Chapter 268: The Budding of Love
Harriet slowly lifted her head, her gaze meeting Tristan's deep eyes.
"Harriet, for these three years, not a single day has passed without me blaming myself for what happened to your godmother. You'll never understand how much I hate myself."
"Even though you went back to Luminara City, I never gave up on you. I had people secretly protecting you, bought your grandmother's old house, and had Uncle Jasper renovate it to look exactly like it did when you lived there. I'd go stay there from time to time, because only there did I feel a bit closer to you."
"When you came back with Della, saying she was Nolan's daughter, I thought she was the child you had with Nolan during those days when you kept to yourself. I hated myself even more and regretted letting you go."
"But even if Della really was your daughter with him, I would have taken you back anyway, at any cost."
"But last night, God gave me another surprise. Can you understand how I felt when I found out Della is my daughter?"
"That was the happiest moment I've felt in these three years."
Harriet's eyes stung with tears.
Tristan gazed deeply at her. "We've gone round and round, but we still can't be apart, can we?"
"So Harriet, I can't let you go back to Nolan's side, unless I'm dead."
"If you really won't forgive me, then kill me yourself. Without you, I don't want to live."
Harriet shook her head. "Tristan, don't force me like this."
"I'm not forcing you!" Tristan said seriously. "I'm just making my position clear. If you really choose to give up on me, I'll hand you the gun."
On the way to the Johnson Mansion, the driver was at the wheel.
The atmosphere in the car was unusually heavy.
The driver in the front seat felt the pressure was so low he could barely breathe.
But with Della injured, it was normal for Tristan and Harriet to be in a bad mood.
The driver didn't dare make a sound and drove quietly.
Harriet's mind was a mess, and so was her heart.
Three years had passed, and Tristan had become even more extreme.
Before, he refused to let her treat his hand unless she agreed to personally handle his wound.
Today he said these things again.
She could feel that if she really insisted on being with Nolan, he would definitely hand her the gun and make her pull the trigger with his hand over hers.
Harriet didn't dare think about it.
This marriage, this love—they were both covered in scars, and neither had become the winner.
Harriet packed some things at the Johnson Mansion and then returned to the hospital.
The Rolls-Royce stopped at the hospital entrance, and the driver got out to open the door.
Just as Harriet got out of the car with Tristan, a crowd suddenly rushed forward, shoving cameras and phones right in their faces.
Tristan instinctively pulled Harriet into his arms, keeping the cameras from filming her.
"What are you doing?" The driver rushed forward to block them. "Stop filming! Who told you to film?"
"Mr. Lancaster, we heard you not only don't want your own biological son, but also beat the child's mother so badly she's seriously injured. Is that true?"
"Mr. Lancaster, we heard your wife is a clinic doctor. As a doctor, she should save lives, but she's killed someone. Is that true?"
"Not only did she kill someone, she's been in prison before. What do you two have to say about this?"
Tristan's face had already darkened.
He was about to speak when Harriet tugged at his shirt.
Tristan looked down and saw Harriet gently shake her head at him.
Only then did Tristan stay quiet.
Security quickly arrived to block the reporters and escort the two into the hospital.
After entering the elevator, Harriet finally spoke. "Those people were probably livestreaming. That's why they asked such pointed questions. If you speak up to defend me, who knows what they'll say about you."
"I'm not afraid of being criticized."
"You don't understand how powerful public opinion can be. We can't take this lightly." Harriet asked, "What did you do to Quinlan?"
"She failed to raise her son properly, so naturally she needs to be punished. I didn't take her life—I've been more than fair."
"I suspect she's the one who got these people to come, making this a big deal to get what she wants."
Tristan sneered. "Then she's getting even dumber."
"If this isn't handled well, it'll definitely affect Apex Global Group, and even Mr. Jones's Timeless Medicine Clinic. So we need to be careful."
"I'll have someone handle the online comments right away."
"I think it's already too late," Harriet said. "The internet is so developed now—things blow up fast."
"If you try to suppress the rumors now, people will just think we're guilty and trying to buy their silence."
"Don't rush. First see how Quinlan is stirring things up online, then figure out how to respond."
"Okay." Tristan nodded. "I just feel bad that you have to deal with all this public opinion."
"I'm fine. As long as it doesn't affect Della, I can handle anything. And I'm not stupid enough to just take it without fighting back."
When they returned to the ward, Della was already awake.
Her condition was fairly stable. To distract her, Nolan was watching cartoons with her.
Harriet spent some time with Della, then soon went to the lounge.
Tristan and Ryder were discussing work matters.
Harriet took out her phone to check.
The group of reporters downstairs had indeed been livestreaming—online, you could see footage of her and Tristan being surrounded just now.
The whole thing started when a user named "FindingMyHaven" posted a video several minutes long.
The video began with text, telling the story of how she'd known since childhood that she was adopted, living under someone else's roof, carefully getting by.
She worked hard from a young age, trying to change her fate through her own efforts, hoping to repay the family that adopted her when she grew up.
She excelled in her studies and mastered various skills like etiquette and musical instruments, growing up to become an enviable young lady.
Her love life began to blossom too—she fell in love with her cousin, who wasn't related to her by blood.
But because of their family relationship, neither broke through that hazy barrier.
She was a person with moral standards, so she couldn't be with her cousin. She could only suppress her feelings and go abroad to manage his overseas business.
While she was abroad, her cousin was arranged by his family to marry a woman he didn't love.
Though heartbroken, she sincerely wished him and his wife happiness.
But then her adoptive parents demanded she return home and seduce her successful cousin from a wealthy family, and even marry him to help their business.
Of course she refused to destroy her cousin's marriage and turned them down flat.
But her adoptive parents morally blackmailed and mentally controlled her, demanding she repay them for raising her this way.
Only then did she realize that her adoptive parents hadn't adopted her because they liked her, but to groom her as a tool to climb the social ladder.
She had been a pawn all along.
When she refused, her family used other methods to force her to get pregnant with her cousin's child.
After getting pregnant, her freedom was restricted until she gave birth at full term.
But when the cousin's wife found out, afraid she would threaten her position as a wealthy wife, she wanted to kill both her and her child.
The video then showed footage of her receiving treatment in the hospital.