Chapter 2016
Chapter 2016
The state of the palace's servants' quarters wasn't bad, but Rebecca didn't stay long. She returned,
dragging her luggage.
Persephone didn't have classes that day. She was in the yard reading a book and sipping coffee when
the butler brought Rebecca in.
Persephone pursed her lips. It seemed like she had been waiting for this moment, only it came much
sooner than she had anticipated.
"I thought you wouldn't come to me so soon," Persephone said softly. "Even if you did, I thought it
would at least take three days."
"Ms. Hamerton, can you give me another chance?"
"Not particularly inclined to." Persephone was blunt, looking up at Rebecca. "When you were trying to
get close to my boyfriend behind my back, did you ever think this day would come?"
Rebecca was pale, fists clenched tightly.
These past few days hadn't been easy for her. The servants in the palace knew she had been kicked
out late at night by Persephone and didn't treat her kindly.
The story had spread, and various versions of rumors circulated. There was even gossip about
Rebecca stealing from Persephone, which was why she couldn't tolerate her.
In the palace, tolerance for thieves was zero.
That was why Rebecca returned today looking dejected—she couldn't stand it there, either.
"Ms. Hamerton, I understand this is your way of punishing me." Her voice trembled. "I coveted
something that doesn't belong to me... But does Mr. Orton truly belong to you?
"You said I don't understand him, but how much do you know about him?"
Persephone had been sketching in her notebook and suddenly stopped.
She was drawing a firework, an idea that had come to her in a burst of inspiration. She intended to
sketch the outline first and then make detailed modifications as her graduation project for her professor.
Meanwhile, Rebecca slowly walked up behind her, looking at the sketch with a smirk.
"It's beautiful... Is this for Mr. Orton?
"Ms. Hamerton, do you know that he doesn't like fireworks at all?"
Persephone abruptly turned around, staring at her.
The look in Persephone's eyes frightened Rebecca
J — .. .Zf..
Nevertheless, she forced herself to remain calm and continued. "I might not know Mr. Orton well, but I
have been his therapist. Though he didn't mention his past to me, I can infer a few things through some
small details."
Persephone narrowed her eyes, asking calmly, "What exactly are you trying to say?"
"I used hypnotherapy on him," Rebecca said. "During the hypnosis, his emotions were unstable. After
the treatment, I asked him what he saw, but he refused to say. Coincidentally, that same night, there
were kids setting off fireworks outside, and his expression changed drastically.
"I could tell he's very afraid of such things." Rebecca bent slightly, pointing to Persephone's sketch. Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDrâ/ma.O(r)g!
"Ms. Hamerton, in psychology, there's a term called PTSD, which is post-traumatic stress disorder."
"So..." Persephone looked at her, puzzled. "He has PTSD?"
"What I'm saying is, he's hiding a lot from you." Rebecca looked at her. "If Mr. Orton truly stands as
firmly on your side as you say, why hasn't he told you about his past? Do you really know how complex
his past is?
"He's hiding things from you, which means..." Rebecca spoke slowly. "You're still not the person he
trusts the most!"
"Enough!" Persephone stood up, tidied her sketchbook, and headed inside.
"Ms. Hamerton, I'm a psychologist!" Rebecca hurriedly called out. "I can help you with this! As long as
you follow my instructions, Mr. Orton will definitely tell you everything about his past! You also want to
know about these things... don't you?"