"Ahem, ahem..."

Donovan Preston cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Tomorrow, you will also take a generous gift and pay a visit to Old Mrs. Ziegler. Go as a junior and be exceptionally courteous to the Lynchs."

Adrian Preston understood his grandfather’s intention at once. He wanted to back up Old Mrs. Ziegler.

He would arrive with a lavish gift, act humbly and politely toward Old Mrs. Ziegler’s son and daughter-in-law, and lower his status to that of a junior.

The Lynch family would surely have other guests tomorrow, visiting to check on the old woman’s health. When they saw this, they would know that the Lynchs were not a family they could mock so easily.

"Grandpa, you seem quite concerned about Grandma Ziegler."

"Because Mia is going over tomorrow too. I’m creating an opportunity for you. What do you know? I’m doing this for your own good."

"Oh, for my own good."

Adrian Preston replied placidly, his words sounding even more grating than outright sarcasm.

Donovan Preston shot him a glare, then rolled over, pulled the covers tight, and buried his head to sleep.

Adrian Preston had Theo Thorne prepare the lavish gift for the next day while he went to find Mia Kane first.

After Mia Kane got back, she quickly took a hot shower, changed into a set of clean, soft pajamas, and fell onto her bed, fast asleep.

She slept like the dead, skipping lunch and not waking until early evening.

She was woken by hunger; otherwise, she felt like she could have slept forever.

"Is there anything to eat in the house? I’m so hungry my stomach is touching my spine..."

She walked out of her room.

Shayla Quinn was already back.

"I just made some instant noodles. Want some?"

"Yes! I’m starving to death."

Mia Kane held the bowl, wolfing down the noodles.

Shayla Quinn led her to the balcony and pointed down below.

"Look familiar?"

Mia Kane froze. ’Isn’t that Adrian Preston’s car?’

"What’s he doing here?"

"He came not long after you got back this morning. I told him you were sleeping and couldn’t see him, so he left. I thought he was gone for good, but it turns out he’s been waiting down there this whole time. He even asked me to let him know when you woke up. So, should I tell him now or not?"

"Don’t... If he can’t see me, he’ll get the hint and leave," Mia Kane said, steeling her heart.

"Then you’d better explain for me later. Otherwise, I’m afraid the big boss will crush me."

"He won’t," Mia Kane said with certainty.

’Adrian Preston is nice to everyone else. He’s only mean to bad people, and to me...’

’To be precise, he’s both good and bad to me.’

Mia Kane’s mind was in turmoil. Though she had been hungry enough to eat a horse, the instant noodles in her bowl suddenly lost their appeal. She felt full after just a couple of bites.

Outside, the sky slowly darkened, and a heavy rain began to fall, blurring the night and the downpour into one.

With the downpour came a noticeable drop in temperature, and a chill seeped in through the window.

"Fall must be setting in. The weather’s gotten much colder."

Shayla Quinn closed the window, curled up on the sofa wrapped in a blanket, and comfortably watched TV.

But Mia Kane was completely distracted.

Shayla could tell.

"It’s raining so hard out there, and it’s gotten cold. Do you think he’ll freeze in the car?"

"No, he has the heat on."

"What about him waiting there without moving an inch? Will he get hungry?"

"There are places to eat downstairs."

"Do you think he’ll wait all night?"

Mia Kane bit her lip. She wasn’t sure. ’It’s been so long, why hasn’t he left? Is he really determined to wait for me?’ 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

She glanced at her phone. The crucial part was that Adrian Preston hadn’t sent her a single text or made a single call.

’What is he trying to do?’

"Mia, do you like him?" Shayla Quinn asked seriously.

She didn’t answer.

"You must like him, right? So why are you being so awkward and difficult with him?"

"Shayla, imagine someone bullied you in school, and you finally managed to escape that shadow. You start dating again and meet a man who’s perfect in every way. But then you find out that this man also participated in the bullying."

"You were only bullied that one time, but he was involved through the whole thing. If you found out later, what would you do?"

"He seems like such a good person, yet he did something so vile, and it hurt you directly. Shayla, would you still stay with him?"

Shayla Quinn was stumped.

She had been bullied for real, and to this day, she still remembered the ugly faces of those people.

Sometimes, she would be jolted awake from nightmares, constantly trying to heal the scars of her childhood.

Her initial motivation for becoming a journalist was to expose school violence to the public.

She would never forgive any bully.

’People who bully the weak all deserve to die.’

"I wouldn’t. I’d break up with him immediately."

"But what if you really liked him?"

"If I stayed with him, if I used love to deny his wrongdoing, then I might start to think bullying isn’t wrong. I could even become a perpetrator myself one day!"

’Empathize with a bully, and you’ll become the next one.’

"Yes... that’s exactly how I feel right now. Adrian Preston made a mistake. If I forgive him, it’s like denying the pain I went through. Then, in the future, if another victim came to me, my stance wouldn’t be firm."

’If I pretended nothing happened today and just happily got together with Adrian Preston...’

’Then someday, if a girl who had been assaulted came to me, would I advise her to marry her rapist? To tell her it wouldn’t be a crime that way? That since her body was no longer ’pure,’ she might as well just give in to him and make it official?’

’Liking Adrian Preston is real.’

’But being unable to rationalize a crime is also real.’

’Wrong is wrong. It can’t be washed clean. It can never be washed clean.’

’People who can whitewash such evil have a problem themselves.’

Shayla Quinn wanted to ask how exactly Adrian Preston had bullied her, but she couldn’t bring herself to, afraid of reopening Mia Kane’s wounds.

"I’m tired. I’m going back to my room to rest."

Mia Kane got up and went to her room, but she couldn’t stop herself from looking down. Adrian Preston’s car was still there.

Steeling her heart, she drew the curtains, turned off the light, and lay down on her bed to sleep.

But that night, her sleep was anything but peaceful.

She woke up early the next morning, planning to buy some things and visit her grandma.

She wanted to avoid Adrian Preston, but his car was right downstairs. There was no way around it.

She could only brace herself and walk out, pretending not to know anything.

There was movement from Adrian Preston’s car.

"Mia Kane."

He called out to her, his voice a little hoarse.

She turned to look at him. He hadn’t gone home all night and hadn’t changed his clothes. His usually crisp suit now had several wrinkles.

He hadn’t slept well in the car all night. His eyes were bloodshot, and he looked haggard.

"Can I help you?"

"You left yesterday without saying goodbye."

"I told the nurse..."

"But you didn’t tell me. That’s still leaving without saying goodbye."

"You were busy at the time."

"I was discussing some business matters with Charlotte. There’s nothing personal between us. The engagement is also fake; we’ll find an excuse to break it off later."

"She knows you exist, and she has someone she likes, too. We’re just business partners. I have never done anything to let you down."

"Actually, you don’t have to explain all this to me. I... don’t care at all," she said heartlessly.

Her words struck Adrian Preston like a sharp knife plunging into his chest.

’She... doesn’t care?’

"Whether you care or not is your business. Wanting to explain is mine. Mia Kane, I can’t make you forgive me, but you can’t stop me from getting close to you and begging for your forgiveness either."