Chapter 3 Marry Her

• “You... You're the man I saved all those years ago? You... You didn't die?” Winona's body couldn't stop trembling.
• “Yes, I didn't die. Now, I've returned to repay you,” Franklin said in a grave tone.
• “D*mn it! That b*stard from back then... It was you! You... You d*mn b*stard!” At that moment, a middle-aged woman, her face haggard, suddenly let out a piercing scream.
• She dashed out from the inner room like a wild tiger.
• Her eyes were rimmed red, her expression distorted with rage. Without hesitation, she struck Franklin's face with the object she was holding. She even grabbed Franklin's collar, screaming at the top of her lungs. “You despicable creature! You've ruined my daughter's face! You nearly got her burned to death! Why did you harm my daughter? Why did you make her suffer so much? Why did you destroy her entire life? I'll kill you! I swear, I'll kill you!”
• That middle-aged woman was none other than Susan, the mother of Winona!
• After her husband divorced her, she and Winona found themselves living together in the run-down urban village, relying solely on each other for survival.
• For all those years, she harbored resentment toward the heavens, the earth, and the Leaven family. However, the one she despised the most was the man who caused the disfigurement of Winona!
• That d*mned man! Why hadn't he perished in the fire himself, instead of causing her daughter to be disfigured? Susan, in a state of seeming madness, lashed out at Franklin.
• Her expression was a painful mix of sorrow, rage, and wild desperation!
• She was so overwhelmed with agitation that she fainted on the spot!
• “Mom, what's wrong?” Winona, in a state of nervousness, hastily picked up Susan, expressing her panic and confusion.
• Franklin hurriedly crouched down, quickly examining Susan's pulse and breathing. Then, he assured, “She's fine. She just passed out due to excessive agitation. She'll recover in a bit.”
• After moving Susan to the living room couch, Franklin looked at Winona with a sense of guilt. I'm sorry, I arrived late! It's my fault...”
• “I... I don't blame you...” Gradually, Winona ceased her sobbing, subtly shaking her head.
• Back then, it was she who had taken the initiative to save others. Although that act led to her being severely burned and disfigured, how could she possibly blame anyone else?
• “I blame myself! You risked your life to save me, yet I mistakenly repaid your kindness to someone else! You shouldn't have suffered all these years... All of this, it's all my fault!” Franklin shook his head.
• His sorrow was profound as he studied Winona standing before him.
• Winona, entirely swathed in bandages, only revealed the edges of her eyes. Even there, one could faintly discern the twisted scars of burns.
• One could only imagine the extent of the horror of her burns and disfigurements, hidden beneath her tightly wrapped coverings!
• “This... It's all fate... I really don't blame you...” Once again, Winona shook her head, expressing her resignation.
• It had been six years. The incident that left her scarred and disfigured by burns. She had truly come to terms with it, deep down in her heart.
• “Winona...” Franklin took another step forward, coming up to Winona. He looked into her eyes and reached out his hand.
• Winona was slightly taken aback.
• Over the years, she had grown accustomed to men retreating in fear at the mere sight of her. However, that was the first time she had encountered a man who, instead of stepping back, advanced toward her and even got incredibly close!
• In the very next moment, Franklin extended both his hands, instinctively taking hold of Winona's hands.
• “Winona! From this day forward, I will devote the rest of my life to repay you! To compensate you! I want to make you the happiest woman in the world! I will protect you, never letting you get hurt again! I want you to have the whole world!” Franklin's words were delivered with such strength, they resounded like a gong striking the ground, yet they were not devoid of tenderness!
• Winona's eyes involuntarily glazed over in a spell of daze.
• “No!” In the next moment, Winona shook her head, withdrawing her hands from Franklin's grasp.
• Even though she, too, yearned for love, she didn't believe that her unattractive self was deserving of it!
• At that moment, Susan on the couch gradually regained consciousness, coughing.
• “You d*mn jerk, get lost! You're the b*stard who ruined Winona's life forever!” Susan let out a wild roar, ready to charge at Franklin once again!
• “Mom! Don't be like this! Mom! It was me who chose to save him in the first place! No one forced me! I wanted to rescue him myself!” Desperate, Winona clung to Susan, shaking her head vehemently.
• “Even so, it's been six years. Why hasn't he shown himself? Why won't he come to see you? That ungrateful jerk!” Susan exclaimed in anger.
• “Mdm. Faraday,” Franklin said solemnly. “I will never forget Winona's life-saving grace toward me. I came here this time specifically to repay her!”
• “Repay? Haha, when Winona was covered in burns, on the brink of death in the hospital, where were you to 'repay' then? When Winona's face was ruined and countless men spurned her, where were you to repay her kindness? When Winona was drowning in debt, cast out of the Leaven family, and her pleas to heaven and earth went unanswered, where were you to repay her kindness? When Winona was being treated like a monster, where were you to repay her kindness?” Susan was screaming at the top of her lungs.
• “I... I was wrong! I made a mistake in the past, misjudged people, misdirected my gratitude... However, from now on, I swear it on my life that I will make Winona the happiest woman in the world! My name is Franklin, and I stake my life on this vow! If I can't fulfill it, may I be struck by lightning! May I not die a peaceful death!” Franklin raised his right hand solemnly as he made this oath.
• “Pah! Take your lies elsewhere! You ruined Winona's beauty, left her jobless and penniless, and not a single man dares to approach her. How could you possibly make her happy? You're nothing but a hypocrite, you scoundrel!” Susan spat out in disgust, loudly cursing.
• In the end, she suddenly sneered, “Your name is Franklin, right? If you truly wish to repay Winona for saving your life, then marry her! Marry Winona, whose beauty you've destroyed, turning her into a grotesque figure!”
• “No way!”
• “Sure!”
• Almost in unison, Winona and Franklin spoke.
• “Heh, Franklin, oh Franklin, would you dare to swear to marry my daughter, Winona, to share a bed with her forever, and never divorce her? I want you to face my disfigured daughter for the rest of your life! I want you to wake up every night to the sight of the face you ruined! I want you to live in perpetual fear! I want you to never have a good night's sleep again!” Susan let out a series of cold laughs, her teeth gritted in frustration.
• “No! Mom! I disagree!” Winona hastily voiced her rejection.
• “I can do that! I can go and get the marriage certificate with Winona right now! I swear, I'm going to marry Winona! I want to share a bed with her forever! I will never divorce her! I want to spend my entire life looking at Winona's face! Every time I wake up in the middle of the night, I want to see Winona's face! If I can't achieve it, may lightning strike me down! May I not die a peaceful death! May I never find peace in the afterlife!” Franklin, however, once again raised his right hand, pausing after each word, making a solemn vow!