After gulping down half a bottle of mineral water, Patrick shot Genevieve a meaningful look. Complicated emotions darkened his eyes.
“Genev, why did you marry Armand?”
His question stunned her for a moment.
She soon lowered her head and typed the complete story on her phone: Armand said he would help me retrieve Specter Corporation from Cooper in six months. In return, I had to deal with Grandma by marrying him.
“As expected…” A smile tugged at his lips as he chuckled. He asked again, “Do you know why Timothy collected your blood? Did he ever tell you the reason?”
Nodding, Genevieve typed: He said he had a patient with the same blood type as me. That patient was severely sick, so Timothy stored some of my blood in case of excessive blood loss during the surgery.
“Genev…” Patrick felt a lump in his throat. He did not know how he should tell her about the cruel truth. “You’ve been deceived.”
What?
At that, she lifted her head and looked at him in a daze. It seemed like she did not quite understand what he meant.
Taking a deep breath, he looked her in the eye. Even though he could not bring herself to tell her the truth, he had to do it. “Old Mrs. Faulkner wasn’t the reason that Armand married you. It’s because Marilyn has the Phnull blood type too. Armand’s afraid that something might happen to her when she gives birth, so he decided to keep you by his side…”
In truth, Genevieve had a feeling in the past that Harriet was not the factor that caused Armand to marry her. She knew he would not do so just because his grandmother forced him. However, she dared not probe into it.
It was because she started to have feelings for him.
Moreover, Armand had explained everything to her when she asked him all the questions. Hence, she believed everything he said.
When Patrick told her the truth personally, Genevieve felt her ears buzz and could no longer hear anything. Her mind went blank, and she felt that someone had just slashed her heart with a sharp knife.
It turns out that Armand and I were never in a collaborative relationship. To him, I’m merely a tool he can use. What a joke! I’m such a joke!
She recalled everything Armand whispered next to her ear when they were in Regality Gardens. Then, she thought of how considerate and tolerant he was toward her during the time they were in Springwyn and how he showered her with concern after they returned.
Genevieve found that they were all so mocking. Biting her lip, she tasted a tinge of bitterness in her mouth.
I can’t believe that man’s willing to go that far for Marilyn. He’s impressive, isn’t he?
She blinked, trying to stop her tears from falling. Her fingers were trembling as she typed: No wonder I found Timothy’s gaze strange when I visited the hospital a few days ago. He even mentioned that he would request some money from his patient as compensation for me. It turns out that this is the truth…
The truth is so cruel…
Genevieve failed to control her emotions. As she blinked, her tears dropped on her phone, blurring the letters she had typed on the screen.
The last two lines she wrote on the notepad read: If Armand wants my blood, he could’ve just told me directly. There’s no need to make everything so complicated.
Tears streamed down her face as she fell into deep thoughts. He treats me well and pampers me on purpose to make me fall in love with him and become besotted with him. Is he doing all those because he wants to see how badly I’ll fall later? If that’s what he wants, then he has succeeded.
“Genev, don’t cry, okay?” Patrick fumbled for words and used his thumbs to wipe away the tears on her face.
Crouching down in front of her, he said with a low voice, “I knew something was amiss a long time ago, but I couldn’t find any evidence… It’s all my fault. If only I told you about it back then.”
Genevieve tried her best to suppress her feelings. However, waves of emotions continued to wash over her, making her feel more and more suffocated.
Her eyes were watery, and tears trickled down her cheeks uncontrollably.
Although she was already biting her lip hard, she could not stop herself from weeping no matter how she kept chiding herself to stop.
As she cried, Patrick slowly wiped away all her tears with his fingers. His eyes clouded over with distress for Genevieve as he felt his heart aching for her. He continued to kneel on one knee in front of her for a long time without shifting his body.
Her strangled cries resounded through the entire room.
When she managed to rein back her emotions and stopped crying, he took out a piece of tissue to wipe away the blood on her lips that appeared because she had bitten them too hard.
“I realized Old Mrs. Faulkner’s death was all over the news when I went downstairs to get these items just now. It has caused an uproar in the city. I think the police in the whole nation is tracking you down,” he said.
Genevieve blinked her eyes blankly. It seemed like she had regained her senses.
She used her fingers to wipe away the marks of dried tears on the screen. With trembling hands, she typed: I didn’t kill Grandma…
“I know. I believe you even if no one does.”
How could the woman I like be a murderer? She’s caring, gentle, and adorable.
Perceiving Patrick’s gaze that was full of trust, Genevieve was on the brink of a breakdown. As she listened to his determined tone, her eyes turned misty again.
She typed on her phone: Patrick, can you bring me away?
