Chapter 322: Chapter 322

Steven looked at me, then shook his head again.

“Don’t die…”

He wouldn’t stop me from doing anything unless I wanted to die.

“If I leave, will you be sad?” I asked.

He was silent, but he looked heartbroken.

“If you’re sad, you should tell me to stay.”

Choked up, I opened my arms toward Steven.

I wondered why he was always so unconfident. If he had asked, I would’ve stayed.

Steven looked at me and said nothing. Instead, he hugged me tight, then gazed icily at Michael.

Michael’s expression was grim.

“Steven Lincoln, how long can you keep this act up?”

At this point, Michael finally understood why Stephanie hated Yasmin.

Because no matter what Stephanie had done, Michael always chose to believe in Yasmin first.

Not that the roles were reversed, he couldn’t accept it.

“In the past… Stephie had also begged for your trust.” Steven warned Michael. “But you chose to believe in Yasmin and left Stephie with no way out, didn’t you?”

Steven pushed my head into his embrace, refusing to let me look at Michael.

His voice was hoarse, deep, and intimidating.

“You’re right… I’m not mentally disabled. I put up a disguise to survive. If I weren’t mentally disabled, I wouldn’t have lived past 20 years old.

“This is my life. It’s not up to somebody like you to criticize…”

Michael frowned. It was evident that he was intimidated by Steven.

Zion, Eason, and Rachel also stared at Steven in shock.

They were surprised to find that he had been pretending.

“Starting from now, I’ll protect her in my own way. She’s mine, and I won’t give her away.”

Steven continued to tighten his grip around me. He was exerting his dominance.

“You?” Michael sneered. “If Martin were an easy opponent, you wouldn’t have had to act dumb for years. Do you think you’re all–powerful now?

“Even the baby was a part of your scheme against Martin. Since the very beginning, you never intended for Stephany Carlson to bear a child. This was all part of your plan.”

Michael took out his phone. “In the Lincoln family feud, Martin caused you to lose your baby. Now, the public opinion is favoring you. How can we believe that you aren’t behind all this?

“You arranged for the journalists! It’s so that Martin can no longer attack you under all that spotlight!”

Steven was silent, and he didn’t explain himself.

I looked up at him.

Unsurprisingly, he was not mentally disabled..

I wondered if everything that Michael had said was true. Was everything a part of his plan?

Including me and the baby?

I wondered if he had really schemed for a long time to gain power over the Lincoln family.

My eyes started to tear up. I took a step back out of reflex.

I felt lost. I felt lost about death, I felt lost about being reborn, and at this moment, I felt lost about who I could trust.

Because I had lost too many memories, I struggled to even trust myself.

“I knew he wasn’t mentally disabled. That’s cool!” Rachel had a different perspective from the rest of us; she got excited.

“Does that mean you can protect Stephie..

But as Rachel noticed the awkward atmosphere between Steven and me, her voice began to soften.

Zion tugged Rachel and signaled her to stop talking.

Michael sighed in relief when he saw that I was suspicious of Steven.

“I said I would never lie to you. I’ll allow you to do anything on the condition that you’re safe. When you realize that things aren’t right… You can come home. I’ll always be waiting for you.”

Michael walked to me and said, “Take the time to read your parents‘ diary.”

When Steven heard about the diary, he looked up in fear, as if he was afraid of something.

“Stephie…” Steven looked at me nervously. “Don’t read it. Don’t believe in it.”

Michael gazed icily at Steven. “Why? Are you scared?”