Chapter 7

Justin's gaze darkened the moment he saw the message. His fingers were wrapped around his phone so hard that they turned pale. He pursed his lips tightly, clearly looking irritated. He had never been so stumped, even when dealing with a project worth more than 10 billion dollars. It was just a casual question, yet he had no clue how to answer. He could almost picture the expression on Lorraine's face when she typed out the question. After a long while, Justin unlocked his phone and replied with a single question mark. "A question mark? What does he mean by that?" Lorraine asked aloud. She was lying on the bed, burying her head under the covers as her cheeks burned. She had plucked up the courage to ask him the question and was ready for him to call off the engagement, yet he only replied to her with nothing more than a question mark. It was a "yes or no" question, yet he picked "or." Lorraine bit her lips lightly as she stared at her phone, feeling torn. Actually, Justin was the perfect candidate to marry in every way. Frederick, too, felt he was far better than Ambrose. It was a pity that she had been hopelessly in love with Ambrose in her past life, convinced that she would marry no one else but him. If she had listened to her father in the past, her life wouldn't have ended that miserably. Now that she had the power to decide, she had to hold on to this opportunity with all her might. It didn't matter if Justin didn't like her. They would eventually develop feelings for each other. Lorraine took a deep breath, unlocked her phone, and let her fingers dance across the keyboard. Once she finished typing, she checked through it carefully and hesitated for a few minutes before she closed her eyes and hit send. She then opened her eyes again and looked at her screen, wondering what Justin would reply to her. … Little did she know that she would be waiting through the entire night. She felt drowsy while waiting last night and dozed off without realizing it. Still, she didn't get a reply from Justin when she woke up early the following day. Lorraine felt a little uneasy. She got up and heard commotion outside, so she walked out of her room. "What's all the noise outside?" she asked. "You're finally awake, Ms. Neale. Professor Neale's student insists on entering to visit you," replied Lucy Tates, the housekeeper. She looked troubled as she continued, "Professor Neale had given a special order before he left, forbidding outsiders from entering. I saw that you were still sleeping, so I didn't dare to bother you." "I got it. Go ahead and carry on with what you're doing," Lorraine replied. Her face turned a little cold once she heard Ambrose's voice. She made herself a cup of coffee and sat on the couch. She began playing the surveillance feed on her phone. Ambrose had a bunch of sunflowers in his hand, and he was ringing the doorbell without stopping. "Lucy, cut the power to the doorbell," said Lorraine. Lucy hummed in acknowledgment and pulled the plug without hesitation. She had long grown tired of hearing it. After a while, Ambrose's voice sounded outside the door. "Lorraine, it's all my fault. Can you give me a chance to apologize to you properly?" he asked. He looked much more haggard than before, with a few strands of hair falling loosely across his forehead. He was dressed in a white shirt and a pair of black slacks. His shirt was all wrinkled, and it looked like he had had it on for a few days. He had always been a very particular person. His shirt usually wouldn't even have a single wrinkle on it. It was clear that he had deliberately dressed in the way that he did that day. He probably thought she was still the same Lorraine from before, who only had eyes for him. Lucy was truly at her wits' end, so she walked over and asked, "Ms. Neale, do you want to go out and check it out? This can't go on forever." Lorraine glanced at the time and replied, "There's no need to hurry. He can't keep up with this act much longer." Soon, everything fell silent outside. Ambrose turned around, and his gaze turned vicious. He seemed to have missed the surveillance camera above his head as he moved his lips, seemingly cursing about something. Lorraine quietly enabled the microphone and said, "Ambrose, I'm going to call the cops on you if you don't get out of here now." A shudder ran through Ambrose's entire body as he looked up in a panic, searching for the camera. He was stunned for a moment as soon as he saw the camera. Then, he put on a pitiful look again and said nervously, "Lorraine, please forgive me. I know what I did was wrong now. "I mean it. I've talked things through with Roxanne. I'll only love you for the rest of my life." Lorraine felt no emotion at all. "I might have truly believed your lies had I not known you better," she replied. Ambrose pulled his hair like he was a madman and kicked the wall as he bellowed, "What the hell do you want me to do for you to believe me? Must I die for you to believe that I love you?" "Die, then. Go and prove that you truly love me," said Lorraine. Ambrose stared into the camera with a steely gaze and said, "No, Lorraine, I can't die. Who's going to take care of you if I die? Trust me. I really mean it when I say I know I was wrong." As Lorraine looked at him, something that she had read in a book in the past popped into her head. It was said that a man would beg on his knees and would even slap himself, but a woman must not let up. He would make promises over and over again, but his words would mean as much as garbage. At this moment, Ambrose was only being so humble because Frederick had terminated all his collaborations with him. Without all the funds, Ambrose's projects would crash very soon. Everything that he once owned would disappear. Regardless of funds or resources, all that wouldn't belong to him anymore. Right then, a message popped up on Lorraine's phone. She opened it with a slight anticipation and was delighted to see that it was from Justin. But her smile faded in an instant when she saw the message's contents. All Justin did was ask her out. He didn't reply to the message she sent him last night. Lorraine felt a little upset. She simply felt a sense of helplessness wash over her when it came to Justin. "Lucy, I'm going upstairs to take a rest. If the person outside were to continue creating a commotion, just call the police," said Lorraine. She was in no mood to play with Ambrose anymore. She went into her walk-in closet upstairs and grabbed a white knit dress. Justin had asked her to meet him that night, but he didn't give her an address. She gave a thought and called him, putting the call on speakerphone before tossing it on the couch. But she wasn't quite expecting him to answer her call. He had always been icy, especially to her. It was probably because Justin felt a sense of responsibility that he suddenly showed up when Roxanne wanted to kill her that day. Suddenly, the call was answered, and a deep, husky voice said, "Hello?" At first, Lorraine was stunned. Her mind went blank after she heard his voice. Justin coughed twice and called out again, "Lorraine?" His voice was so husky, and his tone was incredibly gentle. Lorraine went to grab her phone and asked gently, "Where are we meeting tonight?" "I'll pick you up," he replied. Lorraine's heart started racing. She took a deep breath before she replied, "Alright." He ended the call right after that. Lorraine couldn't focus for the rest of the afternoon. In the evening, Justin's car stopped outside the Neale residence. Lorraine saw him from upstairs and dashed down the stairs.