Chapter 43 Guilt-tripping
Listening to her act like this was somehow reasonable, I laughed bitterly. "Elaine, you've got some nerve. Even though I cut ties with the Rosewood family, I got into DI on my own merit. Whether I stay after the evaluation or not, I'll accept the results. You think with your bottom-tier performance, even if you somehow stayed at DI, how long would you last?"
"I'm not helping you, and I'm not dropping out of the evaluation. I've got things to do. I'm leaving."
With that, I grabbed my stuff and turned to go. If she kept this up, I'd report her to DI. As I stood to leave, I saw the devastation on her face and shook my head. Why did people always think they could get something for nothing?
We were both in rough situations—she'd escaped once, so why couldn't she save herself a second time? Or had someone else handed her that first escape too?
I didn't dwell on it and walked away quickly.
I'd barely made it a hundred meters from the coffee shop when Elaine came running after me. "Catherine!"
I turned around just as she rushed up and dropped to her knees right in front of me. I jumped, reaching out instinctively to help her up. "What are you doing?"
Elaine refused to budge. When I couldn't get her to stand, I backed away instead. I wasn't about to let her pull some victim act.
But Elaine was already making a scene. "Catherine, please, I'm begging you to help me. I really don't want to go home and get married. I know what I did was wrong, but I'm completely out of options. You can leave DI and find another job, but I have no other choice!"
I looked at her silently, without a shred of pity. Because the other four interns had connections, she'd targeted me. She even knew I didn't have the Rosewood family's protection anymore. She'd really mastered the art of picking on the weak.
After I'd firmly refused her, Elaine acted like I'd wounded her and started twisting the knife into my trauma without caring how I felt. When that didn't work, she switched to moral blackmail tactics. For an opportunity she could probably earn through hard work, she'd thrown away her dignity.
I couldn't understand it. And I didn't want to help her.
That said, we were on a public street now. A crowd of onlookers quickly gathered around us. After hearing Elaine's version, people who didn't know the full story started taking her side.
"Young lady, she's in such a terrible situation. Just help her out!"
"Right? No one would get on their knees and beg in public unless they were really desperate!"
The crowd chimed in one after another, all defending Elaine. Seeing the tide turn in her favor, Elaine doubled down. "Catherine, I know I'm from out of town and can't compare to you people who grew up in the big city. But I work hard too! I just want to stay here. For you, helping me only means losing one job opportunity. But for me, it means my entire future."
She painted herself more and more pitifully. The crowd got swept up in her emotions, and more people spoke up for her.
I turned to look at the crowd with detachment, seeing countless blurry figures. All pointing fingers at me, denying me. Had I really done something wrong? Should I really give up my own principles and opportunities just to help someone else?
No! I wouldn't do it.
In my past life, because of my brothers' begging, cursing, manipulation—to help Sabrina recover, I'd sacrificed everything. And died miserably in the end. I'd helped others, so why did my life still end in tragedy? This time, I refused to compromise myself for anyone else.
I pushed past my fear. My cold gaze swept across every single gawker. "Do you even know what happened here? We're both DI interns. Right now we need to pass an evaluation to get hired full-time. And she—"
I raised my voice sharply. "—wants me to drop out of the evaluation so she can pass. She's pitiful, sure. But what about me? I earned this internship through my own abilities. Why should I give it up just because she's pitiful?"
After I explained the whole situation, the onlookers' expressions changed as they looked at Elaine. Oh, so she was guilt-tripping someone? They'd backed the wrong side.
Some people mumbled apologies and hurried off. The others, seeing no more drama to watch, prepared to leave too.
Then a familiar voice rang out from the crowd. "How do we know you're telling the truth? What if you just made that up as an excuse not to help?"
I whirled around in irritation to see who was stirring up trouble. When I saw who it was, my stomach dropped. Sabrina? Again?
Jason stood beside her with a camera slung over his shoulder. They must have been out location scouting or something. Sabrina's last two sentences dripped with righteous indignation, like she was some kind of justice warrior.
Elaine didn't dare say much now, just kept crying harder.
Jason frowned disapprovingly at me. "Cate, can't you resolve conflicts without causing a scene?"
"Yeah, Catherine, why are you bullying people again?" Sabrina chimed in.
The crowd regathered, all rubbernecking. Someone asked curiously, "You know each other?"
Sabrina, worried Jason might actually defend me, jumped in quickly. "Well, we're family actually. But she has a difficult personality and insisted on cutting ties with us. And now look—my brother and I just happened to walk by and caught her bullying someone again."
Sabrina's tone was full of tragic disappointment, as if she was deeply ashamed of my behavior. The onlookers started speculating immediately. "You mean she's done this kind of thing before?"
Sabrina didn't answer directly. She just looked at me with a timid expression and let out a long, heavy sigh. The crowd fell right into her verbal trap and started condemning me all over again.
Sabrina looked smug. Jason glanced at her with a slight frown. Immediately, her voice turned pitiful. "Jason, I didn't mean anything bad about Catherine. Don't misunderstand—they're making their own assumptions! I didn't say anything!"
Jason didn't engage with that. He just watched me surrounded by accusing strangers, clearly uncomfortable. But he didn't say a word, essentially endorsing Sabrina's version of events.
A mocking smile tugged at my lips. I stopped paying attention to them and ignored the crowd's abuse.
I looked straight at Sabrina. "Do you dare take responsibility for what you just said?"
Sabrina looked guilty. She'd only seen me arguing with someone on the street and wanted to stir up trouble. I read her expression clearly and understood.
Then I looked at the woman still kneeling on the ground. "Elaine, are you sure I'm the one bullying you?"
Sabrina quickly spoke up. "Miss, don't be afraid! We'll protect you!"
Encouraged, Elaine answered. "Yes."