"Let's do this," the staff member said, looking at Nora's outfit and instinctively thinking she must be a part of the Houston’s high-society.
"It just so happens that our head of golf course is also here today. I'll go ask him. Maybe it's just a misunderstanding."
The Houston’s high-society circle was small, so everyone knew each other to some extent.
Nora nodded and casually asked, "Who is the head?"
"Mr. Benjamin Hunt."
It turned out that this was the Hunt Family's property. When she realized Benjamin was the head of the golf course, Nora frowned. Just as she was about to refuse, the staff member hurried away, looking guilty as he left.
After a short while, the staff member returned and said apologetically, "Sorry, Miss, Mr. Hunt said he doesn't know you."
Nora felt a wave of disappointment. She was about to leave when another person ran over, lowered his head, whispered a few words and then took her inside. The court was large and Nora initially wanted to play alone.
Unexpectedly, a ball rolled right to her feet. It was hit by a girl next to Sally.
"Hey, pick up the ball!" the girl shouted at Nora.
Benjamin, who was with them, looked amused, while Sally was already aiming at a spot and preparing to swing. Nora hit the ball, but the girl wasn’t happy.
"I told you to pick it up, why did you hit my ball?"
Nora didn't respond, but the next moment, a ball flew straight at her at high speed.
Before she could move, it struck her face hard. The force of the hit made her take two steps back to steady herself. Nora's head rang, a strand of hair fell out of place and her right cheek quickly became swollen and red.
The accident shocked everyone. The ball had come at her as if it was aimed deliberately. Sally looked pale, clearly not expecting it to hit Nora in such a way. She put down her club, ready to run over and apologize, but Benjamin stopped her.
"What are you apologizing for? You didn't hit her on purpose. Nora is just unlucky. She couldn't avoid it in such a big space."
Then, as if remembering something, Benjamin walked over to Nora with the others. Nora covered her face with her hands, tears falling uncontrollably from the pain. When Benjamin saw the blood on her face, he froze for a moment.
Then, he seemed to recall something and sneered, "Why are you pretending? It's just a ball. How painful can it be? Is it as painful as when you deliberately poured hot tea on Sally’s face?"
"If you ask me, this is just divine justice. You deserved it!"
Nora’s eyes filled with tears.
Physically and emotionally exhausted, she was deeply disappointed with Benjamin and just wanted to leave and end this whole mess. She stepped back, but Benjamin took a step closer and grabbed her wrist.
"I invited you here today so you could apologize to Sally in front of me!"
It was clearly her who had been hurt!
Nora felt shaky, knowing Benjamin would never believe her, just like her parents hadn’t. Yet, she remained stubborn. Her long brunette hair covered the wound on her right cheek, while her beautiful profile was now marked by a pair of tear-filled, determined eyes.
Suddenly, Benjamin remembered the heavy rain from that day and realized he might have gone too far.
A girl, who had once treated Nora like her caddy, came over, grabbed Sally's hand and said as she sneered, "Isn’t she the one who splashed hot tea on Sally? Now, she looks like very ugly!"
Hearing Nora being humiliated like this made Benjamin feel irritated.
He tightened his grip on her wrist, pushing her to apologize quickly. The sharp pain from her wrist made Nora tremble slightly. She didn’t understand why Benjamin kept treating her like this when she hadn’t done anything wrong and hadn’t let him down.
As Nora refused to back down, Benjamin became more frustrated. He couldn’t understand why she wouldn’t yield. Especially when her wrist was on the verge of being crushed.
The two of them were stuck in a standoff. Nora's wrist was turning red with her lips being pale from the pain. Finally, Benjamin couldn’t take it anymore and shoved her away.
"Benjamin! You can’t just let her go!" the girl yelled, stamping her feet, eager to defend Sally.
"It’s fine, Benjamin ..." Sally spoke softly, trying to calm the situation.
Benjamin curled his lips, as though showing mercy.
"Who said I would let her go? Here’s what we’ll do, Nora. I’ll hit another ball. Whether you dodge it or not, I won’t hold you responsible for bullying Sally anymore."
Without waiting for Nora's response, he walked back to the spot and swung the club.
