Chapter 5
Gretchen lowered her eyelashes and lied, “My aunt came to visit me, I told her I was fine and asked her to leave first.”
Brianna saw the situation and quickly pretended to care for a few words, then made an excuse and left.
There were only the two of them left in the ward.
“Before that…” Howard walked to the edge of the bed, his voice a bit stiff, “The car accident was so sudden, I didn’t react in time.”
Gretchen lightly nodded and said, “I know, it’s okay.”
Howard paused for a moment and asked, “Aren’t you angry?”
“Don’t be angry.”
Howard stared into her eyes, trying to find a trace of grievance or anger, but her gaze was as calm as still water.
He suddenly got a little annoyed, reached out to touch her face, “Don’t be angry, I…”
“I’m not really angry,” Gretchen said, turning her head to avoid his touch, her tone light but firm, “I want to rest. Ms. Crawley is also injured, so go and keep her company.”
After saying that, she closed her eyes and turned around.
She felt like Howard had been watching her by the bed for a long time, and finally, he left and closed the door.
In the following days, Howard would come every day.
He sat by the hospital bed dealing with documents, occasionally asking her, “Does it hurt?” She always shook her head.
But whenever she fell asleep and woke up again, there was always no one by her bedside, only nurses whispering,
“Ms. Crawley’s boyfriend in the VIP ward next door is really nice, he stayed with her all night.”
“I heard he’s still the heir of the Wiggins Group, good-looking and loyal.”
Gretchen closed her eyes, pretending not to hear.
On the day she was discharged, Howard personally came to pick her up.
Gretchen dragged her still-sore ankle to the front of the car, but froze when she tried to open the door.
Veronica sat in the passenger seat and gave her a gentle smile, “Ms. Belton, do you mind if I catch a ride with you? I get a bit ca
sick, so I have to sit in the front seat.”
Howard frowned, as if wanting to explain something, but Gretchen cut in first, saying, “It’s okay.”
She calmly sat in the back seat, watching the backs of the two people in front of her like an outsider.
Howard glanced at her through the rearview mirror, hesitated to speak, and in the end, didn’t say anything.
The car stopped in front of a luxurious villa, and Gretchen realized that Howard didn’t take her home, but instead brought her to attend a prestigious elder’s golden wedding anniversary party in the circle.
“Isn’t that Mr. Wiggins? Why is he with two ladies?”
“Isn’t that Gretchen in the white dress? I heard she came from the slums, her family was really average.”
Chapter 4
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“Ms. Crawley and Mr. Wiggins were a perfect match, they were a good fit.”
The guests were talking loudly, but Gretchen just stood quietly in the corner as if she hadn’t heard anything.
Howard was with Veronica the whole time, getting her drinks, putting on her coat, and looking at her with eyes so gentle it was like they could drip water.
“Ms. Belton, I’ll introduce you to some friends.” Veronica suddenly walked over and affectionately linked arms with Gretchen.
Gretchen didn’t have time to refuse, she was pulled in front of a group of socialites.
“This is Gretchen, Howard’s… girlfriend.”
Veronica introduced with a smile, then suddenly switched to fluent German, chatting with some socialites.
A few people were stunned for a moment, then quickly caught on and started chatting in German, occasionally bursting into
laughter.
Gretchen stood there like a lonely island, isolated beyond the high walls of language.
“Ms. Belton?” Veronica suddenly asked her, “What do you think?”
“What?”
“Oh, sorry, I forgot you don’t speak German anymore,” Veronica apologized, turning to explain to the others, “Ms. Belton never learned a foreign language, so don’t mind her.”
A few light laughs rang out around, like tiny silver needles, poking into Gretchen’s skin.
“It’s okay, just take your time,” Veronica patted Gretchen’s hand, speaking gently as if comforting a child with special needs.
Gretchen looked down, her nails digging deep into the palm of her hand.
In the eyes of others, either mocking or pitying, she felt like a clown stripped naked for all to see, every breath like swallowing shards of glass.
Chapter 6
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