Chapter 273 Honest Admission
Chapter 273 Honest Admission
James shook his head, a self-mocking smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Nothing's wrong. Armando, tell me—don't I deserve everything that's happening to me right now?"
Armando froze for a moment, then frowned. "How can you say that about yourself?!"
"No, I do deserve it." James's voice was soft, yet carried an unmistakable heaviness. "I'm the one who let Sophia down before, hurt her again and again. This is all punishment for me, the price I have to pay."
Armando looked at him in this dejected state and sighed helplessly. "I know, the things you did to Sophia before were pretty messed up.
"But this time you risked your life to save her. If you're looking at it as making amends, that's heavy enough. I wouldn't say you owe her that much."
In his view, James had indeed been very cold to Sophia before, and had let Isabella bully her, breaking her heart. But this time James had nearly died—even the most serious wrongs should be wiped clean by now.
But James just smiled bitterly and shook his head again, his voice full of bitterness. "You don't understand. What I owe her isn't just from this lifetime."
Armando's frown deepened, looking at him with complete confusion. "What do you mean it's not just from this lifetime? What are you talking about? I don't get it."
He had no idea what was going on with James. The person in front of him seemed to have suddenly changed from the James he'd known for over twenty years.
James was silent for a few seconds before slowly speaking. "Remember when I asked you to have your senior colleague do hypnosis? I told you I kept having this continuous, incredibly real dream, right?"
"I remember." Armando nodded. "You said you dreamed that Sophia died and the Brown Group went bankrupt. What about it?"
"That wasn't a dream." James closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, they were filled with pain and regret he couldn't suppress. "That was my previous life, Armando. I've been reborn."
The hospital room suddenly fell silent, so quiet that only the beeping of the machines could be heard.
Armando froze completely in his chair, eyes wide, unable to react for a long time. After a full ten seconds or so, he suddenly snapped back to reality, looking at James with an expression of disbelief. "Have you lost your mind? James, did the cyanide poisoning fry your brain too?"
He was a doctor, a firm believer in materialism. Rebirth—something that only existed in novels—he instinctively couldn't believe it.
James had known this would be his reaction and just smiled bitterly. "I knew you wouldn't believe me."
"How do you expect me to believe something like that?" Armando frowned tightly, his tone full of disapproval. "James, I know you can't see right now, you're under a lot of pressure, your emotions are shot, but you can't take this kind of talk seriously."
"I wish it was just a dream too." James sighed softly, his voice full of exhaustion. "But it was all too real. So real that whenever I close my eyes, I can see what Sophia looked like when she died.
"I'll never forget it for the rest of my life."
Armando sat there, listening to him finish word by word, unable to say anything in response.
He'd known James for over twenty years. He knew too well what kind of person this childhood friend was. James had never been the type to make up stories like this for sympathy.
After a long while, Armando finally found his voice, his throat dry and tight. "So... why are you telling me all this?"
James tilted his head slightly toward where his voice was coming from, his face showing clear pleading. "Armando, I'm like this now, I can't see. I'll only be a burden from now on. I can't protect her anymore.
"That old fox Sullivan is still lurking in the shadows watching her. Christopher's been arrested, but who knows if he has other plans in place. It's too hard for Sophia to handle all this alone.
"I'm hoping you can help me look after her. Don't let anyone bully her, don't let her suffer even a little bit."
Armando looked at him, feeling both angry and helpless, and could only let out a heavy sigh. "I talked to your attending physician. The optic nerve damage you have now is most likely caused by swelling and compression from the cyanide poisoning, not the kind of injury that's completely destroyed.
"Once the swelling goes down, combined with follow-up treatment, you still have a good chance of recovering your vision."
"A chance?" James laughed self-mockingly and shook his head gently. "I'm not counting on getting better anymore.
"I shouldn't even still be alive. If I go blind in the end, that's just the debt I owe.
"The only thing I can't let go of now is her.
"Armando, I'm begging you—help me watch over her, okay?"
Meanwhile, Sophia had just walked out of the inpatient building and gotten into her car when her phone suddenly rang in her bag.
The caller ID showed Nathan.
"Hello." Sophia pinched the bridge of her nose, her voice full of exhaustion.
On the other end, Nathan's tone carried obvious concern. "Sophia, how are you? I just heard about what happened at the hospital. James, he..."
"I'm fine." Sophia leaned back against the seat, closed her eyes, and said softly, "James woke up, but... he's gone blind."
The other end of the line fell silent, the pause stretching long.
After a full ten seconds or so, Nathan spoke again, his voice dropping a few degrees. "So what are you planning to do?"
Sophia gripped her phone, unable to speak for a moment.
Plans?
She didn't know what plans she could have either.
She hated James, had hated him for two lifetimes. He had to pay blood for blood.
But James had just saved her life. She couldn't bring herself to move against him right now. Because of this life-saving debt, she planned to temporarily spare his life and let him live a while longer.
Nathan hadn't heard her answer and sighed softly, his tone still gentle without any pressure. "Sophia, I don't mean anything by it.
"Whatever decision you make, I support you. If you need any help, you can come to me anytime. I'm always here."
Sophia's nose tingled, and a wave of guilt rose in her chest.
Nathan had been quietly by her side, helping her countless times, never pressuring her to make any choice, never using these favors to pressure her.
"Nathan, I'm sorry." She spoke softly, her voice full of apology.
On the other end, Nathan heard this and let out a low laugh, the laugh carrying helplessness and undisguised disappointment.
"I understand." He only said this one sentence, didn't ask more questions, didn't pressure her for an answer, just added, "Don't wear yourself out, take care of yourself. If there's any movement from Sullivan's side, call me right away."
"Okay." Sophia answered softly, then hung up the phone.
At the same time, in an interrogation room at the city police station.
Christopher sat in the interrogation chair wearing handcuffs, showing no fear on his face. Instead, he wore a kind of reckless, almost manic expression.
He had a smile on his face, his eyes bright. This expression made the two police officers across from him instinctively frown.
"Christopher, confess honestly! Who ordered you to infiltrate the charity gala and attack Sophia and James?!" The interrogating officer slammed the table and demanded sternly.