011: Injured (2)
Amelia Clarke crossed the street, and Jeremy Murphy caught up with her from behind.
"You're truly kind-hearted," he complimented.
Amelia Clarke's eyes flickered slightly and said, "If back then, someone had lent a hand to my grandmother, she wouldn't have frozen to death in the snow."
Jeremy Murphy was stunned.
He understood.
Just as he was about to say something else…
"Amelia Clarke!"
Someone called out Amelia Clarke's name, the voice heavy with the scent of gunpowder.
Amelia Clarke knew who it was without turning around.
It was Ciara Taylor.
"Manager Jeremy, please go back first, would it be okay if I return later?"
Stephen Murphy saw Ciara Taylor coming over furiously, somewhat uneasy, hesitating to leave.
Amelia Clarke smiled gently, "I know her, don't worry about it."
After Stephen Murphy left, Amelia Clarke then turned around to face Ciara Taylor, a slight smile on her lips and a light look in her eyes, "You called me for something?"
Ciara Taylor didn't say anything else and rushed up to slap her.
Amelia Clarke caught her wrist in one motion, threw it to the side, and the smile on her lips turned mocking, "Getting angry makes you age quickly, if you get ugly, William Smith will like you even less."
Ciara Taylor's face turned an angry blue, "I knew you were a vixen who knows how to seduce men, Amelia Clarke, how can you be so cheap? There are so many men in the world, why must you seduce Andrew Johnson? Can you not live without a man?"
Amelia Clarke laughed sarcastically, "Ciara Taylor, who is it that's doggedly chasing after Andrew Johnson? Who is it that still clings to him despite being ignored? Who is it that stripped naked to seduce Andrew Johnson? If we're talking about being cheap, Ciara Taylor, it's you who are cheap. With so many men in the world, why must you shamelessly chase after Andrew Johnson?"
"You!" Ciara Taylor was practically going mad with rage.
She liked Andrew Johnson, hopelessly so.
But after nearly three years of pursuing him, just when she thought she would succeed, Andrew Johnson suddenly fell in love with Amelia Clarke.
She couldn't accept it, how could she?
Besides her beauty, what else was good about Amelia Clarke?
"Amelia Clarke! Why don't you just die!" Ciara Taylor, her eyes red-rimmed, lunged at her like a madwoman, "You should die!"
Crazy! impatience flashed through Amelia Clarke's eyes as she elegantly dodged the attack.
When Ciara Taylor lunged again, Amelia Clarke grabbed her hands, jerked them forward sharply, and let go quickly; Ciara Taylor tumbled uncontrollably to the front.
Looking at Ciara Taylor's fall, Amelia Clarke turned to leave, but then paused and turned back, "Whether you believe it or not, I have never seduced Andrew Johnson, and I also do not like him. Don't assume that just because you like him, all the women in the world fancy him. So, don't come looking for trouble with me again. He doesn't like you, and killing me would do you no good."
The advice was given; she had said all that could be said.
If Ciara Taylor still couldn't see through it, then she was truly beyond help.
Ignoring the strange looks from the people around, Ciara Taylor lay crying on the dusty ground, image completely abandoned.
All of this was Amelia Clarke's fault!
If there were no Amelia Clarke, even if Andrew Johnson didn't love her, at least he wouldn't love anyone else, and she wouldn't have to feel so bad, so tortured.
Not knowing how long she cried, Ciara Taylor slowly got up, wiped her tears, and could vaguely see Amelia Clarke at the entrance of the mall, recommending products to customers with a light smile.
Even though she couldn't see clearly, she could faintly sense that the smile was beautiful, easily touching people's hearts.
The rage inside her burned fiercer, and it seemed to scorch Ciara Taylor's brain until it was blank, with only one thought left.
Ruin Amelia Clarke!
Ruin her, and Andrew Johnson would no longer love anyone else; ruin her, and Andrew Johnson would return to her side.
The wind seemed to have died down a bit.
Amelia Clarke enthusiastically recommended products to a customer, who had already chosen a rice cooker, an induction cooker and was about to buy a soy milk maker.
If this sale went through, she would make nearly a hundred yuan in commission.
She was delighted, focusing on explaining to the customer how to use the soy milk maker, not noticing Ciara Taylor's approach.
By the time she realized, the corner of a microwave had already smashed heavily onto her head.
Immediately, blood, streamed all over her face.
Screams erupted from all around.
No one expected Ciara Taylor to commit assault; even if someone had seen her approach, they assumed she was there to shop, never suspecting she would suddenly lift a microwave sample and hit someone with it.
The last thing Amelia Clarke saw was Ciara Taylor's fierce eyes before she plunged into darkness.
Jeremy Murphy was so scared that his soul nearly left him, but fortunately, he remained composed. While taking off his jacket to press against Amelia's wound to stop the bleeding, he yelled, "Call an ambulance, call the police quickly!"
Owen Moreland really was here by coincidence.
He attended a drinking party at a large hotel across the mall at noon.
When he first arrived, he caught a glimpse of Amelia Clarke's figure across the square at the hotel.
Upon entering the private room, he declined the main seat arranged by the organizer and chose one by the window instead, allowing him to see Amelia Clarke not far away with just a sideward glance.
The little girl had some grit; despite the cold weather and her thin clothes, she stood in the whistling wind for such a long time, still chatting and laughing with ease.
He should have been the first to notice Ciara Taylor's approach, or perhaps, the first to notice something was amiss with Ciara Taylor's behavior.
When he saw Ciara Taylor lift the microwave intending to target Amelia Clarke's head, he subconsciously shouted, "Watch out!"
The next instant, Amelia Clarke fell to the ground before his eyes.
Without time to think, he rushed out of the room.
The attendees of this drinking party were all influential figures in their Circle, often collaborating and knowing each other reasonably well. Mr. Moreland was known to all as mature, steady, calm, and rational, and this was the first time anyone had seen him in such a panic.
"What's happening with Mr. Moreland?"
"Don't know."
"Shall we follow and take a look?"
"Go take a look?"
"Let's go, take a look."
So, a group of big shots, who usually strategized behind the scenes, all stepped out of the private room with curiosity...
Owen Moreland had never been this anxious before.
But the more nervous he got, the clearer and calmer his mind became.
On the way to the square, he made two calls, one to Benjamin Richardson, who was waiting in the parking lot, instructing him to drive immediately to the entrance of the mall on the opposite side; another to Dr. Chapman, asking him to prepare everything at the hospital.
Owen Moreland arrived at the small appliance promotion scene just as he hung up.
He saw Amelia Clarke's pale face and the bright red blood, and the extreme visual contrast made his heart skip a beat. He immediately pushed through the crowd, took Amelia from Jeremy Murphy's arms, and walked towards the crowd's edge, where Benjamin Richardson's car was conveniently parked in front of him.
He carefully placed Amelia Clarke into the car, and the vehicle immediately headed for the hospital.
Jeremy Murphy, slowly coming to his senses, hurried to the curb to hail a taxi and followed.
The group of important figures who had just left the hotel saw Owen Moreland carrying a girl into a car and driving away, exchanging baffled glances.
"Didn't they say Mr. Moreland abstains from the company of women?"
"Yeah, as far as I know, ever since he was abandoned by his girlfriend over a decade ago, he lost interest in women and has been single ever since."
"Then who was that he just held in his arms..."
"A woman, I saw it clearly."
"Quick, have someone find out which girl she is, she might be about to hit the jackpot!"