Your Guise Is Slipping, Miss Pearl

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"Is this why you keep scheming against everyone?" Pearl asked.

Lorrie realized her tone was getting manic and tried to compose herself. "So what? I've never been treated well anyway."

Pearl shook her head in dismay. "That's just a vindictive mindset. Sooner or later, it will destroy you."

"Do I need you to tell me these? Do you think I don't know?" Lorrie stood up unsteadily and walked to the rooftop's edge, admiring the city lights below. "The night view of the city is truly beautiful. When you stand at the top and look down, everything feels small and unreal."

Pearl felt uneasy watching the unstable railing.

"I come up here almost every night after work. I've schemed against too many people daily, and I'm truly exhausted. I can only relax here. This is my secret haven, and now you know my secret."

Leaning on the railing, Lorrie supported her chin with one hand, her expression relaxed." Do you know what I was thinking? I wanted to push you off from here."

Pearl's heart tightened, confirming her earlier suspicions.

"But I didn't because I know you're skilled, and if I really argued with you, I might end up being the one pushed off."

Pearl chuckled. "Good to know, but I won't push you. I'd probably choose to pull you back."

Lorrie turned her head in surprise. "Why? Don't you hate me? Once I'm gone, everything can return to how it was."

Pearl walked slowly over to her side but kept a safe distance from the precarious railing. "I don't hate you, but I dislike you because of your actions. You've hurt a lot of people, so I can't bring myself to like you. I can't say I hate you because I've never truly hated anyone."

Lorrie raised her eyebrows. "I think I understand why Richard likes you. You're indeed different from other women."

"Flattery aside, you'd better step back a bit. I don't trust this railing's stability."

Lorrie burst into laughter and deliberately shook the railing violently. "You mean this? I know this railing isn't safe, but I still lean on it. If I'm safe, it's my luck. If I accidentally fall, then it's fate."

Pearl couldn't shake off the feeling that Lorrie sounded like someone who had lost all hope in life and was ready to die. "Why do I feel like you don't want to live anymore?"

Lorrie blinked. "Take a guess."

Pearl carefully observed Lorrie's face, noticing heavy dark circles under her eyes and her frail footsteps earlier. "Are you sick?"

"I have terminal lung cancer."

Pearl fell silent.