The Man Who Never Looked Away novel Chapter 383

Lavinia glared at Garnett, her chest rising and falling.

"Garnett, you insisted I accept your affair under the guise of you 'making up for past debts,' but why should I be held hostage by your pathetic moral compass and warped sense of right and wrong? You have your tired clichés, and I have my own judgment."

Lavinia scoffed. "I've finally figured it out. Trying to talk to you about morality or the law is a waste of breath. All you respect is power. Whoever has the most ruthless methods gets to set the rules. So I'm going to climb right over you. One day, I'm going to step on you and we can have a real conversation about right and wrong."

She picked up her cup and downed the rest of her drink. It had gone cold, but it wasn't bitter.

Grabbing her phone, she started to walk out, pausing just as she passed him.

"You want me to feel sorry for Sigrid. But you forgot, I can't forgive someone who has believed she was right this entire time. Once she's begging on her knees, then I'll consider whether or not I want to show her mercy."

"Lavinia." Garnett stood up. "You've changed so much. Is it because of him?"

Lavinia let out a laugh born of pure exasperation.

"Why can't it be because of you?" she fired back.

Garnett froze.

Lavinia stared at him with a cold smile. "You're the one who taught me that you can only be reasonable with reasonable people. With the heartless, you have to see who can be more ruthless. If someone wrongs me, I will make them pay it back tenfold. Thank you, Mr. Harper, for such a valuable lesson."

"Lavinia, there were so many things that happened in the past that I didn't know about. If you had just told me, we wouldn't have ended up like this."

Lavinia rubbed her temples. "Garnett, do you know why I stopped wanting to talk to you a long time ago? Do you know why I always had my back to you when you spoke? Because I was afraid you'd see me laughing. You're genuinely hilarious."

She paused. "You didn't know because you didn't care. Otherwise, ask him—"

"Mr. Harper, you say I took advantage of her vulnerability, but whose vulnerability exactly?" Charley kept his arm firmly around Lavinia, looking at Garnett with a trace of pity. "Lavinia was never weak. Every step she's taken has been her own choice, and she succeeded."

He paused. "You thought she was delicate and helpless, but the truth is she's clear-headed and incredibly strong. You're the one who isn't thinking clearly."

"Let's go. I'll take you to get something good to eat," Charley murmured to Lavinia.

Garnett stood rooted to the spot, watching them walk away as a fiery pain burned through his chest.

"No... that's not true," he muttered to himself.

She had said he only respected power, but the truth was, all he respected was her.