Chapter 4

"Roxanne Smith! Have you lost your mind!" Lorraine shouted. She held onto the curtains with all her might at the eleventh hour, leaving half of her body hanging outside the window. She was more than ten storeys up, which meant her bones would be shattered if she fell. With a hideous expression on her face, Roxanne pushed Lorraine out of the window with everything she had. The curtains were hanging by a thread, swinging violently in the air. Lorraine couldn't exert any force at all. All she could do was watch the curtains in the grip get pulled out by Roxanne, little by little. Roxanne's face was all twisted, her eyes completely unhinged. She stared at the last piece of fabric in Lorraine's hands, and a flash of madness flickered in her eyes. "Go to hell!" she shouted. "Lorraine!" a voice shouted. Lorraine could taste blood in her throat, and her mind was in a mess. Right as she was about to fall, a big pair of hands gripped her wrists tightly. She was stunned as her body was pulled upward and fell into a warm embrace, and she couldn't stop shaking. Escaping death by the skin of her teeth left her mind blank. "Are you alright?" It was after she heard the voice of the person before her eyes that she gradually regained her senses. The man's eyebrows were tightly knitted. His dashing face, which was usually indifferent, was darkened at the moment. His arms were wrapped tightly around her thin shoulders. "Justin," Lorraine uttered weakly. It was he who saved her. Justin's face was tense. Seeing that she was fine, he gulped and asked, "Are you alright?" Lorraine turned to look at Roxanne before she gritted her teeth and said, "I'm fine." Justin followed her line of sight, and his gaze landed on Roxanne as well. In an instant, an icy look gleamed in his eyes. Roxanne had knocked her head on the cupboard after she was thrown to the side by Justin earlier, leaving her bleeding from the injury on her forehead. Half of her face was covered in blood while the other was as white as a sheet. Coupled with her hideous expression, she looked rather eerie. In the next second, Ambrose rushed in and shouted, "Roxanne!" Roxanne ran to him while howling as if she had seen her savior. She wailed, "I'm sorry, Ambrose. I've messed it up again." Ambrose swept a glare at Lorraine ferociously before he comforted Roxanne, saying, "It's not your fault." He immediately started blaming Lorraine instead. "I've already told you, Lorraine. I don't like you. This has nothing to do with Roxanne. How much longer are you going to make a fuss?" he growled. "Ambrose, you're clearly blind!" Lorraine snapped. Unable to stomach the anger, she steadied herself and started tearing them a new one. "Nobody on earth is as self-absorbed as the despicable scumbags you two are! Also, who's the one making a fuss? She's the one who wanted to kill me!" Shocked, Ambrose hesitantly turned to look at Roxanne. She bawled her eyes out in his arms, shaking her head with all her might as she said, "I didn't. I really didn't do that, Ambrose." Lorraine was so filled with anger that she burst out laughing. Pointing at the surveillance camera in the hallway, she said, "Do you really think the cameras in the hospital are just for show?" Roxanne's expression changed drastically as soon as she heard that. The door was originally ajar. Lorraine couldn't be sure if the camera in the hallway had captured the moment. But the door was open when Justin came in earlier, so it must have caught something. "Lorraine, I just wanted to apologize to you. Why can't you just spare me?" Roxanne asked while looking deeply sorrowful, as if she had been terribly wronged. Suddenly, she became resolute, and she asked, "Are you only going to be happy if I die?" Upon saying that, she pushed Ambrose away and ran toward the window. "Roxanne!" Ambrose lunged forward and hugged her tightly in his arms. Without hesitation, he took all of his anger out on Lorraine. Glaring at her ferociously, he barked, "What a cruel woman you are, Lorraine! What has Roxanne done wrong? "Why must you drive her into a corner? I absolutely would never fall in love with you, not now, not ever. You can't even hold a candle to her!" Lorraine walked up to him slowly, feeling as calm as ever. Then, she slapped him so hard across his face that her palm went numb, leaving him stunned. After he regained his senses, he glared at Lorraine with a raging fury and shouted, "How dare you slap me, you crazy woman!" "You're the crazy one, you fool!" Lorraine snapped. She looked down to rub her palm, feeling an urge to cry. She truly felt sorry for her past self as everything she had gone through hadn't been worth it at all. Ambrose felt a burning sensation on his cheek, and it didn't take long for his face to be completely swollen. He spat out a mouthful of bloodied fluid on the ground and slowly locked his icy gaze on Lorraine's face. "You're a woman, so I'm going to let you off the hook. But you have to apologize to Roxanne today! Otherwise, don't blame me for not showing you mercy!" said Ambrose. Justin, who had remained silent, stepped forward and asked, "And how else are you going to do that?" Ambrose felt frightened after taking just a glance at Justin and said, "This has nothing to do with you. Don't put your nose where it doesn't belong." "Screw you!" Lorraine shouted. She grabbed the cup on the table and threw it at Ambrose before she continued, "She should already be thanking her lucky stars that I didn't call the cops on her, yet you want me to apologize to her?" Ambrose dodged the cup and continued shouting shamelessly, "You really are wicked! Roxanne came to apologize to you, yet you beat her up so badly. "Don't think that I'll let you get away with anything just because your father is my professor! Listen up, Lorraine, you even think that I'll ever fall in love with you. Even if you're the last woman on earth, I wouldn't even glance at you!" At this moment, Ambrose's eyes were brimming with a restrained sense of disgust as he looked at Lorraine. She had seen this gaze of his countless times in the past life, but she had never paid it any mind. She had always believed that, in time, she could make him warm up to her. But it was evident that she had been mistaken. "Stop it, Ambrose. It's all my fault. It's because I didn't do it right that Lorraine felt so upset. I'm the one who should be damned," Roxanne said softly, tugging at Ambrose's sleeve. Feeling even more sorry for her, Ambrose said, "You don't have to apologize, Roxanne. She should be the one to be damned." He then turned to Lorraine and barked, "You should be begging Roxanne on your knees for her forgiveness, Lorraine!" Justin looked down at Lorraine and asked, "Should I take care of this?" She shook her head slowly and said, "I'm fine. There's no need to trouble you, Justin." Seeing the state that she was in, Justin said nothing more. Then, another slap sounded. Lorraine shook her numb hand, her gaze indifferent. She asked, "Do you really think I wouldn't marry anybody else but you?" Ambrose cupped his face, his eyes filled with murderous intent. With a sneer, he said, "Everybody knew you would do anything just to marry me. Do you even believe the words that you just said?" Lorraine frowned, but she looked as calm as ever. She looked quietly at the two of them as they embraced each other, and her lips curled into a sneer. "Well, then, listen up. From today on, I'm cutting ties with you, Ambrose. From this moment on, you and I have nothing to do with each other anymore," she said. Ambrose hadn't expected that she would be so stubborn. He wasn't bothered that Lorraine was willing to leave him. He was just worried whether he would still receive the fund from Frederick on time after he learned about this. Noticing that Ambrose's attitude was starting to waver, Roxanne left his arms and dropped to her knees before Lorraine. "I'm sorry, Lorraine. It's all my fault. Please don't blame Ambrose," she begged eagerly. A surge of disgust washed over Lorraine, and Lorraine shouted, "Get lost, both of you!" "Ambrose…" Roxanne called out after turning around, crying uncontrollably. She looked at Ambrose before her vision went black, and she collapsed. "Roxanne!" Ambrose exclaimed and rushed over to pick her up from the ground. His face contorted in rage as he warned, "You'd better remember what you said today and not regret it, Lorraine!" Lorraine was completely indifferent. She had long witnessed how biased Ambrose was toward Roxanne in the past life. "Don't worry. I'll keep my word, and I absolutely won't regret it. It's you who shouldn't be regretting this," she replied. Ambrose sneered and said, "I only want to stay as far away as I can from a woman as cruel as you!" He spun on his heels and left with Roxanne in his arms. Lorraine felt her strength drained from her body in an instant. Her knees gave way, and she almost fell on the ground. "Watch it," said Justin, who caught her arm in time. "I'll get the doctor to come and check up on you. I'll call Professor Neale later to tell him everything as well." "No need," Lorraine replied. Justin frowned a little upon hearing that. He thought she was still holding out a shred of hope for Ambrose. He moved his lips, wanting to say something. But he held his tongue in the end. Lorraine took a deep breath, repressing the grievance buried deep down, and said, "I'll tell Dad myself." Justin said nothing. He just looked at her quietly. "Thank you for today. But why are you here at the hospital?" she asked. She didn't have the time to think earlier. It was only at this moment that she remembered to ask him why he would appear at the hospital. A look gleamed in Justin's eyes before he said calmly, "I just happened to pass by." "Oh, I see…" Lorraine nodded. Justin had always been indifferent toward her. He couldn't possibly have made a trip to the hospital just to see her. She must have misunderstood…