Chapter 5 Debts of the Past Repaid in the Present
Caleb let out a scream and staggered back several steps, covering his face.
"Helena, what are you doing!"
Willow shrieked at the top of her lungs and rushed over to help Caleb.
She pulled Caleb's hand away and saw his face was red and swollen, which made her even angrier. "Helena, look what you've done to Caleb's face!"
"Oh, he got burned!"
I calmly wiped my hands and said, "I'm really sorry about that. Peter, call a doctor. If he needs to be hospitalized, put all the expenses on my account."
Peter, the butler waiting nearby, responded and quickly called for a doctor.
Willow was shaking with anger and yelled, "What do you mean by that?"
Before I could say anything, she turned her fire on Henry. "Henry, look at your precious daughter and what she's done!"
Henry frowned at me. "Helena, what happened?"
I pouted with a wronged expression. "Dad, I was just being nice and bringing him coffee, but he tried to take advantage of me."
I held out my hand. "He touched my hand."
My slender, delicate hand looked especially appealing under the lights.
When Maria saw Willow was about to make more trouble, she pulled me behind her and pointed at the door angrily. "Willow, I respect you as my sister-in-law, but you brought this bastard who dares to harass my daughter."
"For the sake of family, I won't hold it against you today. Now take your people and get out!"
Maria looked so cool defending me like that.
If it weren't for the wrong timing, I really would have applauded her!
Willow's face immediately turned darkened. Her eyes were full of anger as she turned to Henry, but seeing he just frowned and had no intention of backing her up.
She became furious. "Fine! You're all ganging up to bully me, the poor relative, right? Fine, just you all wait!"
She pulled Caleb along and stormed off angrily.
After they left, Maria took my hand. "Helena, are you okay?"
"I'm fine."
After saying that, I glanced at Henry a bit nervously. I didn't know if he'd see through my clumsy little trick.
"There are many ways to stop something from happening, but you chose the dumbest one."
Sure enough, he saw right through what I did. I bit my lip hard. I knew this method wasn't exactly honorable, but it was the fastest way to keep Caleb out of the company.
"Think things through from now on, and don't hurt yourself in the process."
Henry pushed a cup of coffee in front of me. Only then did I breathe a sigh of relief and smile. "Thanks, Dad."
"Really, so strict at the company, and still so serious at home."
Maria said with a playful laugh, putting her arm around my shoulder. "Helena, do whatever you want. Don't be afraid—you have Mom and Dad."
Though Henry didn't say anything, he nodded in agreement.
Seeing Henry and Maria supporting me unconditionally, I felt grateful.
I opened my arms and hugged them. "Mom, Dad, you're the best."
"So cheesy. You go out for a bit and come back all sweet-talking?"
Maria complained with her words, but I could tell she actually liked it.
While we were joking around, Peter suddenly came to report. "Mr. Pemberton is here."
"Let him in."
After Maria spoke, she glanced at me with a smile. "What's going on with you two? You went out together but came back one after the other."
I steadied the panic in my heart and gave her a smile. "I wasn't feeling well so I came back first. I forgot to tell him."
Maria didn't think much of it after hearing my explanation.
Soon, the sound of hurried footsteps came, and Knox walked in looking worried.
After greeting Henry and Maria, he looked at me nervously. "Helena, what happened? Why did you come back without saying anything?"
Upon seeing his anxious expression, hatred surged in my heart.
It was this Knox who caused Henry and Maria to die, who caused me to sink to the bottom of the sea.
Bastard, I would make you pay for what you did in my past life!
I clenched my fists hidden under the table, trying hard to control the rolling hatred in my heart.
"I wasn't feeling well, so I came back first."
After I finished speaking, Knox quickly walked over and asked. "What's wrong? Did you see a doctor?"
His hand reached toward my forehead.
Seeing his hand coming toward me, I felt sick and quietly stepped back a few steps, avoiding his palm.
"I just don't want to see the ocean!"
Seeing my bad expression, Knox looked confused. "Going to the beach was your choice. Why don't you want to see the ocean now?"
I raised my head and stared straight into his eyes, saying, "I've changed my mind. I don't want to see it now. No, I don't want to go see the ocean ever again."
Knox was stunned, not understanding why I suddenly changed my mind.
But he quickly recovered and went along with me. "Okay, okay, we won't go. Whatever you say."
Seeing me being a bit unreasonable, Maria quickly stepped in. "Knox, sit down."
Knox sat down next to me. I barely held back the nausea rolling in my stomach and didn't get up to leave.
He chatted absentmindedly with Henry for a bit, then got up to leave.
"Helena, see him out."
Maria still had some appreciation for Knox, her future son-in-law.
Mainly because Knox was too good at pretending. He was handsome, humble, and polite, and every time he came, he could make Henry and Maria happy. No wonder Maria misjudged him.
To avoid making Knox suspicious, I had to stand up and follow him obediently. "Let's go, I'll see you out."
Along the way, Knox kept looking back at me. Seeing me stay silent, he finally couldn't help but ask. "Helena, what's wrong? Did I do something to make you angry?"
"No." I shook my head.
Seeing my cold behavior, Knox couldn't figure out what was going on with me.
After thinking for a moment, he brought up a lighter topic. "Don't forget about tomorrow's horse race."
His words immediately reminded me—tomorrow there was a horse race, but Knox's purpose wasn't to watch the race at all. He was going for Top Horse.
In my past life, Knox used the opportunity of bidding on Top Horse to connect with the foreign businessman Joseph Davis, successfully getting Joseph to invest in the Pemberton family, making them rise to become new elites in Starwave City.
In this life, with me here, such good fortune won't come his way.
I was thinking about how to ruin his plan, then nodded. "Okay, I remember."
When we reached the door, Knox wanted to give me a hug, but I coughed a couple of times.
I dodged his embrace. "Sorry, I'm not feeling well."
Knox's hand froze in mid-air. After a long while, he finally said, "If you're not feeling well, then rest well. I'll come pick you up tomorrow."
He affectionately pinched my cheek. I couldn't help but think of Atlas's hand—his rough, calloused palm was much more reassuring than Knox's well-maintained hands.
"Alright, I'm leaving. Go back inside quickly."
Knox waved his hand. What I didn't know was that behind me, his face had turned cold as ice.