Adam did not respond to her. When they were downstairs, he placed Shirley into a wheelchair.
When Cathy, who was making breakfast, saw Shirley downstairs, she decided to go over to help.
“Cathy, you can go about your business. I’ll just push her into the courtyard to sunbathe.” Adam spoke quickly as he pushed the wheelchair out to the courtyard.
Cathy did not follow them, thinking of letting the siblings have some time alone. It would be good for them to have a heart-to-heart talk.
Their history together had burdened them with emotional baggage. If they could unpack all of that one day, their relationship could return to the way it had been before.
In the courtyard.
Shirley was sitting in the automatic wheelchair as she moved around slowly.
It was a warm spring where the flowers bloomed, yet she felt no warmth.
However, the structure of the courtyard was still the same as it had been back then.
She suddenly looked melancholically at the wall corner by the flower bed. A moment later, she burst out laughing as if she had remembered something. However, she did not speak. Instead, she continued to stroll around the garden in the wheelchair before stopping.
“How did they die?” Shirley suddenly asked.
Adam knew Shirley was referring to their parents, but he did not like her attitude.
“Who’s ‘they’?” “…” Shirley briefly paused. “You know who.”
“I truly have no idea who you’re talking about.”
“…”
Shirley knew that Adam was doing this on purpose. She genuinely wanted to know how both o f her parents died back then, but she refused to utter the two words “mom” and “dad”. Feeling displeased, she changed the topic.
“Adam, are you best friends with Kendrick and his wife? Why are you helping them so much? Not only have you been doing whatever it takes to develop the anti-toxoid test reagent for them, you’d even stayed by Ryan’s side as a spy.”
“Even if they’re not my friends, I would still save them because I’m a doctor.”
Adam answered, neither humble nor haughty, then questioned.
“Now, it’s my turn to ask you. How did you know Ryan? Why were you developing a poison to harm Kendrick? Lana got hold of this poison back then, so does it mean you know Lana too? However, Ryan was the one manipulating Lana and Yorick this whole time. What on earth is the connection behind all of this?”
Adam’s questions came one after another, momentarily startling Shirley.
She had not expected Adam to make such connections between all these many details and come up with this conclusion from them.
However, she knew she absolutely could not tell him the truth behind it all.
She deliberately put up a calm smile, which still looked lively and charming if one were to look at her intact left face.
“Adam, don’t think that you’re so clever. I can’t say what’s the connection between them, but the reason I created the poison and sold it to Lana under your name was that she’d ordered this through certain channels. I’ve merely developed them accordingly.”
“ Is that so?” Adam clearly did not believe her. “ In that case, why did you go the extra mile in making Lana think that I was the one who developed the poison? If you hadn’t done that, why would she find me? She’d even said that as long as I worked for her, she’ll help me achieve my dream in the medical field.”
“That’s because I want to see a doctor’s downfall.” Shirley displayed a wicked smile. “Adam, I too had the chance to become a doctor. They were the ones who denied me this chance. They were the ones who gave up on me to fulfill your dreams!”
Shirley shouted out the dissatisfaction inside her heart at Adam.
However, at this moment, she was only hoping to shift Adam’s attention.
She did not want Adam to continue looking into this.
The truth about Lana, Yorick, and Ryan, including Ryan’s death, could only rot inside her stomach.
“Shirley, from the moment you hesitated and stayed silent just now, I’ve already known your answer.”
Adam’s statement instantly pulled Shirley’s wandering thoughts back.
She lifted her head to look at the solemn-looking Adam, realizing that the man before her was no longer the little boy in her memories, the boy who would follow behind her and call her name.
He had grown up to be an exceptionally talented person.
Shirley averted her gaze and chuckled softly. “Push me back. I’m a little tired.”
“You’re not tired. You’re avoiding my questions.”
Adam saw through Shirley. She was worried that Adam would continue questioning her, thereby uncovering some clues. She then pressed the button on the wheelchair and turned around herself.
“ Shirley, do you think you can just run away? The truth won’t be hidden forever, and just like your heart, I don’t believe it’ll stay black forever.”
When she heard that, Shirley grabbed the handle of the wheelchair tightly and bit her lip. Although the corners of her eyes had turned red, she did not let the tears fall from her eyes.
She would not allow herself to cry. She looked down on women who cried easily the most. That was why she admired Niamh, so Shirley could not tolerate herself crying.
However, tears were now blurring her vision. She sped up as she headed toward the house and entered. Her thoughts were probably already in a mess as she did not watch where she was going when she got into the living room, crashing into the coffee table and toppling the rubbish bin next to it. The wedding invitation Adam had thrown away not long ago coincidentally fell before the wheelchair. Through her blurry and teary vision, Shirley saw the name that was etched deep inside her heart. She also saw another name that she dared not believe…
When Cathy, who was in the open kitchen, saw this, she hastily ran to the living room.
“Are you okay?” Cathy examined Shirley with concern.
When Adam heard the sound, he ran back to the house, quickening his pace, then saw Shirley who sat motionlessly in the wheelchair as if she had lost her mind, and he suddenly felt worried.
As Adam got closer and noticed the wedding invitation that fell out of the rubbish bin, he immediately understood why Shirley was like this.
Without batting an eyelid, he grabbed a broom and swept the trash on the floor, including the wedding invitation, into the dustpan.
“Did you throw this away?” Shirley questioned; her voice was extremely cold.
Adam calmly asked, “Should I not have thrown this kind of trash away, and kept this eyesore instead?”
“Trash? Give it to me,” Shirley ordered, her fists clenched.
Adam ignored her and immediately threw the invitation card into the rubbish bin.
When Shirley saw this, she furiously bit her lip, then, using the only strength left in her upper body, bent down to grab the rubbish bin.
However, Adam, who was faster than her, kicked the bin behind him. He did not want Shirley to grab hold of the invitation even if the trash would dirty the house.
Shirley abruptly froze, her hand still outstretched, then returned to her senses and glared at Adam, baring her teeth. “Adam, I’m giving you one last chance. Give me the invitation card!”
“Shirley, are you still going to be so obstinate even after reaching this stage? This man has been using you this whole time. Don’t tell me you still can’ t understand that?”
When Shirley heard this, she chuckled, laughing at herself. “He’s willing to do this to me, and I’m willing to endure it, so it’s none of your business, isn’t it?” she asked sarcastically; her eyes grew sharp and piercing.
“Adam, don’t make me do anything crazy again. I want you to give me the invitation now!”
However, Adam persisted. “Okay, I want to see what other crazy things you can do. How much crazier could it be? The most you could give is your life. You’re so stubborn when it comes to this man, and I don’t believe you’d be willing to give up on your life for him.”
“You…”
Anger surged within Shirley’s heart, but she had to admit that Adam’s words were on point.
How could she be willing to die? How could she be willing to never see that man again?
As the air around them grew tense, Cathy picked up the invitation and walked up to Shirley, handing it to her.
“Cathy?” Adam was puzzled at Cathy’s actions. 1
Meanwhile, Shirley too had not expected Cathy to do this; for a moment, she even forgot to grab it.
“Here you go.”
Cathy nudged Shirley, then turned to smile at Adam.
“I’ve always felt that she has the right to take care of her business. Adam, I know you’re doing this for Miss Brown’s sake, but your methods of conveying that have been a little extreme. At the end of the day, this is Miss Brown’s private matter, so we don’t have the right to interfere.”
Adam and Shirley momentarily fell silent as Cathy’s words.
After being momentarily lost in thought, Shirley immediately reached out her hand to grab the invitation Cathy was holding.
Tears had blurred Shirley’s vision earlier, so she was hoping that she saw it wrongly. However, as she held the invitation, the gold-pressed words in front of her were as clear as day.
He was going to get married. Two days from now.
At the most luxurious six-star hotel in Glendale. She also knew the bride.
Shirley gripped the corner of the invitation card; her fingers trembled intensely.
The corners of her eyes started to get wet again, but she never let her tears fall.
Cathy and Adam could not help but sympathize with Shirley as she tried to suppress her pain.
“Two days from now, you’ll accompany me to this hotel.”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.