Reborn to My Engagement Night

Chapter 95: Excruciating Pain

"Of course, if you don't have the money now, you can pay it later," Madelyn said with a generous smile.

Fiona never expected Madelyn to have arranged everything so well. And such a nice apartment for only five hundred a month! Their previous place in the old city district was a bare, dilapidated house, yet the property management still forced them to pay four hundred. Now, in this fully equipped apartment, they only had to pay five hundred! It was like a windfall from the heavens.

Thinking of this, Fiona couldn’t help but worry. “Madelyn, are we troubling your friend too much? Will it put you in a difficult position?”

Jillian shared the concern. “Yeah, Madelyn, what if your friend didn’t really want to rent it out but felt obliged because of you? Wouldn’t that be awkward for you?”

Madelyn laughed and shook her head. “Of course not. We’re very close. If she said she’ll rent it to you, she meant it willingly.”

In truth, the apartment was under Madelyn’s name. She lived in Lockhart Villa, so this apartment was just sitting empty. Seeing Jillian and Fiona’s difficult situation, she decided to help them out.

Seeing Madelyn’s confident demeanor, Fiona and Jillian finally felt at ease. Madelyn then let them settle in. Seeing that it was getting late, she left. After leaving, Madelyn took a cab home to Lockhart Villa.

Though she had applied ointment, her arm still hurt and had swollen more than in the afternoon. Even a slight touch made her wince in pain. I must not let Sebastian see this, or he’ll worry. She hurriedly went upstairs to shower and changed into a long-sleeved shirt to cover the wound.

Lying in bed, she couldn’t help but think about Jillian’s situation. She wondered why she was so eager to help Jillian. In their past life, they weren’t close, and even after a few tutoring sessions in this life, they weren’t that close.

During her darkest days in prison, she rarely got visitors. Those feelings were something she never wanted to experience again. Maybe that was why she was determined to help. Jillian’s family was poor, but she had a good character – kind, quiet, but loyal. She bravely stood up to protect her family and friends from the thugs. Jillian was undoubtedly a friend worth having.

Unfortunately, in the past life, Madelyn had been blind and deceived by Janessa, missing out on this friendship. Now that Madelyn was given a second chance, she vowed to cherish it. She intended to clear Jillian’s name, get her back to university, and make the university publicly apologize. This time, she wouldn’t let the same mistakes happen!

With this resolve, Madelyn felt more determined. Just then, she heard footsteps outside. Instinctively, she guessed it was Sebastian returning. Excitedly, she jumped out of bed and ran out.

“Sebastian, you’re back.”

Sebastian had thought she’d be asleep by now. Surprisingly, Madelyn was still energetic. He couldn’t help but furrow his eyebrows and ask, “Why haven’t you slept yet? It’s already so late.”

Madelyn smiled brightly. “I couldn’t sleep. I was waiting for you.”

In truth, her arm was throbbing so badly that she couldn’t sleep. But she chose to ignore the pain and gave Sebastian a concerned look. “Did you have to work overtime today? Why did you get off work so late?”

She spoke like a concerned spouse.

Sebastian nodded lightly. “There was an urgent matter. I had to work overtime for a bit.”

Madelyn beamed. “You must be tired, Darling.”

Sebastian hadn’t eaten dinner and was indeed hungry. He glanced at her, and for once, he didn’t refuse. He simply nodded.

Madelyn thought he would decline, but surprisingly, he accepted her offer. She happily told him, “Wait a bit. I’ll have it ready in no time.”

She hurried downstairs, excited. In the kitchen, she tied on an apron and opened the fridge to prepare the ingredients. As she raised her arm to reach for something, she winced as the pain flared up but brushed it off and continued washing the ingredients. After all, it was rare for Sebastian to want her cooking. No matter how much her arm hurt, she was determined to make him a meal.

Madelyn skillfully washed the vegetables and put them in a clean basket. She lit the stove and heated some oil. She added some scallions for flavor, moving with practiced ease.

Half an hour later, Sebastian came downstairs after his shower. Seeing Madelyn still cooking, he felt thirsty and walked into the kitchen for water. There, he noticed her awkward cooking posture, holding one arm close to her side while cooking with the other. It was like she was avoiding something.

“What’s wrong?” Sebastian walked over and instinctively grabbed her arm.

“Ow!”

The grip landed on her wound, making Madelyn cry out in pain.

Sebastian’s face darkened. “What happened?”

Madelyn’s face was pale with pain, but she shook her head. “It’s nothing…”

Seeing her reaction, Sebastian didn’t believe her. He immediately rolled up her sleeve. His face grew even darker. Madelyn’s arm was swollen and red, looking like it had been beaten.