Chapter 396: Chapter 396: Sympathizing With Me, Pitying Me?
The two girls shrieked as if they were being assaulted, their voices filled with anguish. Students from the neighboring dorms rushed out, asking, "What happened? What’s going on?"
The two girls gushed, embellishing every detail of their story: how exciting it was to see Mr. Linton up close for the first time, how handsome he was, how gentle he was, and the bombshell revelation that he had a girlfriend.
Then, the lights in the dormitory, which had just been turned off, flicked back on as the building began to buzz with talk of Ryan Linton.
Ashley Grant came from a prominent family, but as she listened to the other girls’ envious chatter, she experienced the feeling of pride for the very first time.
The corners of her mouth lifted in a proud smile as she walked inside.
’That’s right. Ryan Linton is my boyfriend.’
In the first-floor security room, Kiera Keane watched the surveillance footage from the stairwell replay over and over again on the computer. Her heart seized violently, as if it were being squeezed in a vise.
Their conversation seemed to echo in her ears.
"Refute the rumors? You’re going to make our relationship public!"
"I never hid it, so what’s there to make public?"
"Besides, why would I do you the injustice of keeping you a secret? This is just me showing you off, letting everyone know that you, Ashley Grant, are my girlfriend."
This is just me showing you off, letting everyone know that you, Ashley Grant, are my girlfriend.
Letting everyone know that you are my girlfriend.
Showing you off... You are my girlfriend...
Suddenly, Kiera Keane started to laugh, a smile spreading across her lips. But her normally placid eyes glinted with resentment and pain.
’Ryan, you used to avoid all other girls just to protect my feelings. You were afraid of upsetting me... a cripple. So why have you found a girlfriend now?’
’You’re dating her, hugging her, kissing her, walking her back to her dorm, showing her off in front of everyone... So what about me?’
’Are you abandoning me?’
’What am I supposed to do? I can’t even take care of myself! What am I supposed to do?’
’You’ve taken care of me for six years. I’ve just started to get some movement back in my legs, and this is when you decide to be with someone else?’
With a sweep of her arm, Kiera Keane violently knocked the cup off the table. It shattered with a CLATTER as water splashed everywhere.
The security guard immediately ran over. Seeing the shattered cup, he asked with concern, "Miss, are you alright? Did you get burned?"
Kiera Keane said nothing, her fists clenched tight.
Seeing her silent state, the guard didn’t press the issue. Instead, he felt a wave of sympathy for her.
’Sigh... so young, and she has to spend the rest of her life in a wheelchair.’
He sighed and asked caringly, "So, did you find your necklace? Were you able to see who picked it up? Is it very important?"
’It was. A gift from Ryan.’
The pity in his eyes stung her. Kiera Keane’s lips twisted into a sarcastic smile as she whipped her head to face the guard. "Why are you so concerned about me?"
"..."
"Pitying me? Feeling sorry for me? You think I’m pathetic, is that it?"
"..."
"I don’t need it! I don’t need your phony pity! Get out! Get out! Men are all bastards!" she roared, sweeping everything else off the desk in a frenzy.
The security guard stared at her, speechless.
’So *this* is what they mean by "no good deed goes unpunished." I finally get it. Who the fuck did I piss off? The one rare time I try to show some compassion, and this is the shit I get?’
The security guard was having an internal breakdown. He felt the overwhelming malice of the entire world.
Kiera Keane pressed the button on her chair and shot out of the security room in a frenzy.
Ryan Linton happened to be coming down the stairs.
She looked at him, her expression eerily calm, though the sarcastic smile on her lips deepened. "Ryan, we need to talk."
Ryan Linton’s expression flickered, but in the end, he agreed. "Okay."
...
Just when Annabelle Linton thought Aaron Wyatt would never come back, she received a late-night call from him a week later.
He was crying.
