I Broke Off My Engagement With My Fiancé to Dedicate Myself to National Research

"Help!"

Kelly's body was bobbing up and down like a piece of wood.

"George … save me!" she screamed as hard as she could.

Suddenly, someone swam toward her. The strong arms pulled the plants that were binding her ankle, the next moment, it wrapped around her waist and quickly took her to swim upstream. Before she lost consciousness, Kelly caught a fleeting glimpse of a sharp, chiseled jawline.

Meanwhile, George could not find Kelly anywhere. He was furious and irritation was clearly written on his face. "All I asked was for her to wash a dress and she storms off like this?" he muttered angrily.

Amanda quickly patted his back to calm him, "Don't be mad. I believe Kelly didn’t mean it. Maybe ... she’ll come back once she’s calmed down."

Hopefully, she never does, Amanda thought silently. Yet, just as she finished speaking, her smile froze.

Not far away, a strikingly handsome man was running toward them. He was holding Kelly in his arms. "George! Quick! Your sister fell into the river!"

George spun around, his heart dropped as he rushed toward them. His steps faltered when he saw Kelly's pale, lifeless face. He quickly took her into his arms, only to find her body alarmingly cold to the touch.

"How did this happen?" His voice cracked with panic. "Kelly, hold on! Don’t you dare give up!"

George rushed inside and called for the housekeeper to help change Kelly out of her wet clothes.

He turned around to his friend, Ken Murdock, "What happened, Ken?"

Ken was George's confidant and also his closest friend. Obviously, he knew about his relationship with Kelly. He looked at George with a grim face.

"I was passing by the river when I heard Kelly calling for help," Ken explained. "When I got there, she was struggling in the water. I also saw a wooden bucket and a dress near the bank. It seems she went to wash clothes and accidentally fell in."

George’s brows furrowed deeply. "The kitchen has hot water. Why on earth would she wash clothes in the river on such a freezing day?"

Ken sighed, but his gaze was piercing toward George. "George, I hate to say this, but why is Kelly doing chores at all? Doesn’t your house have servants? To send her out on a day like this ..."

"You’ve been far too harsh on her lately," he added.

George's expression clouded over, a mixture of guilt and defiance battling within him. "You don’t understand. She’s too spoiled. Letting her continue like this will only make it worse."

Ken's gaze flickered toward Amanda and he turned his head toward George. After a moment, he spoke, "George, when she was unconscious, Kelly called out your name."

George froze, his jaw tightening. "I see. She must’ve jumped into the river on purpose to get my attention. Such disgusting tactics ... where does she even learn these things?"

Ken’s entire body stiffened, his expression darkened with fury. Without warning, he swung a punch at George’s face. The punch was so hard that it sent George fell backward and hit the doorframe with a bang.

"Ken! What the hell are you doing?“ George roared, his eyes were blazing with anger as he clenched his fists as he was ready to retaliate.

Yet before he could do anything, Ken grabbed his collar and shoved him down, then pinned him to the ground.

This made Amanda so scared and she screamed, "Stop it! What are you doing? Let him go!"

Ken pressed George harder and his tone was deadly serious, "Kelly is your sister, George, the one you cherish the most. How could you say something so cruel about her?"

George gritted his teeth as he shoved Ken's hands off. "She’s my sister. I’ll handle her however I see fit. It’s none of your business, Ken. Stay out of my business!"

After Ken left, George stood by Kelly’s bedside, staring at her still-pale face with mixed emotion.

Outside, Amanda collapsed onto the ground. Her body was trembling with fear. She was thankful George did not see what she had done to Kelly by the river.