Filed To Story: My Accidental Bride Is a Fashion Circle Queen Novel
“Could he really be angry?”
…
“Madam, the owners of the shopping centre agreed to cooperate by looking into their surveillance cameras. The person that stabbed Herman has been confirmed. It was Conrad!” Luke said unhappily. “It appears that Herman was attacked by Conrad because he was trying to protect Miss Xylander. Madam, should we notify Miss Xylander? I’m afraid…”
“Are you afraid that Quenlyn doesn’t know how to be grateful?” Emma finished Luke’s sentence for him. “Let’s talk about it after Herman wakes up.”
“Luke, report this to the police, but request that they keep their investigation confidential,” Eric suddenly instructed.
Hearing this, Luke gently nodded his head. Eric’s intention was clear: he was going to make Conrad live out the rest of his life in jail.
Since he was a danger to society, it was only right for them to help clean out the trash…
So, Quenlyn had absolutely no idea what had happened to Herman. In fact, she was completely unaware that after she left the hotel, Herman had rushed over to shield her from danger.
But, this incident still managed to spread within smaller circles of the industry. Especially for people like Lisa, who’s speciality was to gather information from various sources, news like this wasn’t difficult for her to find out about. So, amongst the people that had heard of the news, there was one other person worth mentioning.
Flossie!
She didn’t understand why, but whenever she heard Herman’s name, her heart would involuntarily speed up. This was especially the case when she heard that he was currently in hospital.
To save herself from regrets, Flossie secretly visited the hospital without anyone knowing.
At this moment, Herman had just finished in the operating theater and was being sent to his hospital room. Eric was worried that Emma would tire herself out, so she instructed Luke to watch over Herman until he woke up.
Flossie waited until Luke stepped out of the room before she pushed open the door and approached Herman. Seeing him lying weakly in bed, Flossie’s heart sank.
In reality, Herman was already awake. But, when he opened his eyes and caught a glance of Flossie, he was quite surprised, “Why are you here?”
“I heard you were injured, so I came to visit you,” Flossie sat down on the edge of Herman’s bed as her eyes began to redden. “If I had a choice, I would hope for things to return to how they used to be; back to a time when you were still my artist and nothing had changed bet**en us.”
Hearing this, Herman closed his eyes tiredly, “If this is all you’ve come to say, then please leave.”
“Herman…”
“I think the relationship bet**en us is perfectly clear. Plus, you already have a fiance; please control your feelings. Flossie, when I exp**ss my love, I invest myself 100%. But, once I retrieve it, then I’m sorry…you are worse than a stranger to me. I think it’s best if we stop adding to each others baggage.”
“But…”
“I got hurt because I didn’t want to see Quenlyn get hurt, nor did I want to see her sad,” Herman explained, “Your family background is very similar to hers, but fate has led the two of you down very different paths. Flossie, you have someone that dotes on you and loves you, but Quenlyn has nothing.”
“Must you protect her this way?”
“At least, if I decide to hate her one day, she wouldn’t continue to cling onto me,” Herman said coldly. “Please close the door on your way out. I know that my sister has been trying to keep my injury a secret. If news gets leaked, I will blame it on you regardless of who’s fault it may actually be.”
“Does Quenlyn know that you protected in such a way?” Flossie suddenly asked after a moment of silence.
Herman did not respond.
“Herman, how about we leave this place together. Let’s leave New York and start afresh.”
“Sorry, I don’t like playing games that have no ending,” Herman replied straightforwardly, “It disgusts me!”
“But, that night…”
With the mention of ‘that night’, Herman couldn’t help but laugh in ridicule. The laugh tugged at his wound a little, putting him into pain, “Back then, I offered to take responsibility, but you pretended that nothing happened. Why are you concerned about it now? I know I was wrong, so what do you want me to do about it?”
“Flossie, do you want to hold onto your fiance with one hand and cling onto me with the other?”
“I am willing to give up on him…”
“But, I don’t want you,” Herman replied swiftly without a trace of hesitation.
“Are you sure that Quenlyn is the person that you want, then?”
“I’m not sure about anyone. But, it’s not like I can’t survive without being in a relationship,” Herman sneered before he pointed to the door, “If that’s all you came here for, please leave. Stop wasting your time here.”
“The fact that I’ve announced my retreat means that I will never turn back.”
“Please give me another chance…” Flossie started crying in front of Herman. The pain in her eyes looked like it was tearing her apart. The Flossie at this time was probably the most similar to the originally pure Flossie that followed by Emma’s side. “I truly want to be with you.”
“I no longer have any feelings for you. What use do you have for an empty shell like me? Don’t you have any self respect?” Herman asked. “Flossie, leave this place and enjoy the rest of your life with your fiance. Stop letting your mind wander.”
If Herman’s previous words hadn’t fully hurt Flossie, the mention of self respect was like a sword that lodged itself deeply into her heart.
Self respect…
Of course she had self respect. And, it was because of this self respect that she could no longer reach out her arms towards Herman.
A certain writer once said, “If you still maintain your self respect when talking about love, there is only one reason, the person you truly love – is yourself!”
Herman had exhausted all his energy, so he decided to close his eyes and get some rest. At this time, Flossie was left looking insignificant and displeased.
“Herman. Don’t forget your decision today. You are the one that doesn’t want me.”
After speaking, Flossie turned to leave. As she walked out the door, she ran into Luke.
As soon as Luke saw Flossie, he looked at Herman questioningly. But, Herman simply shook his head, “It’s nothing.”
“Flossie has changed too much. I can’t quite recognize her anymore,” Luke didn’t question Herman any further as he sat down on the edge of the bed. “She was previously by the Madam’s side through many ups and downs. So, I thought she was a good person. Who would have thought that her true self was hidden so deep inside. I guess, only time could reveal a person’s true nature.”
“Was my sister frightened by what happened today?” Herman asked, changing the subject.
“Of course. You were covered in blood!”
“What about Quenlyn…”
“She doesn’t know yet,” Luke sighed. “What was the reason for your actions this time? Aren’t you afraid that Quenlyn will end up like Flossie?”
“I’ve know Quenlyn since we were kids. She is not that kind of person,” Herman explained. “By the way, don’t tell her about this incident.”
“OK. The Madam told me to do as you say. Anyhow, get some rest, you’ve just come out of a surgery…” Luke placed Herman’s phone on the bedside table and Herman immediately picked it up and turned it on.
As soon as it turned on, Quenlyn’s messages flooded in, “You aren’t angry at me, are you? You wouldn’t treat an old classmate like this, right?”
“Do you still remember the Japanese restaurant near our school? The old lady there used to give me a few extra pieces of sushi.”
“I wish I could eat it again.”
Herman held onto his phone. He originally wanted to send her a reply, but after typing out a few lines of text, he ended up deleting them, one word at a time. “Forget it…Luke, can you drive me somewhere?”
“In your current state?” Luke asked with doubt.
“Nothing major has been damaged, right? In that case, let me follow my heart for once.” Although Herman’s face looked pale, his eyes contained a hopeful glow. A glow that had also appeared in Luke’s eyes at one time.
So, Luke did not stop him, “OK, I’ll take you where you need to go. But, if you feel any form of discomfort or pain, you need to tell me.”
Herman nodded his head. Afterwards, under Luke’s protection he arrived outside the school that he and Quenlyn once attended and bought a whole heap of Japanese food from the restaurant they once frequented.