“If we all leave, who will watch over her? What if something happens?” Wesley patiently asked Henry.
Henry stood at the door, his eyes glancing toward the elevator, clearly wanting to leave. “I want to go.”
He really didn’t want to see a conscious Winifred Dawson. After all, she had rebuked him so many times, and he never managed to win an argument with her, which made him feel very humiliated.
“If you’re really bored and can’t stand it anymore, you can go first. I’ll come find you once Mrs. Protich returns.”
Henry thought for a moment and then decided to stay. “I’ll wait here with you.” He figured as long as he didn’t provoke Winifred Dawson, it would be fine.
But Winifred Dawson had other plans. “Did you save me?” she asked.
Seeing that neither of them responded, Winifred Dawson sat up in bed despite the pain.
Wesley quickly stopped her. “You shouldn’t move now. The doctor said you need to rest and recuperate. If you need anything, just let me know.”
“I don’t need anything. I just want to ask you a few questions. Answer truthfully,” Winifred Dawson said, propping herself up on her elbows as if ready to get up at any moment.
Henry was so annoyed by her attitude that he almost swore.
“Why should we?”
“What do you want to know?”
Henry and Wesley spoke almost simultaneously. Wesley seemed much calmer; he patted Henry’s shoulder, signaling him to hold back his temper.
Winifred Dawson looked at Wesley. She didn’t have much of an impression of him, only knowing that he was always with Henry and stayed quiet like a background character.
Wesley was very tall, even taller than Leland Burns, standing around 195 cm. His imposing stature and expressionless face were already intimidating.
“Did you save me?” Winifred Dawson repeated her question.
She only remembered that Liam Burkhart had taken her to a room. After she scratched his face, he got angry and threw her down. Her abdomen hit the edge of a bedside table, causing her to fall to the ground and bleed uncontrollably. As she was about to faint from the pain, she heard knocking on the door outside.
She had suffered a lot from this unexpected pregnancy-morning sickness, malnutrition, low blood sugar. She often felt dizzy just from standing up too quickly. At that moment, she couldn’t hold on any longer; she lost too much blood and couldn’t stay conscious despite the pain.
When someone faints, hearing is usually the last sense to go. She heard sounds of fighting outside and Liam Burkhart’s screams. She thought she might be saved.
Who saved her?
Winifred Dawson tried to recall but could only remember a familiar embrace. The scent of the person who held her made her feel both attached and fearful; she wanted to push away but also wanted to get closer.
That person reminded her of Leland Burns.
Thinking of those three words made her mind go blank for a moment before she snapped back to reality, cold sweat forming on her forehead.
She knew she was overthinking it; Leland Burns hated her the most. Why would he come to save her?
Besides, wasn’t he already dead?
Although she hadn’t seen his body, Winifred Dawson still hoped he was truly dead.
If he were still alive and out of prison, Winifred Dawson didn’t dare imagine what would happen to her. So when she woke up and saw Henry and Wesley there, she had an acute stress reaction.
Yes, the stress reaction wasn’t just because she lost the child but also because she saw Henry there.
She had met Henry several times and knew how much he disliked her.
Leland Burns was sent to prison by her actions. Henry had often spoken well of Leland Burns in front of her, and she always retorted without mercy.
They couldn’t stand each other. Given that, why would Henry save her? Yet here he was in the hospital, clearly impatient but not leaving. What did that imply?
It implied that someone ordered him to watch over her. Who else could it be but Leland Burns? Only Leland Burns could make Henry obediently comply.
Of course, this was all Winifred Dawson’s speculation since she had already fainted at that time-she hadn’t seen or heard anything directly-but her reasoning seemed sound with a seventy or eighty percent likelihood.
Winifred Dawson didn’t beat around the bush; she asked directly to test their reactions and confirm her suspicions.
Wesley answered, “Other than us, no one else could have saved you from Liam Burkhart.”
“Why save me? Shouldn’t you hate me? After all, your boss’s death partly involved me.”
Wesley paused as if thinking of what to say next.
Henry interrupted angrily, “Call it our stupidity if you want! We happened to pass by and save you; consider yourself lucky this time. There won’t be a next time. Be more careful in the future; if you get into trouble again and become someone’s prey, don’t blame me for not warning you.” He added sarcastically, “Running around looking so flashy is asking for trouble. If our boss hadn’t protected you back then, who knows where you’d be dead by now? Can’t you just behave?”
Winifred Dawson let out a cold laugh which triggered pain in her abdomen causing spasms in her body. She placed a hand gently on the painful spot where Liam Burkhart had thrown her against the cabinet; it felt like a stick had been driven into her.
“First of all,” she said clearly despite the pain, “I wasn’t running around trying to attract men. Just because I have this face doesn’t mean I deserve what happened. Should I wear a mask every time I go out? Or never leave my house?”
Holding back the pain in her abdomen, she continued firmly with each word resonating clearly in the room.
“I didn’t deserve what happened because it’s men’s inherent flaws at fault-not being able to control themselves-and then blaming women afterward.”
Was it women’s appearance? Their attire? Or perhaps their beautiful clothing?
No!
The crime lay with those who stripped women of their clothes!
Everyone understood this logic but whenever something happened there would always be victim-blaming arguments criticizing the weak party involved.
Should weakness inherently mean deserving bullying? Deserving people pointing fingers saying ‘you deserved it’?
There was no such logic whatsoever!
“You men pick what suits your narrative best but if you’d just respect yourselves enough to stay away from me would I end up like this? Saying I relied on Leland Burns’ protection-he was no different from Liam Burkhart; he forced himself on me too,” Winifred Dawson retorted righteously before turning icy eyes towards Henry.
Her words left Henry stunned despite his disdain for Winifred Dawson; he couldn’t deny that what she said made perfect sense.