7
I crouched down, and after a long time, he slowly looked up. The first thing I said, I couldn’t help but blurt out. Yet, he just stared at me, not answering. But after that day, he often came to play with me. Then one day, he never appeared again.
“So, it was you,” I whispered.
He nodded, a faint, almost imperceptible curve on his lips. I took the warm milk he offered, took a sip, and a wave of warmth spread through me. It turned out that while I was chasing after someone else’s shadow, someone had already cherished me in their heart.
The peaceful days didn’t last long before Mr. Davies’s news broke the calm. Chloe had contacted Mr. Maxwell, a long–time rival of my father’s company, and they seemed to have formed some kind of alliance. Mr. Maxwell was maliciously acquiring Sterling Corp shares and spreading rumors that the company’s huge investment in medical research was actually because I, “the invalid,” was dragging the company down.
Julian wasn’t quiet either. He frantically called and messaged me, his messages escalating from furious accusations to confused apologies and desperate pleas.
“Seraphina, I know I was wrong. I shouldn’t have always sided with Chloe.”
“Seraphina, please give me another chance. I swear I’ll be good to you.”
I ignored all of them, blocking every number.
One day, while walking by the lake in the manor, a drone suddenly flew out of control and crashed towards me! Atticus
<
reacted instantly, pushing me away, but his own arm was cut by the drone’s propeller, and blood gushed out immediately. He didn’t care about himself; he first frantically checked on me.
“Are you hurt?”
The manor’s security quickly apprehended the person controlling the drone. It turned out to be a private detective sent by Chloe, under the guise of “wanting to see if Miss Sterling was doing well.” I looked at the wound on Atticus’s arm, my heart burning with rage. Chloe, you really have a death wish.
Back in the room, Atticus expertly tended to his wound himself. I noticed his heterochromatic blue eye was deeper than usual, swirling with emotions I couldn’t decipher.
“Atticus, are you angry?”
He put down the tweezers and took my hand.
“I’m just angry at myself for not protecting you better.”
He paused, then added: “And angry at those who hurt you, who show no remorse.”
I finally understood what true love was… It was empathy.
After returning to the country, Chloe’s actions grew even more brazen. She bribed the media and started live streaming,
spreading rumors online that I was “abusing my illness to bully others, “tormenting Julian,” and “having an affair with
Atticus.” She even included several strategically angled intimate photos of Atticus and me during our honeymoon, as well as Julian’s desolate back at the wedding, “abandoned.”
The online videos spread like wildfire. Every platform was reposting them, with titles more sensational than the last.
[Rich Heiress Fakes Frailty, Secretly Cheating with Doctor]
[Young Master Julian’s Deep Love Trampled, True Love Treated Like Trash]
[Wealthy Family Scandal Exposed, Frail Heiress’s True Face]
The comment sections were full of venomous curses. I turned off my phone, but then I couldn’t help but turn it back on. My blood pressure instantly spiked, and my chest felt tight.
A hand suddenly rested gently on my head. Atticus rested his chin on my shoulder and neck. I turned my head and saw his long, thick eyelashes and that sapphire blue eye. The memory of that eight–year–old moment, when I first saw his eyes and blurted out in amazement, “Your eyes are so beautiful…” echoed in my ears.
He was intently looking at the content on my phone, while I was lost in thought, staring at his profile. He was, somehow,
even more handsome the more I looked…
