Chapter Insight: What This Scene Reveals About the Story
This chapter uncovers emotional layers that quietly guide the story’s direction, revealing motivations beneath the surface. Their choices are shaped by deeper conflicts they struggle to express. Tension builds subtly, hinting at consequences that will echo beyond this scene. Emotional shifts here set the stage for how each character navigates challenges ahead.
Turning Points: Critical Moments That Shape the Chapter
This chapter introduces key shifts that alter the emotional tone and direction of the story. Confessions, confrontations, or hesitations act as catalysts, pushing characters to reassess themselves and each other. Small moments gain weight as they influence the broader arc.
Emotional Underflow: How Each Character Truly Feels Here
Behind every line lies an undercurrent of emotion the characters try to hide. Their internal struggles show through gestures and pauses, revealing truths they cannot fully voice. This chapter highlights how deeply their emotions shape their choices.
Shadows of the Past: Trauma & History Influencing This Chapter
Past experiences and old wounds influence every decision. Histories rise to the surface, adding weight to interactions and guiding present actions. Trauma and memory become driving forces in the unfolding drama.
Power Shifts: How Relationships Change in This Chapter
Emotional power shifts as characters confront uncomfortable truths. Vulnerability and strength move between them, reshaping relationships and forcing reconsideration of boundaries and roles.
Hidden Meanings: Symbolism Woven Into Key Scenes
Symbolic details enrich the chapter, mirroring internal struggles. Objects, settings, and gestures reveal deeper truths that words alone cannot express, tying personal conflict to the broader world.
Signals of What’s Coming: Foreshadowing in This Chapter
Subtle details foreshadow future conflicts and emotional revelations. Characters’ reactions hint at challenges ahead, planting seeds that will grow into significant turning points.
Lines That Hit Hard: Important Quotes & Why They Matter
Several lines carry emotional weight, revealing hidden fears, desires, and vulnerabilities. These quotes serve as anchors that stay with the reader and deepen the impact of the scene.
Chapter 118 Can You Blame MeÂ
The move caught everyone off guard.Â
Curtis let out a howl of pain. His right wrist hung limply at an unnatural angle.Â
“Brian!” Sonya rushed to support Curtis, her voice rising with anger. “Even if you’re the infamous Brian Steele that everyone in Corvessia fears, you can’t just do this!”Â
And especially not for Chloe’s sake!Â
“If you’ve got something to say, take it up with my lawyer. But I won’t let anyone who dares to lay a handÂ
on Chloe off.” Brian’s voice was as cold as steel.Â
Then, without hesitation, he walked over, scooped Chloe into his arms, and carried her away.Â
Chloe flushed with embarrassment. Her arm was hurt, not her legs. Why did he always like carrying herÂ
this way?Â
“I can walk on my own,” she muttered.Â
“I don’t feel at ease,” Brian replied.Â
Chloe’s head throbbed. What could he not be at ease about exactly?Â
Brian briefly instructed his men and the orphanage staff, then carried her away.Â
Once they were in the car, he carefully rolled up her sleeve. Blood seeped from her wound. “Does it hurt?”Â
“It’s fine,” Chloe said.Â
But Brian was still frowning, as though he were the one in pain.Â
“I’m really okay,” Chloe said. “By the way, did you just break Curtis‘ right wrist?”Â
“Yes,” Brian admitted, studying her reaction. “Can you blame me?”Â
Chloe pressed her lips together. For a moment, Brian’s heart tightened with unease. After all, Curtis wasÂ
the man she’d once been married to. Did she still have feelings for him? If she did…Â
A wave of jealousy swelled inside Brian.Â
“What’s there to blame? I don’t exactly condone the way you handled things, but I also kicked CurtisÂ
earlier. If I’m going to blame you, I should also blame myself.” Chloe’s tone was light.Â
In that instant, the jealousy twisting in Brian’s chest vanished.Â
“But if Curtis decides to press charges…” Chloe hesitated.Â
“Then, let him. So what if I ‘accidentally‘ broke his wrist? I can just cover his medical fees.” Brian’s voiceÂ
was calm.Â
Chapter 118 Can You Blame MeÂ
Chloe thought about it and nodded. That was true, and besides, the Steele family’s legal team was the best in the city. If Curtis really tried to sue, he would gain nothing.Â
When they returned to the villa, Brian carefully cleaned and dressed her wound. “If I’d known they’d come after you, I never would’ve left.”Â
“I’m not some defenseless damsel who needs to be protected every second.” Chloe gave a small laugh.Â
“This time, Curtis only managed to tear my wound open because I let my guard down. And also…” She paused, then smiled. “I really liked watching you play Sharks and Minnows with those kids. It felt like I gotÂ
to see a different side of you.”Â
“You liked that side of me?” he asked.Â
“I did,” she answered. “Of course, I like the way you usually are too. I just think it would’ve been nice if I’dÂ
met you earlier.”Â
The time she’d spent with him had helped her understand that his aloofness and the quiet air ofÂ
loneliness he carried were tied to his family and his past.Â
If she’d gotten to know him sooner, would he have been more open and carefree? Would there have beenÂ
more smiles on his face?Â
Brian froze for a moment, his gaze locking onto hers. After a pause, he murmured, “Yes… if only we’d metÂ
earlier.”Â
If that had happened, he wouldn’t have let other men come into her life.Â
He would’ve been there by her side, through school, through her military service, and through every mission she went on. He would have made himself indispensable to her.Â
But it wasn’t too late.Â
As long as he stayed by her side, no other man would ever get close to her.Â
Curtis‘ right wrist was wrapped in plaster and bandages.Â
“Chloe has gone too far, using Brian to hurt you!” Sonya fumed. “Brian is nothing but a man relying on the Steele family’s money. Curtis, we can’t just let this go!”Â
“Are you saying we should sue Brian?” Curtis countered.Â
“He injured your wrist like this. Of course we should sue. Don’t tell me you’re afraid,” Sonya replied.Â
It wasn’t really Brian she was angry at but rather Chloe. If not for Chloe, she and Curtis wouldn’t have been humiliated so badly in public.Â
“If we really sue Brian, that means we’ll be going head–to–head with the Steele family.” Curtis pointed out.Â
Chapter 118 Can You Blame MeÂ
3/3Â
He was angry, yes, but he still understood reality. Right now, he didn’t have nearly enough strength. If he went after Brian, the companies that had been working with him would likely cut ties out of fear of the Steele family, leaving him worse off.Â
Sonya understood that as well, but she was too resentful to accept it. “So, your injury was for nothing?”Â
“Think of it as the price I paid for hurting Chloe,” Curtis said with a bitter smile.Â
The traces of blood on his fingertips had long since been cleaned. But if he’d known Chloe had injured her arm, he would’ve never grabbed it.Â
“You still care about Chloe, don’t you?” Sonya snapped. “Even if you believed she slandered me, you feel bad just because she bled a little?”Â
“I don’t care about Chloe,” Curtis quickly replied. “But we were married for three years, and I never wanted to hurt her. And… are you really sure she’s the one who texted the reporter?”Â
“Who else could it be? Last time, when the screen malfunctioned during the charity gala, it showed a news report about the fire. This time, she was there at the orphanage event as well. What are the chances that it’s all a coincidence? She’s just jealous I won you over, so she keeps targeting me!” Sonya was firm.Â
Curtis stayed silent. Was it really like that?Â
“But if she has no proof, why would she accuse you of abandoning your colleague? Unless… she actually has evidence?”Â
“Impossible!” Sonya shot back, her voice louder and sharper than usual.Â
Curtis looked at her in surprise.Â
She seemed to realize she’d overreacted and quickly said, “I never did anything like that. Chloe couldn’t possibly have any evidence. And that’s why she’s making up lies to slander me! Curtis, you believe me, don’t you?”Â
“Of course I believe you,” Curtis said. He had no reason not to trust Sonya.Â
Smiling, Sonya leaned gently against his chest. “Now that we’re together, when should we make our relationship public?”Â
Curtis felt his heart jolt.Â
It hadn’t even been three months since his divorce. If he announced his relationship with Sonya now, thenÂ
Closing Reflection
This chapter ends with shifting emotions and unresolved tension, hinting at deeper conflicts and unspoken truths. Choices made here will shape what follows, and the weight of this moment lingers as a quiet turning point.
Next Chapter Teaser
The next chapter will build on these consequences, drawing characters into challenges they can no longer avoid. Tension will rise, secrets will surface, and new revelations will reshape the path ahead.
Reader Engagement
This chapter raises questions about motivations, emotions, and relationships. Which moment mattered most? Who revealed more than they intended? How might events here reshape the bonds between characters?
World/Lore Connection
Beneath the emotions lies the broader world’s influence. Unseen rules, histories, and power structures shape choices and outcomes, adding weight to every action taken in this scene.
One-Line Ending
With this chapter complete, the story steps into a new phase filled with uncertainty, tension, and possibility.