Toxic Bond

"It wasn't me. Please believe me," Lisa Moore stared stubbornly at the people in the car. The heavy rain poured down, the car windows were wet from the rain, and the blurred windows could vaguely show the stern face inside the car. Lisa Moore, shivering, stood outside the car, shouting through the window, "William! At least listen to me!" The car door suddenly opened. Before Lisa had time to be happy, a strong force dragged her into the car. She fell on him, and his dry white shirt was instantly soaked. "William, those thugs who hurt Anna, I didn't arrange them..." As Lisa began to speak, a slender and strong finger ruthlessly pinched her chin. Above her head came his unique, deep and mellow voice: "Do you like me that much?" The cool voice, with a hint of light tobacco scent—his scent. "What?" Lisa was a bit confused. She liked him, and everyone in the world knew it. Why would he suddenly ask this now? The man pinched Lisa's chin with one hand, while the other arm, slender and strong, reached towards her. The tips of his fingers gently touched her cold, rain-soaked cheeks. Lisa was drowned and lost in his eyes, which were as gentle as water. She seemed to have already heard the next sentence, where the man would ask her, "Are you cold?" Suddenly, the man exuded a cold aura all over his body and said coldly, "Lisa, do you like me that much? Like it so much that you would harm Anna to death?" A chill surged from the bottom of her heart and quickly spread throughout her body. Lisa instantly became sober and couldn't help but give a faint, bitter smile... She had said it all along. How could this man's tenderness be for her? It turned out that it was not tenderness at all, but just the devil's smile. "I didn't mean to harm Anna to death..." she wanted to explain for herself. "Yes, you didn't mean to harm Anna to death. You just paid a few thugs to r**e Anna." The man's eyes gradually filled with rage, and he didn't give Lisa a chance to explain. With a loud "rip," he tore apart Lisa's clothes. "Ah～!" Accompanying the scream, Lisa was mercilessly pushed out of the car and fell into the rainwater in a disheveled manner. The man's cool voice, clear against the sound of the rain, rang in her ears: "Lisa, Miss Moore, whatever you did to Anna, I'll do the same to you. How does it feel to be half-n***d?" Whoosh! Lisa suddenly looked up, in disbelief at the man inside the car. He sat in the car, looked down at her, took out a handkerchief, and slowly wiped his fingers: "Miss Moore, I'm very tired now. You may leave." "William! Listen to me! I really..." " It's not impossible for me to listen to Miss Moore," the man indifferently lifted his eyelids and glanced at Lisa, "If Miss Moore is willing to kneel in front of the Brown family's manor for a whole night, perhaps I'll be in a good mood and give Miss Moore ten minutes." The car door slammed shut, and a handkerchief was thrown out of the car, fluttering and landing in front of Lisa, soaked by the rain. Lisa looked down, picked up the handkerchief from the rain, and clenched it tightly in her palm. The car drove into the Brown family's manor, and the wrought-iron gate of the manor closed mercilessly in front of her. In the rain, Lisa's face was pale. She stood there for a while, then suddenly raised her head, walked to the gate of the Brown family's manor, and tightly pursed her lips. With a "thud," her knees hit the ground. She knelt! Not for atonement! Because Anna was her friend! When a friend passed away, she should kneel. Not because everyone thought she had caused Anna's death! She knelt! Also kneeling to beg this man to give her ten minutes to speak! Her clothes were torn and tattered, barely covering the essential parts. She covered her body with both hands, but her waist was straight and proud. She was proud, even kneeling, she was unbowed! Her self-esteem, her dignity, she was Lisa from New York! She knelt stubbornly, just for a chance to explain clearly. She didn't do it, she wouldn't admit to something she hadn't done! But, would there really be a chance? Could she really explain clearly? And, would anyone really believe her? The rain grew heavier and never stopped from beginning to end. ...... After a night passed In the downpour, Lisa still knelt outside the Brown family's manor. The rain soaked her dress, and she had knelt there all night in the rain. Finally, dawn came, and the manor, which had been silent all night, finally came to life. The silver-haired, sharp-eyed old butler, holding an old-fashioned black umbrella, walked over from the manor's courtyard. The iron gate, which had been closed all night, "creaked" open a gap to the sides. Lisa finally moved, lifting her drooping head and showing a pale smile to the old butler standing in the middle of the gate. "Miss Moore, Mr. Brown asked you to leave here," the old butler's hair was combed perfectly, not a strand out of place even on a rainy day, as strict as if every plant and tree in the Brown family's manor was trimmed by a specialist. The old butler threw a piece of clothing to Lisa. Lisa stretched out her hand, which had been soaked in rainwater all night, and put on the clothes shakily. She opened her pale, bloodless lips and said in a hoarse but firm voice, "I want to see him." The old butler didn't even lift his eyelids and conveyed the master of the manor's exact words word for word: "Mr. Brown said that Miss Moore's presence pollutes the environment of the manor and told Miss Moore not to get in his sight." From the incident until now, Lisa had not shown any sign of cowardice. At this moment, the strength she had been pretending to maintain was hard to keep. Her shoulders trembled, revealing her wounded heart. Lisa closed her eyes, her face covered with rainwater, making it impossible to tell whether the wetness at the corners of her eyes was rain or tears. The old butler looked at her expressionlessly. Lisa opened her eyes again, looked up at the old butler and said, "Butler Martin, no matter what you think in your heart, I did not bribe those thugs to ruin Anna's innocence. No matter what, I cannot bear your hatred without complaint." Lisa, though exhausted, spoke clearly and distinctly, enunciating every word... She was a woman who was willing to bow her head temporarily but was full of pride.