“Where do you both intend to go?”
Spencer asked courteously as he smiled at us. Looking at his unusual demeanor under such circumstances, my heart skipped a beat.
Nora and I grabbed hold of each other and looked at Spencer persuasively. “We have to leave this place. Spencer, please let us go!” I pleaded with him.
It was as if Spencer totally did not catch what I said. At the sight of Armond, who was lying on the floor in disheveled clothes, he shot me an indifferent glance and instructed the bodyguards, “Go check on Mr. Murphy!”
Two of the bodyguards moved toward Armond swiftly and took some time to check on him before they carried him away cautiously. Meanwhile, I was locked up in the room again with Nora.
We cowered in one corner and were still traumatized by the terrifying events that happened a while ago. Nora stared into space for quite a while before she came to her senses. Gazing at me silently for some time, there seemed to be something that she wished to tell me.
I looked at her and thanked her sincerely, “I really appreciate you coming to my rescue just now. Don’t worry. Ashton will surely try his best to save us.”
However, Nora continued to gaze at me in silence with a mixture of emotions in her eyes. After a while, she finally broke the silence. “I’ve known right from the beginning that Armond has never fallen for me, and I’m just a nobody to him. Yet, I choose to lie to myself all this while. I thought that if I follow him wherever he went and clung to him with perseverance, he would be able to notice me one day. To be frank, he actually treats me quite well whenever you’re around. He buys me things and is really considerate, although he would never touch me.”
“For instance, when we were first together, he used to smoke in the car. I was sick of the smell and asked him about it. From that day onwards, he attempted to quit smoking. When we stay at the hotel and he feels like smoking, he would rather open the window and smoke with his head poked outside so I won’t smell the smoke in the room. Don’t you think that he really minds about what I said? If he didn’t fall for me, he would not be so considerate of me. Scarlett, I’m pretty sure that he was really in love with me at that time. I’m not making up a story. I just don’t understand why he has turned into such a ruthless person all of a sudden. However, I’m sure he really did love me before! I’m telling the truth, and I really felt it at that time!” she continued to mumble with a dreamy look on her face.
At the sight of her bitter smile and teary eyes, I was at a loss for words to console her. Armond probably has really fallen in love with her before. Yet why did he say those meaningless words to me just now?
If Nora was right about him having feelings for her, why can’t he continue to cherish such a nice girl like her?
Nora cowered in one corner, wrapping herself in her own arms. Feeling upset about her current melancholic state, I did not know how I could console her and cheer her up. Letting out a deep breath, I patted her gently and said softly, “Nora, I might not have the right to give you advice, as I myself can’t handle my relationship well too. I’m overconfident at times and tend to put myself in hot water, putting the person I love at risk as well. As for Armond, I’m sorry that I’m unable to put myself in his shoes, just like how you are doing. We’re definitely in a different stance as he’s my foe. You also witnessed how he was trying to assault me earlier, didn’t you? I understand how you are deeply in love with him, and I’ve no right to persuade you to fight against him with me. Yet he must pay the price for the hideous deed that he has committed!”
I paused as my heart throbbed in pain when a girl’s figure flashed across my mind. “You know about Hailey, don’t you? The heart that keeps her alive now was actually sold to her father through a business trade between Armond and him. Do you know that an innocent girl was sacrificed just to keep her alive? Armond had indeed applied the most brutal way to fulfill the deal with her father. Consequently, poor Hailey ends up living in guilt. To me, he’s really a cold-blooded murderer in a way. Furthermore, countless children in the villages have perished in his hands miserably. It’s really unfair for them! Nora, I’ve witnessed all these with my own eyes. You must really think properly and make the right decision. I’m sure that you really love him, but he can’t be easily forgiven for his misdeeds.”
Nora looked at me with eyes welled up in tears, “What do you want me to do? I mean, what else can I do now? I’m sure he won’t trust me anymore from now onwards. Thus, there’s no chance for me to set him up again. Look at these beasts. They have just taken a meal and are sleeping soundly at the moment. However, when they are awake and hungry later, we might become their food to fill up their stomach at any time!”
She was right, but I was reluctant to give up easily on any chances to survive. I tried to motivate her by saying, “I know it’s really challenging for us to survive. Even so, we must be united to look for ways to leave this place. Since you’re able to come all the way here, it proves that you know pretty well about this villa. Hence, you’ll be able to find the way out, right?”
She was dumbfounded for a while before she nodded slowly again. “What do you want me to do?”
“Ashton will be here in a while. However, he would not be able to enter this villa as the wall is too high. Thus, the only way for us to get out of here is to look for Holden so he can team up with Ashton to rescue us!”
Silence ensued for a moment before she replied hesitantly, “I’ve stayed here for quite some time. Even though I can’t assure that I know every corner of this villa well, but I guess there’s still no problem for me to give a try.”
Then, she turned to look at me abruptly, “But, Scarlett, you have to be prepared to have your life at risk if you intend to get out of here. Do you think you can accept it?”
