Chapter 1: His Decisions
***
"IT'S not my fault. You must believe me!" Astrid Levine fixed her gaze inside the car. It was pouring outside. The rain had soaked the windows, yet it was possible to see the grim face in the car. Astrid stood nervously outside.
"Marcus Smith!" she yelled through the window. "At the very least, listen to my explanation!"
The car door sprang open unexpectedly.
A tremendous force intervened before Astrid could be pleased. She crashed into the car and collided with Marcus. Marcus’s dry white shirt then quickly became moist.
"Those gangsters that harmed Talia Albert were not coordinated by me, Marcus..." Astrid stated.
Without mercy, a slim and muscular finger grabbed her chin. "Do you like me so much?" said a distinct magnetic voice over her head.
The frigid voice had a tiny cigarette odor, which belonged to him.
“What?” Astrid seemed perplexed.
The entire world knew she had feelings for him.
Why would he suddenly pose this question now?
The man pinched Astrid's chin. He stretched his slim hand towards her face. His fingers tenderly caressed her rain-soaked cheeks.
His kind eyes nearly entirely absorbed Astrid. She appeared to have heard the following statement: the man asked her if she was chilly.
But the man exhaled an irritated sigh. "Astrid, do you like me so much?" he asked coldly. "You like me so much that you don’t hesitate to kill Talia?”
A chill spread throughout Astrid's body from the bottom of her heart. She grew sober suddenly and couldn't help but smile bitterly.
When did he express his feelings for her?
It turns out that it had nothing to do with tenderness. It was just an evil smile.
"I had no intention of murdering Talia..." She wanted to know what was going on.
"No, you didn't mean to kill Talia. You bribed a couple of goons and allowed them to rape Talia!" The man's face became increasingly irritated. He didn't even give Astrid a chance to respond as he ripped Astrid's clothes.
“Ah!”
Astrid was forcefully shoved out of the car while screaming. In humiliation, she collapsed into the rain. The man's chilly voice was especially audible above the sound of rain.
"Astrid Levine, what you did to Talia, I will do to you. How does it feel to be naked?"
What?
Astrid abruptly raised her head and stared incredulously into the car door.
The man sat in the car, looking at her with contempt. He took out a handkerchief and slowly wiped his fingertips. "Miss Levine, I am quite exhausted right now. Please go back.”
“Marcus! Hear me out! I really—”
“It’s impossible for me to listen to you.” The man lifted his eyes and cast an indifferent gaze toward Astrid. "If you're willing to kneel in front of Smith Mansion for one night, maybe I'll be in a good mood and grant you ten minutes."
The car door abruptly closed. The handkerchief was tossed from the car, falling in front of Astrid and getting drenched from the rain.
Astrid bowed, took up the handkerchief, and tightly clutched it in her palm.
The car pulled into Smith Mansion. The iron gate closed violently in front of her.
Astrid's face was pale in the rain. She stood for a moment before raising her head and walking to the mansion’s gate. She knelt on the ground and squeezed her lips together tightly.
She bowed her head!
Not as a result of atonement.
Simply because Talia was her friend! She should have been saddened when her friend died. But everyone assumed she murdered Talia!
She bowed her head!
She implored him to listen to her explanation for ten minutes.
Her clothes were ripped and tattered. It could hardly cover the essentials. Her hands covered her torso, yet her waist was straight. Even when she was kneeling, she was proud and stubborn. Her sense of self-worth. Her honor. She was Astrid Levine.
She knelt obstinately, hoping for a chance to express herself fully. She hadn't done anything. She refused to accept the things she had not done!
But, would this be a genuine opportunity?
Would she be able to convey it clearly?
Is anyone going to trust her?
The rain was becoming quite heavy. It never stopped from start to finish.
One night went along.
Astrid knelt outside the mansion despite the rain. Her ripped clothing was soaked in the rain. She had spent the entire night on her knees in the rain.
The dawn finally arrived. The mansion, silent for a night, began to get lively. The silver-haired old butler emerged from the yard, clutching an antique black umbrella.
The iron gate, which had been shut all night, groaned and opened a space on two sides.
Astrid finally moved, raised her drooping head, and smiled at the elderly butler standing in the middle of the iron gate.
"Ms. Levine, Mr. Smith requests that you should go." The hair on the old butler was tidy. Even if it rained, he didn't have unkempt hair. The elderly butler hurled a piece of clothing at Astrid.
Astrid extends out her wet palm from the night's rain to pick it up, then trembles into her garments. She moved her pale lips. "I want to see him," she said, husky and forceful.
The old butler remained emotionless. "Mr. Smith claimed that your presence has damaged the ecology of the mansion," he relayed Marcus’s sentiments. "He no longer wanted to see you."
From the moment of the accident until now, Astrid has shown no signs of weakness. Her shoulders trembled at this point, showing her hurt heart, no matter how hard she tried to remain calm.
Astrid shut her eyes. The rain fell on her dace, and others couldn't tell whether it was rain or tears on her face.
The old butler gave her a blank stare.
"Mr. Albert, no matter what you think, I haven't bribed these guys to spoil Talia's innocence," Astrid remarked to the butler. "In any event, I will not take your hatred without protest."
Despite her exhaustion, she delivered her remarks clearly.
Astrid is a proud woman who was willing to bow her head briefly.
The old butler finally responded with anything other than indifference. He smirked. When he stared at Astrid, his eyes were filled with disgust. “Talia is my daughter. Since childhood, she has been quite well-behaved and sensible. She had never been to a chaotic and filthy location like a bar or nightclub, yet she was insulted to death by a group of gangsters in such a place. We checked her phone. Before the incident, she called and texted you, stating, 'I have reached the ABC Club.’ Where are you that time, Astrid?”
The old butler looked at Astrid and despised her. "My daughter died because of you, Ms. Levine. She was dead, yet you're still arguing? Everyone knows you're bothering Mr. Smith, but he only likes my daughter. He is disgusted by your persistent pestering. You're envious of Talia, and since you can't win Mr. Smith's affection, you'd like to spoil Talia's innocence. How ruthless you are!"
Astrid was rendered speechless. Talia Albert was Samuel Albert’s daughter. Marcus is madly in love with Talia.
"Please excuse me, Ms. Levine. Mr. Smith, by the way, asked me to transmit certain words."
Astrid fixed her gaze on the elderly butler.
"He asked… why the person who died wasn't you?"
Astrid, who was kneeling on the ground, trembled. Her heart felt terrible anguish.
The elderly butler spun around. The corners of his wrinkled mouth grinned viciously, giving the hard face a chilly and nasty appearance. Astrid murdered Talia. He was dissatisfied. He despised Astrid's cruelty.
Astrid held her freezing body up. She stood up shakily. Her legs went numb as soon as she stood up. She collapsed on the icy pavement, laughing at herself.
"Why am I not the person who died?" she whispered.
Such words would come from that man.
Astrid smiled, which was much uglier than crying. "Talia, Talia, you've passed away. However, I've been blamed by everyone."
A SLIM man with broad shoulders and small hips stood on the second level of Smith Mansion. He dressed casually in a black robe and walked around barefoot. His sexy tall physique stood silently in front of the French windows, looking indifferently at the figure in the rain outside the house.
"Mr. Smith, I have relayed your message to Ms. Levine."
Astrid had been chased away by the old butler. Mr. Albert was now standing silently at the master bedroom door.
Marcus shook the glass of crimson wine in his palm. Hearing the old butler's words, he indifferently retreated his gaze from Astrid. He offered a succession of directions indifferently, his thin lips twitching slightly. "Notify the Levine family that if they continue to accept Astrid, their line will be extinguished. Their reputations will be wrecked. But they must get rid of Astrid if they want to keep their reputation."
“Yes.”
"Secondly, erased all of Astrid's educational records.
“Yes.”
“Lastly, put her to prison.”
The old butler raised his head in surprise when he heard this. "Mr. Smith..."
"She has to pay for her own life. She bribed others and murdered Talia on purpose. Allow her to serve three years in prison. Do you think I can't do it?" He was talking about his most recent decision.
Marcus made the judgment angrily, despite the proof being insufficient.
"No, Mr. Smith... Thank you very much. If it hadn't been you, Astrid would have received no punishment," the old butler sobbed. "Thank you very much."
Marcus turned around and faced the French windows. He saw the figure on the asphalt road vanish. His vision was hazy. His delicate finger grasped the wine glass. He raised his head to gulp the blood-red wine.
"I punished Astrid, Mr. Albert, not because Talia is your daughter, but because Talia is the woman I love," Marcus explained slowly.
ASTRID was tired when she returned to their house.
However, they didn’t let her in. The old butler relaid Marcus's statements. As a result, she never saw her parents.
Were they terrified of Marcus?
The corners of Astrid's mouth twitched. She drew her gaze away. The wrought iron gate separated her from her family, and she remembered everything that had belonged to her in the past.
Astrid couldn't tell how she felt at the time. The two men in police uniforms stopped her as soon as she turned around. "Ms. Levine, when you bribe others to instigate them to ruin Ms. Talia Albert, she dies. Please come with us now. Anything you say may be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to get an attorney.”
Astrid spotted Marcus, who was standing like a sturdy figure, before being brought to prison.
"I have never harmed Talia," Astrid stated emphatically.
Marcus approached Astrid calmly.
Astrid told herself not to worry. She was not guilty and did not commit a crime.
The delicate tiny face rose fearlessly, determined to keep her calm, but her shaking shoulders revealed her anxiety.
All of this was noticed by a set of keen eyes.
