Secretly Married for 4 Years, He Regrets to Tears After the Divorce-Chapter 18: Killing is But a Beheading
Wren stood trembling at the entrance of the medical room, a bitter taste rising in her throat.
Adrian Lancaster was truly heartless.
She had pleaded, apologized, and humbled herself before him, but he remained completely unmoved.
Being Mrs. Lancaster truly meant nothing to him.
Wren gave a sad, self-mocking smile. Watching Adrian’s retreating figure, her eyes welled with tears.
"Mrs. Lancaster, are you all right?" the manager asked tentatively in a low voice.
Only then did Wren realize there were others at the entrance besides her. She gathered her thoughts, wiped the tears from her eyes, and said faintly, "I’m fine."
She had been through things ten thousand times more humiliating than this. After the sharp, initial pain, all that remained was numbness.
"President Lancaster is just angry right now. Maybe he’ll relent after he cools down a bit."
Wren was surprised. She looked at the manager. "Why are you comforting me?"
Shouldn’t a shrewd person like him be siding with Maya Marshall?
After all, Adrian Lancaster blatantly favored Maya Marshall, while being as cold as stone to her, showing not an ounce of consideration.
The manager sighed heavily. "To be honest with you, my daughter’s marriage was ruined by a third party. She was in so much pain every day... she committed suicide by slitting her wrists a while ago."
As he spoke, his eyes reddened, his heart twisting in agony. "I thought you were the other woman. I’m sorry, Mrs. Lancaster."
Wren understood everything now. She was moved. She couldn’t help but think of her own father. If he knew the truth about her marriage to Adrian, wouldn’t he be heartbroken as well? "My condolences. You’re a good father."
Afterward, the manager led Wren into the security office.
"Mrs. Lancaster, this is all I can do." Although the manager sympathized with Wren Sutton, he didn’t dare offend Adrian Lancaster.
Wren was grateful. "Thank you. I won’t make things difficult for you."
Isla didn’t know what had happened and watched in confusion as the manager left. "What’s gotten into him? Letting you in and risking Adrian Lancaster’s wrath."
Wren explained, "His daughter was driven to suicide by a homewrecker."
Isla understood immediately, feeling both sympathetic and furious. "Looks like I went too easy on her. If I’m going to jail anyway, I might as well have just killed that bitch."
Wren urged her to calm down and not be so impulsive.
"After you get out of jail, will you still be able to act?"
Isla fell silent.
She had a bone-deep passion for acting. To hone her craft, she had endured immense hardship on various film sets, but she had done so gladly.
If she couldn’t continue to act, what joy would be left in her life? She still hadn’t achieved her goal of making it to the big screen.
Wren patted her best friend’s shoulder. "Like I said before, I will find a way to get you out of this."
"I feel like I’ve really messed up and caused you so much trouble," Isla said, blaming herself.
She knew Adrian Lancaster favored Maya Marshall, so the thought of Wren going to plead on her behalf... just imagining it made her heart ache for her friend.
Wren shook her head. "It’s no trouble. If I were you, I would have done the same thing."
Isla didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
"Adrian Lancaster took Maya Marshall to the hospital. I’m going to head over there again. You stay here..."
Wren was halfway through her sentence when the door was suddenly pushed open. Three men in police uniforms walked in with solemn expressions.
"Who is Isla Griffith?"
Isla Griffith stood up. "I am."
The police officer showed his official credentials. "Someone has filed a police report against you. You are now a suspect in an intentional assault case. Please come with us."
Wren was shocked at how quickly things had escalated; the police had already arrived.
"I’ll go with you. I witnessed the entire incident and know exactly what happened."
"That won’t be necessary. We’ll notify you if your testimony is needed."
Her protest was futile. Wren could only watch helplessly as Isla Griffith was led away, her heart twisting into a knot.
...
Hospital.
Adrian Lancaster remained steadfastly by Maya Marshall’s side.
After an examination, the doctor diagnosed Maya Marshall with a mild concussion and said she needed to be hospitalized for a few days for observation.
"No wonder my head hurts so much," Maya Marshall said pitifully. "What if there are lasting effects?"
Adrian patiently reassured her, "There won’t be. Don’t overthink things." He helped her lie down and tucked her in. "After all this commotion, you must be hungry. I’ll go get you something to eat. What would you like?"
Maya Marshall thought for a moment. "Strawberry cake."
"Okay, I’ll go buy it. You get some sleep."
"You have to come back quickly. I’m scared to be alone."
"Mm."
Maya Marshall closed her eyes, feigning sleep. Not long after, maybe ten minutes later, she heard the sound of the door opening and soft footsteps.
Maya Marshall hadn’t expected Adrian Lancaster to be back so quickly. She hadn’t been asleep in the first place, so she kept her eyes closed, pretending, waiting for Adrian Lancaster to come and wake her. She was even secretly hoping he might give her a kiss.
She waited and waited, but there was no movement, nor was there his familiar, crisp scent in the air.
Maya Marshall felt something was wrong and slowly opened her eyes. When she saw Wren Sutton standing by her bed, she was so startled her heart nearly leaped out of her chest, then she sat up in a rage.
"Are you crazy? Suddenly appearing here without making a sound. Are you trying to be a ghost or something?"
Wren needed a favor from her, so she could only endure it. "I saw you were asleep, so I didn’t want to disturb you."
Maya Marshall snorted coldly, her posture arrogant.
"What are you doing here? Don’t tell me you’re here to plead for your best friend again? If so, you can just give up right now. I’m not going to change my mind, and neither will Adrian.
"Do you know what you’re like today? A leech! Wherever I go, you follow. I can’t shake you off. Just looking at your face makes me want to puke."
Wren let the words go in one ear and out the other. She didn’t take them to heart; she wasn’t here to argue today. "What do you want me to do? What will it take for you to be merciful? Just say the word, and I’ll do it."
Without a moment’s hesitation, Maya Marshall pointed to the window. "Jump from here, and I’ll let Isla Griffith go."
Wren frowned. What a venomous woman. A fall from this height would mean death or permanent disability.
"What, you don’t dare to jump?" Maya Marshall taunted.
"I thought your friendship was so deep. Turns out it’s nothing special after all."
Wren continued to endure it. "Ms. Marshall, there’s no need to get yourself embroiled in a potential murder case. It’ll do you more harm than good."
Maya Marshall huffed again. "If you don’t dare, you don’t dare. Stop making useless excuses."
Suddenly, she had a new idea.
"Considering you’ve spent the last few years taking care of Adrian for me, I’ll show you another way. As long as you do as I say, I’ll let Isla Griffith go. If you don’t, then get the hell out right now. I won’t give you a third chance."
"Do you mean it?"
"I do. If I’m lying, may my entire family drop dead."
Wren no longer hesitated. "What is it? Tell me."
"Kneel and kowtow to me three times. Also, see that table by the door? You’re going to slam your head against it until your forehead is bleeding."
"..."
"I’ll count to three. If you don’t do it, get out."
The countdown began.
In just three seconds, Maya Marshall gave Wren no time to think.
By the time she counted to "three," Wren had already sunk to her knees.
Compared to death or disability, this humiliation is nothing.
Before coming here, she had called the old residence, hoping to ask Grandmother to help persuade Adrian Lancaster. But before she could even say why she was calling, a maid told her that the old matriarch had caught a cold, was feeling drowsy and unwell, and was resting upstairs.
Wren had no way out. She could only obediently kneel and kowtow.
Maya Marshall excitedly took out her phone.
"I’m going to record this pathetic, subservient look of yours. This is too good a memento to pass up."
After finishing the kowtows, Wren stood up. There wasn’t a trace of shame in her eyes; instead, they glinted with a fierce light. "Ms. Marshall, there’s a limit. Don’t kick someone when they’re down."
Maya Marshall put away her phone disdainfully and crossed her arms. "You chose this yourself; I didn’t force you. What are you still standing there for? Go on, hit your head. Don’t forget what I said. It has to bleed."
To protect her best friend, Wren had no choice.
She gritted her teeth, shut her eyes tight, and steeled herself.
Just as Wren lowered her head and charged toward the table by the door, the door was pushed open, and Adrian walked in.
