Chapter 266: Fors: I Will Protect You
"You guys—what are you doing?"
Hugh's voice was filled with incredulous surprise. She stood dumbfounded at the door, staring at the two people in the living room.
What are we doing?
Lorne looked at the shocked Hugh, who was covering her mouth at the door, then turned his head to survey the messy environment around him—books scattered everywhere, an overturned coffee table, and Fors, who was still crying in his arms.
This scene—it really does seem a bit off, doesn't it?
Late at night, a single man and woman alone in a room—seeing the disbelief on Hugh's face, Lorne inexplicably felt a chill down his spine.
Why did it turn into such a dramatic plot?
"Wuwu—"
Fors was still sobbing softly in his arms, completely unaware that someone else had appeared at the door.
Should I—should I push her away first?
Lorne's hands hovered in mid-air, unsure where to place them. Putting them down would look like an embrace, raising them would seem deliberate.
For a moment, he was at a loss.
Uh—
After some thought, he withdrew his hand and then pinched his face hard.
Hiss—that hurts.
Good, this isn't a dream. Secondly, my face has indeed changed; I am now James Scott.
Why is this happening? Scott's identity was just misunderstood by Hazel's parents, and now another one! This persona's reputation is completely ruined, isn't it?
No, I didn't do anything wrong, why should I feel guilty? Scott doesn't owe them anything.
"Cough, cough—" Lorne cleared his throat, trying to break the awkward situation, "Madam Fors, shouldn't you—get up first?"
"Hugh—is back—"
Fors, in Lorne's arms, stopped sobbing. She slowly raised her head, meeting James Scott's somewhat helpless face.
Madam Fors? You call me that?
She bit her moist lips, suddenly feeling a strange sense of grievance. Couldn't you—couldn't you—
"Cough, cough."
Looking at Fors's increasingly flushed cheeks, Lorne coughed heavily again, signaling her with his eyes to look towards the door. Following Lorne's direction, Fors finally saw Hugh, who was frozen at the door, slightly dazed.
At the same time, she immediately realized her current situation and the messy environment around them.
"Wait! Hugh! It's not what you think! We were—we were—"
Fors was speechless for a moment. Even as an Author, facing this situation, she couldn't come up with any reasonable words. She couldn't possibly say, 'I almost lost control just now, then was approached by an unknown hidden existence, and finally cried in this man's arms'—
"Um—" Hugh gradually recovered from her shock. Her face was flushed, and she said weakly, "Um—I'm sorry, did I interrupt you two?"
With that, she turned around and ran towards the door, as if fleeing this place that made her feel awkward and heartbroken.
"Wait! Hugh! It's really not what you think!" Seeing this, Fors quickly scrambled up from the ground, not bothering to straighten her messy clothes, and chased after Hugh.
"Alas—"
Watching this incredibly dramatic scene, Lorne put a hand to his forehead, his face full of dark lines.
More trouble again.
After much effort, Fors finally managed to stop Hugh and, with a flurry of words, explained the situation clearly to her.
Hugh's face was red, feeling a bit awkward.
After all, both of them were fully clothed, but she had mistakenly thought—
"Anyway, Fors, I'm glad you're alright." After hearing the explanation and confirming that her friend had only had a false scare, Hugh also breathed a sigh of relief.
"Mm." Fors nodded, but her eyes involuntarily dimmed. She had been targeted by a powerful hidden existence, and her fate had deviated from its original path.
"Then—Scott, why are you here?" Hugh's gaze turned to Lorne as she asked.
Scott, are they that close?—Fors was slightly stunned.
"I was on my way back from the firearms factory and happened to pass by here. I saw it was a full moon tonight, so I came to take a look." Lorne said, slowly speaking half-truths.
"I knocked on the door, but no one answered for a long time. I felt something was wrong, so I broke in. I didn't expect to find Madam Fors collapsed on the ground as soon as I entered."
"Right?" Lorne said, looking at Fors beside him.
"N-no—that's right! That's exactly how it was!" Fors snapped out of it and agreed with the statement.
"Then—then why—" Hugh's gaze shifted back and forth between Lorne and Fors.
"I—" Fors knew her friend wanted to ask why she had been crying in Scott's arms just now.
"Perhaps Madam Fors was just overly emotional after barely escaping death, right?" Lorne, seeing her speechless, proactively spoke up to smooth things over.
"Yes! Yes! That's exactly it!" Fors clutched at this lifeline, glanced at Lorne, and agreed, taking the cue.
"So that's how it is—"
Hugh was still very innocent with her good friend. After hearing this explanation, she unconsciously breathed a sigh of relief, and the small knot in her heart disappeared.
That's great, things didn't turn out at all like she imagined.
The few of them chatted briefly about the day's events.
Seeing that it was getting late, Lorne prepared to take his leave.
"Madam Fors, aren't you going to see me out?" Before leaving, he looked at Fors and joked.
—
"Hugh, you go rest first. I'll see Mr. Scott out." Fors understood Lorne's intention to "speak privately."
"O-okay."
And so, under Hugh's somewhat strange gaze, Fors and Lorne left the living room one after the other.
"Madam Fors, were you just—a little bit—"
Walking on the street, Lorne now understood. Fors's reaction just now must have meant she guessed something; it was only a matter of how much she guessed.
Rather than being constantly probed by her, it was better to just clear the air now.
"Mr. Scott, I'm sorry, I was just too emotional earlier."
Fors's words, however, made Lorne slightly stunned.
He deliberately scanned their surroundings, indicating that there were no outsiders present.
"Is something wrong?"
"Don't you have anything you want to ask me?" Lorne asked in confusion.
Fors, however, shook her head, a pure and bewildered expression on her face, as if saying: What should I ask?
Looking at Fors's confused face, Lorne felt a bit strange. Could it be—he really guessed wrong?
After a few seconds of silence, a half-smile played on his lips, and he chuckled softly.
"Interesting, so an Author's emotional changes are truly so rich."
"All right then, Madam Fors, this is far enough. Goodbye."
After walking a few steps, he stopped again, but without turning back, he said in a meaningful tone: "You must live well, okay~"
That tone—it's really annoying—
Watching Lorne's dashing retreating figure, Fors cursed softly.
But—James Scott looks pretty handsome like this.
She turned around, her cheeks slightly flushed, ready to go back inside, but as soon as she thought of everything that had just happened, her mood instantly plummeted.
"You cannot reveal the existence of this gathering to anyone—"
"Do you know Lorne Disenk—"
That hidden existence who called himself "Fool," although he saved her, her fate had also changed because of him.
"No, perhaps—it's just a coincidence, it might not be as I think, Mr. Fool might not want to harm him—"
Moreover, as long as I cannot confirm Scott's identity, then it doesn't count as a "fact" that I know. Since it's not a fact, there's no need to tell Mr. Fool.
Fors clenched her fists, secretly vowing in her heart, I will definitely protect you.