He Chose the So-Called Sister Chapter 376: You Were a Good Maid

"I promise you—if you let her have this room, she'll treat you well in the future. Julia's such a kind person. If you're good to her, she'll repay you a hundred times over."

Lucas shot Gilbert a cold glance, then knelt down and lifted Sherry onto his back.

"Mr. Bode, do you even listen to the nonsense coming out of your mouth?

"You think a celebrity's image matters more than a sick person's life?"

Gilbert burned with anger at the challenge.

Julia was a wreck, her hand pressed to her mouth as blood still seeped from where her tooth had been.

She looked empty, destroyed.

He had never seen her like this, even at her lowest.

She had always been fierce, unyielding, convinced she was the best. That was what had drawn him to her.

That fighting spirit—no one could resist it.

Least of all him.

He'd once admitted to himself that when he fought to climb back up, the person he thought of was never Sherry.

Sherry couldn't give him that kind of drive.

She'd always seemed weak, easy to push around. How could she inspire anyone?

Everything he had, everything he'd become—he owed it all to Julia.

Sherry had just... taken care of him. Like any maid would.

He'd been kind enough not to say it to her face. He'd spared her feelings.

But now, seeing his bright, fierce idol broken like this... it was like his own guiding light had been snuffed out.

How could his mood not swing hard?

How could Lucas compare that to some cold?

"You act like this is some life-or-death illness!" Gilbert snapped. "Who hasn't had a fever? Who hasn't been cold?

"Is this really such a big deal? Is she really so weak that she has to fake being dying?"

Lucas' eyes turned dark and sharp. "You know she's faking. Then why aren't you yelling at Julia? Because her acting is so good, she beats someone who's actually sick?

"Or because Julia just matters more to you than Sherry ever will?"

Gilbert didn't hesitate. "You're right. Julia does matter more to me."

He was done hiding it. He was getting that room, no matter what.

"Everyone thinks Sherry stayed with me during my worst years. The truth is—when she should have taken the money and left, she married me instead.

"That's why people judge her. I've always known it.

"You think I stayed quiet and let them bully her? What if I told you the truth? Sherry wasn't the one who pulled me back up.

"Julia was. She was the one who kept me going. If you knew Sherry, you'd know she'd just come out of a psychiatric hospital back then. How could she be anyone's support? She could barely hold herself together."

Sherry had never thought she was anyone's hero. She'd thought they were two people at the bottom, holding each other up.

But it had all been in her head.

He hadn't seen her at all. He'd only seen Julia through her.

Five years of her life suddenly felt meaningless.

People who already disliked her would laugh. They'd say she'd clung to Gilbert shamelessly. They'd say she was nothing but a joke.

Gilbert made sure of it, driving the knife in deeper.

"To be honest, those years, you did your job well. You were a good maid."

Those words fell like a blade. Everything Sherry had given over five years—shattered into dust.

Julia's twisted, ugly face finally broke into a smile.

She could finally breathe, like the pressure valve had popped.

He'd erased everything Sherry had done. From now on, if Sherry ever mentioned "sacrifice" or "devotion," it would only be a stain on her name.

"Ms. Campbell," Julia purred, "I always thought you were strange. Not many people would admit to being a maid, but you were so eager to claim it. I guess that's exactly what you were, right?

"No wonder five years together... and not a single child."