Charis resembled her mother and had always been proud of her appearance. Catherine was quite a beauty when she was young, for which Charis had always been praised since childhood. Now, everything was ruined. Charis clenched her teeth and fists, crying silently. If it wasn’t for the fact that Natalie had been trapped in the haunted house on fire, it wouldn’t have ended like this. Not only did she fail to kill Natalie, but she also suffered a great loss. What was worse was the fact that she couldn’t voice her complaints because revealing her assassination attempt plan would put her in trouble.
Luke’s calm facade gradually crumbled. With eyes full of hate, he hissed, “I have investigated, and it turned out that someone had set the fire on purpose. As soon as I find out who’s behind this, I’ll make you regret the day you were born!”
Charis’s heart jumped into her throat. No, she couldn’t let anyone find out it was her who planned this arson, including her own father! Charis suddenly raised her voice and looked at Luke pitifully.
“Dad, what’s the point? You can’t go back in time and fix this…”
Luke didn’t know how to respond. Seeing his daughter in so much pain, he decided not to say anything else.
Among everyone who had entered the haunted house that night, Charis was the most unlucky. Most of them were able to get out safe and sound, while she suffered third-degree burns and was disfigured as a result.
During the recovery process, Charis was confined to Barnes Hospital for a long time. Many reporters came to interview her, but they barely asked a few questions before Luke impatiently shooed them away.
In his second week in the hospital, Brandon and Natalie went to visit her. When Charis saw them walking into the room, her heart skipped a beat. A deep feeling of inferiority overwhelmed her, suffocating her. She felt lucky to still be wrapped from head to toe in gauze. At least Brandon wouldn’t see her disgusting wounds…
“I heard from Mrs. Turner that you were seriously injured. I asked Garrett to take charge of your responsibilities for the time being. Don’t worry,” Brandon comforted her, using a formulaic tone. As he spoke, he placed the bouquet on the table and looked at Charis, who wasn’t even looking at him. Seeing this, he couldn’t help but frown.
Charis’s eyes were glued to Natalie, who was standing behind Brandon. It was a warm sunny day, but Charis was shaking. Her eyes were bloodshot with hate. She wished she could pounce on Natalie and strangle her on the spot, but she had no choice but to swallow her anger for now.
Natalie clearly saw the ferocity in Charis’s eyes. The woman tightly wrapped in gauze probably hated her to the core, but why? Charis was the one behind the fire in the haunted house. Why did she blame Natalie for the failure of her plan?
“At least you made it out alive,” Natalie raised her head slightly, her eyes darting over Charis’s bandaged body. Most of Charis’s body was wrapped in gauze, indicating that she was likely disfigured by the burns. There was no trace of pity on Natalie’s face. On the contrary, she seemed delighted. Charis had hurt Natalie so many times before, and now she was finally being punished by her own actions. She deserved the karma.
Charis scoffed, looking away from Natalie. She was afraid that if she took one more look at the bitch, she would really pounce on Natalie.
“Why were you there anyway? Just so I remember, you didn’t even enter the haunted house with us,” Brandon looked at Charis calmly, though there was a hint of intrigue in his eyes.
Charis looked away and said nothing. She didn’t really want Brandon to see her in that state, but thinking about it, it might be a good opportunity to make him feel sorry for her. So she put on a bitter smile and looked at him sweetly.
“After the haunted house caught fire, I heard that you rushed in. I was worried about you, so I ran to find you.”
Brandon lowered his head and considered what Charis said. He had always known Charis liked him, but he hadn’t expected her to risk her life for him. He knew better than anyone that he couldn’t give her what she wanted.
Looking at the two people who had fallen silent, Natalie smiled slightly. “Miss Turner, how come you’ve suddenly become so reckless? That is not like you. After all, compared to Brandon, he’s not that strong. What good is running into a burning building to save it? I thought you were smarter than that, unless there’s some other unspeakable reason why you did it.”
Natalie’s voice was soft and kind, but her eyes were sharper than a knife, leaving Charis with nowhere to hide. Charis was always proud of her intelligence. What she couldn’t stand was others calling her stupid, not to mention how much she already hated Natalie. At this moment, her seething anger had reached its peak. But Brandon was there. As much resentment as Charis held in her heart, she had to bury it for now. She gritted her teeth so hard she felt a dull ache on her burned face. After taking a short breath, Charis stiffly asked, “What kind of unspeakable reason can I have? We have been friends for years. Of course, I would rush to save him. Also, I’m very familiar with the layout of that haunted house. I was sure I could help Brandon at such a critical time.”
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Natalie’s eyebrow rose, and her eyes gleamed mischievously. “Oh? Why would you be so familiar with the design of a haunted house in an amusement park? Miss Turner, given your status and personality, I doubt you would go to a place like that for pleasure, would you?” Charis was stunned speechless. She glanced at Brandon and found that he was staring at her too. In fact, it was a bit suspicious. After pausing for a moment, Charis came up with an excuse. “Didn’t I tell you earlier that I was planning to throw a Halloween party for my employees? Of course, I learned everything about the haunted house beforehand.”
The more she talked, the less convinced she sounded, but she refused to give in. Natalie smiled and made no further comment. The answer was obvious. Anyone with a discerning eye could tell that Charis was lying about something. So Natalie took her bag and said, “Take your time. I’ll go to the bathroom.” She decided to let Brandon draw his own conclusions.
Looking at Brandon, Charis felt her muscles tense, triggering a wave of pain through her wounds. Grimacing, she began to say, “Brandon, I…” However, she stopped at a second thought. She knew her explanation was a bit over the top, but she couldn’t think of a better excuse. Besides, an exaggerated explanation was better than saying nothing.
Brandon looked into her eyes questioningly. Finally, he said with intimidating authority, “You’ve been acting very strange lately…” Hearing the implication of his words, Charis gritted her teeth and fell silent again. Brandon continued, “Tell me. What happened? Why did you lie?” The unexpected question made Charis panic. She held her breath for a few seconds, pretending to be calm, and asked, “What are you talking about, Brandon? I never lied to you.”
“You told me that Natalie was obsessed with me and that I had no feelings for her. It’s not a lie? Turns out you used to have a good relationship with Natalie!”