Chapter 125 Spare Her for My Sake
A cold and threatening voice filled the air, causing Elysia's spine to stiffen as she turned to find Darian, who had been sitting there unnoticed until that moment. Ophelia looked on with a grimace, giving Elysia a look as if she were an idiot.
Elysia's face turned pale. "Mr. Fitzgerald?"
She tried to contain the fear inside her, clenching her fists so hard her fingernails dug into her palms.
"Tell me everything that happened tonight from the beginning," Darian demanded with a cold stare.
Elysia shivered, suddenly losing the boldness she had when complaining to Raphael and Liora. She didn't understand why Darian was there and she looked at Ophelia in a panic.
Ophelia's heart skipped a beat, but she maintained her composure and said to Elysia with a forced smile, "Elysia, you don't have to be scared. Is there perhaps a misunderstanding about what happened tonight? How did you end up with those people... like that?"
"It was Ce..." Elysia started to say, but then Ophelia interrupted.
"You're saying Miss Cecily went to the hotel, but we didn't see Miss Cecily there. Instead, we saw you, Elysia. I know you and Miss Cecily don't get along, but as your sister, it's wrong to malign her. By talking about Miss Cecily that way, you've made us all misunderstand the situation," Ophelia stated in a way that caused Elysia to look on in confusion.
Ophelia squeezed her hand gently, indicating that she should continue along the same thread of conversation.
Elysia was naive, not stupid. It was clear to her that Ophelia was trying to throw all the blame onto her, then come out of it squeaky clean.
But why should she? The person who had instigated her actions was Ophelia. In the end, Elysia was the one who got hurt, yet Ophelia was trying to make her take the fall for everything!
Just as Elysia was about to object, Ophelia tightened her grip on her hand, adding a hint of force, “Elysia, don’t slander Miss Cecily. I believe your presence in that room must have been an accident. Right now, your reputation is what matters most, you need to protect it.”
With reddened eyes, Elysia stared at Ophelia. This was a threat. She was expected to swallow the day's events.
She was threatened not to implicate Ophelia, nor continue to slander Cecily.
Resentment filled Elysia’s eyes.
Ophelia was about to say more when Darian’s dark eyes narrowed dangerously. “Let her speak for herself,” he commanded with an underlying threat.
Ophelia’s words halted abruptly. She had to close her mouth. When she turned to meet Darian’s gaze, a fleeting panic glinted in her eyes.
She wasn't sure if Elysia, the fool, had taken her words to heart.
With her head bowed, biting her lip, Elysia's mind was in turmoil—pain, collapse, despair, and a tangled hatred for Cecily.
While she hesitated, Darian’s patience was waning.
“Elysia…” Liora cut her off before she could speak, “Cecily has always been kind-hearted. How could she intentionally scheme against you? It must be a mistake on your part. Don’t blame it on your sister.”
Elysia was even more astounded. What was wrong with them? Why was everyone siding with Cecily and expecting her to just accept the situation?
She looked at each of their faces, feeling like she was about to break down.
With the words lingering on the tip of her tongue, she dared not continue. After a minute, she took a deep breath and said in despair, “It was me. I wanted to frame my sister, so I said those things when Ophelia called me, but then I regretted it. I felt it was too unfair to my sister... so I let her go. I didn’t expect those guys to go crazy and come at me, and that's when the incident happened.”
"Elysia, what were you thinking? How could you do this?" Ophelia exclaimed, indignant and upset.
Darian didn't even wait to hear what she had to say. He stood up, glanced at the nearby police officer, and said, “Handle this person as you see fit.”
With that, he turned and walked away.
He already had a sense that not a word they said was true.
Darian had lost interest in listening any further.
When the Watson family—a family of three—heard Darian’s words, their expressions fell.
Elysia suddenly rushed up to Ophelia, took her hand, and hissed, "You've got to help me. You're the one who told me to do this. If I get in trouble, I won't let you off easily."
Faced with Elysia's threat, Ophelia shook off her hand with a cold expression and said curtly, "I heard you."
After that, Ophelia hurried out after Darian.
Catching up to him, she used a familiar tone, gentle yet pleading, "Darian."
This time, Darian didn't walk away; he stopped to wait for her.
This gave Ophelia the illusion that he wasn’t suspicious of her, that he wasn’t angry. "Darian, I need to talk to you."
Darian invited her to speak with a single word, "Speak."
Ophelia started, "This time, Elysia is at fault, but thankfully, it didn't result in a major disaster. She's a friend of mine. Can you consider my feelings and not pursue this matter further?"
"You're pleading for her?" Darian's voice was cold.
"Yes, she is my best friend. I am upset with her, but she has been punished," said Ophelia, her voice soft, lips pursing slightly.
A chill flashed in Darian's eyes as he watched her.
Ophelia felt a surge of nervousness in her heart.
"Alright, since you've asked for mercy, I'll give you that respect."
"Really?" Ophelia's eyes lit up with surprise. "Thank you, Darian."
This was the only thing that had made Ophelia happy that evening. At least Darian, for her sake, had decided to let Elysia go.
That showed her that she still had some standing in his heart.
Ophelia breathed a sigh of relief, as Darian hadn't suspected her at all.
As for Cecily, having managed to slip away this time, Ophelia just figured there would be a next time.
She was certain she'd have plenty more opportunities to get the best of Cecily.
With this thought, a smile flickered across Ophelia's face as she reached out to link arms with Darian as she usually did.
However, Darian dodged her.
Ophelia was left puzzled, watching him.
Darian paid her no further attention as the driver pulled up the car, and he got in directly.
Ophelia stepped forward, biting her lower lip, "Darian, I took a cab here, could you give me a ride back?"
"No room," he curtly replied.
With that, the driver started the car and swiftly drove away, leaving Ophelia standing there alone.
No room?
There were clearly open seats beside him and in the front passenger seat.
...
At the hospital, in Cecily's room, Hayden and Declan were leaning on the sofa, engrossed in their mobile games.
Darian's gaze fell on the woman in the hospital bed. She was awake now, sitting up with an IV drip, in the pure white hospital bed, her face expressionless, staring blankly at nothing in particular.
Wanting not to disturb her, Darian naturally lightened his footsteps.
"Darian, you're back," the two men said, shifting their attention from their phones to Darian.
"Yeah, you must be tired. Head back and get some sleep."
Declan said, "We're not tired yet, it's hardly late."
His implicit request for them to leave somehow went over Declan's head, but Hayden caught it and looked miffed, "Fine, Fitzgerald, you kick us out after using us."
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