I was curious to see if Steven would tell me.
Steven stood there, looking helpless and panicked. He urgently reached out to me, pleading for my presence by his side.
Somehow, I felt the urge to approach him. However, my rationale compelled me to keep my distance and press him further. "Tell me. Who hurt me?"
His hand slowly fell from its frozen position in mid-air, a silent testament to his refusal to speak.
I nodded, directing my gaze toward Michael. "I'll go with you."
Michael was quite happy as he led me toward the car. "Stephie, let's go."
I didn't look back, yet I waited for Steven to convince me to stay. However, he did not speak until I got into Michael's car.
He stood there with his head lowered, as though he were wrestling with a painful struggle and trying to make a difficult decision.
"I'll ask you again...who is it?" My eyes were red, and my heart was filled with unease.
Who exactly was Steven trying to protect?
Steven raised his head with tear-filled eyes. He opened his mouth as though he had been preparing to speak for a long time. "Stephie, it's me."
He claimed it was him.
"It's all me."
He shouldered the blame entirely. He claimed that he was the one. It was he who imprisoned and hurt me. Instead of revealing the identity of the person who harmed me, he chose to make me despise him, detest him, and keep my distance!
"I didn't lie to you," said Michael, looking at Steven with indifference before closing the car door for me.
I saw Steven standing outside and suddenly felt extremely disappointed and saddened.
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