When Lillian arrived at the hospital, a large group of reporters was still waiting downstairs. Whether Helen was dead or alive was a big deal to them.
Lillian, dressed in a low-key khaki trench coat, followed Ford up the VIP passage and was then led to Helen’s room.
“Miss Lillian, I’ll wait for you outside.”
Lillian glanced at Helen lying inside. “What did the doctor say?”
“When she was found, her wrists had been cut for some time. The entire bathtub was filled with blood. When she was rushed to the hospital, they said she had lost too much blood. Her life was saved, but what will happen next is uncertain.”
“So you’re saying it’s very likely she won’t wake up?”
“Exactly. We’ll have to wait and see her condition in the next couple of days.”
“Have you notified her husband?” Lillian’s lips curled into a sarcastic smile.
“Yes.”
Only then did Lillian open the door and go in.
Helen was lying there.
Lillian placed the white chrysanthemums she had brought on the bedside table. “I don’t know if you can hear me, but I’m really happy you ended up like this.”
“How does it feel, lying here and being able to do nothing? From now on, when people talk about you, they’ll only sigh about how the once legendary actress Helen ended up in such an unfortunate and pitiful way.”
As soon as Lillian finished speaking, the heart monitor immediately showed fluctuations.
Lillian reached out to remove her oxygen mask, but the door suddenly opened.
Peter said, “What are you doing?”
Lillian quickly snapped the oxygen mask back onto Helen’s face and said coldly, “What could I possibly do?”
Peter looked at Helen on the bed with a complex expression. “She’s gotten the consequences she deserved. You two really are mother and daughter.”
“What a righteous thing to say. She’s just in a coma, while my grandmother just lost her life, is that it?”
Lillian grabbed her bag. “If you really cared about Helen, you wouldn’t have left her at this point. Since you left, it means you no longer accept your partner, or everything that’s happened these years.”
“My grandmother’s death had nothing to do with you. So leave City N as soon as possible.”
“Is all of this your revenge?” Peter asked, incredulous.
“Mr. Peter, let me remind you, if she didn’t do it, I wouldn’t have anything to slander. I’m just stating the facts about what she’s done over the years.”
“But she’s like this now. Let her go. I’ll take her abroad. She won’t show up in front of you again.”
Lillian looked at him and suddenly chuckled, but her eyes were gloomy.
“What are you laughing at?”
“I’m laughing because in this world, it’s really the selfish people who end up better. You came here without bringing your naive, ignorant daughter?”
Peter looked uncomfortable. “I’m sorry, Sophia’s been spoiled by me.”
Lillian’s expression seemed a little distant. “No need to apologize to me. You’re a good father, and I had one too. If my father were still alive, he would definitely have fought the whole world to protect me.”
Lillian curled her lips into a smile. “It’s a shame. I won’t let Helen off the hook. The pain my grandmother went through, I’ll make her experience it all.”
She thought to herself that Peter would probably never understand-she had survived just for this.
But her grandmother had wanted her to live happily, to always be the old Lillian.
Anything that could break her, she would never care about again.
Lillian opened the door, and Sophia stood outside the room, her eyes red from crying, staring at her intently.
Lillian ignored her and said to Ford, “Let’s go.”
“Lillian!” Sophia followed, “She’s still your mom. How could you do this?”
“If you can’t talk with your brain, maybe you should go rinse your mouth in a public restroom,” Lillian sneered. “That’s your mom! What’s it got to do with me? Has she ever fulfilled her responsibilities as a mother? The way I turned out has nothing to do with her. You’re the result of her upbringing.”
“You! You’re terrifying! I really don’t understand why Conrad loves you. You’re a demon, you have no humanity.”
Lillian stared into Sophia’s hateful eyes. “If I’m so inhuman, why don’t you stay far away from me? Want me to push you downstairs?”
Sophia was so angry she almost cried but could only watch as Lillian left, unyielding.
Sophia turned back to the room. “Daddy, what should we do? Now everyone knows what kind of person my mom is. These days, people have been sending me emails with posters hoping my mom will die. Daddy, I’m scared to go back to school.”
Peter remained silent for a long time, also considering how to face Helen.
******
Lillian looked at herself in the elevator and felt a bit unfamiliar.
Sure enough, Conrad’s people had done their job-Helen had ended up exactly like her grandmother, and it seemed she wouldn’t wake up again.
How long would Peter stay by her bedside?
Lillian suddenly realized Ford was looking at her too.
In the reflection, their eyes met.
Ford said, “Miss Lillian, you’ve changed a lot lately.”
“Really? Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”
Ford, speaking honestly, said, “Miss Lillian, I’m happy to see you in this state beside Mr. Conrad.”
Lillian glanced at him.
Ford watched the elevator doors open. “Mr. Conrad is still waiting at home for you, Miss Lillian. Please, go ahead.”
Lillian quickly dismissed Ford’s words from her mind. Since Conrad had done what he wanted, she too would fulfill her part.
Conrad didn’t have much planned that night, and knowing Lillian would return soon, he went for a swim after his video conference. After a couple of rounds, someone suddenly wrapped themselves around him from below the surface.
Long hair spread out in the water, and Conrad instinctively pulled the person toward him.
The smooth, soft body, naked under the water, felt like a slippery fish he couldn’t hold onto.
She was held in his arms, and her hands began to wander across his body, planting kisses on him.
They had tried to make love in the pool before, but Lillian always hesitated, not quite giving in.
Later, when she had learned to use her charm and other means to get what she wanted, they found new places to have sex. The pool wasn’t one they frequented. The last time they were here, they had argued.
“Had a drink?” Pulling away from her soft tongue, Conrad pressed her body down as he asked in a hoarse voice.
She had drunk quite a bit, probably choosing something good from his wine cellar.
Lillian’s eyes were dreamy, her face flushed. “Mmm~ I wanted some. Is that not okay?”
What’s not okay? After being stifled for so long, when Conrad finally acted, it was like a beast breaking free.
Lillian clung to him like a sweet, sticky candy, circling him, more obedient and passionate than ever before.
Conrad nearly lost himself in her.
The night was long, and their passion reached its peak, utterly satisfying in every way…