“What did you say?” Jane was confused, looking at Maria’s expression and couldn’t help but ask.
Maria hung her head low, giving off a sense of despair. Her eyes were red and her voice was hoarse. “He must be having the same headache now… it hurts so much, Jane. Why am I hurting like this…”
She seemed to want to reach out and hug Jane, but in the end she shook off Jane’s wrist and sat back on the couch.
Jane’s eyes flickered as if she understood what Maria meant by her words. She turned to look at Osborn and the agent standing at the door, about to say something when Osborn already knew what she wanted to do. He turned around and said something to the agent.
The agent looked at Maria’s current state with a helpless sigh before following Osborn out of the room.
“I’ll wait for you downstairs,” Osborn said to Jane.
Jane nodded before turning back towards Maria’s face again. She saw that Maria was staring intently at the closed door before finally letting out a bitter smile.
“He is really gentle…”
Jane sat down next to Maria and glanced at her phone for time reference. “Is it Kim?”
Maria didn’t answer; instead she stared silently at the bottle on the coffee table in front of them.
“Have you seen Kim? How is he doing now?”
Although Jane had seen news about Kim getting into an accident, she hadn’t paid too much attention until seeing how upset Maria was right now which made her speculate wildly inside herself.
“I… I went to see him; he is still unconscious,” Maria stuttered while speaking.
Her expression made Jane suspicious, “So? What are you trying to achieve by drinking yourself drunk again?”
With both hands clasped together sitting uprightly, she scrutinized Maria’s face with questioning gaze.
She paused for a moment then continued somewhat displeased, “Don’t tell me you’re going for some kind of love drama where you feel his pain.”
Maria froze as if being poked in some sensitive spot by Jane’s words.
Seeing this strange reaction from Maria, Jane’s face immediately became weird. “Are you crazy, Maria? Here….”
However, Jane hadn’t finished speaking yet when Maria suddenly threw herself into Jane’s arms, hugging Jane tightly around waist.
“Jane, I’m such an asshole! Why am I such a person… if it wasn’t because I broke up with Kim he wouldn’t have had an accident…”
As Maria choked up, she might have cried too much these days that even tears could no longer come out.
“What do you mean by that?” Jane suddenly felt that Maria’s words just now contained too much information, and even she didn’t react immediately.
She reached out and patted Maria’s back, comforting her, “What’s going on between you and Kim?”
Suddenly, Jane felt like something was about to emerge.
“I lied to him.”
Maria sniffled, looking very distressed.
“I clearly don’t like him…”
“Then why did you agree to his confession? You’ve been together for a long time. Maria, you better explain it clearly to me.”
Jane looked at Maria incredulously. She had always thought that Maria and Kim were in love with each other. Who knew there was such a thing?
“Yes, I don’t like him but I agreed to his confession…”
Maria covered her face as her thin shoulders trembled. She looked fragile and helpless.
“Jane, I’ve liked Osborn for a long time now.”
A hint of surprise flashed in Jane’s eyes, but at the same time, she finally found what had been bothering her all along.
She knew Maria’s personality quite well, which explained why her expression was subtle when facing Kim’s confession.
Jane sighed and looked at Maria with a displeased expression. “So, you’re with Kim just to provoke Osborn?”
In an instant, Maria’s thoughts were all revealed, and she nodded lightly.
“Does Osborn know that you like him?” Although Jane didn’t know when Maria’s feelings had developed like this, she asked.
“He knows.” The scene of the confession came to Maria’s mind. It wasn’t the same bitterness and indignation she had initially felt but a calm resignation she hadn’t even noticed herself.
“Osborn said he sees me as a little sister, he…”
Maria’s gaze carefully shifted away from Jane’s face as she calmly spoke.
“He has someone he likes.”
“Maria, I didn’t expect you to do something like this. What about what happened at the bar before?” Jane’s questioning made Maria hesitate slightly. Her hand on her lap unconsciously tightened.
“It’s all my fault,” Maria softly spoke. “I hurt Kim.”
A notification sound from the phone interrupted them. Jane glanced at it and then spoke slowly, “Since you don’t like Kim, what are you doing now? I heard he had an accident while trying to avoid a drunk driver. What does that have to do with you?”
“I’ve been ignoring his messages. He was looking for me.” Maria tilted her head, silently staring at the ground.
“Maria, look at me.”
Suddenly, Jane spoke seriously, bringing Maria’s attention back.
“You’ve broken up with Kim, and you’ve seen him. It seems like you have no relationship anymore.”
Jane spelled it out clearly, “If that’s the case, why are you feeling upset?”
“I just feel guilty. If he hadn’t looked at his phone, maybe he could have avoided…” Maria spoke, but her tone grew weaker, eventually losing all confidence.
“Is it really guilt?” Jane leaned back, resting on the sofa. “Why can’t I see any guilt in your expression?”
Frozen in place, Maria seemed like she was under a petrification spell.
Observing her reaction, Jane continued, “You asked me earlier why you felt so much pain. Is it because of a hangover or…”
As she spoke, she pointed to Maria’s heart.
“Is it hurting here?”
Maria opened her mouth but couldn’t say anything.
“Ask your heart what you truly care about.” Jane sighed, realizing that sometimes outsiders can see things more clearly than those involved.
She slowly moved her palm to her chest, feeling the faint heartbeat beneath her skin.
When she thought of that person, the heartbeat intensified, becoming more painful.
“If you really don’t like Kim, then just visit and care for him as a friend. There’s no need to become like this.”
While speaking, Jane stood up.
“Have you made up your mind? If you have, then tidy up and go to the set. I’ve put in so much effort and resources to support you. I didn’t do it just so you could have a day off every day.” Jane’s voice sounded frustrated, wishing Maria would be more determined.