Chapter 64 Regret
When Lily saw Austin's meltdown, she couldn't help but chuckle to herself.
'Now you see how embarrassing it is? Why didn't you think about the consequences when you were talking to the reporters yesterday? Or did you think you could guilt-trip me into doing what you wanted? Too bad, this time I am not playing along.' She thought.
Lily thought for a moment and then replied: [That was then. Now I have zero interest in joining Titan Team.]
[You don't want to join Titan Team? Are you planning to join Bubble Buddies instead? I won't allow it!"]
[It's none of your business!]
After sending the message, Lily immediately blocked him.
She was done living under the watchful eyes of the Roberts brothers and didn't need to consider their opinions anymore.
After taking a shower and changing her clothes, Lily headed to the apartment next door.
She walked in just as Dennis emerged, wearing a loose bathrobe, looking like he had just finished his own shower.
Lily's eyes immediately caught sight of his abs. Her gaze flickered, and she felt her face heat up.
Dennis's expression was also a bit awkward when he saw Lily. He adjusted his robe and tried to sound calm, "You're awake?"
"Yeah, but my head feels a bit dizzy."
Dennis hesitated, then asked, "Do you remember what you did last night?"
Lily tried hard to recall, but eventually shook her head, "I don't remember anything. Did I do something embarrassing?"
Dennis studied Lily's expression. She had never been good at hiding her thoughts. He was pretty sure she genuinely didn't remember what happened last night. He'd been up all night because of it.
Dennis sighed in relief, "It's dangerous for a girl to get drunk at night. Don't drink anymore."
Lily felt a bit embarrassed and stammered, "I accidentally got drunk last night. I only intended to have a couple of sips."
Dennis narrowed his eyes slightly, "Alcohol makes you stupid. Your brain wasn't working well to begin with."
Lily felt a bit hurt. But then she saw him bring over a cup of honey water and say coldly, "Drink this."
"Thanks."
Lily took a few sips from the cup and glanced at Dennis, "Dr. Gonzalez, I've noticed you're actually quite considerate. Whoever becomes your girlfriend would be really lucky."
Dennis's eyes darkened a bit at her words, "I don't have any plans for that right now."
"No plans to date? Why not? Is it because of your busy work schedule?"
Lily was curious. She had seen him with a girl at a restaurant once.
Dennis sensed where this was going and responded indifferently, "I just don't want to."
Lily's eyes flickered, avoiding his gaze.
Dennis glanced at her lowered head and said, "I have to go out for a bit."
"Okay, go ahead."
Lily watched his back as he left, then curled up alone on the couch.
He said he didn't want to date. It must be because he hasn't met someone he likes yet.
Lily felt a bit down, but she realized she might have a crush on Dennis. She also thought about her online crush from her past life, feeling conflicted.
Was Dennis that person?
In the afternoon, Lily logged into the game and noticed her community followers had increased significantly.
Lily invited Violet to team up for a game.
Violet spoke up, "Can you believe Sophie lied about you in her livestream? That's so messed up!"
Lily clicked on the video Violet had sent her.
Sophie looked frail, with bandages on her head and hands, and band-aids everywhere.
Sophie cried into the camera, "Lily, even though you don't answer calls or messages and refuse to contact the family, I still want to publicly tell you that your brothers are worried about you. The incident at the party was just an accident. Please don't be mad and come back!"
Many fans commented: [Sophie, don't cry. It breaks my heart.]
[Sophie is so considerate. Lily deserves a lesson.]
After watching, Lily spoke calmly, "You know, she always likes to play these kinds of tricks."
"I'm so angry! I told our close friends what really happened, but I didn't expect Sophie to turn things around. I've asked my brother to get the hotel surveillance footage to expose her lies!"
Lily looked at the computer screen, "Once you get the footage, I'll post it."
She didn't want to involve Violet.
If Sophie wanted to play dirty, she wouldn't hold back.
But Lily had a feeling Sophie wouldn't be so stupid as to taunt her publicly, knowing there was evidence.
Soon, Violet messaged, "Bad news. My brother just told me the surveillance footage was deleted!"
"Looks like Sophie came prepared."
Lily had suspected something was off, and now she was sure.
"Lily, what do we do now? We all know what happened at the party, but Sophie is slandering you online. Should we ask Michael to clear things up? People would believe him."
Lily's expression turned mocking, "Michael won't do that."
After all, doing so would be bad for Sophie. Michael was too biased to take her side.
"So are we just going to sit back and let Sophie smear you?"
Lily's eyes turned cold. "No way."
She exited the game, grabbed a USB drive, and her fingers flew over the keyboard.
She hacked into the hotel's surveillance system and found the deleted footage. She was going to restore it!
Usually, when footage is deleted, there's a hidden backup. Finding it would take some time.
As Lily worked on restoring the data, she sent the video to Michael: [Is Sophie out of her mind?]
Michael called immediately, "I just found out about this. Sophie didn't mean any harm; she just wanted to make peace."
"Is this what you call making peace? She's misleading everyone. Are you blind, Michael? You always talk about family, but I don't need a family that stabs me in the back!"
Lily hung up the phone.
She thought distancing herself from the Roberts family and living her own life would be enough.
But they kept haunting her, so she wouldn't hold back anymore.
Michael sighed, clutching his aching stomach as he went downstairs. He had drunk a lot last night, too, and his stomach was getting worse.
Michael told Barry, "Tell Sophie to come see me."
Soon, Sophie rushed down, "Michael, what is it?"
"What you said in the livestream is misleading. Don't say it again."
Sophie was reluctant, "Michael, I was just worried and wanted Lily to come back. I didn't mean anything else."
Michael, feeling his stomach pain, had no patience. "Just do as I say."
Sophie lowered her head, "I understand. My livestream isn't over. I'll go back to my room now."
Michael, pale-faced, nodded.
Sophie noticed his stomach pain but didn't care and went back to her room to continue her livestream.
Michael watched her leave, feeling a sudden chill.
He remembered how Lily used to drop everything to take care of him whenever he had a stomachache. Until his stomach problems were cured.
Without Lily's herbal remedies lately, he missed them terribly.
Since Lily left, the house had become so cold and empty. He couldn't eat well, and his stomach often hurt.
Michael covered his face with his hand, truly beginning to regret.
It wasn't that Lily couldn't live without the Roberts family. It was the Roberts family that couldn't live without Lily!