He stood there, emitting an unusual aura of coldness.
I felt a bit uneasy.
“Cameron?”
He glanced at the table and sneered, “Quite the feast.”
“Um…,” I replied, “it’s all your favorites.”
“Celebrating something with me?” he looked at me sharply, his voice stern, “Celebrating how you schemed and manipulated to produce this nonsensical article?”
Suddenly, he raised his hand, and a magazine flew towards me.
I didn’t have time to dodge, and the book hit me on the head.
Then, he grabbed my wrist tightly. “Laura,” he stared at me, gritting his teeth, “I never thought you’d be so cunning!”
I stood there, terrified. His eyes were bloodshot, and he looked terrifying.
“I don’t know what I did to make you so angry,” I choked back tears, “If it’s because of this article, I can explain… I didn’t write anything that harmed The Lynch Group’s interests!”
“You made some changes, removed the key words, but anyone who knows the inside story can tell it’s about The Lynch Group! Just because of your nonsensical piece, the bottom bid price leaked, causing the stock price to hit the limit down… In less than three days, our family suffered losses of over a hundred million! And you’re telling me you didn’t harm The Lynch Group’s interests?”
What?
My mind went blank as I stared at him.
Losses of over a hundred million…
That amount of money could fill this entire room.
Cameron’s eyes gleamed with a vicious desire to destroy me.
“Who gave you this information?” he squeezed my wrist so hard it felt like it might break.
“Tell me!”
“Cameron, please let go…” I didn’t know what to say.
Should I mention Carter?
“Cameron, I’m sorry!” I sobbed, “I didn’t know I shouldn’t have written about this… I was too eager to prove myself, too desperate for an opportunity to shine. I’m sorry, I’ll talk to Holly right away and ask her to retract the article…”
“Is there any point in retracting it now? The whole world is laughing at The Lynch Family because of me!”
“What should we do?” I was completely at a loss.
“Why didn’t you ask yourself what to do when you caused trouble?” Cameron roared. “Why didn’t you ask me before writing these things?”
He yelled, pushing me out. I couldn’t keep my balance and stumbled, crashing into the table. Plates clattered to the floor, creating a mess in the room.
“Who gave you those things? Tell me!” he demanded.
I bit my lip.
With my waist still aching, I tried to turn around. But as I moved, I accidentally stepped on the food… I slipped and fell to the ground, my hand landing on the pile of broken glass.
A sharp, piercing pain.
The smell of blood.
And the icy gaze of this man.
His expression told me that this was my own fault.
“I’m asking you again, who gave you those documents?”
I crouched on the ground, sweat mixing with tears as I endured the pain.
“Laura, don’t tell me you made all this up yourself. If you won’t say, then you stole it. You’re really something, Laura. The Lynch Family raised you for fifteen years, and this is how you repay us?”
“Your father killed my sister, and now you’re trying to harm me… You and your father are truly the bane of The Lynch Family! Laura, from today onwards, don’t ever come back to The Lynch Family. I’ll speak for my parents, stay far away from us!”
I struggled to stand, meeting his fierce gaze. In that moment, I felt a greed in my heart.
I longed for this moment, even if he would always be this harsh to me, even if my hand would bleed for the rest of my life, I wanted to cherish this moment as much as possible.
Perhaps this was our last moment together…
The last moment… I bitterly smiled.
Why couldn’t the last moment be a bit more tender?
Would he always be this angry, cold, and vicious in my memories?
I took a deep breath, holding back tears. I watched him leave, standing in the corridor and gazing at his departing figure.
He turned back, casting one last disgusted look at me…
That night, I couldn’t close my eyes, just sat there in the glass room… I curled up in the swing, like a baby in its mother’s womb.
I hugged myself, the only way I felt warmth.
The next day at work, I saw Holly.
She startled me, looking nothing like her usual confident self. Her head hung low, hair disheveled, and she was wearing the same clothes as yesterday. What was even more alarming were her eyes-red and swollen, with bloodshot.
“What’s wrong?” I rushed over to her.
As soon as she saw me, she bit her lip, tears streaming down her face.
“What kind of bad luck is this… I’ve worked so hard to build this magazine, finally started to see some success, and now they’re talking about shutting it down!”
…
I knew it must be because of my article.
This time, I had offended The Lynch Family, and knowing Cameron’s personality, he wouldn’t just let it slide.
“It’s all because of me, Holly,” I felt ashamed, “I was so careless, writing that piece and causing losses for The Lynch Group, dragging the magazine down.”
Holly snapped out of her daze. She stared at me. “Laura, tell me the truth. What did Carter mean by giving you those documents? Wasn’t he the one assuring us that everything would be fine? Didn’t he say he had no access to The Lynch Group’s core?”
I shook my head.
What was the point of investigating that now? It was definitely Carter’s doing. He wanted to strike at Cameron through me.
He wanted to see both Cameron and me suffer to alleviate his own pain.
He still couldn’t forgive me.
“Laura,” Holly continued, “Do you think Carter did this to vie for control of The Lynch Group?”
“What?” I was taken aback.
“He and Cameron aren’t blood brothers!” she explained, “And even if they were, sometimes they fight over property!”
“But he said… The Lynch Family only gave him a nominal position in the company, he never had a chance to access anything related to the core of The Lynch Group.”
“That’s exactly it!” Holly slapped her leg, realization dawning on her. “So he resents, he seeks revenge! How could I not have seen this… I was blinded by those sensational news, never thought this could be someone’s scheme!”
My heart sank. Not only had she failed to see it, but even I, the one who should have been most alert, hadn’t seen it.
“What did Cameron say?” She grasped my hand. “Did he talk to you about it?”
I forced a smile. “He kicked me out of the house.”
“That’s for the best,” she looked at me. “The Lynch Family is too dangerous, you should have left long ago.”
“Holly, I’m really sorry,” I lowered my head. “I’ve caused you so much trouble, I’ve dragged everyone down. What Cameron said is true, I’m just the bane of…”
“What nonsense are you talking about?” Holly patted my head. “You can’t blame yourself for this. I have my share of responsibility too.”
“Is the magazine going to shut down?”
“Not quite.” She said. “The Lynch Group pulled some strings, retracted your article, and got mainstream media to blacklist us. But the magazine is still here! I refuse to believe that I can’t make something out of it without mainstream media!”
That’s just how she is, falling down only to rise again, indomitable.
I smiled at her, feeling guilty inside.
“Holly, I think I should resign,” I said. “I should take full responsibility for this.”
“Resign?” She exclaimed. “I need you right now, and you’re talking about resigning?”
“Laura,” she looked at me gently. “If you feel like you’re not in a good state, you can take a couple of days off and come back when you’re feeling better.”
“Holly…”
“Never give up on your dreams!”
Tears that I had been holding back for so long finally burst out.
I had never thought that pursuing something I loved would cost me so much. Sometimes, passion alone isn’t enough; you also need enduring patience and unwavering perseverance.
And it’s the same with loving someone.
But now, I wasn’t qualified to talk about that word. My foolishness had harmed him…
I tucked Cameron away in the depths of my heart. I had prepared myself to spend a lifetime trying to forget him…
When I returned to The Lynch Family again, the gates were closed, and my belongings were thrown out, packed up.
I crouched down, picking up my things one by one… When I looked up, I saw a glimpse of Carter’s figure.
He stood not far away, leaning on his cane, like an emotionless statue. His face was expressionless, his eyes empty and icy, filled with despair.
“Carter!” I rushed up to him, questioning him through the iron bars. “Why did you do this? Why did you harm me?”