The door to the hospital room was knocked softly, and Evan leaned against the frame, looking significantly thinner and more somber than before. Nonetheless, compared to Phoenix's exhaustion and dishevelment, he appeared much more composed.
Lucas seemed to see a savior, "Mr. Chesterfield, please talk some sense into our CEO. He—"
Evan didn't respond, walking straight in, his hands tucked into his trouser pockets, his gaze heavy upon Phoenix.
After a long pause, a cold chuckle escaped his throat, his eyes shifting to Lucas, "Do you think I don't want to follow her?"
He, too, had wished, like Phoenix, to atone with his life!
After leaving Phoenix's house that day, he had sped, barely holding onto the last threads of sanity and the notion that a woman's punishment was incomplete. He might have met his end that very day, mirroring Serena's departure, lost in the river, irretrievable.
"But are we worthy?" His eyes on Lucas, his words were directed at Phoenix, "Considering all we've done to her, do you believe she'd want to see us?"
People like them were destined to live in agony, forever burdened by guilt.
Phoenix vividly recalled her curse, her voice tinged with blood, echoing still—
May you live in loneliness and suffer illnesses until your last breath!
His black eyes snapped open, and Phoenix leaped from the bed, slamming a fist into Evan's face!
"Was it you, who sent me to that bar to find her?" If not for that incident, his relationship with Serena wouldn't have ended like this; he might have simply thought his girl a bit more willful.
But the sight of her surrounded by a crowd, dancing wildly in that bar, drove him mad just thinking about it!
"What are you talking about?"
"What do you think?" Phoenix remembered every detail. As the two men clashed violently, Lucas frowned but didn't dare intervene. Phoenix nearly screamed, "If you hadn't texted me to meet at that bar, would I have treated her like that?"
He had always assumed Serena was that kind of woman!
But now, it was all revealed as a setup.
Evan retaliated with a punch, "You were the one who was blind! If I wanted to meet you, would I send a text? You never bothered asking why she was there, did you?"
He had been so self-righteous, assuming his perspective was always correct.
When all feelings are erased, only after losing her does he realize it's too late.
"Did you know Serena was allergic to alcohol?" As Phoenix was stunned by his question, Evan shoved him aside and exhaled deeply, "I found her on the street recently, nearly dead from an allergic reaction. Phoenix, where were you then? And if I'm not mistaken, it was your doing. If I had been just a bit later, would she have ascended to heaven, thereby sparing herself all subsequent suffering??"
"That's enough!" Phoenix sank to the floor, leaning against the bed, his eyes closing wearily.
Indeed, he had known nothing.
Evan rose, touching the blood on his lip, "I've investigated everything. Amelia was behind the brake tampering, and as for the deeds in the past, I bear some responsibility."
That night at the bar, Amelia had instigated trouble intently, leading Serena to rush to her rescue. With Evan and Amelia together, the text message didn't need further investigation.
"What do you plan to do about that woman?"
