Chapter 3

Adrian, having received the message, rushed back.

I hadn't said anything yet when Quinn tearfully grabbed Adrian's sleeve:

"Adrian, you have to believe me. I didn't touch a single hair on Cece's head!"

After a long silence, Adrian comforted Quinn a few times before walking toward me with a complicated expression.

He glanced at the bandage wrapped around my head, as if asking a question he already knew the answer to:

"Cece, tell me the truth. Are you jealous that Quinn and I are kindred spirits in art, so you..."

"Slap!"

I interrupted Adrian's nonsense with a slap.

My left palm went numb from the impact, but aside from heartache, I couldn't seem to feel pain anywhere else in my body.

Was this the man I'd loved for seven years?

Quinn immediately rushed over and pulled the dazed Adrian away from me.

"Framing me is one thing, but Adrian just wanted to ask what happened. How could you hit him!"

She accused me while crying heartbroken tears:

"Adrian, sit here and don't move. I'll go find a nurse to get an ice pack..."

I gave them both a cold look and took out my phone to call 911:

"Don't rush to leave. Since you say I'm trying to frame you, let the police clear your name."

Quinn instinctively glanced at the ceiling.

I knew she was well aware there were no surveillance cameras in the hospital room.

But unfortunately, I'd suffered this kind of loss once before long ago.

So the moment Quinn approached me, I had already turned on my phone's recording function.

At the same time, I understood Adrian very well.

He was someone extremely protective.

The person occupying his thoughts was no longer me.

If I didn't wait for the police to arrive before presenting evidence, I wouldn't even have the chance to show it.

Quinn quietly waited for me to finish the call. She bit her lip pitifully, forcing a smile:

"It's okay, Adrian. As long as you believe me, that's enough."

"An honest person fears no crooked shadows. I believe the police will clear my name!"

Adrian looked at her with eyes full of sympathy for a good while, then turned to scold me:

"How did you become so vicious? Filing false police reports wastes public resources. When the police come, you explain it to them yourself!"

I laughed out loud:

"But Adrian, from the moment you came in until now, have I said a single bad word about Quinn Snow?"

Adrian froze, his face instantly showing traces of embarrassment and hesitation.

An indescribable exhaustion swept through my entire body.

I closed my eyes, no longer bothering with his excuses, quietly waiting for the police to arrive.

Quinn was someone who liked to seize the initiative. As soon as the police arrived, she immediately stepped forward and pointed at me accusingly:

"I just came to visit her out of kindness, and she suddenly ran and hit the wall herself, then blamed it on me!"

Adrian wore an apologetic expression:

"Sorry, officers. My girlfriend's been emotionally unstable lately. It might be related to the depression she had before..."

My heart jumped violently.

During the worst year of my illness, Adrian was most afraid of anyone mentioning those words in front of me.

When I was self-harming, he held me tightly. Even when cut by the sharp blade in my hand, he would tirelessly coax me again and again:

"Cece, you're not sick. You're just not very happy. I'll find a way to make you better, and you can't give up on yourself either!"

But now, to clear Quinn of suspicion,

he actually used my past trauma to attack and deal with me as if it meant nothing.

The police didn't immediately believe their story. He looked at me:

"Miss West, do you have anything to say?"

I smiled slightly and played the recording on the spot.