Chapter 76
When they were back, the servant already prepared dinner for them. Coming back from Cory's wedding, they were in a bad mood and had no appetite. Christina ate some and went back to her bedroom.
She went to the wardrobe to put away her pajamas, and she would take a bath after a short rest. When Christina was putting away her pajamas with her head down, she saw that there was a faint bruise on her right wrist. It was made by Cory, who grabbed her a little hard just now.
Her heart sank when she thought of Cory's angry and self-destructive look.
She did not know whether it was Cory's emotion or the knowledge of what Patrick had done that made her sad.
"He's so cruel!”
If it hadn't been for the fact that Patrick happened to be in America and couldn't be reached, grandpa would have hit the roof on the spot.
What was Patrick doing in America...
Suddenly, the phone on the bedside table rang. Christina froze for a moment, threw her pajamas back into the closet, and ran to answer it.
"Christina, are you okay now?"
Christina looked surprised and disappointed. She called her in a gentle tone, "Auntie."
"What's wrong? Are you in a bad mood?" Betty could tell that Christina was disappointed.
She immediately comforted Christina, "Is it because Cory and Carrie held a wedding today? Christina, don't be sad. He's just a bastard and you deserve someone better."
Betty had spent most of the past two years living in the sanatorium because she was ill, but she had learned about the wedding held by the Hampton Family through TV and magazines. The more she knew about it, the angrier she became and the more worried she was about Christina.
Christina, on the other hand, was not angry. She muttered, "Actually, Cory is not that bad..." He was a wonderful man compared to that bastard, Patrick.
"Christina, do you still like Cory?"
When Betty heard her say this, she immediately became nervous, "Christina, listen to me. Hampton Family is way out of our league, and we don't give a crap about it either.”
"... There is a difference between loving someone persistently and being loved. I don't want you to be so tired. Thus, I just want you to find someone who loves you and to live a simple life." Her voice was low and gentle, and she was trying her best to persuade Christina.
Christina held the phone and did not reply immediately.
In fact, she was not a shy and delicate woman herself. If a man was worthy of her love, she would definitely do her best.
But all of a sudden, she didn't know what love was...
She thought, 'Do I still like Cory?'
Christina was stunned for a moment. She recalled the night she had been trapped in a remote village. The mudslide destroyed and buried the villagers’ houses, and Patrick thought she was dead. She remembered that the rain fell on her cheeks and her clothes were cold and wet. Patrick ran towards her. He held her in his arms and trembled slightly. He seemed very nervous.
"Auntie, I have nothing to do with Cory. It's just a misunderstanding from the beginning.” She said softly to Betty.
At first, she thought Cory was her savior. Therefore, when she heard from Carrie that he was framed and imprisoned, she used the inheritance she received from her mother to negotiate with her father to secretly release him
"Well, it's good that you break up. You two are not a perfect match anyway.”
Betty was relieved to hear her calm tone. Thinking of something else, she asked in a joyful voice, "Christina, do you remember the little boy who played with you when you were a child?”
"The one you bullied, Eric..."
"I didn’t bully him. It was him..."
Christina retorted almost subconsciously, but in the end, she could not continue.
Lowering her head, she silently repeated the name of this long-lost friend in her heart, Eric...
Betty knew what Christina had done when she was young and comforted her, "Christina, don't feel guilty. I know you've kept that little wooden box all these years..."
After a pause, Betty lowered her voice and asked tentatively, "Christina, if he comes back..."
Just then, a new text message popped up on Christina's phone...
Christina didn't hear what Betty was saying. She stared at the message notification in astonishment and almost subconsciously opened the message with her fingers.
[Something's wrong. I won't be back until next month.]
“Patrick.’ She was inexplicably nervous.
'What happened?"
Christina pursed her lips tightly and dialed his number, but she couldn't get through to him. Christina sat by the bed with a dejected look on her face, staring discontentedly at the new text message that she had just received.
'Why haven't you contacted me for so long? Why did you fly to the United States for no reason? Why don’t you make it clear when you sent me a message?’ She had a lot of resentment against Patrick.
After complaining for a while, she suddenly came back to herself and hung up on her auntie!
Betty reacted faster than Christina, and she immediately sent Christina a message. [Christina, why did you hang up suddenly? Is your phone dead?]
Christina was so ashamed. She didn't know what was wrong with her that she was so excited to see the text message from Patrick.
[Auntie, I'm sorry. If there's nothing important, I'll call you tomorrow. I'm a little tired tonight.] Christina sent Betty a message back.
She was really tired tonight. There was so much trouble at Cory's wedding, and...
She touched the screen with her fingers and read the text message from Patrick. She was worried about him.
"It's so annoying.”
She lay on the bed, tossing and turning.
She hadn't been sleeping very well lately, but Christina didn't want to admit that it was because Patrick wasn't home and she wasn't used to sleeping alone.
It was hard to fall asleep on a quiet night...
She didn't wake up until 10 o'clock the next day in a daze.
Christina quickly washed up, ate something, and went to the Main Residence to look for Mr. Hopkins. Yesterday, when she talked to Betty on the phone, she suddenly remembered something. Today, she wanted to go back to her old residence.
"Patrick didn't answer the phone... The assistant reported that the person had woken up, but he left without permission. The young master has sent his men to look for the person. Besides, Mr. Shepherd also got the news and got there last night.”
As soon as Christina entered the Main Residence, she heard the butlers voice, which sounded a little anxious.
"Let's wait until Young Master is done with the things in American before telling him what Cory mentioned yesterday. He is having a tough time in America too..."
"It's all Patrick's own fault!" Mr. Hopkins cursed angrily with a sullen look.
The butler sighed, "Master, it was just an accident. They were so close that they were just like brothers. Patrick doesn't like to talk about it, but he also feels bad...”
"Grandpa, what are you talking about?" Christina said suddenly.
Mr. Hopkins did not notice her when he was talking to the butler. In a daze, he looked up at her. They replied almost simultaneously, "Nothing."