Chapter 519 Disheartened Janette
At first, I wanted to stay back and accompany Janette. However, when it occurred to me that my presence would only make her feel worse, I left with Michael after preparing some food for her.
As I sat in the car with my eyebrows knitted, I wondered how I was going to tell my mother about what happened to Janette.
In fact, I began to speculate if I could have prevented the incident from happening by finding her earlier. Even though there was no news from her and the chances of me locating her were close to zero, it didn’t stop me from feeling guilty.
When Michael noticed the frown on my face and how silent I was, he turned toward me and asked plainly, “Are you still thinking about Janette’s matter?”
“Yeah. After what happened to Janette last night, I really don’t know how to explain it to my mom. Tell me, how could something like that have happened?”
As I spoke, I could feel the frustration grow within me.
“She has no one to blame but herself for leaving on her own accord. After all, she’s an adult and needs to bear the consequences of her own decisions.”
It was clear from Michael’s indifferent expression that he didn’t feel any sympathy for Janette at all.
Despite the fact that he had a point, my female instincts still told me that being raped was something no one could accept.
“What happened last night was the equivalent of destroying her reputation. Going forward, it will affect her chances of getting a boyfriend. Given how realistic everyone is nowadays, no one would wish to have a wife that had been gang-raped before.”
In modern society, most people wouldn’t be able to accept a wife with such baggage.
Since Janette was still young, the incident would negatively affect her search for a partner in the future.
After hearing my words, Michael glanced at me before changing the topic.
“What’s done is done. There’s no point crying over spilled milk. The most important thing now is to file a police report once she has managed to calm down.”
“File a police report? I don’t think Janette would agree to that, for the news would spread once the police start their investigations.”
The mere mention of going to the police station to report the matter caused me to worry with a frown.
If our roles were reversed, I would definitely not make a report for fear of spreading the news any further.
For a woman, being raped was considered a massive humiliation. Therefore, there was no way Janette could accept having the humiliation magnified in public.
“But if you don’t report it, those scum would still be free to harm other innocent girls. So, I feel that it’s necessary to file a police report still.”
Obviously, Michael would’ve already taken into consideration what my concerns were. His words usually contained the best course of action, for he was always able to see the big picture clearly.
By filing a police report, the perpetrators would be caught, saving more girls from their horrendous acts in the future. In spite of that, the decision required a lot of courage from Janette which I wasn’t certain she had enough of.
“Let’s revisit the matter in a few days. Considering how unsettled she is right now, bringing up the matter would only cause her further distress.”
In contrast to going to the police, I felt the priority right then was for her to regain control of herself.
When I saw the listless look on her face earlier, I was truly worried that she would do something stupid.
“Okay, let’s talk about this later. Anyway, are you going to the hospital today? If you are, I can send you there right now.”
“Sure, please do so. Now that we’ve found Janette, I should at least let my mom know.”
After saying that, I wondered how I was going to explain Janette’s situation to Alicia.
Upon arriving at the hospital, I stopped in my tracks and hesitated at the entrance. It wasn’t until I took a few deep breaths that I gathered myself and entered.
Alicia greeted me with a smile the moment I stepped in. “It’s a surprise to see you. I thought you weren’t coming today.”
“I won’t be going to the office for the next few days. Just as I told you, I’ll be taking care of you in the hospital until you’re discharged.”
I walked up to her after breaking into a faint smile.
However, when she noticed that I had arrived alone, she knitted her brows slightly.
“Where’s Janette? Didn’t you mention in your message that you have found her? Why isn’t she with you?”
Unlike how worried she previously sounded, her voice was calm this time, likely because she knew that I had found Janette.
“She… She had too much to drink last night. So I arranged a place for her to rest in. That’s why I didn’t bring her with me.”
Despite my initial plan of telling her the truth. I was worried that she couldn’t accept it after seeing the look on her face. Hence, I found an excuse and muddled through the matter.
Even though I was cognizant that she would find out sooner or later, I couldn’t bear to tell her when I saw how weak she still was.
“I see. Anna, I didn’t expect you to treat Janette so well after the horrendous attitude she has shown you. I truly don’t know what to say.”
After listening to my explanation, Alicia was so deeply moved that I could see tears welling up in her eyes.
“There’s no need to thank me. How are you feeling today?”
I felt uncomfortable when she spoke to me cordially. Even though I had yet to acknowledge her, we were still mother and daughter at the end of the day.
As such, whenever she said anything polite, it would make me feel as if there was a huge distance between us in our relationship.
Alicia said, “The doctor came by this morning for a checkup and gave me a clean bill of health. If nothing untoward happens, I’ll be discharged tomorrow.”
She didn’t have any serious illnesses. The reason she fainted was due to malnutrition. After a few days of rest, she had naturally recovered.
The thought of her finding out about Janette once she was discharged drove me to remind her, “After you leave the hospital, you have to take good care of yourself since your health is paramount regardless of what happens.”
Compared to my indifferent attitude, the incident of Janette getting raped would definitely devastate her. As a result, I was worried that she wasn’t able to take it.
“Don’t worry, I’ll definitely take good care of myself. The last thing I want is to end up in the hospital and trouble you to watch over me again. Even if you have the time, I still couldn’t bear to let you do it.”
