He watched her struggle stubbornly, trying and failing to get up. His handsome features hardened, his expression growing colder, but a pang of heartache pricked at him.
'I'm the one who wanted to see her make a fool of herself. I'm the one who told her to get up. But now that she can't, I'm the one who feels awful.'
The feeling thoroughly annoyed Archie Lockwood.
He squatted down, about to reach out and lift her from the floor.
But just as his hand touched her, she summoned a sudden burst of strength and slapped his arm away. "I can get up by myself!" she snapped. "Leave me alone!"
Archie Lockwood's lips curled into a sneer. "Heh. I tell you to get up on your own, and you just obey? Eleanor Bishop, since when have you been so compliant?"
Hearing Archie Lockwood's taunt, Eleanor Bishop pressed her hands against the floor, fighting back tears.
