It was this group of people who once defamed Hattie, and now it is also this group of people who pity her.
For Hattie, there was no difference, as she did not show any emotional fluctuations due to their words.
If there was one change…
That might be that she was slightly cleaner than three years ago.
Harry’s head was splitting with pain. He didn’t know if it was because of the recent events or because he hadn’t rested well. He wanted to grab Hattie’s hand and take her back.
After everything had been said, mistakes admitted, wounds laid bare, could they go back now?
He reached out his hand, but Hattie took a step back, avoiding his gaze with a distant look.
With just this simple gesture, she didn’t hit him, but Harry felt the pain to be immense. His heart felt like it was tearing apart into several pieces.
He wanted to ask Hattie to go back with him, but he didn’t know how to ask. In this situation, he was the least qualified to take her away.
The onlookers all despised Harry, let alone Hattie, the victim.
Hattie said, “I never wanted to kill Harry back then, I just wanted to escape from him. Legally speaking, it was self-defense, but no one stood up for me back then, and I never had a chance to tell the truth.”
If, at that time, more people had believed in Hattie, had spoken up for her, would her fate have turned out differently?
A group of journalists with cameras and microphones couldn’t overpower the tall and strong bodyguards and were held back before they could even get close.
What Harry would face next, no one knew, and no one knew what his outcome would be.
But one thing was certain: as he confessed to the crimes he had committed over the years, his image plummeted, the stock market was affected, shareholders and partners called to inquire.
All calls to Harry were unanswered, all answered by his assistant.
Heise was in chaos because of a Stewart Group, a Harry, and a Hattie.
Hattie was pushed into the hospital ward by a nurse. In just a few minutes, her body had turned cold. A cold wind blew, and she couldn’t stop shivering.
The young nurse, standing at the hospital entrance, listened to what Hattie said and looked at the wounds on her body, tears streaming down her face.
After pushing Hattie in, she wrapped her cold body in a blanket, hugged her tightly, trying to make her warmer… just a little warmer.
But no matter how she hugged her, her body remained cold, as if the coldness was seeping from her bones.
The hospital had the air conditioning on, but Hattie still felt cold.
She didn’t feel much when she undressed in the wind earlier, but now in the room, she curled up from the cold, trembling uncontrollably. The young nurse held her tightly, and she wanted to hug back but had no strength. She heard her saying, “Miss Mason, I want to be a doctor like you.”
“I’m such a disgrace as a doctor. Busy for seven or eight years, not known for those major surgeries, but for stabbing someone 29 times.”
“Avoiding vital organs in 29 stabs is also impressive.”
Hattie shook her head, “You will become impressive, not me. Your future will be bright.”
The video interview with Hattie was quickly spread on various websites, and Fiona was being criticized online, with calls for legal actions against her, affecting her family as well.
Information shared by Hattie online revealed a lot.
With immense power and wealth, one could truly do as they pleased, while order and rules could only restrain the weak.
It turns out that a person’s dreams and future could be destroyed so easily.
The young nurse pushed Hattie back into the ward for continued IV therapy, brought her hot water infused with red dates, wolfberries, and a bit of brown sugar to drink. After drinking it, her body warmed up slightly.
Not long after Hattie left, Harry also left the scene. His mind was filled with the image of Hattie undressing here, as if he saw the Hattie of the past.
Hattie’s pride had never been lost. As a child, holding a red umbrella, chin slightly raised, and as a doctor in adulthood, holding a scalpel with focused eyes, she had always been that proud, confident, and assertive Hattie, the one known as “the Mason family heiress” “Dr. Mason.”
The only difference was that three years ago, Hattie was pristine, and now she was full of wounds.
How could they be together? Incurable illnesses, even if he experienced all of Hattie’s wounds and pains, he couldn’t reach her.
He knew better than anyone that he and Hattie were impossible, but letting go was too difficult.
This spring seemed colder than winter, with the cold wind penetrating from skin to blood to heart. It was as if he had gone through a tremendous ordeal.
The memories of hurting Hattie in the past had now become instruments of his torment, causing him pain with every breath, with the most painful place being his brain.
He clumsily made his way back to Hattie’s ward alone, receiving disdainful looks all along the way.
Once inside, Hattie sensed his presence. She looked up at him and asked, “Harry, do you hate me now?”
She held her phone, and the topic of Harry and Fiona had already become trending, with everyone condemning them.
Harry’s voice was hoarse, “I have no right to hate you.”
Why should Harry hate Hattie? If anything, it should be Hattie hating him. Harry looked at Hattie’s pale face.
“Don’t do such foolish things in the future. Undressing in such cold weather could give you a cold.” His own head was starting to ache more, almost as if he had a cold or fever.
He didn’t touch his forehead, but he could feel the heat radiating from it, blurred vision setting in.
He moved his hand, holding the phone, and Hattie turned to look out the window. Spring had arrived, flowers blooming outside. Unfortunately, she lived on a high floor and couldn’t see any of it.
“No need for your false concern. Instead of caring for me, you should worry about Fiona. You wanted to protect her, but it might be too late now, right?” Not only couldn’t he protect Fiona, but he couldn’t protect himself either.
There was no sound. Hattie looked out the window, waiting for Harry’s response. After a while, with no answer from him and no sound of footsteps behind her, she thought he had left.
Hattie turned her head and saw Harry leaning against the wall, head bowed.
“Hattie, I was wrong… I was wrong in many ways. This time, I chose you. Can you give me one last chance?”
Somehow, that statement struck a chord with Hattie, and her eyes welled up with tears. How could she give Harry a chance? Could the two lost years come back? Could her injuries from that time heal? She had once begged Harry for a chance, but he never gave her one.
Hattie fought back the tears, her voice low and hoarse. “Harry, I don’t want to see you now.”
Harry leaned against the wall, looking at Hattie. He seemed fragile, and he really didn’t stay. Staggering steps, he turned around, supported by the wall, and slowly made his way out. Just as he exited the ward, he collapsed at the doorstep, falling to the ground.