“If the situation gets worse, it’ll drag on even longer. By then, if his beloved girlfriend doesn’t start looking for real love somewhere else, that would be the real surprise!

“He didn’t even do anything to benefit himself, but he dragged someone else down with him.

“If I were his girlfriend, I’d break up with him too! Living with a stupid man like that would be a total disaster.”

Rachel could barely listen anymore, but since Anne was their business partner, she had to choose her words wisely.

“Ms. Charlton, when it comes to other people’s relationships, we don’t know the whole picture. Isn’t it a little unfair to make such harsh judgments? Besides, it might not necessarily all be the guy’s fault. From my perspective, relationship conflicts usually go both ways.

“And maybe that guy grew up with a deep lack of security. As an adult, he might crave the kind of love from his partner that he missed in his childhood. To him, that’s a way to fill the void he’s carried since he was a kid. Everyone’s actions had reasons behind them. Nothing happened without cause and effect.

Anne was already furious and not in the mood to listen. She kept pressing her point.

“Ms. Lloyd, what are you saying? How can you sympathize with people who hurt others? No matter the excuse they have, they don’t get to hurt someone else because of their own issues!”

“I’m not sympathizing with him. I just think that since we don’t know the full story, there’s no need to make absolute judgments.”

Anne folded her arms across her chest and looked at Rachel as if she had the right to condemn anyone at will. “People like that don’t deserve sympathy, no matter what the reason!”

Rachel could see Anne’s anger practically shoot through the roof. She decided it was better not to say anything else and shut her mouth.

Ding!

The elevator doors slid open. Rachel and Tyler were closest to the doors, so they stepped out first. But just as Anne was about to follow, a pair of hands suddenly yanked her back and locked around her throat.

Before she could even scream, she felt the cold blade of a knife press against her neck.

Other people inside the elevator began to shriek.

“Ahh!”

They bolted out in a panic, and the whole place plunged into chaos.

When Tyler and Rachel saw what was happening, their expressions darkened instantly.

Fear filled Anne’s eyes as she looked to Tyler for help.

“Tyler!”

Even he hadn’t expected the attacker to be riding the same elevator with them.

He didn’t dare make any sudden moves.

He tried to calm the man down. “Take it easy. Put the knife down first.

“You two, back off! Don’t move. If you try anything, I’ll kill her!”

Tyler had been inching closer to the elevator, but after hearing that, he backed up again.

“Alright, I won’t move. Just calm down, man. You don’t even know her. Why grab her, of all people?”

Anne’s voice trembled as she carefully pleaded, “Yeah, why me? There are so many people here, and I haven’t done anything to you! We don’t hold any grudges against each other.”

The man growled, “Did you forget what you just said? Saying I brought it on myself? Saying I don’t deserve sympathy? Who the hell do you think you are, acting like you’re better than me?”