'Of course not!' Gloria thought angrily, but she managed to collect herself and didn't shout it out loud.
She raised her hand, pointed at the door, and said, "It's getting late, Mr. Norman. Please leave!"
"I won't apologize to you." Lucas slightly raised his delicate chin, and his face was proud and aloof.
When he turned around and stepped out of the door of Gloria's dormitory, he said, "Your wound will fester if left untreated."
As Gloria watched Lucas disappear, her breathing was a little disordered, and his last words were still ringing in her ears.
Gloria thought angrily, 'What does it have to do with you? What do you know?'
The door was still open. Gloria took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. Then she slowly walked forward and closed the door.
Suddenly, a force hit the door. The door bounced and made her stagger.
"Lillian?"
Lillian was at the door, and she looked like a ghastly evil spirit. She said fiercely, "Gloria, you hypocrite! You said you were going to plead for me. Did you? Did you want to show your kindness? Gloria, you are the least kind!"
Lillian vented her anger as soon as she entered.
"You are involved with Mr. Hammond, right? Why are you still flirting around and hitting on men when you're already involved with Mr. Hammond? Who was the man that just left? You seduced Mr. Fisher, and you are now looking for new lovers? Listen to my voice! Listen! If you had pleaded for me, would I have choked on the water? Would I have coughed so much? I'm about to lose my voice! The doctor said it would take a long time for me to get my voice back. Yet still, my voice would never be the same! I thought you said you would put in a good word for me. I begged you so much. I even apologized to you humbly. And what did you do? You claimed that you were going to plead for me, and the fact was you did nothing!"
Lillian vented her dissatisfaction and resentment. Seeing that Gloria did not speak, she continued to shout hysterically, "Gloria, you're the most hypocritical woman I've ever seen! You are disgusting and pretentious!"
Gloria didn't interrupt Lillian. She slowly reached out and touched her forehead. Suddenly, she looked up at the angry Lillian and said, "You ain't dead, are you?"
"What do you mean?" Lillian was stunned for a moment. Her eyes widened, and she stared at Gloria in disbelief. "Gloria! Do you want me dead?"
Lillian's harsh scream rang out in Gloria's ears. Gloria smiled, "Lillian, do you think you're suffering because of me?"
"What else? If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have been kicked out of Fittro Club! Do you know how hard it is for a college student in a foreign country to earn living expenses and tuition by doing odd jobs? Do you have any idea how hard life is?"
Gloria felt the genuine urge to laugh. "Well, well. It seems that you do know living is tough. Lillian, life isn't easy. Then why do you still want to spoil it?"
"What do you mean? How am I spoiling it? You said you would plead for me. You broke your promise! Gloria, if you didn't mean it, why did you make a promise to me? You wanted my gratitude, but you didn't help me. Gloria, you're terrible!" Lillian shouted again.
Gloria closed her eyes. She was so exhausted. First, Lucas touched her wound though she didn't want him to. And now, Lillian was making a scene, being completely unreasonable. At other times, Gloria could still be the easygoing one and let Lillian do as she pleased, but now she just couldn't.
Gloria desperately needed a space to hide and to think, without doing anything else.
"Frankly speaking, you put me through all of that first. That means I can turn a blind eye to your life," Gloria said slowly. "If your problem with me is a reason for you to hurt me at will, does that mean I can repay you the same kindness based on what you have done to me? Besides, Lillian, you are still standing here in front of me in one piece. Have you ever thought of why?"
Gloria chuckled and said, "Perhaps you can go and mess with Mr. Hammond again. See what he will do to you next time."
"I don't know what you are talking about. Gloria, what is this nonsense about? If you don't want to help, then just forget it. There's no need to say any of this just to clear your name." Lillian's eyes began to flicker, and she stopped looking into Gloria's eyes, but she was still accusing Gloria stubbornly.
For most people, the phrase "clear your name" might just be something they learned from textbooks, and it wouldn't mean much to them. However, such a phrase repulsed and frightened Gloria.
Gloria was angrily approaching Lillian. She said, "Clear my name? Lillian, do you know what this phrase means? What do I need to clear my name about? Did I do this to you? Did I tell on you? Lillian, you tried to set someone up, and you gave yourself away. That was why they were onto you. And now, you are blaming me for not pleading for you? Lillian, what makes you so foolish and arrogant?"
Lillian was shocked. With every sentence Gloria said, she would take a step forward, forcing Lillian to take a step backward. Lillian thought, 'The Gloria standing right in front of me is completely different from the one I used to know!'
Lillian suddenly screamed and said, "Gloria! I knew it! You've been pretending! Your pitiful look was nothing but an act! There is no man here. Neither Mr. Fisher nor Mr. Hammond is here. And I was kicked out of Fittro Club. Does that make you think that you no longer need to put on an act in front of me? Because no one gets to expose your true colors from now on?"
Gloria paused. Suddenly, she smiled. Unlike before, this time, she laughed loudly. Her laughter was so harsh that Lillian covered her ears.
"What's so funny? I see through you, don't I?" Lillian said.
Gloria glanced at Lillian sideways, shook her head, and said, "I need to rest now. You should go."
"You want to drive me away, after what you've done to me? You wish! The doctor said I had to rest for a long time before recovering. But still, my voice would never be the same! And you're telling me that you want to get rid of me now?"
Lillian brought up her voice again. Gloria said coldly, "Your voice is only broken temporarily. You should be glad that the damage is not permanent."
Gloria's words were meaningful. After she finished speaking, she asked, without giving Lillian a chance to speak at all. "Are you sure you're not leaving?"