Chapter 592 If You Want to Know Something, Just Ask Me Directly
The little garden had finally calmed down. But then, the awkwardness hit hard.
Harper replayed the moment she confidently told Peyton she liked Francis, even saying she wanted to seduce him. She'd mentioned that since they were both single, why not just go for it?
She felt like she'd lost her mind.
Why did she blurt out all that just to help Francis save face? It was so embarrassing afterward.
Worried that Francis might be upset, Harper quickly said, "I'm sorry, I was just anxious and said some nonsense. Don't take it to heart. If you need me to clear things up..."
Harper thought about Lily and wondered what was going on between her and Francis. Did he know what Lily had said? Did he know that the person she actually liked was Noah?
Her eyes dimmed. "If you're mad, I can help clear things up."
After Harper finished, Francis finally spoke in a low voice, "It's okay, I don't mind."
Since he said he didn't mind, Harper was at a loss for words.
Every time she looked at Francis, she thought of him secretly practicing, trying to stand up.
Her nose tingled, and her heart ached.
What had happened to Francis's leg?
She had so many questions but didn't know how to ask.
But then she thought, did she even have the right to ask? After all, everyone thought they both had someone else.
If she showed too much concern now, it would come off as inappropriate; she didn't want to have an ambiguous relationship with him.
"Take care of yourself and get well soon," Harper said, then turned to leave.
"Harper!" Francis called out.
"How are the babies?" he asked.
Harper turned around, her voice a bit choked, "The babies are great, very cute. Get well soon so you can come and play with them."
"Yeah, you must be taking good care of them."
Francis had seen the babies once when Jasper, noticing his depression, brought them over. It was probably to encourage him to keep going.
Actually, after Francis found out he might be permanently crippled, he thought about giving up many times.
Until Jasper brought the babies over and said, "Look how much the kids resemble you. You have to pull yourself together to protect your kids and Harper."
Francis smiled bitterly. Could he still protect Harper now?
Seeing Harper about to leave, he turned his wheelchair and said, "I'll see you off."
Harper was stunned, not expecting him to offer.
As they walked back together, Harper couldn't invite Francis to see the babies because, in preparation for the upcoming party, the babies had been secretly sent back to Northfield.
Now, all evidence pointed to Arthur hiding Elodie.
They had already made a plan to stall Arthur at the party and, if necessary, capture him directly.
Vincent had already sent out the invitations for the party. All that was left was to wait for the right moment and execute the plan.
Harper thought about Lily's situation and subtly asked, "Why isn't Lily with you?"
Francis, sitting in his wheelchair and staring straight ahead, said, "She's got her own stuff to handle. Why would she be with me?"
Harper was surprised, "You should look out for her more. She's not familiar with this place. If she runs into trouble, it wouldn't be good."
"Isn't she always with Noah?" Francis asked.
Hearing Noah's name made Harper's heart tighten. She probed, "But doesn't Noah not like Lily? You should care more about her."
Francis paused and explained, "Noah might seem carefree, but if there's real danger, he wouldn't ignore Ms. Sullivan."
Harper thought Francis calling Lily "Ms. Sullivan" sounded too distant.
But knowing Francis's usual cold demeanor, it wasn't entirely surprising.
Harper advised, "She came with you. If something happens, it would affect you, wouldn't it?"
She was still worried about Lily's joke about wanting to hook up with many men.
Harper knew Lily was joking, but what if she impulsively went to a bar?
Emerald Isle wasn't as safe as Northfield.
Francis frowned, "She's an adult. She can take care of herself. How would it affect me?"
Harper felt something was off and blurted out, "Aren't you two dating?"
This made Francis stop. He looked up at Harper, making her face flush.
Francis asked, "Are you asking all this because you think I'm dating Lily?"
Harper's heart skipped a beat when she heard his question. Wasn't that what she thought? They weren't actually dating?
"I didn't ask that much. I just felt you didn't care much about Ms. Sullivan," Harper replied.
Francis calmly said, "She has family, friends, and in the future, her husband will care for her. Why should I? We don't have any special relationship."
Francis's words were so straightforward that even a rocket scientist wouldn't have trouble understanding.
Instantly, Harper's mind went blank.
So she had misunderstood. Lily and Francis weren't in the kind of relationship she thought.
At this moment, Francis looked at Harper and said, "If you want to know something, just ask me directly. No need to beat around the bush."
Harper carefully recalled her questions. After thinking it over, she realized she was eager to know the relationship between Francis and Lily.
Realizing this, Harper suddenly froze. She wanted to know so badly because...
Harper didn't dare to think. Thinking about it made her feel she might fall in and never get out.
She suddenly panicked, her expression visibly flustered. Clearly, she had decided to push Francis away. What was she doing now?
That subconscious behavior made Harper feel she really couldn't get close to Francis. At any moment, she might reveal her true feelings.
"I don't want to know anything," Harper stubbornly denied.
Then she said to Francis, "I just need to turn a corner up ahead. You should go back. I'll go first."
After saying this, Harper didn't even give Francis a chance to speak and hurriedly left.
Harper was afraid that if she stayed any longer, her feelings would become more and more obvious.
Especially just now, when Francis said he and Lily didn't have any special relationship, Harper clearly felt her heart race.
This was dangerous! She had finally pulled herself out of that self-blaming funk and really didn't want to fall back into it.
The next day.
Harper was ready to be discharged and head back to the villa. When she left, she didn't say goodbye to Francis.
Harper believed, maybe naively, that avoiding him would squash the feelings that had started to bubble up inside her.
She told herself that the reason she was so easily swayed was because Francis was injured. It had to be because of his leg. Seeing him like that, his sadness seemed to deepen.
Harper couldn't control her heart, feeling sympathy for Francis.
Either way, Harper felt this wasn't a good thing.
After getting back to the villa, Harper didn't find the peace she imagined. Instead, her mind kept replaying the image of Francis trying to stand up from his wheelchair.
That scene was burned into her memory.
She finally understood she wanted to be there with him, encouraging him to stand up.
The weather in Emerald Isle was always unpredictable. Just like now, it suddenly started snowing heavily outside.
Harper looked at the heavy snow outside the window. Even though she was in a warm room, the cold seemed to seep in through the window, chilling her to the bone, which was just a psychological effect.
She still wasn't quite used to the weather in Emerald Isle.
As she watched, Harper thought that if even she wasn't used to it, how could Francis endure it with his old leg injury?
The image of him, alone in a foreign land, grappling with the resurgence of his old pain, grew increasingly sharp in her mind.
Harper was once again moved by this image.
She remembered a little trick Delaney had taught her to resist the cold and alleviate old injuries.
Harper quickly took out her phone, typed up a detailed method, and sent it to the number she knew so well.
After sending it, Harper found it even harder to sleep, holding her phone and waiting for Francis's reply.
After a tense sixty seconds, Francis replied: [I have tried it, not bad. Thanks.]
After a nerve-wracking minute, all she got was this. The "thank you," so formal and detached, felt like a slap in the face.
Harper felt all her enthusiasm suddenly extinguished.
What was she expecting?
After turning off the sound and putting down her phone, Harper lay in bed, feeling more and more that her actions just now were foolish.
And then there was Francis's comment that day, "If you want to know something, just ask me directly. No need to beat around the bush."
Harper smacked her own head hard! What was she doing!
It really felt like she was trying to seduce Francis. It was so embarrassing!
Harper's insomnia at night led to her sleeping in a bit in the morning.
When she woke up, Jasper called her to discuss the party.
Originally, Jasper didn't want Harper to be involved in such a dangerous matter, but Arthur was very cunning. If Harper wasn't there, he might immediately sense something was wrong, which would be disastrous.
At least until they found Elodie, they couldn't let Arthur notice anything unusual.
So they needed Harper's participation to keep Arthur in check.
After Jasper went over the general plan, he noticed Harper looking tired and asked, "Didn't sleep well last night?"
Harper nodded, "Yeah, had a bit of insomnia."
Jasper thought Harper was worried about the operation and tried to comfort her, "Don't worry. I'll make sure you're safe."
"Yeah, I'm not worried," Harper said. "But, Jasper, do you know about Francis's leg? How bad is his injury?"
Jasper was taken aback, then said, "I'm not sure about that. You can ask him directly."
After all, Francis had asked Jasper to keep it a secret. Since he didn't want Harper to know, it wasn't right for Jasper to tell her.
And privately, Jasper was also afraid that if Harper knew, she might fall back into that old emotional state, feeling guilty for Francis's injury and becoming upset again.
If Harper asked and Francis was willing to tell her, that would be a different situation.
Jasper believed Francis would definitely be willing to comfort her in any way possible.
Harper bit her lip and said, "Jasper, I'm always afraid that I will bring him misfortune."
Jasper looked at Harper. He wasn't an expert in emotions, but he could see that Harper couldn't let go of this relationship.
Jasper shook his head slightly and said, "Harper, sometimes you need to understand that the opposite of misfortune can be a blessing. Everyone makes different choices. If you had to choose, would you rather live like a walking corpse or spend every moment with the person you love, cherishing and remembering those times?"
"So, let's not limit ourselves to one-sided thoughts. If you can't let go, then solve the problem until you can truly let go," he continued.
Jasper's words suddenly made Harper realize.
She had always been confused by Audrey.
Harper felt she was the cause of Francis's misfortune. But now, even without her, Francis's leg was still like this. So, who should be blamed for that?
Harper was a person of action. If she couldn't figure something out, she had to do something about it.
Since she was worried about Francis, she should go see him.
With this in mind, Harper called Victor and asked, "Victor, is Francis still in the hospital?"
"No, Mr. Getty is now at the Emerald Isle Conference Center, discussing international road projects with the relevant leaders."
Harper was stunned, "He's already working. How is his leg?"
Victor looked at Francis, who was buried in work, and felt a pang of sadness, "Ms. Sackler, Mr. Getty doesn't listen to me at all. He barely ate any breakfast or lunch."
Victor was in a difficult position. He knew he shouldn't say this, but he had to because he couldn't stand Francis neglecting his health.
Victor hesitated and said, "If it's convenient for you, I hope you can persuade Mr. Getty."
After hanging up the phone, Harper looked at the text messages. The conversation with Francis was still in the same state as last night.
She didn't reply to him, and he hadn't continued the conversation either.
Interacting through the phone made people feel even more distant.
Harper put on her coat, got in the car, and decided to go see Francis.
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