The person in sneakers stood in the glow of the setting sun , his shadow stretching long into the alley . Trevor and his gang turned , their faces twisting into menacing snarls . " Hey , brat , what are you staring at ? " My heart sank at their words . Whoever it was , it wasn't the driver . I strained to make out the figure , but blood stung my eyes , blurring everything . Then a voice called out from the distance . " Witt , why are you just standing there ? The strawberry cake shop's this way ! " The figure paused for a moment . " Yeah , coming . " I blinked my dry , aching eyes , whispering faintly , " Dewitt ... " He hesitated , his steps faltering . But in the end , Dewitt didn't look back . He just took Heather's hand and walked away . Unable to resist her curiosity , Heather glanced into the alley and let out a startled yelp . " Oh my gosh , Dewitt , someone's hurt over there ! Did you see ? " He immediately covered her eyes . " Don't look . It's messy . " Dewitt's voice was soft , almost tender . His words floated back to me from a distance . " Hedy , this time I found you early . I'll keep you safe , keep your innocence intact . " You won't have to suffer under the Benton family and die so young . " In a daze , I recalled his dying words from our past life . Back then , he repeated over and over : " It's my fault . If only I'd found you sooner ... " I had thought he was talking about the accident that cost us our unborn child and left me barren . 0.0 % 15:08 288 Vouchers Chapter 4 Choking back tears , I'd comforted him . " Dewitt , we'll be together in the next life . We'll have a child then . " Now I realized his regrets had nothing to do with me . What haunted him was that on that fateful day , he was with me and couldn't be there in time to save Heather . So in this life , he chose to keep her close , guarding her like a treasure . Dewitt hadn't come here today to save me . He just wanted to witness how I , the " thief , " took the punishment meant for the girl he loved . But in our past life , I'd overheard classmates whispering about the Benton siblings ' ordeal . The word was that , after the incident , Derek was sent abroad . Heather , however , wasn't allowed to leave with him , and her status in the Benton family plummeted . A girl in the know had hinted at the truth : that day , Heather had abandoned Derek . " Derek fought to protect Heather , but she ran without so much as a glance back ... " Yet somehow , Dewitt was convinced Heather was the innocent victim . A bitter laugh escaped me . I thought , " Does he really think Heather was pure and kind ? I let out a faint chuckle , wiping the blood from my eyes . Then I staggered to my feet , wrapping my arms tightly around one of the thug's legs . No matter how he kicked or cursed , I refused to let go . " Don't you dare touch Derek ! " I remembered I had cried in a hoarse voice . I held on until my strength gave out , and I collapsed to the ground . As darkness closed in , I slipped into unconsciousness . 49.4 %