Chapter 770

Verena had swallowed a significant amount of water while frantically calling for help. Yet, what pained her more than the physical discomfort was the ache deep within her heart. It was unfathomable—Lucas had been so close to her when she had reached out for him. But instead of helping her, he had coldly pushed her aside! He hadn’t cared about her safety at all; his focus had been solely on Belinda! How could she come to terms with this?

As these tumultuous thoughts raced through Verena’s mind, tears flowed freely down her cheeks.

“Belinda, how are you feeling now?” Catherine asked with a worried expression.

“Belinda, are you okay?” Bethany rushed over.

As Belinda was out of the pool, Bethany and Catherine hurried to her side with concern etched across their faces.

“I’m alright…” Belinda said, her voice a bit raspy.

But before she could elaborate further, Lucas swept her up in his arms and carried her away.

“Where are you taking me?” Belinda asked him in confusion.

“Back to the hotel room,” Lucas replied matter-of-factly.

“There’s no need for that! Put me down. I’m fine now,” Belinda said.

Though remnants of fear lingered from when she had fallen into the water moments ago and choked on several gulps of it, this time, she had more experience. She had instinctively closed her mouth and held her breath while using her hands to stay afloat. Compared to before, she managed much better this time around.

“You still want to stay in the hot spring?” Lucas asked with a hint of skepticism evident in his expression.

“Yes.” Belinda nodded resolutely.

She wanted to conquer her fear of water; she refused to let swimming haunt her any longer. Thus, she made up her mind to stay.

Lucas didn’t argue further. He studied the determination radiating from Belinda’s expression, and after a brief moment of contemplation, gently set her down.

As soon as Belinda was back on her feet, Lucas turned his frosty gaze toward Verena, who was still struggling with violent coughs.

His glare was sharp and unyielding, like a blade. Underneath his intense scrutiny, Verena trembled; color drained from her face as fear gripped her.

“L-Lucas, I—”

Before Verena could finish speaking, Bethany interjected sharply, “Verena! What were you thinking? There were countless places you could have fled to, but you chose to run toward Belinda and push her into the hot spring! You did that on purpose, didn’t you?”

After Bethany spoke, Verena instantly appeared aggrieved, her eyes wide with a mix of fear and regret. She shook her head fervently and waved her hands in a desperate attempt to explain, saying, “No, that’s not the case at all! I really didn’t intend to do it deliberately! The situation was far too urgent—I was solely focused on escaping.” Turning to Belinda, she continued, her expression softening, “I sincerely apologize, Ms. Wright. I truly had no intention of causing any harm. I deeply regret that you ended up in the water—this is entirely my fault.”

“Who can say whether you did it intentionally or not?” Bethany snapped angrily, her tone sharp and unyielding.

Ryan frowned at Bethany, his tone equally sharp as he stepped in to defend Verena. “Bethany, will you please stop? Verena didn’t do it on purpose. Besides, didn’t Verena fall into the hot spring as well?”

Bethany, with her fiery temper, wasn’t about to back down. She scoffed, her voice dripping with disdain, “Verena fell in on her own; that’s her own fault! No one pushed her in! Just because she tumbled into the hot spring too, now she’s suddenly the victim? I swear, you and Verena are something else! No one even invited you, yet you brazenly tagged along. And as if that wasn’t enough, you ended up causing chaos for everyone. You’re nothing but a nuisance!”

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Message from Noah: New chapters this sunday, dear ones! God loves you, and Noah wishes you all the best! (=◡=) /

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