"Sandy."
As Sandy and Brandon stood in this tense standoff, Maya couldn't bear it any longer. She stepped forward and approached them, softly calling out to Sandy and Brandon.
Sandy's gaze shifted to Maya's voice, and she looked up with a distracted expression.
Maya smiled at Sandy and reached out to take the medicine from her hand. "Brandon's actions were indeed wrong, it's his fault. But Sandy, if Brandon truly intended to let Olive die, would you like him?"
Maya paused briefly, then continued, "Setting aside everything else, if it were someone else, Brandon would have helped. He just didn't want a life to be lost in vain. He didn't have any other motives."
"Not hiding anything from you, I went to the hospital with your big brother earlier. Olive's condition isn't very good. She might not make it. The Longmans made several calls, even to my mom, asking her to persuade Brandon to go and see her. But Brandon didn't go. He said he's not a doctor and going wouldn't save her. He had already done his best to save her once."
Maya looked at Sandy, speaking each word deliberately. "Sandy, there's no other emotional connection between him and Olive except that they know each other. Nothing more."
"So, Sandy, calm down first. Can you give him a chance to explain? Can you give this child a chance to come into this world? Or can you give your relationship with Brandon another chance? Don't be hasty in delivering a death sentence to the child, to Brandon, to your feelings."
Sandy stood there, stunned.
Anthony had asked her if she would regret it.
Brandon had asked her if she was directly sentencing him to death.
But it was Maya's words that woke Sandy up from her daze.
It was her fear, her cowardice, that had driven her to make such a decisive judgment against Brandon.
Stella's failed marriage with Luca had deeply influenced her. Stella and Luca, childhood friends of nearly thirty years, had eventually gone their separate ways. Luca fell in love with someone else, leaving Stella devastated.
Every time Sandy recalled Stella's state after discovering Luca's betrayal, her heart ached for her.
Now, seeing Brandon involved with others, Sandy subconsciously projected her own experience onto them.
They say that there's no true empathy in this world, that only those who have experienced something firsthand truly know the taste of those feelings.
At this moment, Maya's words made Sandy suddenly realize.
She was simply scared, she was weak.
She hadn't even given Brandon a chance to explain or defend himself.
Just then, Sandy's phone rang.
She snapped back to reality, picked up her phone, and glanced at the caller ID.
It was Stella calling.
Sandy stared at her phone for a few seconds before answering, trying to sound casual, "Hey?"
"Where are you?" Stella cut to the chase.
Sandy hesitated briefly before replying in a low voice, "At Viteto, I..."
"I've just landed. Come pick me up."
Stella didn't consider Sandy's pregnancy or the fact that she had received a miscarriage-prevention shot just two days ago. Her tone was commanding.
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