3. The Accident

Holding back the pain, Alex sneered. "You expect me to believe it? Your dream boyfriend is fictional, right?"

 

Briony's breath hitched. Her fists clenched. "Of course he's real. Wait until you meet him. You'll be amazed. He's so much better than you," Briony tried to sound convincing.

 

Alex straightened up with a sarcastic laugh. "You're still a braggart, I see. No great guy would ever want you, Briony. Besides, what's so hard about admitting you still want me?"

 

"I didn't want you!" Briony retorted emphatically.

 

"Then delete your book immediately! I don't want my wife to become the object of your readers' slander."

 

Briony's head jerked back again. "You're hiding behind Caro's name? Is it so hard to admit you were offended by my book? You're still a coward, apparently."

 

Alex took a deep breath. His shoulders began to tremble. His eyes were streaked with red. "Fine. If you don't want to do it, I'll do it," he decided.

 

Alex walked quickly to the table. Briony gasped when she saw her laptop open there. Before Alex could reach it, she quickly snatched it away. Unfortunately, Alex wouldn't let her get away with it. He grabbed her arm again.

 

"Hey, let me go! Do you want me to kick you again? Aren't you afraid Andrew won't have a sibling?" Briony threatened, her hands clutching her laptop, which was still open.

 

Alex didn't listen. He kept trying to grab the laptop. Until finally, a snap cracked the air. Briony's eyes nearly popped out of her head when she realized her beloved stuff had been broken in two.

 

"Beep Beep?" Briony called out to her laptop as if it were a living thing. Her face paled. Her eyes trembled as she scanned the keyboard in her hands and the screen in her ex's hands.

 

Alex also flinched. He didn't expect the old laptop to be so fragile. He secretly felt guilty. He still remembered how precious Beep Beep was to Briony.

 

"Alex, why did you destroy Beep Beep? It was my grandmother's legacy," Briony sighed hoarsely. Tears were on the verge of falling.

 

Alex cleared his throat. He returned the laptop screen to Briony. His expression now looked indifferent. "What legacy? Your late grandmother only left you money. You bought the laptop yourself," he said stiffly.

 

"But I bought Beep Beep with that money! In a way, Beep Beep is my grandmother's legacy. How could you destroy it?" Briony's voice grew softer and sadder.

 

Alex stuffed his hands in his pockets. His expression was vexed. "Don't blame me. You're the one who refused to delete your book. If you had agreed from the start, this wouldn't have happened."

 

Briony bit her lip. She actually didn't want to cry in front of Alex. She didn't want to be seen as weak, but her tears fell by themselves.

 

"Go away!" Briony pushed Alex's shoulder with all her might. "Get out of here! I don't want to see you again! You always bring trouble into my life. Go away!"

 

Alex moved back, his hands raised as if at gunpoint. "No need to chase me away. I don't want to stay here any longer. Remember," he pointed a finger, "delete that damned book immediately. If I still see it on the app, I won't hesitate to break something else from you."

 

Alex turned to leave. Briony could only stare at his back, filled with annoyance and hatred.

 

"He is so annoying. Why did I ever like him?" Briony grumbled, holding back tears. After a brief moment of contemplation, she looked down at her laptop.

 

"What should I do with Beep Beep?" she sighed resignedly. Remembering how Alex had broken it, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. 

"I hope karma comes back to him soon," she mumbled spontaneously.

 

An hour later, Briony drove to Savior's office. She occasionally glanced at the seat next to her. Every time she got a glimpse of her laptop, she gripped the steering wheel tighter. Not wanting to shed any more tears, she called her cousin through the dashboard monitor connected to her phone. "Hello, Emily. Are you still at home or already at the office?"

 

"I'm still at home. What's up, Bri?"

 

"Do you know where your brother is? I called him several times, but he didn't pick up. Sky and Summer didn't either. What are they doing?"

 

Emily chuckled lightly. "Did you forget? They're busy taking care of their new family member. Storm's been cranky this morning for some reason. Summer told Louis not to go to work. She wants him to stay with them until his little brother calms down. Looks like it's going to be a while."

 

Briony sighed heavily. "That means I have to turn around. I can't wait for him in the office," she muttered faintly.

 

Emily sensed Briony's unease. She asked, "What's wrong, Bri?"

 

Briony's gaze suddenly turned dreamy. Her thoughts were scattered. She still couldn't believe what had happened to her laptop. "I'm going to ask Louis to fix Beep Beep," she replied grimly.

 

"What happened to Beep Beep?" Emily asked.

 

Suddenly, a little child ran across the street. Briony instinctively slammed on the brakes. Her tires screeched, but she was too late. By the time the car stopped, the child had disappeared from her sight.

 

"Oh no! Did I run him over?" Briony gasped, her eyes wide. A chill had spread throughout her body. Furthermore, people were starting to point at her car and come towards her. Her heartbeat was getting more and more erratic.

 

"Hello? Briony? Can you hear me? What happened? Did you hit someone? Briony?"

 

Briony blinked. Emily's panic had brought her back to her senses. She unbuckled her seatbelt. "I'll call you later. I have an urgent matter."

 

"What matter? Where are you? Let me-"

 

Briony ended the call. She quickly got out of the car. A middle-aged woman's voice was now clearly audible.

 

"Young Master? Oh my God! How could this happen? Please, hold on!" the woman said hysterically.

 

Briony's chest was filled with fear. She went to investigate what had happened in front of her car. When she found a young boy lying on the asphalt with his lower left arm dislocated from its joint, she gasped.

 

"Oh, God!" Briony gasped spontaneously. Her hand raised to cover her mouth.

 

Everyone turned to Briony, except for the kids. His gaze was glazed over. Perhaps he hadn't recovered from his shock. Nevertheless, a grimace appeared on his face.

 

"You!" The hysterical woman approached Briony with a fierce look. "Take responsibility for your negligence! If only you had been more careful, my young master wouldn't have gotten hurt!"

 

Briony gasped. Her eyes widened. "You're blaming me? But it was the child who suddenly ran into the street," Briony replied, without thinking.

 

"But it was your car that broke his arm. You have to take responsibility!" the woman insisted.

 

Several people around them nodded. One even said, "That's right. Whether it was intentional or not, it was your car that hit him. You'd better take that poor kid to the hospital, Miss."