Chapter 213: Confess to Her
Hearing this, Amelia became even more curious.
"What is it exactly? You've really got my curiosity going now."
But Samuel still wouldn't say.
"You finish what you want to say first, then I'll tell you what I want to say."
The more he said this, the more curious Amelia became.
But she also knew that Samuel was stubborn at his core. If he insisted on waiting for her to speak first, he wouldn't open his mouth before she did.
But since she was going to say it anyway, Amelia wasn't in a rush.
She told him about what happened at Urban Oasis Mall that afternoon.
"I can't figure out why Leo and Francis followed me to the mall just to put on that show. Francis should know very well that I wouldn't be attracted to Leo just because he played the hero."
Samuel thought for a moment and said, "You just said Byron saw them arguing when they left?"
Amelia nodded. "Yes."
A smile appeared in Samuel's eyes.
"Then I get it. The hero-saves-the-damsel thing was arranged by that idiot Leo, not Francis's idea. That's why Francis argued with him."
Amelia suddenly understood.
"That makes sense."
"It must be. Otherwise there'd be no reason for them to argue. Plus, this isn't Francis's style - he's more 'sophisticated.'"
And in fact, things were exactly as Samuel had judged.
Francis had initially thought that when Amelia went shopping, she'd definitely be buying clothes for herself.
If that happened, he could kidnap her - or even kill her directly - while Amelia was changing clothes.
When changing clothes was when Amelia would be least on guard.
And a woman with no clothes on couldn't fight back, making it easy to strike.
He wasn't afraid of being caught because Leo would make a perfect scapegoat.
If the plan succeeded, it would kill two birds with one stone.
He'd been sick of Leo for a long time.
But the plan failed from the start because Amelia wasn't trying on clothes for herself at all, so she wouldn't go into the changing room, giving him no opportunity to act.
Francis was ready to call it off for the day when Leo couldn't sit still and arranged that stupid hero-saves-the-damsel scene.
Which left Amelia confused about what they were trying to do.
"You're still smarter," Amelia said.
Samuel shook his head. "I'm not smart - you just fell into a thinking trap. You made an assumption from the start that if they made a move, it was Francis's plan, but you forgot that Leo and Francis don't get along."
Hearing this, Amelia's eyes suddenly lit up.
"If Leo and Francis don't get along, could I manipulate Leo to turn around and frame Francis?"
Samuel disagreed.
"That Leo is bad news. He's capable of anything."
"You don't think I can outsmart him?"
"You're so smart, of course you can outsmart him. I just don't want you taking risks. When it comes to you, I don't want you facing even the slightest danger. Let me handle this."
Amelia disagreed with him too.
"The Hays family already suspects you've sided with The Porter family. You shouldn't get involved in this - let me do it."
The two discussed this matter for nearly half an hour.
In the end, they each compromised - neither would make a move. They'd wait for Leo and Francis to act first, then counter their moves.
Which was basically back to Amelia's original plan.
After reaching agreement, Amelia said, "I'm done with my stuff. Your turn."
Samuel wasn't in a hurry to speak. He first led her back to the poolside.
A server brought two glasses of lemonade and quickly left.
Amelia took a sip and said, puzzled, "What are you dragging your feet about? This isn't like you."
Samuel wasn't dragging his feet - he just didn't know how to begin.
But what needed to be said had to be said eventually.
Even if she blamed him, he couldn't hide it from her.
Because it had truly hurt her.
Byron really admired Amelia - he could see that.
But even Byron had used the word "losing it" to describe Amelia, which showed how emotionally devastated she'd been.
Samuel took a deep breath and said, "Do you remember when I mentioned Crystal Springs Resort before?"
Amelia nodded, feeling even more puzzled.
"You've brought up Crystal Springs Resort four times now. What exactly happened there that you keep asking me about?"
Samuel looked at her quietly, his eyes deep and complex.
"You really don't remember at all? Not even a hint?"
Amelia shook her head honestly. "I did go there often, but I don't remember anything special happening. Don't tell me you saw me there and fell in love at first sight?"
She was joking.
But unexpectedly, Samuel actually nodded.
Amelia was a bit stunned.
"When?"
Samuel's looks and temperament were beyond comparison, and she prided herself on having a good memory. She couldn't have seen Samuel and not remembered him.
Even if he was just an illegitimate child back then, she would have remembered his face.
"During the time you lost your memory," Samuel said.
Amelia suddenly understood.
"No wonder I don't remember. Wait, how do you know I have a gap in my memory?"
"Byron told me."
"When I went to the restroom during dinner, that's when he told you?"
"Nothing gets past you."
"I told you - don't hide anything from me. If you're keeping something from me, I can always tell."
"Yes, so I'm coming clean now."
"So when you saw me then, what was I doing?" Amelia smiled.
She thought Samuel was telling her about falling for her at first sight, but she didn't expect his next words to leave her stunned for quite a while.
"That day, someone had drugged you with an aphrodisiac."
Samuel recounted, word by word, all the memories and events from that day.
Amelia vaguely started to remember something.
So she knew Samuel was telling the truth.
But the more she realized Samuel was telling the truth, the colder her hands and feet became, and her lips turned pale.
"Don't be scared." Samuel gripped her hand tightly and said, "It's all in the past."
Amelia shook her head.
"I'm not scared, just shocked. It happened and it's over - there's nothing to be afraid of."
"Then why are your hands shaking?"
Amelia looked down and realized her hands were trembling involuntarily.
She was still just a girl, after all.
She thought she was strong, but she still had her weak points.
Amelia put force into her hands, controlling herself to stop shaking.
She stopped being stubborn and said in a hoarse voice, "I am a bit scared. But compared to me, Byron and the others faced just as much pressure back then."
No wonder he wanted to find her a hypnotist.
Finding a hypnotist just for a breakup would be making a mountain out of a molehill.
But before this, she hadn't thought deeply about it.
Now thinking it through carefully, the whole thing seemed strange from start to finish.
"This whole year, I never suspected anything. I'm such a fool."
"You're not a fool. It's because your people are truly loyal to you. They genuinely protected you, so they didn't let slip anything that would make you suspicious."
Amelia suddenly remembered something from last month.
"When Byron was trying to break through a firewall, that firewall was...?"
"Mine."
"I wasn't in my right mind either at the time and barely remembered what you looked like, so I'd been investigating who that woman was. I wanted to repay the favor. Later I found some surveillance footage from that day, but because it was too blurry, I had someone restore it. That's when Byron's people broke through my firewall and took the footage. Fortunately, I had a backup."
"Why didn't you tell me any of this?"
"I didn't know how to bring it up. I was afraid you'd blame me."
"And you're not afraid I'll blame you now?"
Samuel looked directly into her eyes and said, "I am afraid. So do you blame me?"
Amelia thought carefully and said, "I definitely would have blamed you then. Normally, I definitely would have killed you. But maybe the drug hadn't completely worn off, so you escaped death."
"Thank you for sparing my life."
Amelia laughed, her mood lightening.
"I should thank you too," she said. "If it weren't for you, I might have been raped by those beggars."
Samuel kissed her lips directly, stopping her from continuing.
Although it was in the past, he didn't even want Amelia to mention it.
Those people coming from Amelia's mouth was an insult to her mouth.
After a long while, Samuel finally let her go.
Amelia's breathing was slightly uneven, her cheeks flushed red.
Samuel forced himself to look away, or he wouldn't be able to resist taking the next step.
Of course, he would restrain himself no matter what.
The first time had been under special circumstances - he hadn't given her beautiful memories and had become the trigger for her "losing it."
So the second time, he would make sure she found it beautiful.
"I should have found you sooner. Then we could have met earlier," Samuel said.
But Amelia said, "If you'd met me earlier, I might not have liked you. The timing now is just right."
Samuel wanted to argue.
But he knew Amelia was telling the truth.
Him appearing earlier really wouldn't have helped.
Back then her heart was occupied by Finn.
Unlike now, when Finn had just vacated the space, giving him a chance to move into her heart.
People always like to make assumptions, not realizing that "this moment" is what's most worth cherishing.
That night, the two talked for a long time before Samuel took her home.
When Amelia got home, she wasn't in a hurry to wash up and rest.
She called Byron.
Byron answered almost instantly, his tone carrying a hint of anxiety. "Amelia, what's up?"
Amelia didn't beat around the bush.
"I know about what happened at Crystal Springs Resort."
Byron on the other end froze, then apologized.
"I'm sorry, Amelia."
"Thank you, Byron."
Both spoke almost simultaneously.
Byron paused, then heard Amelia continue, "Thank you for always protecting me."
Byron, a grown man, suddenly felt his eyes getting wet, like it was raining in his eyes.