Keith Donovan’s patience was gradually wearing thin.
His tone carried a hint of interrogation, "Don’t you want to say something?"
Evelyn Clayton took a sip of her coffee and retorted, "Say what? Is it because of me that he ended up in the hospital?"
Keith was momentarily at a loss for words.
Soon, he spoke with a hint of irritation, "Even if it’s not directly because of you, it was after meeting you that he ended up that way."
"I remember that I did nothing to him yesterday." Evelyn responded with a faint smile, "Are you trying to pin a crime on me?"
Keith held back his frustration and said, "He went home and drank after meeting you, passed out in the bathtub. If I hadn’t found him in time, he might have drowned."
Evelyn remained indifferent, "Did I make him drink? Besides, you can’t drown in a bathtub—"
"But he’s allergic to alcohol!" Keith’s voice almost came out as a roar.
Evelyn was slightly stunned. Tʜe source of this ᴄontent ɪs novel(ꜰ)ire.net
After a moment, she let out a laugh of incredulity, "Impossible. James Grant has no history of alcohol allergy."
Keith showed a hint of fatigue, "In the years after you left, he poured all his energy into his work... Harvestide Holdings can now compete with Atlas because of the effort he put in over the years. The past couple of years, he worked like a man possessed, often going night after night without sleep, and social drinking became common, until—"
Speaking of this, Keith fell silent for a long time before continuing, "Until once, he drank too much, that time he drank into unconsciousness. I thought it was no big deal, sent him home, and left. In the end, I saw him again in the hospital."
"He drank so much it triggered an alcohol allergy, leading to a brief cardiac arrest. If it weren’t for him pressing the emergency button with his last bit of consciousness, he might have really died."
"Later, when he recovered, the doctor warned him never to touch alcohol again."
Keith’s eyes were deep as he stared fixedly at Evelyn Clayton, "Shortly after he was discharged, he drank again. I asked him why he was harming his body this way, and he said he dreamed of you."
Listening, Evelyn subtly raised an eyebrow, her expression somewhat dazed.
Keith didn’t understand what Evelyn’s expression meant and hesitantly said, "Evelyn, I know you blame him for what happened back then, but all these years he’s been full of regret. Can’t you—"
"Can’t what?" Evelyn let out a light laugh, "Can’t forgive him? Keith, are you mistaken about something?"
"You say how hard and miserable James Grant has been these years, how much he misses me. So, I ask, if I were there, if I reconciled with him, would he not need to drink, not need to socialize, not need to develop his career?"
"From the success he’s achieved, have I benefited even a bit? As the CEO of Harvestide Holdings, is anyone really forcing him to drink until he vomits and ends up in the hospital?"
"Is James really venting his inner frustration and conflict, or is he trying to develop his career well, or is it guilt over me? Can you tell the difference?"
With each sentence Evelyn spoke, Keith’s face turned a shade paler.
He looked deeply at Evelyn and slowly said, "I never knew you were this kind of person."
"There are many things you don’t know." Evelyn responded coldly, "Like, you don’t know that before today, I had already decided to coexist peacefully with James Grant, to give him the chance to see Sharon often."
"But after meeting you today, I feel that it seems unnecessary."