I smiled wryly. “I guess, even if I had told you that I was the one who rescued you, you would not have believed me. Possibly, you would have joined forces with Crystal again and done something worse to humiliate me.
In the past, they had done too much harm to me and I had suffered so much. At that time, Crystal was so precious to Benjamin that he believed every word she said.
Benjamin laughed bitterly. “It’s true. You’re right. Even if you had told me, I would not have believed you.” He gave me the hairpin again. “I’m returning it to you. At that time, I gave it to Crystal but she nonchalantly gifted it to me. Since they belong to you, I should give it back.”
“Thank you!” Politely, I took the hairpin from him. After more than ten years, the other hairpin had finally returned to me.
“I’m sorry… for what happened in the past… I did not know that it was you. I’m sorry,” Benjamin spoke hesitantly, sounding very emotional. His face was red as he had certainly never thought that one day, he would be apologizing to me.
“It doesn’t matter. Those were not something important.” I was telling the truth. I really did not want to think about them as it would be pointless. Now, I had Christopher who was such a good man, to look after me. Why should I wallow in those burdensome memories?
“You… Yvonne… I…” Benjamin started speaking but could not finish one sentence. He looked away and avoided my eyes. Then, he spoke slowly in a low tone.
“Those abductors beat me up because I tried to escape. My head was bleeding and I was barely conscious. I was so afraid and I felt hopeless. I was only fourteen and facing the threat of death, I had no hope. In the darkness, I waited for someone from home to save me. After waiting for so long, no one came. That type of hopelessness was like waiting for death. I was so terrified that I could not breathe.”
“Then, someone said in my ear, ‘Don’t cry, I’ll save you,’ and the voice was so sweet. I swear, it’s the most beautiful voice I’ve ever heard in my life. Truly, everything in front of me was blurry but I seemed to see some light and hope. At that time, I swore that I will look after the owner of this voice for the rest of my life. Yvonne, do you understand?”
I have wondered why Benjamin unconditionally indulged Crystal, but I was still shocked. It was only because I rescued him and Crystal took all the credit.
Suddenly, I felt that he was very foolish too. Just because he was saved by her once, he had unconditionally accepted someone. I laughed. “I understand what you mean. Let bygones be bygones. You’ve returned the hairpin to me. It’s a very good way of repayment.”
“Then… in the future, can we be friends?” Benjamin looked at me tentatively, with a glimmer of hope in his eyes; yet, fearing that I would reject him.
I do not know his thoughts, so after a moment, I nodded. “It happened a long time ago. You should not take it too hard.”
Benjamin’s expression was a mix of emotions as he stood rooted there for some time before he left. I rubbed my eyes as I had never expected such an outcome. It was simply unbelievable.
I picked up the paintbrush and put a few strokes on the blank paper. My feelings were complicated and my painting was strange, reflecting my emotions when inspiration came upon me. Before I realized it, the sun was already setting in the west. I rubbed my sore arms and gyrated my stiff neck. Then, I opened the refrigerator to think of what I should cook for Christopher today.
I discovered that I had nothing in the fridge, so I had to make a trip to the supermarket. After tidying up and putting away my paintbrushes and palette, I went downstairs. Suddenly, I heard a familiar voice calling my name.
“Yvonne, wait up!”
When I heard the voice, I felt rather bothered. After what had happened, it was rather strange that Lyle would still want to see me. Shouldn’t he be back at the Smith family home to take care of the stuff that Crystal has used against them?
“Is there anything I can do for you?” I askedplainly.
“Where are you heading? I can give you a lift,” Lyle said.
