The moment Wendy finished speaking, she ignored Gill and pushed past her to enter the ward.
She wasn’t here for that. Of course not.
The only reason she agreed to be with Gorman was because of Gorman himself.
She didn’t once pine for the coveted title of being Mrs. Taylor as Gorman was the only person in her mind all those years ago.
Upon hearing the door close, Gorman gave a violent roar from his sickbed, “Get out! All of you-”
His voice dropped immediately once he saw who’d just entered.
After standing by the door for a while, she moved to his bedside.
“Why are you here? To laugh at me? Have I, Gorman, betrayed you up to the point where even God can’t save me anymore, which is why He struck me down like this? Are you happy now that I’m a cripple?” He sneered.
“When I was younger, I never understood why my father would always find fault with my mother even though she was the hardworking one in the family. And even when I did nothing wrong, my dad still couldn’t find it in him to give me love and affection at all. I also recall complaining to God as I was so confused as to why my friends around me laughed at me and called me a b*stard even though I have both a mom and dad.
“But it wasn’t until I grew up that I finally realised that there wasn’t such a thing as ‘God’ in the first place. If God actually existed, then how could He let so much injustice take place in the world? I feel ‘God’ is just an excuse made up by people who’ve lost their will in life.
“So, stop complaining about your fate and destiny and whatnot, Gorman. What’s happened has happened, and what you should do now is not give up on yourself, but find the will to get yourself together again. You still have such a long life ahead of you, are you telling me you’re going to be depressed for the rest of your life? ” She asked in a calm manner.
However, he looked at her with eyes filled with despair. “Heh, what can I do with this useless leg for the rest of my life?” He lamented.
“Anything you set your mind to,” she reasoned.
“What if I told you it was to keep you by my side, marry you, and reverse the flow of time so that you can return to my side?” He, a big guy sobbed through pained tears.
“What makes you think you’ll only be happy once you marry me?” She said with a sigh.
“Gorman, the night you decided to be with Gill, you’d effectively ruined any chances of us having a future together. Other women might forgive you for this, but I definitely won’t. Now that you know who my father is, I won’t hesitate to tell you that I absolutely despise the man. I’ve also decided that loyalty was the first trait I’d prioritise when it comes to finding a partner, especially after what my family had put me through.
“I understand myself well, which is why I’ll never find it in me to forgive you for your actions that night. This is why… we can never get back together again. And even if we do, you and I can never be happy, as I don’t trust you anymore.
“I understand your frustrations, but regardless of whether or not you’ll betray me once more and regardless of the things you plan to do for me in the future, you’ve already destroyed any semblance of trust I have towards you. You’re a man who can’t provide me with any sense of security, so I can’t possibly hand myself over to you without worrying. So, I beg of you to stop being so persistent, I can’t stand it anymore,” she said sincerely.
After hearing her say that, Gorman fell silent for a long time.
She then turned her gaze to his leg and said, “I met with your doctor just now and they told me that so long as you go along with the treatment they provide, you might get back your ability to stand again. Your future is your own to decide, so I hope you think this through carefully.
“Also, the woman at the door is clearly putting on a show for you. She’s not eyeing you, but the Taylor Family inheritance, so don’t be fooled by her act. I advise you to find a woman who genuinely loves you for who you are and marry her,” she said plainly.
After a moment of silence, she spun around and headed towards the door.
“Wendy,” he called out to her.
“If it hadn’t been for that night, would you really have married me?” He croaked.
She turned her head to look at him and nodded without hesitation, “I would,” she admitted.
A brief silence filled the air before she continued, “Deep down, I know that you’re an accomplished man with a good heart, even until now. But… you really went too far with the stunt you pulled last time.
“Gorman, every word I’ve ever said to you, every word, came from the bottom of my heart. The feelings I had towards you back then were also genuine. In fact, the thought of marrying you might sound laughable now, but it sure felt real to me then.
“Just like how it was back then, everything I say to you now is still sincere, and my ‘no’s still mean ‘no’. Instead of wasting your time on me, wouldn’t it be better to take care of yourself properly, care for the company on behalf of your parents, and find a woman you love so that you can live a good life together?” She asked.
“Henson is not as simple a man as you think he is,” he piped up after seeing that she was about to leave. “In order to impress a woman, he flexed his authority and forced my strong-headed mother to withdraw from her position as university president just because she hurt you. Do you know what this implies?
“It means he’s the type of man to be all kind and gentle in the beginning, but once he has you wrapped around his fingers, he won’t hesitate to shove you aside. You’ll be the one who’ll be miserable then, you know that?” He scoffed.
“I’m the one who’s responsible for the decisions I make in my life, that’s all I can say. Also, this is the last time I’ll see you again, so you better watch yourself in the future,” she said flatly.
With that, she opened the door and stepped out of the room.
Outside, Gill had a fiendish look on as she glared at Wendy.
“You’re not a roadwork sign, so don’t block my way. Beat it,” Wendy commanded flatly.
“You’re truly shameless, you know that, Wendy?” Gill spat.
“Not as much as you,” Wendy retorted and raised an eyebrow. “I’m too busy to stay here and argue with you. Get out of my way,”
With that, she pushed her aside.
Gill looked at her, walking into the distance and threatened in a chilly tone, “Rest assured, I won’t let this slide, Wendy. Just you wait.”
On the way back to campus, Gorman’s words kept swirling in her mind.
Did Henson actually force her out of the university just because she hit her?
“How could this be? No matter how capable Henson was, how could he just meddle in the affairs pertaining to the university like that?” She thought.
The more she thought about it, the more unreal it felt to her.
But then again, what would Gorman stand to gain by lying to her?
When she arrived at the office, she realised that Howell had a competition in the afternoon, so she was sent to the court by the faculty as an assistant teacher.
The competition went smoothly and ended with a score of 26 to 13. This propelled the university team to the finals.
Upon looking at the time once she exited the stadium, she phoned Baron to tell him not to pick her up as she planned to hail a cab home.
Howell, who was carrying a sports bag on his back jogged over to her side and asked, “Are you headed home now, Sister Wendy?”
“Are you?” She asked back while looking at him.
“Not tonight. Mason and his wife want me to go over to their place for dinner. Will Baron come over to pick you up later? If so, I can hitch a ride by then,” he told her.
“I told Baron not to come over later. We can take a cab together though,” she said.
“I could never. If Henson finds out that I got into a cab with you, he’ll definitely explode in rage!” he exclaimed.
“Surely he doesn’t have such a bad temper?” She replied, dumbfounded.
“Heh, I told you before. You haven’t seen how frightening my brother can be when he’s angry. Tsk, tsk,”
He scoffed and shook his head profusely.
“You always gloat to me about how capable Henson is, so answer me this, is he capable of getting rid of the president of the university if I tell him to?” She said after giving it some thought.
“Is this one of your jokes, Sister Wendy?” He asked, flabbergasted.