Chapter 4
465 Words
When Hailey realized what Kevin intended, she struggled violently.
"Let me go! It wasn't me… I didn't do it!"
But Kevin merely watched coldly until, with a loud thud, Hailey was forced to her knees before Jane.
The pain in her knees twisted Hailey's face, draining her color.
Yet none of this compared to the agony in her heart.
"If you won't speak, then bow your head in apology."
In the next moment, Hailey was pressed down, her head striking the floor heavily before Jane.
From resisting at first, Hailey now seemed utterly numb. Tears rolled down her cheeks, drop by drop onto the marble floor, but she made no sound.
Kevin frowned, his gaze lingering on her bare knees as if he wanted to say something.
But Jane spoke first. "Kevin, don't blame Hailey… she didn't mean to…"
At her words, the flicker of emotion in Kevin's eyes vanished completely.
Without hesitation, he swept Jane into his arms and shot Hailey a cold look. "I'm taking Jane home. Stay here on your knees and think about what you've done until I return."
With that, he walked out of the mansion without a backward glance, Jane in his arms.
As Hailey knelt on the floor, it struck her that Kevin had once been the one who cared most about her knees.
When her knees were first injured, he had carpeted every inch of the house.
Back then, regret would flash in his eyes whenever he saw her injured knees. Yet now, it was the same man forcing her to kneel on the hard, cold floor.
The thought cut her to the core. Clutching her chest, she doubled over, gasping between silent, heaving sobs as big tears splashed onto the ground.
Kevin didn't reappear in the courtyard until six the next morning.
Seeing Hailey still kneeling, astonishment flashed in his eyes.
In the past, whenever Kevin imposed punishment, she would always try to avoid it. He never expected Hailey to endure kneeling until his return.
A flicker of panic crossed his eyes. "What are you all doing? How could you let Hailey kneel here?" His icy tone carried anger, and the nearby servants turned pale.
Hailey, having knelt all night, spoke slowly, "Don't blame them. I chose to kneel."
Hearing this, Kevin slightly furrowed his brows. "Do you resent me?"
Hailey braced herself against the sofa, gritting her teeth against the pain as she wobbled to her feet. "That's not what I meant. I just didn't want you to say later that I didn't understand my mistake."
But she had overestimated her knees. Almost immediately upon standing, a jolt of pain shot through them, throwing her off balance.
Kevin rushed forward to catch her, but Hailey shoved his hands away violently and crumpled to the floor.
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