Chapter 610 His Redemption
In the following days, everyone was caught up in their own business. Tommy, still a criminal, wouldn't get much time to rest and recover in the hospital.
It was time to take him back to the police station. Neil came in with his team, handcuffed Tommy, and two officers escorted him out.
As they exited the hospital, the officers were about to put Tommy into the police car when they saw Gillian standing nearby.
Seeing Gillian, Tommy froze. She was the last person he wanted to see right now—not because he didn't want to, but because he was afraid to face her.
Before, he had stood before her as a police officer, a symbol of justice, her superhero. Now, he was a handcuffed criminal about to serve time in prison.
He had mentally prepared for this drastic change in identity, but Gillian hadn't. He couldn't imagine how devastated and hurt she must be.
Seeing Gillian, Neil signaled his subordinates to step aside. Vernon asked, "Mr. Jackson, shouldn't we keep him restrained?"
"No need. He won't run."
If Tommy had wanted to escape, he would have done so already. Neil's words made everyone step back, leaving Tommy standing there, head bowed, unable to meet Gillian's eyes.
Gillian walked closer, looking him over. He seemed so much thinner, so worn out. It felt like ages since she'd last seen him, and for someone who relied on him so much, every day without him felt like an eternity.
Without a word, Gillian unbuttoned his shirt to check his wounds, then looked up at him with concern. "Your chest is fractured, and your internal organs are damaged. It must hurt a lot, right?"
Just hearing her say that made his heart ache.
"No," Tommy shook his head. "It doesn't hurt."
Compared to the severe burns Gillian had suffered, this pain was nothing.
"Are they taking you away now?" she asked, seeing him handcuffed and escorted by the police. "You need a long time to recover from such injuries. How can you heal if they lock you up now?"
Tommy's eyes welled up with tears. He would have preferred Gillian to slap him and scream at him for deceiving her, for hurting her so deeply.
But she didn't. Instead, her first concern was his injuries. Why was she still so stubbornly devoted to him?
"Gillian, wake up. I'm not as good as you think. I've been lying to you from the start. If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have been burned!"
Gillian remained unusually calm, even as Tommy's emotions ran high. She had heard his conversation with Alaric over the phone. As he had said, he had repeatedly warned and resisted, but she had been the one to pursue him from the beginning.
"Before you agreed to be with me, I told you I would go after the man I wanted. It was my choice to be with you, even if it meant being deceived. And I've never regretted it."
Gillian carefully buttoned his shirt back up, saying, "Tommy, behave well in there and try to get out early. I'll wait for you."
Wait for him?
Hearing Gillian say, "I'll wait for you," hit Tommy hard. He felt something clogging his chest, and he struggled to speak.
"Gillian," he finally managed to say, "can't you stop being so foolish? I've told you, everything you're suffering now is because of me. I'm a criminal. I don't know how many years I'll be in prison. What are you waiting for? You're so naive, always making the same mistakes. You've been deceived once, and now you're willing to waste your whole life on me. Are you an idiot?"
Tommy kept berating her, and Gillian listened, tears streaming down her face. Then she spoke softly, "You can scold me all you want, but no matter what you say, I won't change my mind."
Tommy was furious, but also heartbroken and touched.
"Gillian, what are you doing?" He didn't know what to say to her. He wanted to shake some sense into her. "You're the commander's daughter. You have a great family, a bright future. Why waste your time on me? You could find a perfect man, but that's not me. Being with me will ruin you and your family's reputation. Don't you understand?"
Thomas was a respected commander. How could his son-in-law be a criminal? If Tommy stayed with Gillian, it would destroy the Emberlyn family's reputation.
And he had hurt Gillian so badly. From a father's perspective, Thomas would never approve of their relationship. If Gillian insisted, it would strain her relationship with her father.
He wasn't worth Gillian's love.
"Is reputation that important?" Gillian asked, tears in her eyes. "Do other people's opinions matter? I live my own life. I don't need others' approval. I just want to be happy. I could marry a wealthy man, but I don't love him. And no one will take care of me like you do, Tommy. No one will love me more than you."
Because of Tommy's childhood experiences, he was obsessive about relationships. He had no friends, only Joe and Gillian. His love for them was unwavering.
Who else could love her more than Tommy?
Tommy couldn't say anything. He bit his lip, head bowed, tears falling.
Gillian wrapped her arms around his waist, looking up into his eyes. "Tommy, I'll work hard. I'll get into Arizona University for my PhD. I'll study and wait for you. You have to work hard too, and get out of prison soon."
Tommy, eyes full of tears, looked at Gillian, unable to speak. She was his salvation. Before her, his life had been miserable.
Now, facing prison, he felt hopeless. He had once been ambitious, but now his life had no direction.
Few people had shown him kindness. He cared about even fewer. His godfather was facing the death penalty, and if he ended things with Gillian, if she left Arizona City forever, he wouldn't care about anything anymore.
He didn't care how long his sentence was. Even if he spent his life in prison, it didn't matter. When he got out, he wouldn't know what to do.
He wasn't from Arizona City. His house had burned down, leaving him with no place to stay. He would leave, but where would he go?
Back home? He hadn't contacted his parents in years. They probably had forgotten him. And what right did he have to return after prison?
Before Gillian came to see him, he had no reason to keep living. He would have just drifted through life, barely surviving. But now, Gillian said she would wait for him.
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