The Stand-In Who Burned the Script novel Chapter 348

While Grace desperately hoped for his protection, her innate pride forced her to stand entirely upright.

"I'll take you home."

That was all he said.

With that, Silas turned and led the way out.

Grace shot a deeply conflicted look at the woman on the sofa. Vivian simply sat there with her arms crossed, completely nonchalant, as if she couldn't care less whether Silas misunderstood the situation or not.

She really... she was becoming more impossible to read by the second.

Grace turned and left.

Vivian stared coldly out the floor-to-ceiling windows, watching Silas personally open the back door for Grace, then circle the front of the car to slide into the driver's seat.

She pulled her gaze away, completely unable to pinpoint the tangled mess of emotions swirling in her chest.

Her cheek was burning.

That man... was he coming back tonight?

If he did, a screaming match was absolutely inevitable.

In situations like this, it all boiled down to who held more weight in his heart. The fact that he hadn't immediately exploded when he saw her hitting Grace meant there was nothing left to discuss.

—

Silas drove Grace straight back to the hospital. He didn't bother pulling into the underground garage, opting to park right at the main entrance.

Grace didn't immediately get out. She nervously twisted the hem of her shirt, caught in a sickening blend of anxiety and desperate, unspoken hope—

Even though the truth was already painfully obvious.

When a woman loved a man, she instinctively handed him the knife of her own expectations.

She pointed the blade directly at her own chest, stubbornly refusing to let go.

"Silas..."

"Why did you go looking for her?"

"..."

They spoke at the exact same moment—one voice fragile and trembling, the other hard and interrogating.

Grace whipped her head up, her jaw trembling violently as she fought to maintain her composure. "Don't you know what she did to my cousin? My family is in absolute ruins right now! Was I wrong to confront her?"

"Didn't you see what happened when you walked in? She hit me too! When have I ever been treated so horribly in my entire life? I..."

"Just because you've never faced hardship doesn't give you the right to inflict it on others."

"..."

Silas didn't look at her. He casually flipped open the center console, pulled out a cigarette, and lit it, though he didn't take a drag.

The curling smoke drifted upward, entirely obscuring his intensely terrifying dark eyes.

"She's the victim here. If anyone has a right to settle scores, it's certainly not you."

Grace dug her nails ruthlessly into her palms. She kept her eyes lowered, entirely unable to speak for a long time before finally forcing the words out.

"You think she's the victim? What about me? What about my cousin? Silas... even if you don't love me anymore, we've known each other for ten years! Even just as a friend, you can't do this... you can't just blindly take her side! How long have you even known her?"

She choked on a sob, her voice dropping into a desperate plea. "I can't accept this. Please don't do this to me."

"If you can't accept it, you'll just have to learn."

A fleeting, almost imperceptible smirk touched Silas's lips. "Wrong is wrong. Just because you come from money doesn't mean you get to forget how to be a decent human being."