Once again, Ben left Tony 's room in a huff. This time, however, he bumped into Donna , who had just appeared at the doorway, as soon as he opened the door.
Donna was puzzled when she saw Ben standing there. Her gaze then shifted to Tony inside the room. She froze. “Are you guys quarreling, Ben?”
Ben lowered his gaze to conceal his emotions. “No!” he said. Then, he strode out, brushing past her.
Uh...
Donna furrowed her brows as she watched his resolute figure walking away. That doesn't seem like nothing.
She turned her gaze toward Tony . “What happened between you two, Tony?”
Tony took a deep breath and met her gaze, forcing a smile. “We're fine. What about you? Did you need something from me?”
“Nothing, exactly. I didn't see you and Ben earlier, so I came to look for you...” As she spoke, her brows knitted together, fixing him with a curious gaze. “I've never seen the two of you argue before. What caused it?”
Tony studied her languidly. “So, you came to me for the scoop, haven't you?”
“What? No. How is this gossiping? I'm just concerned about you two!” Donna protested.
Tony turned away. “Instead of spending time asking me, you might as well comfort Ben. It would be more effective.”
Donna shuffled closer and leaned on the door frame. “How can I comfort you if you won't tell me what's wrong, Tony?”
“Ask Ben!”
“Tony...”
Tony turned around and placed his hand on the door. “Is there anything else? I'm going to shut the door!”
With a frown, Donna gazed at him coyly. “Tony...”
Tony stepped forward and rapped her forehead gently. “Acting coy won't work on me. I'm not Ben. I'm closing the door if there's nothing else you want.”
Donna pouted at his snark. “Hmph!” With a toss of her head, she turned and strode off.
As he watched her receding figure, Tony called out, “Donna !”
Donna paused and turned back to look at him. In a delicate and sweet voice, she asked, “What's the matter?”
Tony stared at her, wanting to say something but hesitated. After a pause, he said, “ Nelly isn't feeling well. Spend some time with her if you can.”
Donna paused for a moment at the mention of that and turned to study him. “Speaking of which, what's really going on with Nelly ?”
“Stomach issues.”
“Stomach issues?” Donna murmured, her brows furrowed with thought. Just as she was about to ask further, Tony interrupted, “All right. Off you go!”
Without waiting for Donna to say anything else, he shut the door, leaving her standing outside, hesitating to speak.
After the door slammed shut, Donna sighed helplessly and turned to leave.
Meanwhile, inside the room, Tony leaned against the door, his little face taut, his gaze indescribably heavy and complex.
I don't want to burden them with this pressure, but I also don't wish for them to harbor any regrets, which might lead to them resenting me later. I have no choice but to do this. I hope you understand, Ben and Donna .
With those thoughts weighing heavily on his mind, Tony took a deep breath.
...
Donna went after Ben , pursing him all the way.
Ben finally stopped when they reached the courtyard outside. Donna went after him, gasping for breath.
“You're walking too quickly, Ben. I can't keep up!” Donna called out from behind him.
Ben was looking straight ahead. Pursing his lips, he did not say a word.
After catching her breath, Donna stepped forward. “Are you upset, Ben?” she asked gingerly upon noticing his rather angry expression.
“No!” Ben said simply.
That's how Ben always is. The angrier he gets, the more he denies it.
Donna sighed. “When did you also learn to say one thing and mean another, Ben?”
Ben remained silent. He kept his gaze on the distant horizon.
Donna 's eyes twinkled as she took in the scene. Then, she walked around to where Ben was. With a smile playing on her lips, she teased him, “What's really going on with you, Ben? Is it something so serious that I can't even help you anymore?”
Ben lowered his gaze. If he was being honest with himself, he was furious.
But when he saw Donna 's smile, the anger that had been building up in his chest almost dissipated entirely.
Ben could not help breaking into a smile when he saw her.
“Oh, you.” Ben gazed at her and sighed helplessly.
Seeing him smile, Donna began to laugh. “You look so good when you laugh, Ben. Just like Nelly !”
Ben 's mood sank once again at the mention of Nelly . However, he did not want to worry Donna , so he pretended as if nothing was wrong.
“Donna ,” Ben called out to her.
“Hmm?”
“Do you think...” Ben was about to say something, but he held back the words that were on the tip of his tongue.
“What?” Donna asked, blinking her lively eyes.
Ben looked at her, hesitating to discuss Nelly 's health. However, knowing Donna 's penchant for suspicion, she would inevitably notice something amiss if he were to ask.
Why should I cause Donna worry about things that aren't even certain yet?
At that thought, Ben swallowed his words and smiled at her. “Nothing.”
Donna narrowed her eyes. “Why are you behaving just like Tony, Ben?”
“Like him? How?” Ben asked.
“Always speaking in riddles and acting mysterious,” Donna muttered.
“What did Tony say?” Ben asked.
“He didn't say much, just... um, mentioned that Nelly isn't feeling well and asked me to spend more time with her,” Donna said, thinking aloud.
Ben 's eyes narrowed. “And? What else did he say?”
After thinking carefully, Donna said, “Nothing else. That was it.”
“Didn't you ask further?” Ben asked.
“I did ask him about Nelly 's condition,” Donna said.
“What did Tony say?” Ben asked, looking at her anxiously.
“He only said that Nelly has a stomach issue...” As she spoke, Donna furrowed her brows as if she, too, was not satisfied with the answer.
Ben relaxed when he heard what she said. He should have guessed that that was Tony 's default response.
Since he had told me that, he would certainly have told Donna the same thing. Otherwise, he would be contradicting himself.
As he arrived at that conclusion, the look in Ben 's eyes remained indescribably complex.
Suddenly, Donna seemed to have recalled something. She turned to Ben to ask, “Why do I get the feeling that what Tony said sounds a little far-fetched, Ben?”
Ben glanced at her. Even Donna thought the matter was far-fetched; it showed how unconvincing the answer was.
“Well, I'm not too sure about this either, but let's just do as Tony suggested for now,” Ben said.
Donna raised her eyebrows in amusement. “Oh? Weren't you just arguing with Tony? Why have you suddenly changed your tune to do as he says?”
As she spoke, she looked him in the eye. “Ben, why were you arguing with Tony earlier?”