It seemed like a common melodramatic plot from a TV show for the sky to start pouring rain as soon as Finn knelt down.
The scorching Chiwood had been lasting for nearly a month, and now the rain showed no sign of stopping. Finn knelt with his back straight, tears blurring his face. The rain poured down harder and harder, until he couldn’t even open his eyes, only staring at the puddles on the ground.
His white shirt was already drenched, sticking to his body and chilling him to the bone. The most agonizing part was his knees, the old injury causing a limp that flared up on rainy days. He usually used hot compresses to ease the pain, but kneeling in the cold rain was a different level of torment.
The cold pierced through him, and the doctor had previously warned him not to kneel anymore, to take care of his knees, or else he might end up wheelchair-bound.
Pride was inherent in Finn’s bones. Even when he was abused at a young age, he never begged anyone for mercy. Later, under Old Burns’ guidance, his pride became even more unyielding.
No one had ever seen him kneel before. And now, even as his knees throbbed in pain, Finn didn’t flinch. He knelt there unmoving, far exceeding half an hour. His legs had gone numb from the pain.
The driver who accompanied him tried to approach with an umbrella, but Finn drove him away with a single glance.
He had been kneeling for so long now. Giving up at this point would be in vain. For the sake of saving Aoife, he was willing to sacrifice even his legs and half his life.
“Boom–”
Finn’s face turned pale, and the servants watching from inside felt a pang of sympathy.
Meanwhile, Lily sat in her room, ostensibly reading a book. But she had not flipped a page for a long time, and the coffee on the table had already turned cold.
She picked up the cup, took a sip, and placed it back. Then she called out to the maid standing at the door, “Sally, come over and change the coffee.”
“Yes, miss.” Sally quickly brewed a new cup of coffee, slightly hot, which she placed at a distance from Lily’s reach.
Leaning against a window, Lily could see Finn kneeling outside from her perspective.
She held the book, seemingly reading, but in reality, she was observing him. Finn was the first person she had ever liked so much, enough to consider marrying and having children with him. He had betrayed her feelings, and now he was kneeling before her for someone else.
“Miss, Mr. Snearl has been kneeling outside for almost fifty minutes. Should I invite him in?” Sally inquired.
Already an hour had passed so quickly?
The rain gradually subsided, prompting Lily to set the book aside and stand up. “Let’s go downstairs and take a look.”
She walked ahead, with Sally trailing behind. Lily glanced outside from the door and decided to head to the kitchen.
The kitchen was the place with the most garbage, filled with rotten fruits, leftovers, and remnants of meals, cleaned daily to avoid any foul odors. The chef was preparing to take out the garbage when Lily suddenly stopped him.
“Carry the garbage bin and come with me,” she commanded.
Puzzled, the chef followed her. Sally had already opened an umbrella outside, which she handed to Lily as she approached. With one hand lifting the hem of her skirt and the other holding the umbrella inclined forward, shielding her eyes from view, Lily walked to where Finn knelt.
Lily had resented Finn. She had envisioned him kneeling in repentance before her, but she had not expected this day to come.
But Finn was not kneeling for her. He tightened his grip on the umbrella handle.
After a moment of silence, Lily asked, “Finn, have you ever loved me?”
“Never.”
Even though she had anticipated this outcome, hearing Finn say those words still pained her. She sneered, “Aren’t you afraid that by saying that, Aoife’s surgery will be botched? That she will die on the operating table?”
“I am afraid. But lying to you will only make you angrier, Lily. You know better than anyone whether I love you or not.”
Indeed, she knew. Since the day she first saw Aoife, she had known that Finn didn’t love her. Yet, she still wanted to marry him, deluding herself into thinking that with time, Finn would come to love her. But for a lover who was inferior in every way, he had abandoned her at their engagement party.
“As long as you let Dr. Daniel save Aoife, I am willing to do anything you ask,” Finn’s voice trailed off as he lowered his head, resting his forehead on the damp ground, humbling himself before Lily at her feet. “Consider this my plea to you.”
Her eyes welled up, “Even if you agree to marry me, I am willing.”
“But I don’t love you.”
“I know.” Lily took a deep breath, “I just wanted to ask if you would.”
Without hesitation, Finn replied, “I am willing to do anything as long as it saves Aoife.”
Isn’t this the outcome you have always wanted? A voice echoed in Lily’s mind, but she realized she did not feel joyous.
She was the eldest daughter of the Dankworth family, and Finn had his pride. She had hers as well. She wouldn’t let a man who didn’t love her marry her when there were so many men in the world. She didn’t need to let a man who didn’t love her marry her.
Lily chuckled lightly, turning to the chef behind her. “Dump the garbage on the floor.”
The chef didn’t understand why Lily would make such a request, but he obeyed, flipping his garbage bin over, spilling its contents on the floor. The stench was overpowering, a mix of leftover bread, rotting fruits, fish scales, and innards so blended that it was indistinguishable.
“Finn, I don’t want you to marry me. What kind of man do I want in the future? I hate you, hate that you deceived me in the past, humiliated me. When you knelt here, I wanted to kill you, but that would be too easy. You want to save Aoife, I will grant your wish. If you pick up this garbage and eat it, I will let go of the past. Mr. Dankworth will save your lover. Are you willing?”
No one would choose to eat garbage off the floor, let alone someone like Finn. Would he really pick up and eat the garbage from the ground for a woman?
Sally and the chef frowned deeply. How could anyone stomach such filth?
The driver grew anxious, “Miss Dankworth, show some mercy. Don’t go too far.”
“Right now, it’s your CEO begging me, not me forcing him,” Lily retorted.
“Miss Dankworth, please don’t be too…” The driver wanted to say more, but in the next moment, he stared in shock as Finn knelt down and tremblingly picked up the rotting grapes from the ground, stuffing them into his mouth one by one. He ate quickly, juices streaming from his mouth. After finishing, he picked up the bread with fish innards stuck to it and shoved it into his mouth. The strong fishy smell could induce a nauseating feeling as it hit the throat, causing discomfort. Finn gagged, covering his mouth tightly, chewed a few times, and swallowed. He gulped it down in large chunks, pale-faced and numb, no hint of his actions visible on his face. He seemed like a starving beggar devouring food, disregarding all decency and self-image.
“Mr. Snearl… Please don’t eat…”