Chapter 2

However, was she really going to get that chance?

Could she really explain herself?

Also… would anyone really believe her?

The rain grew heavier, without stopping for even a second.

…

The night passed.

Jane remained kneeling outside Stewart Manor amidst the torrential rain.

The rain drenched her dress. She had been kneeling outside for the entire night.

Dawn had finally broken, and the manor finally came back to life after a night of silence. The old silver-haired butler walked out of the yard, holding an antique umbrella.

The metal gates opened with a creak after the night of inaction, its two halves splitting to reveal a gap at the center. Jane finally moved, raising her slumped head and giving the old butler between the gates a pale smile.

"Miss Dunn, Mr. Stewart requests that you leave this place." The old butler's hair was immaculately combed, without a single strand out of place despite the rainy weather. He was just as strict and solemn as the foliage in the garden, tended to and trimmed by a professional gardener. The old butler threw a set of clothing at Jane.

Jane reached out her hand, soaked overnight in the rain, and she shook as she put the clothes on. She parted her bloodless lips and said in a hoarse yet determined voice, "I want to meet him."

The old butler did not even budge an eyelid, repeating the owner of the manor's words verbatim, "Mr. Stewart said that your presence here, Miss Dunn, is polluting the air around the manor. He wants you to get out of his sight."

Not once had Jane expressed even a hint of weakness since everything started going wrong. Now, however, she could not keep up her facade of strength anymore. Her shoulders trembled, betraying the hurt in her heart.

Jane closed her eyes, the rainwater on her face making it hard to tell if it was tears or rain wetting the corner of her eyes. The old butler looked at her expressionless. Jane opened her eyes again and raised her head, looking at the butler as she said, "Mr. Summers, I don't know what you're thinking, but I swear that I never hired those thugs to assault Rosaline. No matter what, I can't accept your hatred without reason."

Although Jane was exhausted, she still said every word clearly and precisely… This was a woman who had her pride, even though she was willing to bend it temporarily.

The old butler finally had a reaction beyond looking at her like she did not exist. His grey brows knitted together, and he looked at Jane with eyes full of hatred. "Rosaline was my daughter, and she has always been a good and obedient girl. She had never once set foot into a place as chaotic and filthy as a night club, but she had somehow ended up at one of those places with the lowest of lowlifes, where they assaulted her to death.

"Miss Dunn, we checked her messages. Before the incident, she called you and sent you a text, saying, 'I've arrived at Nightlight. Where are you, Jane?'."

The old butler's gaze on Jane was filled with a deep hatred. "Miss Dunn, it wasn't just some cat or dog you killed. It was a living human being! She's dead now, but you still refuse to admit it! Everyone knows that you're infatuated with Mr. Stewart, whereas Mr. Stewart only had eyes for my daughter Rosaline. He hates you to the core! You were clearly jealous of Rosaline and obsessed with Mr. Stewart. That's why you wanted to have Rosaline raped. Your evil truly knows no bounds, Miss Dunn!"

There was nothing Jane could say to that. Rosaline Summers was Mr. Summers' daughter and Sean's true love, whereas Jane herself was only a minor character who had a one-sided crush on Sean. Now Rosaline was dead, so Jane was more than a minor character now. She was a minor antagonist.

"Please leave, Miss Dunn," said the old butler. "Oh, yes, Mr. Stewart also asked me to tell you one more thing."

Jane looked at the old butler abruptly.

"Mr. Stewart said, 'Why weren't you the one who died?'"

Jane was still kneeling on the ground, but now her body began to sway as well. There was a sharp and intense pain in her chest.

The old butler turned around, his dry and wrinkled lips curving into a cold yet hard angle. It made his conservative features look cruel and harsh.

Jane killed Rosaline, and it infuriated him. He hated Jane's ruthlessness.