Frederic's eyes were filled with unbearable sorrow.
He gently cradled Joey in his arms, softly stroking her back.
His voice was hoarse and trembling.
"You can yell at me, Joey. If it helps, you can even hit me. Just please, don't keep all this pain inside, okay?"
Joey didn't resist, allowing Frederic to hold her.
She didn't have the energy to fight him anymore, and she didn't want to feel that pain again.
With laughter, she started her confession. "I should be thanking you, Frederic. If I had fallen deeply in love with Stan and then found out about Luke's existence, that would have been the real devastation. What happened inside that hall didn't cost me much. People will gossip for a few days, look at me with pity, and then they'll forget."
Just like before, when everyone in the com
