Chapter 328 This Is My Fate
Jeffery's eyes followed.
He walked over and opened the door.
Barbara walked in, looking concerned. "How are you?"
She noticed Pearl behind him and was surprised but stayed quiet.
Pearl felt a mix of emotions seeing Barbara. She had just found out about her poisoning, and any sympathy she had for Barbara was gone, replaced by anger and resentment.
"It's you," Pearl said, walking over.
Barbara looked up. "It's been a while."
"Did you poison me?" Pearl asked.
Barbara's face changed, and she stayed silent. The situation was complicated for her too, especially with Jeffery involved.
Pearl felt naive, thinking she was the only one seeing things positively. "Why did you do this? You've always wanted to kill me. Why not just push me off? It would be a clean death. You gave me hope only to drag others down with me!"
She couldn't accept being in this limbo, hurting others in the process.
"Carol, calm down," Jeffery tried to soothe her.
Pearl's eyes darted between Jeffery and Barbara.
Barbara finally spoke. "I didn't know it was poison. Donald prepared it. I was just following orders!"
"Following orders," Pearl scoffed. "You make it sound easy. You wanted to kill me. How many lives have you taken? I have no grudge against you."
Barbara didn't know how to explain. They were on different sides.
"I had no choice," Barbara said. "We all did."
Disobedience meant death. Survival left no other options.
Pearl felt lost and didn't know who to blame. Barbara claimed ignorance about the poison. Pearl wanted to vent, to blame her for the cruelty, but it felt pointless.
She slowly walked away.
Jeffery, worried, grabbed her clothes. "Carol."
"Let go of me!" Pearl shook him off, her eyes cold. "You're with her. You're all trapped, but does that give you the right to hurt others? People like you will always be filthy."
With that, Pearl left decisively.
Jeffery stood there, pale and stunned. Her words hit him hard, making him feel unworthy.
People like them, indeed, were not the same with Pearl. He was raised soaking in dirty and would never become clean again.
Barbara tried to console him. "Jeffery, no matter what you do, she'll never appreciate you. You're not from the same world."
Sadness flashed in Jeffery's eyes. He was lost in pain.
"She knows who you are and despises you. Is she worth dying for?" Barbara grabbed his arm, trying to make him see reason. "Don't sacrifice yourself for her, okay?"
Jeffery stayed silent.
When Pearl despised him, his last bit of hope faded.
He lost the will to fight.
"Did you hear me?" Barbara touched his face. "You can't die for her. She'll never appreciate you!"
Jeffery met her worried gaze but pulled her hand away. "You don't need to worry about this."
Barbara's eyes reddened. "Is it worth it? Are you crazy? We barely survived, and now you want to throw it all away? I've done so much for you, protected you from Donald. Just stay for me. I'm your partner. You can't abandon me!"
Jeffery's hand dropped, his tone cold. "I never asked you to do all that. This is my business."
"Jeffery!" Barbara shouted, grabbing his hand again. "Do you want to die?"
Jeffery looked at her. "Didn't I say? What's so scary about death?"
Barbara stepped back, disappointed. "If I knew you'd go this far, I should've killed her back then!"
Jeffery's gaze turned sharp. "Haven't you learned your lesson?"
Barbara laughed bitterly. "I'm all alone now. I finally have a companion, and you want to leave me. I'll go kill her now!"
She started to walk out, but Jeffery grabbed her neck.
Barbara felt suffocated, seeing the killing intent in his eyes.
"How dare you!"
For Pearl, Jeffery didn't even care about her.
Barbara felt like a fool, overestimating her place in Jeffery's heart.
Losing him meant being abandoned again.
She hated this feeling and couldn't accept it.
'What's the point of living?'
She'd rather die by Jeffery's hand than be left alone. She felt unbearably cold.
Seeing Barbara not struggling, Jeffery couldn't do it and let go.
Barbara collapsed, coughing and gasping for air.
Jeffery looked down at her. "You need me because I'm your partner, your only partner. But have you thought that we will part ways one day? What's the difference between leaving a day earlier or later?"
A tear fell from Barbara's eye.
She hadn't cried when beaten or during the hardest days, but Jeffery's words broke her.
"I don't want to see you die!"
Jeffery's coldness melted. He squatted down, wiping her tear. "Do you know what I need?"
Barbara stared, speechless.
"You and I are different," Jeffery smiled. "I want to live without regrets."
Barbara hugged him, crying on his shoulder. "Jeffery, you want to live carefree, but you have attachments. It's impossible in this life!"
"This is my fate," Jeffery said calmly.
Barbara replied, "I don't want to see you die."
"When it's all over, I hope you live free."
Barbara said, "Will there be an end? Will I still be alive then? Will I end up like you, except maybe you'll die peacefully, while I might die with no one even noticing?"
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