Chapter 133 I Have Been Hit
Pinning my gaze on Camille, I drawled, “You must be gratified with this outcome now, huh? Are you rejoicing inwardly?”
“No! Liliana, that’s not true…”
She wore an expression of urgency and concern. Then, she even wanted to rush over to me, but Milena pulled her back. “Don’t get fooled by her anymore, Camille!”
Out of the blue, I was seized by the urge to burst into laughter. Haha, she should be saying that to herself!
“Mrs. Hartnell, I respect you as an elder, so I don’t want to fight with you. Hence, I’ll accept and resign myself to this slap today. However, that doesn’t mean that I’m acknowledging your accusations. Putting aside the issue of whether I’m the kind of person you alleged, you have no right to comment on my conduct even if I am. Since you think your judgment is faultless; thus, believe that Camille is innocent and kind, I hope you’ll only see this side of her for the rest of your life. Otherwise, you’d know how laughable you are today if you were to accidentally discern her true colors.”
Milena was stunned for a moment before she snorted coldly. “What a glib and sharp tongue you have!”
I merely snickered without saying anything further. After casting Camille a final glance, I spun on my heels and left.
All the way back, I kept my back ramrod straight and my steps steady. It wasn’t until I got home and was finally free from other people’s scrutiny that I released the tight rein on my emotions. With my back against the door, I slowly dropped into a crouch.
As I gazed at the floorboards with my head lowered, a drop of tear suddenly trickled down and splattered onto the floor. I then touched the cheek that Milena struck, only to feel red-hot pain.
This is all your fault, Dominic Hartnell! If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have suffered such great humiliation today!
Dashing off my tears, I whipped out my cell phone and gave Dominic a call.
Aggrieved at having suffered a slap for no reason, I felt that I would be doing myself a disservice by keeping it from him. Besides, it would also be good to tell him earlier, lest someone proceeded to twist the story.
In no time, Dominic answered the call. “Hello.”
Sniffling, I demanded, “Didn’t you say that I’m your woman, Dominic? I’ve now been hit. Do you care?”
Dominic’s voice abruptly turned frantic. “You’ve been hit? Who hit you? And are you a moron? Why didn’t you retaliate? Aren’t you gutsy as hell with me?”
Retaliate? Hah! I’ll just see what he’s going to say after learning the identity of the person who hit me.
“Are you sure I should retaliate? What if I’m not the person’s match? I’m alone now, after all.”
“Where are you now? I’ll ask someone to go over right away! Liliana, did you run around again? I’m just gone on a business trip for two days, yet you simply can’t behave and stay home?”
What the hell? He’s making it sound as though I’m the kind of person who likes to cause trouble on purpose!
Both incensed and aggrieved, I roared, “I didn’t run around! It was Camille who sought me out with your mother, and your mother even slapped me! So, do you still want me to retaliate now?”
Silence reigned on the other end of the phone. After a long while, Dominic murmured, “Where are you now?”
“At home. Dominic, while I didn’t retaliate, I didn’t mince words with your mother either. I’m telling you now that I won’t accept it if you want to chastise me because you think I was in the wrong if they were to complain to you later. I’m not going to apologize either. I don’t think I’ve done anything wrong regarding this incident today!”
Dominic was quiet for a few seconds before he replied, “Got it. Wait for me at home, and don’t go out anymore.”
“Okay, I’ll be waiting.” After the end of our conversation, we both hung up.
Fine, I’ll wait for you! I’ll just wait and see what’s he planning to do when he’s back.
Subsequently, I went to my room and changed into some comfy clothes. Standing before the mirror, I inspected my face. It was slightly red though I wasn’t certain whether it would get swollen.
Nevertheless, I didn’t plan on applying a cold compress. Well, whatever. If it really gets swollen, it’s all the better for him to see it when he comes back.
Composing myself, I started drawing while waiting for Dominic to come by.
I initially thought that he would be back very quickly, but there was no sign of him even after I had waited until night dawned, and it was now almost ten o’clock.
Earlier in the afternoon, I had called him again to inquire whether he would be back for dinner, but no one picked up.
Truthfully, I really wanted to wait for him. Alas, I later couldn’t quite stay awake anymore and dozed off while drawing.
At around one o’clock in the morning, I jolted awake. But still, he had yet to be back.
Argh! What’s the meaning of this? He should’ve just told me that he couldn’t make it back instead of stringing me along! What a waste of time to have waited up for him so long!
Disregarding the late hour, I phoned Dominic in a pique.
The call was finally answered this time, and it was done so in record time to boot. As soon as I heard the call being connected, I immediately started ranting.
“Didn’t you ask me to wait for you, Dominic? Do you know what time it is now? You should’ve told me earlier if you couldn’t make it back instead of making me wait up for such a long time!”
When I was done, I was greeted by silence. It persisted for more than ten seconds before the person on the other end finally spoke.
“Ms. Zanetti, this is Calvin here.”
Calvin? Why is he in possession of Dominic’s phone?
Chuckling awkwardly, I blurted, “Oh, it’s you, Calvin? I’m sorry about waking you up. Um… So, where’s Dominic?”
“Mr. Hartnell… Mr. Hartnell is undergoing treatment. He met with an accident.”
Huh? He met with an accident?
My mind instantly went blank, and I almost dropped the phone.
When I had gathered my wits about me, I frantically asked, “Is he hurt very badly? And how did he get into an accident? Are you two back now?”
Calvin was silent for a moment before he admitted, “I’m not sure about his exact condition right now. The original plan was to go back together after we settled everything tomorrow, but Mr. Hartnell insisted on going back today. So, I stayed to wrap up the loose ends while he drove back by himself. He wanted to rush back overnight.”
Then, he went on to explain, “He has been swamped these days and had very little rest. For the past two days over here at Ludshire, he worked around the clock and slept less than three hours the first night. Besides, it rained heavily, and the roads were slippery. For that reason, he met with an accident soon after getting onto the highway.”
Upon hearing that, my heart lodged into my throat. Stark worry engulfed me even as anxiety battered against me. Thus, the next words out of my mouth became harsh and unforgiving.
“Aren’t you his assistant? Why didn’t you dissuade him from doing so? You knew that he didn’t have enough rest, and the road conditions, as well as the weather, were bad; yet, you allowed him to drive through the night?”
“I tried to dissuade him, but…” Calvin sounded exceedingly guilty. after a brief pause, he murmured, “I’m sorry, Ms. Zanetti.”
Only when I heard him apologizing did I realize that I shouldn’t have lashed out at him. Dominic was a domineering man, after all, so he wouldn’t have listened to anyone else.
“No, I’m sorry, Calvin. I shouldn’t have lost it. Are you both at Ludshire now? Which hospital are you at? I’ll come over right away.”
“Ludshire General Hospital.”
Hmm… It’ll only take a little over an hour from Lightspring to Ludshire by express train. I really hope I can still get a ticket at this hour!
