching her, he found Ivy sprawled out on the ground in a complete mess.
“Where does it hurt? Tell me where you’re hurt!”
With utmost care, he supported Ivy’s arms, trying to help her to her feet.
But Ivy staggered and ended up collapsing against him.
“Ouch-” she cried out in pain, grateful that Balfour was there to cushion her fall, or else she would have twisted her wrist as well.
“Are
you okay? Where are you hurt? Is it bad?”
Balfour’s concern was evident in his voice, but the more he asked, the quieter Ivy became, her tears falling relentlessly.
So, he did care about her after all!
Then why had he been so harsh with her before? It made no sense.
His flashlight had tumbled aside, and in the faint glow, he could see Ivy’s lowered head and the gleam of tears on her cheeks.
“Does it hurt that bad? Stop crying and talk to me!” he urged, his hands carefully feeling along her arms, afraid to touch her anywhere else in case he aggravated her injury.
Ivy bit her lip and stubbornly looked up at him.
Balfour’s heart skipped a beat at the sight.
“Come on, stop crying and tell me where it hurts, okay?”
“Why do you care so much all of a sudden? You said I was a hassle, that I was indifferent. Why bother with me now?” Ivy’s eyes shimmered with unshed tears, her defiance making them all the more poignant, striking a chord deep within Balfour.
“When have I ever said you were hassle and indifferent?”
His voice was a whisper now, a low rumble of confusion.
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08:46
“Pssh. You can’t just take back what you’ve said. It’s like spilled milk, you jerk!”
She had been upset all afternoon because of his words, and now he had the audacity to claim he never said them!
Ivy’s tears finally fell, like large pearls striking Balfour right in the chest.
“It’s all your fault. If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t be here right now! You were so harsh to me! Wasn’t it right that I wanted us to wait for more people to help with the rescue? I never said I didn’t want you to save Ms. Lewis!”
Ivy hadn’t cried in front of someone for a long time. Since she was little, she knew her tears wouldn’t earn her any sweets.
Even now, her crying in front of Balfour was subdued, the sobs caught in her throat.
Balfour, worried she might suffocate from holding it in, sat up a bit and continued to comfort her.
“Did I really say that? I must have been out of my mind with worry. I didn’t think through my words. I’m sorry, can you forgive me this time? I shouldn’t have said those things about you. How could you possibly be that kind of person!”
Balfour genuinely felt remorseful; he hadn’t realized his rash words in a moment of desperation had lingered with Ivy for so long and had hurt her so deeply.
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