Anthony looked at Sheryl with his eyebrows slightly furrowed into a frown. "Sher, I…"
Sheryl interrupted before he could continue, "It's alright. You should probably go back first." Sheryl heaved a small sigh. If it weren't for Anthony, Sue might have been taken away by that stranger already. Who knew what the man was planning to do to her? In spite of everything, Anthony still helped Sue and Sheryl herself as well.
Despite the anxiety boiling inside of her, Sheryl said calmly, "I'll bring Sue home. You can just go now."
"No," Anthony resisted, shaking his head. "Sher, you know the consequences of taking her home now. If someone finds out about it, it wouldn't be good for her. Also, it's not very appropriate for her to go home with you now that she's passed out and drunk like this. Why don't you let me take her from here and bring her to a hotel to stay for the night? We can settle everything else as soon as she's sober tomorrow."
"Why should I let you?" Sheryl refused with a frown and added without hesitation, "Don't forget that you and Sue are not in any relationship now. Besides, how can I trust you?"
"What are you talking about?" Anthony looked at Sheryl helplessly and sighed. He looked at her with a serious expression on his face and explained, "I'm just saying that it's not a good plan for you to bring her to your house, so I'm offering to bring her to a hotel. Besides, since she's drunk, she will need someone to take care of her, and I can be there for her."
"But…" Frowning, Sheryl started, opening and closing her mouth as if trying to find the right words. When she couldn't find any, she paused and thought about it for a while. Now that she lived with the Zhao family, they would probably be worried sick if she did not come home for the entire night.
However, if she took a drunk Sue with her, Amy would most probably be more worried.
Seeing the hesitation on Sheryl's face, Anthony continued to insist, assuring Sheryl, "It's okay, Sheryl. There's really nothing to worry about. Let me take care of her."
Sheryl looked at Anthony and weighed her options. After a short while, she heaved a helpless sigh and said, "Fine." Anthony nodded and gently carried Sue with his arms. Sheryl was still worried despite Anthony's reassurance, so she followed Anthony to the hotel. She helped them book the room and open the door, so that Anthony could conveniently enter without having to place Sue down. As soon as Sheryl closed the door behind her, she saw Sue throwing up on the floor. Luckily, Anthony wasn't splashed nor were Sue's clothes affected, but she still made quite a mess on the floor. Sheryl called for housekeeping service while Anthony placed Sue down on the chair and proceeded to go to the comfort room to prepare a warm towel. He carefully wiped away the stains on Sue's face. Sheryl watched as Anthony took care of Sue gently, feeling her worries fade away.
The housekeeper finally came and cleaned up the mess. Once Sue was cleaned up, Anthony carried her and laid her on the bed. Sheryl sighed under her breath in relief. She nodded at Anthony, who nodded back at her. Then, she quietly left the hotel and went back to the Zhao family house.
As soon as Anthony tucked Sue in, he prepared painkillers and a glass of water on the bedside table. He sat on the sofa, watching Sue the entire night, in case she would start throwing up again. It was only when the sun almost began rising that Anthony felt the exhaustion and closed his eyes to rest.
As the sun rose higher on the sky, its bright rays shone through the glass window onto Sue's face. Her eyebrows furrowed at the light. She opened her eyes, blinked slowly, then sat up and winced at the pang of pain on her head. She gently massaged her temples and reached for the the painkillers on the bedside table and drowned them with water. She glanced around, confused as she noticed the unfamiliar room she was in. As soon as her eyes landed on Anthony, who was sleeping on the sofa, her eyebrows immediately furrowed into a deep frown.
Sue did not want to talk to him or even interact with him, so she decided to leave the room quietly. However, the moment she got out of bed, Anthony's eyes opened.
Seeing that Sue had woken up, Anthony instantly sat up, feeling a rush of relief. He noticed that the painkiller was not on the small plate anymore, and that the glass was already empty. He gave a gently smile and said, "Finally, you're awake. You've taken the painkillers, too. How are you feeling?"
Since her back was turned to Anthony, Sue did not notice him waking up. She was startled, her heart jumping a little. Hearing his voice, Sue turned to him with a frown and questioned, "What are you doing here?"
"You drank way too much last night. If I hadn't found you, you might have woken up in an unfamiliar hotel room with an unfamiliar man." Anthony answered with a tone of rebuke and asked, "How could you drink so much? For a girl like yourself, you should know that it's really dangerous."
Sue scoffed, "Why do you care? It doesn't have anything to do to you." Her head throbbed again, making her wince once more. The memories of last night after her glasses of alcohol were very vague, but she still had snippets of the in-betweens. Had it not been for Anthony, she really might have gotten in serious trouble. Indeed, she was very grateful for what Anthony had done for her, but somehow, she couldn't help but speak to him in a bitter manner.
"Sue!" Standing up, Anthony called out her name. His forehead creased, and his tone became a bit irritated as he asked, "Why are you treating me this way? Why can't you be a little nicer, huh? I was and still am very worried about you."
"Who asked you to worry about me?" Sue spat without hesitation and added, "Why does it matter to you whether I live or die?"
"You…" Anthony started, feeling his jaw clenched tight. He heaved a deep sigh as he tried to calm himself down. Then, he spluttered again, "After everything that I have done for you, this is how you treat me? Not even a single 'thank you' for me?"
Sue's hands rested on her waist. She scoffed, "Ohh, so you did all this just because you wanted me to be grateful to you?"
Anthony grimaced. Sue's sudden sharp tongue made him feel a little uneasy and uncomfortable; it was as if he were the one at fault in this situation. He shook his head and replied, "Of course not, but…"
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