Justin Battleson was sitting behind his desk, furrowing his brows as he scanned through the documents in his hands.
Seeing that it was Charlotte Thompson who had arrived, his initially icy expression softened considerably, "Why did you come only now?"
Charlotte momentarily put aside the doubts in her heart and brought up the topic of Ryan Richard, "Was it you who ordered people to deal with Ryan Richard?"
Justin Battleson didn’t seem to have any intention to hide it, nodding without disguising anything, "Yes, it was me."
He then stood up from behind his desk, picked up the tablet on the table, and deftly opened a video on it which he then handed to her.
Charlotte was shocked to see in the video that Ryan Richard was being beaten up by several men dressed in black.
Ryan wailed and begged for mercy, completely void of his usual demeanor.
Charlotte thought that she may feel a bit hurt, but she realized that she had already given up on him. All she felt watching the video was indifference. When the video finished playing, Charlotte handed the tablet back to Justin saying, "Thank you for this."
"And thank you for getting back at him for me." Charlotte raised her eyebrow slightly and pointed at the tablet.
Justin didn’t discern any sympathy in Charlotte’s expression, which secretly delighted him.
"You don’t need to thank me, not now, not ever." Justin’s serious expression made Charlotte feel a bit uneasy, avoiding his direct gaze.
"From now on, no one will dare to threaten you again, I will protect you."
A warm current welled up in Charlotte’s heart. Just when she was about to say something, she suddenly remembered those photos, the ones that were taken when Ryan had come to see her. He still had them in his possession.
Her face instantly paled again, and Justin, sensitively noticing Charlotte’s change in mood, asked with concern, "What’s wrong? Do you feel unwell?"
"I’m not unwell." Shaking her head, Charlotte voiced her worries, "Ryan still has my photos. If he were to get angry out of shame and make these photos public..."
She didn’t need to finish speaking, as he already understood her concerns.
Justin’s eyes cooled instantly, reassuring her, "You don’t need to worry about the photos. I’ll send someone to take care of them soon. I won’t let Ryan hurt you again."
"All you need to do is forget about these things from the past. They won’t bother you anymore, you just need to be yourself from now on."
This was like a soothing balm to her frazzled nerves.
Charlotte’s previously uneasy heart, relaxed a lot in an instant.
Those unbearable scenes from the past, as if from a film reel, kept flashing in her mind.
At that time, she was so helpless. She originally thought that Ryan Richard was her love, but he joined forces with Emily Allen to betray her, which led her through such dark times.
That memory had been a thorn in Charlotte’s heart. Even though she seemed to have forgotten that experience on the surface, it still hurt whenever it was brought up.
The humiliation was even more painful than it had been back then, Charlotte’s fists began to clench at her sides unconsciously.
Charlotte sneered at herself, "I thought I had already forgotten, but didn’t expect that I still remember it so vividly."
Charlotte’s lighthearted words hit Justin heavily, making a profound impact.
He knew all too well how much sadness the smile she showed hid from the world.
Seeing the gradually dimming light in Justin’s eyes, Charlotte spoke up again, this time with a teasing tone:
"You also bullied me five years ago."