Chapter 2 She Slaps Him
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Walking out of the lab, Lizzie saw Theron waiting at the door for her.
He was undoubtedly good–looking with thick brows, bright eyes, and a tall, beefy figure.
Women at Equinox Research Institute all wanted to marry him, envious of Lizzie’s good luck.
Men at the institute all saw him as their model, praising him for his great sense of responsibility and devotion to his family.
None of them knew he felt responsible only to one woman, and was devoted to her alone.
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Whenever Lizzie complained, he’d silence her by saying “Efren saved my life, and I owe Johanna this.”
Upon seeing Theron again, Lizzie was overwhelmed by her decades of pent–up grievances at once.
She walked past him quickly.
Figuring she was throwing a tantrum, he grabbed her hand and pulled her next to him.
Feeling her cold, sweaty hand, he frowned and said, his tone gentle and filled with distress, “Your hand is freezingly cold. Don’t you know it’s getting colder these days? Why didn’t you take a jacket?”
With this, he immediately took off his scarf and was about to put it on for her.
To his surprise, she pushed him away, shoved his scarf aside, and walked away in disgust.
He furrowed his brows tightly–he was never patient when women threw tantrums.
But he also knew she had every right to do so this time. Therefore, he pulled her again and explained, softening his voice, “Lizzie, my hands were tied. After Efren died, Johanna’s family forced her to marry a divorced man in ex- change for money. He’s already forty and is bad–tempered. They say he even hits women sometimes… So, she had to stay here.”
Suddenly, Lizzie turned around and looked up at him. Though he was one head taller than her, she wasn’t less impos- ing than him at all.
“You knew it’d ruin my reputation and get me fired, right?” she questioned.
Theron pursed his lips. He knew, of course, but…
He said, “We’re about to get married. You can have all my salary. If you want to work, after this subsides in a few years, I’ll think of something…” He’d try to make it up to her.
Lizzie slapped across his face hard, cutting him off.
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Chapter 2 She Slaps Him
She should have done this ages ago!
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His face tilted aside because of her great force, but he wasn’t upset at all. He coaxed her, his tone still gentle and pa- tient, “Lizzie, now that you’ve vented it all out, time to put an end to this. Don’t you think? I owe Johanna and must take care of her.”
“Yeah, you owe her, not me. Why should I pay the price? You shameless jerk!” she sneered and flung his hand away.
She couldn’t be bothered to say another word to him.
Her project had already been filed with the institute. She could prove her innocence once she found the document.
“Lizzie!” Theron chased after her.
“What do you want to let this go?”
Ignoring him, she walked forward in silence, clearly not going to change her mind.
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He strode forward, caught up with her, and persuaded her as gently as possible, “I know you hate seeing me spending time with Johanna. I’ve asked around and confirmed that the project can be her stepping stone to be transferred to Hurlton. You’ll never have another chance to be upset because of her. Isn’t that nice?”
He had taken care of Lizzie’s feelings.
After Johanna got the project, she’d be transferred to Hurlton. Then he could live a happy life with Lizzie. Wasn’t that what she wanted?
Lizzie stopped in her tracks upon hearing this and looked up, only to see the serious look on his face.
She laughed out loud.
In her past life, she had indeed fallen for his words.
But he was a total liar.
After obtaining the project, Johanna did have the chance to leave. But then she fell seriously ill.
Her frail condition broke Theron’s heart. Unable to bear seeing her alone in Hurlton, he canceled her transfer and pro- vided even more meticulous care for her.
Later, he was transferred to Hurlton due to work. He brought Johanna with him while asking Lizzie to stay behind to look after his family.
Suppressing the deep hatred, Lizzie smiled, “How about this? Give me back the project, and we’ll break off the en- gagement. After I get transferred to Hurlton, you can take care of her openly.”
Theron stopped frowning tightly when he saw her smile, but at her words, he pulled a long face again.
“Cut it out, Lizzie. Could you stop threatening me with the same excuse every time? It’s just a job. Are you saying it’s more important than our relationship? Also, mark this–I don’t have feelings for Johanna. I just think I’m obliged to take care of her!”
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Chapter 2 She Slaps Him
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Johanna had been hiding in a corner all this time, and a trace of embarrassment flashed across her face when she heard this. Seeing that the two were at a standoff, she bit her lip and walked out.
“I’m sorry, Lizzie. I didn’t know our research overlapped. Mr. Howland had no choice but to testify for me. You got him wrong. You’re the one he loves.”
“Oh, really? Then come with me and say this to Mr. Hatfield.” Lizzie was about to grab Johanna’s arm.
Johanna stood in situ, utterly nervous and at a loss.
Protecting her behind him, Theron looked at Lizzie wearily. “Enough, Lizzie. It’s settled. There’s nothing you can do to change the result.”
Hiding behind him, Johanna looked at Lizzie, looking aggrieved.
Lizzie couldn’t be bothered to say another word.
She turned to leave.
She needed to find the document as soon as possible because she didn’t want any “surprises“.
Seeing this, Johanna was anxious. She grabbed Lizzie’s arm while looking at Theron, signaling with her eyes. “Mr. Howland, Lizzie is still upset. You should coax her nicely and make things clear with her.”
Theron impatiently pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes briefly, thinking, “I’ve explained enough. Why can’t Lizzie understand?
“It’s just a job. Does it mean that much to her?
“Maybe…”
The hesitation that flashed across his face was keenly noticed by Johanna.
Her gaze fell upon a jeep speeding toward them in the distance, and her eyes darkened.
In the next second, she pushed Lizzie forward, and they both fell to the jeep!
“Watch out, Lizzie!”
A trace of nervousness flicked in Theron’s usually cold and stern expression. The more critical the situation was, the calmer he seemed. In the blink of an eye, he lunged forward and stood in front of both Lizzie and Johanna.
The jeep was close enough that he could see his reflection in the driver’s pupils.
There was no time, and he could only save one person.
He had to decide now. Who should he save, his fiancée, or the fiancée of his late brother who saved his life?
Suddenly, Johanna grabbed Lizzie’s hand and shoved it into Theron’s hand, wanting him to choose Lizzie,
His breath hitched.
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He couldn’t fail Efren!
Taking a deep breath, he withdrew his hand from Lizzie’s direction and grabbed Johanna’s hand instead.
As long as Johanna held onto Lizzie tightly enough, he could save them both.
However, when he pulled Johanna back, her hand slipped, and she loosened her grip on Lizzie’s hand.
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“Lizzie!” Johanna screamed in panic and then covered her face, as if she couldn’t bear to see the horrible scene.
Meanwhile, Lizzie calmly watched Johanna’s act. In her past life, Johanna had clung to Theron, relying on him about everything. Otherwise, she would have believed Johanna genuinely wanted to save her.
But she knew very well that she stood in Johanna’s way of being Theron’s wife. There was no way Johanna would let her find the evidence. Johanna wanted to see her dead!
Johanna was so good at acting. She had been playing generous and kind her whole life because she wanted Theron to feel bad and look after her. The more delicate and pitiful she seemed, the nicer he’d be to her.
What happened today was a great example–she deliberately asked Theron to save Lizzie because she knew exactly he’d choose her.
Learning her lesson from her past life, Lizzie was prepared. The moment she fell toward the car, she had already curled up her body and protected her head, protecting her vital parts.
Theron was dumbfounded to see Johanna loosen her grip. He seemed more panicked than ever as he lunged forward regardless of his own safety.
Johanna pulled him back hard. “Theron! No!”
The car was only centimeters away from them. At such a critical moment, none of them noticed that the person in the back seat suddenly leaned forward and wrenched the steering wheel from the driver’s hands. Immediately, the car swerved violently, brushed past Lizzie narrowly, and crashed into the curb.
A huge bang rang out.
Even the sound of Lizzie being knocked to the ground was drowned.
Theron’s heart skipped a beat. He wasn’t this nervous even when he was on the battlefield, facing a hail of bullets.
His eyes reddened as he saw the car hit the curb.
Lizzie was fine!
Just as he was about to run to her, someone exclaimed behind him.
A pebble sent flying by the car struck Johanna’s calf.
She bent over and clutched her calf, crying out in pain.
Today, she wore a dress, and the pebble instantly grazed her bare calf. The trail of blood streaming down her fair calf seemed shockingly vivid.
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Chapter 2 She Slaps Him
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“Johanna!” Theron exclaimed and rushed toward her, checking her wound.
She tried to push him away, her face pale due to the pain. “Don’t mind me. I’m fine. Go check on Lizzie…”
“She’s fine. She wasn’t hit. I’ll take you to the hospital now!” He picked her up, strode away, and headed to Equinox Hospital.
Little did he notice that behind him, Lizzie clutched her injured leg as blood stained her uniform trousers red.
She broke out in a cold sweat due to the immense pain. Although the car had turned in time, the upturned metal sheet by the wheel slashed her femoral artery. Blood instantly soaked her trousers dark and flowed to the ground, staining a large area red.
Due to massive blood loss, her vision gradually blurred. Biting her lip, she stared at Theron’s retreating figure without making a sound. In no time, she collapsed in her own pool of blood.
The crumpled jeep door was kicked open from inside, and a tall, beefy man stepped out and walked toward her.
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