After being hit on the back of her head, Lillian’s reaction was completely dulled.
“Is that… Helen?”
“Oh my God, it really looks like her.”
More and more people gathered around, pulling out their phones.
Helen grew anxious and wanted to check on Lillian, but she feared others would see. She quickly tried to pull Peter away.
Frank wasn’t about to let them go.
Helen pushed Frank aside and hurried to the car. Without a second thought, she urged the driver to leave.
Looking out the window, she saw Lillian being supported by the man in black.
Helen took a deep breath. “She’s impossible, utterly impossible. Look at her like that. I’m only doing this for her sake. I told you, I didn’t want to do this, but it’s your fault for convincing me to come.”
Peter frowned in confusion. “Darling, this is a good thing. Why do you two always end up arguing when you meet? You’ve been worrying about her at home. You could’ve sat down and talked it out.”
“No, she can’t communicate! John, you are right; she’s just like her father! She’ll do anything to achieve her goals. Alvin forced me to have this daughter, and it ruined my career! They’re so selfish! Everything I do is wrong!” At this, Helen covered her face and started crying.
Peter hesitated to speak, then sighed and patted her shoulder. “But she must’ve been hurt, too. She’s probably really upset.”
“Am I not hurt?” Helen retorted, wiping her tears. “I’ve put up with so much for her. Well, it’s fine. Alvin is in my hands. She’ll come back to me eventually! Besides, with all those men around her, do you still think she’ll get hurt? I heard she’s the one who’s been handling Alvin’s huge debts alone, Peter. Don’t let her fool you, she’s not as simple as you think.”
“Helen, that’s your daughter, how can you say that about her?” Peter couldn’t understand.
Helen’s eyes flashed with disgust. “Stop calling her my daughter. My life is perfect. I can’t afford such a stain. Peter, don’t say it again!”
******
Frank glanced at Andrew, who was helping Lillian, and when he tried to pick Lillian up, Andrew spoke. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“Can’t you see she hit her head? Of course, we need to take her to the doctor.” With that, Frank ignored Andrew and picked Lillian up horizontally.
But Lillian shook her head, clutching Frank’s sleeve. “Get Helen back. My father’s urn, bring my father back!”
Frank grew more anxious. “Lillian, please don’t talk. It’s not urgent. She can’t possibly do anything to your father’s urn. Let’s just go to the hospital.”
Lillian was desperate. She didn’t want to go to the hospital at all.
“I’m fine, I’m really fine! Andrew! Go stop Helen for me!”
As long as Andrew helped, Helen wouldn’t be able to leave this place!
Frank quickened his pace, but Andrew took a step forward, blocking his path. “Give her to me!”
“Give her to you? All you care about is Conrad’s safety! Why else would you have let her get hurt earlier? Move aside!” Frank was firm this time, trying to go around Andrew and head downstairs.
Just then, Conrad’s car pulled up right in front of them.
The car door was opened, and Conrad frowned as he looked at Lillian, who was in Frank’s arms, with the coat draped over her.
Frank didn’t want to see him and tried to walk around, but Conrad reached out his hand.
“What’s going on?”
Frank furrowed his brow. “Mr. Conrad, it’s obvious that Lillian is hurt. I’m taking her to the hospital for a check-up. If you don’t want to delay her treatment…”
“Give her to me,” Conrad said, reaching out to take her.
A look of sarcasm flashed in Frank’s eyes. “Mr. Conrad, with the White family’s daughter in front of you, Miss Pandora and the rising star behind you, plus countless other women, do you really want to carry her around and make her the target of everyone’s attention?”
“My woman, who dares to say anything?” Conrad replied coldly.
“Should I remind you of the online bullying two months ago, Mr. Conrad? You didn’t do anything about it.”
Conrad smirked slightly and didn’t even look at Frank. “Lillian, who are you going with?”
Lillian’s face was pale, and the back of her head still throbbed. She suspected that she had a bump forming.
But she still spoke up. “Let me down.”
Frank tightened his grip, unwilling to let go.
Conrad coldly watched them. “Are you getting down yourself, or should I take you down?”
Lillian struggled to get down, and Frank gritted his teeth, staring at her. “Is your choice still the same as before?”
Lillian lowered her gaze. “Since you know, why ask again?”
What she wanted, only Conrad could help her with.
Frank took a deep breath. “Fine, anything you want, I’ll agree to it.”
Before he could say anything else, Conrad couldn’t hold back any longer and grabbed Lillian from his arms.
As he turned to head back to the car, he frowned. “I leave for just a bit, and you end up like this? You’re just visiting your dad’s grave, so how did this happen?”
Lillian didn’t have time to explain, but Andrew quickly followed, speaking up. “Sir, it’s my fault. I let Miss Lillian get hurt.”
Conrad was annoyed by their vague answers and was about to ask more, but Lillian tugged at his sleeve. “Helen and the others took my dad’s urn. Conrad, can you help me get it back? It’s really important to me. I can give up the documents. I don’t need the money you’ve given me. I’ll stay by your side for the rest of my life-just help me get my urn’s ashes back, please.”
She spoke quickly and urgently. “Helen left not long ago. If we go now, we can stop her.”
Conrad’s brows furrowed deeply.
Helen-he’d brought her back to the country to help Pandora’s career, not to keep causing him trouble.
“Get in the car. After we get back, you go get the whip,” he said, addressing Andrew.
Conrad held Lillian and got into the car, ordering, “Find out where Helen’s car went.”
It would take some time.
The car drove off, leaving Frank standing there, breathing in the exhaust fumes. He stayed there for a long while before walking away.
As soon as she got into the car, Lillian tried to sit up, but Conrad pressed her down onto his lap.
“Where does it hurt?” he asked.
“I’m fine, just help me with…”
“I asked you where it hurts.” Conrad’s voice had darkened.
Lillian bit her lip and pointed to the back of her head. “It seems like I hit the sharp corner of an iron railing. I can’t tell exactly where.”
The pain was intense at the moment, leaving her mind blank and her whole body in a disoriented haze, as if she were floating. When she came to, the ache had spread, and she couldn’t tell if it was heartbreak or physical pain.
She knew Helen didn’t like her.
Helen had always preferred the best of everything. She was vain. If there had been any trace of a mother-daughter bond before Helen returned to the country, it had likely vanished the moment Helen saw her in person. From then on, she probably only wished Lillian would disappear from the world.
Lillian was the stain Helen couldn’t scrub away, a living reminder of a failed marriage and a daughter whose reputation was in ruins. She would make Helen the object of ridicule, a symbol of disgrace.
Helen would never allow such a thing to happen.
But Lillian had never imagined Helen’s hatred could go so far. Helen would rather push Lillian down the stairs than risk letting anyone recognize her.
People’s subconscious choices always reveal their true feelings.
No matter how much Lillian didn’t want to admit it, she had to face that truth.
Conrad brushed her hair aside and finally saw the wound.
A fresh red scratch, with only a small amount of bleeding-anyone could tell things must have been chaotic at the time.
Ultimately, it boiled down to this: Helen alone couldn’t have harmed her under Andrew’s watch. It was a failure on Andrew’s part. He hadn’t prioritized Lillian’s safety.
Conrad opened the hidden compartment in the car and pulled out a first-aid kit.
“Don’t move.” Conrad sounded irritated. “How long have you been away from me? And look at the state you’re in!”
It seemed like he couldn’t take his eyes off her for even a second.
Lillian winced and turned her head, looking at him with a mix of pain and grievance.
“I’ve already sent someone to track her down,” he said.
“Thank you,” Lillian replied softly.
Conrad scoffed. “You never care when I’m good to you, but now you’re saying thank you?”
“Lillian, you’re such a troublemaker.” Despite his complaints, he carefully treated her wound.
The driver, glancing at the rearview mirror, caught a rare sight-the usually harsh and cold Mr. Conrad was tending to Miss Lillian with such gentleness, even blowing on her wound to ease the sting. It was as if he was afraid of hurting her with even the slightest pressure.
The driver had been with Conrad for years. He’d seen Conrad remain expressionless while treating his own wounds after being slashed, but never had he shown such tenderness for himself.
Still, wasn’t Mr. Conrad about to get engaged to Miss Daisy? What would happen to Miss Lillian then?
The driver shook his head. It wasn’t his place to worry about the affairs of the wealthy-they always had their own ways of handling things.
“Mr. Conrad, Helen’s car is just ahead,” the driver announced.
“Stop it.”
Conrad continued tending to Lillian’s wound. Noticing her fingers tensed, like a hedgehog with its quills raised, his expression darkened.