Chapter 38
Norton walked over, his clothes and face splattered with blood.
“Doreen, I’ve killed those who hurt you.”
I neither affirmed nor denied his statement, only looking at him with concern. “What will you do now?”
In his extreme madness, he had become calm.
Norton stood up and walked toward the two bodies.
“After I take care of them, I will take you away from here.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the blaring sound of police sirens pierced the night.
The police arrived quickly.
Norton gave a bitter smile. “Looks like we can’t avoid this.”
“Doreen, I can’t take you with me anymore.” His voice was filled with despair.
The red and blue lights flashed across his face.
I looked up at him, blinking slowly.
Although Norton suffered from schizophrenia, it was not severe enough to absolve him of criminal responsibility.
He was sentenced to fifteen years.
I chose a sunny day to visit him in prison.
“Doreen, if I behave well, I might get a reduced sentence. Maybe I won’t have to serve the full fifteen years, and then I..
I smiled and interrupted him, “What does that have to do with me?”
He stopped, seeming not to understand what I was saying.
I tilted my head and grinned at him.
“Was it really just a coincidence that the knife fell at your feet?”
I wanted to tell him that I was the one who reported him to the police, but glancing at the officer behind him, I swallowed my words, not wanting to cause more trouble for myself.
This ambiguous statement was enough for Norton to realize the truth.
He stared at me in disbelief, unable to say a word.
I shrugged and waved goodbye to him with a smile before leaving.
On the way back, thinking of Norton’s expression made me laugh out loud.
How could he be so naive as to believe I would ever forgive him?
The resentment that had been building up for three years finally dissipated.
Just as I was about to call Claire, the car’s display showed an incoming call. I let it ring until it was about to automatically disconnect, then answered it.
“Doreen…”
I said nothing, my fingers drumming on the steering wheel.
“I just wanted to ask if you’re coming home for Christmas.”
I remained composed, “I probably won’t have time.”
“This year, I tried making a few new dishes that you like. If you find the time to come home, I’d love to cook them for you.”
I sighed, feeling helpless, “It’s really not necessary.”
There was a long silence on the other end before she spoke again.
“Doreen, are you still holding a grudge against me?”
“Well,” I cut her off, “I’m driving right now. If there’s nothing else, I’ll hang up.”
Half a minute later, the call was ended.
I turned the steering wheel, my face expressionless.
It would be a lie to say I didn’t hold any grudges.
I had once harmed myself over those videos, had fallen into despair over those things.
But no one knew that the only time I ever wanted to end my life was because of what my mother said to me.
In her eyes, I was ruined, shameless, someone who made them ashamed to hold their heads up.
In that moment, I truly understood.
Almost everyone was standing against me.
I waled alone in the opposite direction.
There was no one behind me.
Coming back to my senses, I realized I had missed two calls from Claire.
As I answered the third one, her voice nearly burst through the receiver.
“Doreen, why haven’t you been answering my calls?!”
Her vibrant tone lifted my spirits, and I smiled.
“I’m on my way to pick you up.”
She immediately calmed down.
“Great! Hurry up and come get me!”
“I’m waiting for you, Doreen.”
After hanging up, I reconsidered my previous thoughts.
At least for now, I wasn’t alone.
The person standing beside me was Claire.
-The End –Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g
Book 4 1 Offered 100 Million, and He Chose Betrayal
On the day the Riley family went bankrupt, everyone expected me to call off the engagement with Jamie.
In the torrential rain, I tossed my umbrella aside and helped the disheveled Jamie into the car.
“I’ll give you one hundred million. If you succeed, you can come back and marry me. If you fail, I’ll still stay by your side and marry you.”
Five years later, Jamie returned with three publicly traded companies in tow.
In front of all the media, he declared, “Ellen and I, we called off our engagement five years ago.”