I was quite puzzled but didn’t show it, pretending to be calm..
"Why are you here?" Lisa had no sympathy or fondness for Ariel. All her manners and etiquette were thrown out the window.
Ariel walked in with a bouquet of flowers in hand. She put the flowers by my bed and spoke in a scared tone. "Ma’am, I rushed over last night after hearing from a friend about the fire at Joshua’s place. I was concerned for his parents’ safety. I didn’t expect to find Eliana at Joshua’s family’s ho and was injured at that. So I ca over to take care of her."
Lisa’s face was as cold as ice. "Really? What a coincidence! Did you start the fire?"
After Lisa’s response, Ariel’s face instantly turned white, as if a secret had been exposed.
Lisa’s accusation was offhand, but it got suspicious. Given Ariel’s character, she could indeed do such a thing. But how could she know I was there?
"Ma’am, you’ve got it all wrong. How could I do such a thing? After all, I once dated Joshua. He was so good to . And now that he’s gone, how could I hurt his family?" Ariel’s act was accompanied by tears. She pulled out her phone to show Lisa sothing.
"Ever since Joshua passed away, I’ve had trouble sleeping. I feel like if I hadn’t broken up with him, things might have turned out differently. So, I’ve been feeling guilty and secretly transferred so money to his parents. If I were that wicked, why would I do this?"
Lisa softened a bit after listening to Ariel and seeing the transfer records on her phone.
Ariel, always adept at reading the room, imdiately started to wipe her tears as she saw Lisa’s attitude soften. "I know that you’re biased against , Ma’am. You think I’m manipulative, but I’m human too. How could I be indifferent and malicious when sothing like this happens?"
As she spoke, she started crying uncontrollably. Her pretty eyes were like faucets that just poured out tears. It was pity-inducing
Lisa’s main issue with Ariel wasn’t her background but her perception of Ariel as a howrecker with a moral compass gone haywire, unfit to marry into the Whitmore family.
But Ariel’s act right now seed to salvage her image sowhat.
"Ouch..."
I let out a pained cry and tried to move my shoulder. Sleeping on my side had worn out.
I moved just a bit, and Lisa’s attention was back on . "Eliana, are you okay? Are you in pain? Should I call the doctor?"
"I’m fine, as long as my face isn’t disfigured." I stopped Lisa "Ma’am, why don’t you step out and chat with Ariel? I need to rest."
I said this on purpose. I knew Lisa would never choose to stay with Ariel, and I didn’t want to give Ariel a chance to keep up her
act.
After hearing this, Lisa was instantly pissed off. She handed the flowers back to Ariel. "I don’t want to ask too much about your business. Stop disturbing Eliana’s rest and leave."
"Ariel, they’re in room 603." I let it slip.
Ariel was confused. "What? Room 603?"
I pretended to be surprised. "Don’t you know which room Joshua’s parents are in? I thought you’d visited them, given how good Joshua was to you!"
As soon as I finished, Ariel was too embarrassed to look at , and Lisa seed to get the picture.
it was clear that she didn’t know about Joshua’s parents’ situation, which explained her confusion. This ant she was lying about caring for Joshua’s family.
If she really cared, she would’ve visited Calvin and Mia at the first opportunity.
Lisa was a sharp one. She saw right through Ariel’s charade without needing to spell it out. She knew Ariel had been playing a part all along.
"Alright, Ms. Ariel, I think you should go care for those who really need it instead of bothering us here." Lisa’s tone was stem, almost oppressive.
I smiled at Ariel and said nothing.
Ariel, who was just playing the victim, now had a look of malice in her eyes. Her glare at was full of hatred.
Seeing Ariel’s expression made Lisa even angrier. She walked over, grabbed Ariel’s hand, and dragged her out. Ariel was probably surprised by Lisa’s uncharacteristic action. She was stunned for a mont and almost stumbled.
The corners of my mouth turned up in a barely noticeable smile, making feel a bit more at ease.
After Ariel was chased away, Lisa returned to my side. "Where’s Damon? Eliana, I’ll go find him."
After looking at Lisa’s expression, I could tell what she was worried about. She was afraid Damon would run into Ariel and stay with her again.
Ariel had just been wronged, who knew if she’d go look for Damon for comfort?
"Okay" I replied.
Once Lisa left, the room was quiet, save for the occasional footsteps outside. I picked up my phone and called Hannah to explain what happened
Hannah was quite upset after hearing the story. "It must be that jerk! He threatened , saying I’d eventually have to co ho, but if my parents dared to leave, he’d hurt my whole family!"
"But how would he know that I went to pick up your parents? He shouldn’t know , let alone when I’d co." I was puzzled
"I... I don’t know. Maybe he saw soone going to my house and got suspicious?" Hannah started crying "He’s a lunatic; he’s completely irrational!"
I thought the explanation was a bit far-fetched. By the ti I got there, it was already late, and there was no way Hannah’s husband could have seen .
Hannah wanted to co back, but I stopped her. "You can’t co back. If your husband really did this, it’ll be worse for you if he finds out you’re back. Your parents are fine. We’ll head back once I’ve sorted things out here."
"Ms. Eliana, I’m so sorry you got hurt." Hannah was feeling guilty as hell.
But I was the one feeling guilty. I had a sneaking suspicion that the fire wasn’t really targeting her parents, but .
Ariel’s sudden appearance made even more suspicious.
"Don’t worry, just take good care of my mom and try to keep her in the dark about all this." I reassured Hannah before hanging up.
As I was pondering all this, I saw a figure quickly pass by the doorway. He wasn’t a dical staff mber, nor was he anyone I knew.
It was a strange man.
I imdiately beca alert and didn’t hesitate to hit the call button. Just as I did, the man walked in and was about to close the door.
"Who are you?" I quickly and loudly asked him.
As he was about to shut the door, a nurse arrived just in ti and pushed the door open. "What’s going on?"
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