Bethan immediately extended her right hand out to him as if she was on autopilot.
It felt like electricity surged in her the minute her hand brushed against Brettley’s rough and broad palm. She tried to pull her hand back, but his grip on her was tight already.
“Don’t move.”
Brettley held her hand in his while the other one reached out to open a first aid kit. He removed the bandage from the back of her hand to reveal a swollen, red wound. The blister had burst, and her skin was trailing blood.
With a frown, he took out some medicinal ointment and proceeded to apply it to the wound. The cooling sensation of the ointment seemed to soothe Bethan’s pain.
It took her a moment before she could find her voice again. “Thank you, ” she uttered tentatively.
“If it hurts so much, why didn’t you punish her? Instead, you chose to stand up for her, ” questioned Brettley with his head lowered as he continued to apply the ointment onto Bethan’s skin.
Bethan contemplated for a moment before she realized he was talking about Lily. “You figured it out? ” she asked him.
“Of course. “
Brettley let out a snicker . “I know you won’ t make such a careless mistake. “
Even though Bethan had worked at Blue Bay Villa for quite some time, she had never committed a mistake.
Bethan shrugged in response. “She didn’t mean any harm. “
Lily was merely angry at Bethan because she had not contacted Malcolm as much as she should.
“Just because she didn’t mean any harm, you chose t o forgive her even though she did something wrong? How do you even know if she meant no harm, or if she was just pretending?”
There was a hint of sympathy in Brettley’s stern voice. “You’d rather be i n pain than let someone who hurt you pay the price?
Foolish woman.”
Brettley’s low and gravelly voice made Bethan feel as if someone had struck a blow to her heart. After a moment, she lifted her head to look at him. “Mr. Morrison, I wanted to ask you something.”
She took a deep breath and looked straight into his eyes. “Were you sad when Nellie got hurt?”
Brettley nodded. “Of course.”
“Then…”
Bethan gave a wry smile. “Why did you rather suffer alone than let someone who almost killed her pay the price? You said I’m a foolish woman, and I agree.”
She lifted her gaze. Brettley’s stunned face was reflected in her clear eyes. “What about you, Mr. Morrison? Are you a stupid man, then?”
Brettley stared back at Bethan in silence.
After a while, he shot her a glance and answered impassively, “I have my plans.”
“Mr. Morrison.”
Bethan let out a deep breath. “I know that you’re probably showing Ms. Peterson mercy because you have a close relationship with her.
You’ve known her for a long time, and it’s understandable you’re finding it difficult to punish her for what she’s done. However, she did do something wrong, and she deserves to pay the price for it. If you can’t bear to do anything to her, you can pass all the evidence to the police, and they can take care of it.”
Bethan’s gaze never wavered from Brettley as she tried to suppress the rage in her heart, continuing slowly, “
Attempted murder isn’t a death sentence. If she gets convicted, she only has to spend a few years in prison. Perhaps by the time she gets released, Nellie would’ve already grown up and can protect herself. She won’t face the same threat that she’s facing now anymore.”
Bethan heaved a sigh and frowned at Brettley. “Why are you so unwilling to do so?”
Brettley’s brow furrowed more and more as he listened to Bethan. His movements also became rougher as he continued applying the ointment onto her. Bethan was in pain due to his aggressive motions, but she still managed to finish her sentence. “Why are you showing Cynthal so much mercy, even though she doesn’t deserve it? Is it because she’s far more important to you than your daughter?”
Clang!
Brettley immediately let go of Cynthal’s hand and flung the bottle of ointment back into the first aid kit. The aluminum container crashed against the edge of the kit and produced a harsh noise.
“I guess you’re not in pain anymore,” scoffed Brettley as he shot her a glare and got up from his seat.
Only half of Bethan’s wound was smeared with ointment; the rest of the burnt skin was still exposed. Lily, who had been observing from a distance, immediately approached Bethan cautiously. She wanted to make up for her mistake by treating the rest of Bethan’s injury.
“There’s no need, ” said Brettley as he glanced at Lily. “Put the first aid kit back where it belongs.”
Lily shot Bethan a troubled look. Bethan immediately shook her head at Lily, picked up the roll of bandage, and proceeded to wrap her wound again.
Brettley grew even more enraged at the sight of Bethan’s unfazed expression. “Butler, please send Ms. Bethan and Neil off!”
As soon as he barked his order, Brettley immediately disappeared upstairs.
Bethan watched his retreating figure with a smirk on her face and knew she scored a weak point.
Otherwise, he would not have become so angry all of a sudden and even resorted to sending his guests off early.
At the thought of this, Bethan swiveled around to look at Nellie.
Nellie, initially happy as she munched on her fried chicken, was so startled by this sudden turn of events that her jaw dropped, and she seemed to have forgotten how to chew.
Adrian frowned and glanced at Bethan. “Ms. Bethan, I…”
The butler immediately rushed over. “Ms. Bethan, I’m so sorry, but…”
“Don’t be. “
She smiled at him and waved in Neil’s direction. “Come, let’s go home now.”
Neil nodded, retrieved his jacket obediently, and ran to Bethan’s side. He grabbed hold of Bethan’s left hand. “Let’s go, Mommy! “
“Mr. Morrison doesn’t seem to be in a good mood,”
said Bethan as she looked at Adrian. “I don’t think you should push the idea of me working at Morrison
Group. “
She did not even wait for Adrian’s response before she turned around and left hand-in-hand with Neil.
Adrian knitted his brows and turned to look at Nellie. “Don’t worry, you can continue enjoying your food. I’m heading upstairs to see what’s going on with your father.”
He heaved a sigh and disappeared up the stairs.
Outside Blue Bay Villa…
Neil led Bethan to the side of the road, but instead of pausing to hail a taxi, he turned and pulled her into a nearby pharmacy.
“Do you have any ointment for burns?”
Neil instructed his mother to wait at the entrance and entered the pharmacy himself.
Bethan stood outside the pharmacy and looked through the glass door at Neil as she sighed helplessly. It was difficult at times for her to believe that her three angels–Nigel, Neil, and Nellie–were Brettley’s children. That man did not deserve to have such obedient children.
“Mommy.”
Bethan had spaced out, and by the time she snapped out of her daze, Neil had gotten out of the pharmacy with a tube of medicinal ointment at hand.
He grabbed hold of Bethan’s hand. “Let’s go home. I ‘ll help you apply the medicine! “
He stayed silent for a moment before he lifted his head to look at her. “
Don’t be too bothered about that scumbag. We can still achieve what we want even without him! “
Bethan sighed and clutched his hand tightly. “I believe you.”
As long as her children were with her, she believed she could overcome every obstacle that came her way.
Perhaps it was a tiring day that as soon as she got home and applied the ointment onto her wound, Bethan immediately laid down on her bed and fell into a deep slumber.
The moon shone brightly in the night sky.
After making sure that Bethan was indeed asleep, Neil climbed out of bed gently. Then, with the help of the phone’s flashlight, he carefully opened Bethan’s bandage.
He smeared another layer of ointment onto her scalded skin. He knew there was a lot on his mother’s mind because of what had happened, and she was probably distracted. He was afraid that she had not applied the proper amount and that her wound would take ages to heal, so he got up and applied it for her.
As he was doing so, Neil silently promised he would make that scumbag pay for what he had done to his mother.
“Brettley…”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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