Chapter 153

Even after kissing her lips, he wiped his fingers with a clean handkerchief, as if she were unclean. Evelyn was puzzled but dared not question him.

"You don't need to apologize. You're my girlfriend; you only need to care about me. Anything else is none of your concern," Brian said. His touch was gentle, as if he were handling something precious, yet his voice remained cold and distant.

At times, Evelyn felt she couldn't understand him. She had no idea what he was thinking or wanting.

"I understand," Evelyn stammered.

Brian withdrew his hand and, as usual, wiped his fingers with his handkerchief. Evelyn bit her lip. She was determined to win his heart, become his only girlfriend, and marry him—a vow she'd secretly made.

The holidays ended quickly. Grace returned to the Sanitation Service Center, where colleagues had read about the egg and vegetable incident and were gossiping.

"Grace, don't get us in trouble. What if someone throws eggs and vegetables at us?"

"That's right. My parents are worried because they know your colleague is an ex-convict!"

"Lily has so many fans. Grace knocked down and killed her sister. Lily was close to her sister, and many fans feel sorry for her. We could get hurt because of you."

The staff spoke derisively. Grace remained silent, needing the job for survival. Dismissal would make finding another job extremely difficult.

Claire said, "Ignore them. They want you gone. A new job won't be easy, and even then, they'll gossip."

"I know," Grace replied, lowering her head to her street sweeping.

Suddenly, someone rushed past, knocking her back several steps. He left without apologizing.

"Grace, are you okay?" Claire asked, rushing to her side.

"I'm fine," Grace said, shaking her head. The impact was hard, but she wasn't injured.

"That man was so rude! He didn't even apologize!" Claire exclaimed angrily.