“Bear all responsibility?” Michael thought he had heard a funny joke.
He had a big smile on his face, but he looked indifferent as usual. “She’ll have a record because she hurt someone. It doesn’t matter if she was coerced.”
“Eldest Young Master Williams!”
“Come here.” Michael narrowed his eyes as he stared at the marks on her neck. He was unsure if those were the traces he had left or if they were from another man. The marks were inconspicuous but not completely hidden. The image of her crying and pinned underneath him returned to his mind again.
His breathing got slightly heavier; he realized that he had a strong desire for her body like he was addicted to her. However, he managed to suppress his urges. He forced a bland tone to hide what went through his mind.
Elena squeezed her fingers. Finally, she leaned forward; she would do it for Lois.
“Good girl.” He reached out with his long finger to trace a line on her face.
Elena wanted to escape him; how she wished to flee far away from him.
Michael’s laid back voice echoed in her ears. “I can withdraw the prosecution against Lois.”
She froze and looked at him; she did not know whether she could believe him. An unpleasant luster of cold and arrogance glinted in Michael’s eyes. The woman doubted him!
He was not unhappy for long. His mood improved as he stared at her earlobes and said, “Be my woman for three months.”
“No!” Elena was frightened by his request, so she leaped away. She fell back onto her chair with a thud.
She had panicked. She thought of the two nights where she barely escaped alive, and her hands started to shake. How could he be so shameless? How could he turn out like that?
“My patience is scarce. You only have ten seconds to consider this offer.”
“Michael…”
“Nine seconds.”
The girl fell silent. She held her palms and struggled to stay composed and calm. Michael did not say anything more. Seconds continued to tick away.
Eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two…
Then, he stood up and got ready to leave! Elena bit her lips hard as she looked at his cold and stern back. He was no longer the same Eldest Young Master Williams; he would never show her pity. If he were to help her, she had to be willing to pay the price. She might not care about her own future, but what about Lois’s future?
Just as Michael reached for the door’s handle, the girl behind whispered in a shivering voice, “Very well.”
…
The earliest time for a bailout was after 24 hours. When the time was up, Henry immediately sent someone to post bail for Elena. However, the girl appeared with a police officer even before Ashton could get the paperwork done.
“Elena!” Henry quickly walked toward her and hugged her seemingly fragile shoulders. “What’s the matter? You…”
“The other party withdrew the case. She can go back now.” The officer who brought Elena out announced with a blank expression on his face.
“Ava withdrew the prosecution?” The police station would not release any information to the public, so Henry was not sure who had sued Elena. He also did not expect them to withdraw the case against her. He had already engaged the best lawyer and tried to retrieve all surveillance video footage from the shop as evidence. So he was surprised that they would release Elena. Then, a girl with disheveled hair came out from another room.
“Lois!” Elena quickly walked toward her and grasped the girl’s hand. “You…”
She wanted to ask a lot of questions, but it was not the right place for her to do so. Lois’s case was also withdrawn. They were free to leave the police station after Ashton took care of some simple procedures. When they were out of the police station, it was already dawn.
“I’m so sorry I acted so rashly and got you into trouble.”
Elena held Lois’s cold hands.
“It’s my fault that I didn’t look after Lois well.” Caleb blamed himself.
Caleb was with Lois when Luacs went with Henry to figure out ways to bail Elena out of jail. Before they could settle Elena’s issue, they were hit with a new problem. Lois got into trouble.
No one noticed that Lois had gone to the hospital after she heard Elena said Ava confessed that she was involved with Layla’s accident. Fortunately, even though she had wanted to kill Ava, Eldest Young Master Williams’s people managed to stop her. Then she was escorted to the police station. Everyone was relieved that the two of them were safe and sound.
“I’m sorry. I won’t do it again. My mind was blank at that time. I only knew that Ava and her mother admitted to hurting Layla.”
Lois fell into Elena’s arms and sobbed.
“Elena, what should we do? Layla is in such a miserable state now. I’m so scared. Will she wake up? I’m really scared that she won’t!”
Elena felt depressed about their situation too. She patted Lois’s back to comfort her. Her eyes were red with sorrow, but she had to hold back her tears.
“Don’t panic. Layla will wake up soon. We can’t act so rashly anymore. We’ll have to stay calm.”
She regretted her impulsive actions. She was provoked by Ava’s confession, coupled with the horrible memories she had of Layla from her past life, she had lost control of her emotions.
“From now on, let’s not be impulsive anymore, okay?”
Elena took a deep breath and held Lois in an embrace. As she looked at rays of dawn outside the car window, she promised herself that she would not act so rashly anymore. Otherwise, they would fall into Ava’s trap.
That woman was evil, much worse than what she thought she had been! Elena had refused to fight for her rights on so many accounts, but Ava would not let her go. In that case, she might as well retaliate!
The car stopped in front of their apartment building, and Elena looked at Caleb. “Take Lois home. I still have something to say to Second Young Master Sharp.”
“Alright.” Caleb gently nudged Luacs’s arm.
Even though Luacs wanted to stay with Elena, he knew he was not needed. After everyone left, Henry looked at Elena and said softly, “Let’s go up first.”
Elena thought for a moment before she nodded. The first thing she did after she went upstairs was to take her luggage bag and pack her things.
Henry grasped her hands and asked anxiously, “Elena, are you angry with me?”
“Why do you think that I’m angry?” Elena looked at him, puzzled.
“Are you mad that I couldn’t bail you out immediately?”
Elena stared at him for a while and smiled gently.
“You have been very kind to me, and I also know that I can only be released on bail after 24 hours.”
She also knew that he had waited outside when she was locked up in jail. He did not leave her, not even for a second. How could she not understand the feelings that he had for her? However, it was useless, even if she realized it. She had no choice.
“Henry, I don’t want to be with you anymore. Let’s break up.”