âLetâs call a truce!â Vincent said after a long pause. After Leilaâs outburst, his voice was a bit hoarse even as he said this.
What!?
Leila was dumbfounded.
âLetâs call a truce!â He repeated.
Leila was still frozen in her tracks. She didnât respond at all.
From his tone, he sounded very sincere yet indifferent. âIâm really tired!â
Leilaâs heart continued to tighten until it felt as though it was about to burst and jump out of her chest. This was the first time she ever heard him speak in such a tone, and she was beyond belief.
âCut it out already!â He said.
âYouâre the one making a ruckus, not me!â Leila said in a low voice, filled with a sense of being treated unfairly, âI just donât want to be a pawn in someoneâs game, Iâm really tired too.â
... Vincent opened his mouth but nothing came out.
Leila continued softly, âWhen I was young, I always imagined how wonderful marriage would be. Just like the songs, I always thought itâd be incredibly romantic, growing old with you together. Even when weâre old and canât go anywhere, Iâd like to think that youâd still treat me with love and respect.
But this marriage is nothing like that. Keeping this marriage is pointless; we just keep hurting each other. Besides, even your mom said so, weâre going to get divorced sooner or later. We might as well get it over with now, right?â
âSince the day I married you, my entire life was ruined; I wonât ever get happiness in this life. I never naively believed in fairy tales like love lasting for a lifetime. I donât want to fight and bicker with you to no end. I donât want to argue with you or endure your verbal abuse. I always hoped that youâd be the same Mr. White as before, who could smile leisurely and isnât filled with hate. Just you being you? Even if we get divorced, I can still call you Mr.
White!â
âBut, I donât know how much longer weâre going to continue hurting each other like this. I donât know if I will still have the strength to call you Mr.
White! Now, youâre standing before me, saying how tired you are. I just want to say, being someone filled with so much hate, how can you not be tired? Your heart is enduring pain and suffering every day, right? If I guessed correctly, you married me just to shame my family, right? So why do you have a face like that, as though youâre suffering so much?â
Leila carefully observed Vincent and noted the pain in his eyes. She noted the bags under his eyes, as though he hadnât slept all night. Looking at the blood traces on his bandaged hands, she felt a hint of pain. She pulled his hand over and redid the bandage. The second their hands touched together, Vincent felt as though an electric shock ran through his body.
She continued to speak, âI donât want to continue like this, Mr. White, Iâm really depressed, really!â
She looked at him with a worried expression; he could see the kindness on her face as well as the tears that were about to come out. She was about to let him go, when he suddenly grabbed her and held her tightly.
âLeila, what if youâre not just a pawn?â His shoulders were shaking a bit, and there was a strange tone mixed with uncertainty.
Leila felt as though something was amiss; it felt as though he was a bit fragile. Did he ever had this side to him?
âIs it even possible? You and your mom clearly hate me. I donât know what happened for you to hate my father, but I know you wonât quit. Even so, I canât change that. But I wonât be a part of it either.â
His expression suddenly became stern.
Leila pushed him away, and reminded him, âI donât want to make your mom constantly unhappy, and I donât want to see how youâre going to go after my father.â
Vincent stood still, his eyebrows knit closely together. He was quiet for a long time. It was as though time froze at this moment. His entire being was deep in thought.
Suddenly, he rested a hand on Leilaâs shoulder, and the gently held her face with his other hand. Her face instantly became hot from his warm hand, and the warmth spread quickly to the rest of her body.
But her better senses made her move her head to the side, and his hand slid to the side. His eyes had an unspeakable pain, âWhat if I don't want to get a divorce?â
What did he mean?
Suddenly, it felt as though no words could get through to him. Just what did she have to do to get through to him?
âBut I donât want to continue like this; what can we do?â Leila shed all her pretense, and calmly said these words.
âLeila!â He called out to her in a deep voice with such sadness in his eyes, which made her feel incredibly touched.
However-
He had always been such a prideful person; why did he suddenly behave so weak? It made her heart tighten. It was as though he was going to ask her, did he ever liked her?
But she quickly swallowed this question.
How could he possibly like her?
He had plenty of women around him all the time. She has even seen him change women plenty of times. If she were to ask, itâd only make her look bad.
âHavenât you always wondered why I hate your father?â His words made her blood freeze. âIâll tell you why!â
He looked towards the car window, with a pained expression, then spoke in a soft voice, âItâs because he has something to do with my fatherâs death.
If it werenât for him, maybe my father would still be alive!â
âWhat?â Leila was shocked, âDidnât your father commit suicide?â
âIt was suicide!â
âIf it was suicide, whatâs that got to do with my father?â Leila couldnât fathom.
âIt was due to negligence!â Vincentâs expression was incredibly upset. âHe was a prideful man. At the age of 35, he became F Cityâs mayor. Yet, due to his delay in issuing a document, 120 workers were trapped in a well due to a heavy storm in July, and their whereabouts became unknown.â
Leila was stunned; she held her breath as she listened to him continue.
âAt that time, 543 individuals were recorded to have gone down the well. After the incident, 423 were accounted for, 120 were missing. At that time, the province issued a document addressing safety issues. But that document was sitting on my fatherâs desk. Your father wrote an anonymous letter to the province to report my fatherâs negligence at work. My father was a man of perfection; he couldnât take this and committed suicide!â
âHe committed suicide over this? And this is why you hate my father?â Leila was in shock, âBut it was his responsibility, of course he had to issue the report! That concerned the lives of 120 miners. My fatherâs not at fault!â
Vincent scoffed, âThatâs true on the surface!â
âWhat do you mean?â
âAfterwards, I did some investigating. Someone intentionally withheld notice of that document from my father, which caused that incident; he was framed.â
âWhat do you mean?â
âThe document was secretly withheld from my father, so that he didnât issue it, then came the accident. Afterwards, I found out someone set my father up! Because he always took care of everything in an airtight manner. The only thing that could get to him were accidents, and out of all the accidents, the well mining was the most severe. If something were to happen, the top brass would definitely get punished. This was the only way to get my father to resign!â Vincent lit a cigarette. âTell me, should I hate the mastermind behind the plan?â
âWho withheld the document?â Leila felt a knot begin to form inside her.
âThree years after my father died, that man became the mayor of F City, to this day!â
âThatâs impossible!â Leila couldnât accept what she heard. âAre you saying my fatherâs the mastermind? What proof do you have?â
Vincent snorted, âBefore he died, a retired worker from that office sought me out to tell me about it! Your father had proof on that man accepting bribery, so that man was forced to obey your father. He purposefully withheld the document, and silently waited for an opportunity... Your father wanted to make my father resign, but he didnât expect my father to commit suicide...â
âWhoâs the retired worker?â Leila was still in denial.
âHeâs dead! Seth Jordan! He was from Southern Suburbs of F City!â Vincent shifted his eyes and locked his gaze onto Leila, then asked, âShouldnât I seek your father for revenge?â
âRevenge for what?â
âMake him resign!â Vincent straightforwardly said, âThatâs not too much to ask for, is it?â
Leila remained silent.
âBy marrying you, I sought to humiliate you. If we get divorced, itâll look bad on your entire family. Are you sure you want that?â
âHow can you be so sure that the one who setup your father was my father? Why should I believe the words of Seth? Heâs dead, thereâs no way to confirm now. Why should I believe you?â
âYou think Iâm bored out of my mind to find fault with the mayor? Donât forget, heâs been the mayor for twenty years now. His power and influence run deep. Surely you know that?â
âBut if my father wanted to get at your family, itâd be simple. With such a huge company as yours, surely there must be some flaws. If the tax office came to audit, there would definitely be issues. But he didnât do so. I always found it odd; I know youâve always been trying to get revenge against A Moment in Destiny ï¤Chapter 326 Didn't Want To Be a Pawn The convenient Bride ï¤Chapter 414: There Is Nothing Happier Than This (Ending)
Predestined Marriage ï¤Chapter 1718: The End him, but he married me off to you. Isnât he sending me to my doom? Why would my father do such a thing?â
âHe used you to exchange some evidence I had against him!â Vincent said.
âWhat was it?â
âSethâs voice recording. The whole truth of this ordeal, my conversation with Seth, he used you to exchange for it!â
âWhy did you give it to him?â
âBecause what good was such a recording against a man of his stature and power? Thatâs why I married you to humiliate you! That was my plan!
Hurting the ones closest to him to make him suffer! Everything I went through, I'm going to make him pay it back in folds!â
âWhat about now?â Leila looked at him with wide eyes, âIf getting a divorce will further humiliate my family, why donât you divorce me?â
âBecause I feel youâre innocent!â A flash waved through Vincentâs eyes as he looked at Leila. âI suddenly donât feel like using you anymore!â
Donât want to use her?! Leilaâs heart skipped a beat. There was too much information to process that she couldnât think clearly.
âI donât believe it; this whole thing is far-fetched. So you and your mother just decided to obediently believe the words of Seth?â Leila was still refusing to believe it all; she felt something was off. âSo by getting with my sister, did you get close to her just to get revenge?â