Chapter 3
Lily would grab anyone passing by, clutching their sleeve and bawling her eyes out, snot and tears streaming everywhere.
She'd sob about her poor grandson stuck in the hospital, desperately waiting for someone to save his life.
And she'd rant nonstop about some heartless woman upstairs who could help, but flat-out refused to lift a finger, just letting him suffer.
Julian, meanwhile, was busy spinning stories and exaggerating everything, dropping hints to anyone nearby.
He claimed I had gotten a big reward from their family three years ago.
And now, seeing their kid sick again, I was just raising the price and trying to extort another payout.
Their performance was so over-the-top and emotional that it quickly drew a crowd of gullible bystanders.
People's sympathy always leaned toward whoever seemed like the weaker side, or at least, whoever looked like it.
Little by little, I started noticing the way people were looking at me.
The neighbors downstairs, the guy who ran my favorite restaurant, even the delivery guy who dropped off my stuff.
They all started giving me these looks, part nosy, part accusing.
"Hazel, those people downstairs... they're really in a bad way," someone said.
"Yeah, saving a life is about the best thing you can do," another person chimed in.
"Didn't you help them before? So why aren't you helping out this time?" someone whispered.
The rumors washed over me from every direction, threatening to drown me.
My studio partner, Aurora Bailey, was feeling the heat too.
She called me into her office, hesitating, unsure how to start.
"Hazel, what's going on downstairs... It's really causing problems," she said. "Some clients have already started calling with questions."
I saw the troubled look on her face, and I could already guess what she wanted to say.
"Just say what you want to say," I told her.
Aurora let out a sigh and poured me a glass of water.
"I know you feel wronged," she said. "But... Hazel, maybe you could just help them out this once?
"Since you've already helped them before, why not just finish what you started?
"If they keep causing a scene like this, how are we supposed to keep the business going?"
My heart just kept sinking.
I thought that, as my business partner and friend, she'd be the one who really got me.
But she didn't.
When profit and public opinion were on the line, my feelings and principles didn't matter at all.
"Aurora." I cut her off. "If the person in the hospital needing blood was a stranger who actually knew how to be grateful, I'd go.
"But they're not.
"Three years ago, they treated me like nothing but a tool. Three years later, they still think they can just buy me with money.
"My kindness isn't some excuse for them to walk all over me and use me however they please.
"So just because they're weak, they're always right? And because I'm kind, I have to let myself be pushed around?"
It was the first time I'd ever talked to Aurora with such a blunt, firm tone.
She froze, totally speechless, just staring at me for ages.
The air in the office dropped to freezing.
I knew something between us had cracked, and there was no going back.
I didn't work overtime that night.
I just holed up in my apartment, not even bothering to turn on the lights.
A suffocating loneliness closed in around me like a net, smothering me completely.
I even started to wonder if I really was the one in the wrong.
Was I really being too heartless, too calculating?
Just when I was about to drown in self-doubt, Luke called me.
"Hey, come downstairs," Luke said.
His voice was crisp and firm.
I opened the window and spotted him standing under the streetlight, holding up a takeout bag for me to see.
It was from that new Japanese place I'd mentioned wanting to try a few times.
I headed downstairs and hopped into Luke's car.
Luke didn't say a word, just focused on driving.
Soft, relaxing music filled the car.
Luke took me to that new restaurant and ordered everything I loved.
Fresh salmon, sweet sea urchin, and perfectly grilled eel.
The aroma of the food really felt like it could heal my heart.
My stomach felt warm, and all that tightness inside me started to ease up.
When I finished the last bite of dessert, Luke reached over and wiped the corner of my mouth with a napkin.
"Does it really matter what other people think?" He looked right into my eyes, asking seriously. "There will always be people who don't understand you, who misjudge you, or even badmouth you.
"You can't please everyone.
"Just follow your heart and do what feels right to you.
"Let time take care of the rest."
His words felt like a warm breeze, blowing away the shadows inside me.
That was right.
Why should I let a bunch of nobodies make me question what I believe in?
I was not a hero.
I was just a normal person. I feel pain. I get hurt. I get cold inside.
My kindness was expensive.
It was only for people who actually cherished it.
The Murphy family's patience had clearly run out.