Chapter 18
Chapter 18
He called my name softly, his voice carrying a
tenderness I had never heard before.
It made me remember the last time I had
heard him like this, when he had been holding Amanda, asking if she was alright.
In the quiet hospital corridor, Theodore, wearing a white coat, handed me a cup of coffee.
“It’s just a small injury. Drink this to calm
your nerves.
99
“Thank you, Theodore,” I said, my voice filled with gratitude as I took the coffee and
Chapter 18
sipped it slowly.
I wasn’t frightened. I knew William‘ s injury wasn’t serious.
But something lingered in my thoughts.
Why had he done it?
He had clearly fallen for someone else, yet at that crucial moment, he had stepped in front of me to take the knife.
Had he meant what he said? Did he truly love me?
Theodore leaned back in his chair, his hands behind his head as he let out a long sigh.
“My poor, good brother,” he muttered.
“The iron tree finally blooms, but the bloom was fleeting.”
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Theodore was Lucas‘ s best friend, the one
who had teased me about raising snakes and feeding ants while watching me from the sidelines during a game.
But what exactly did he mean by that?
What did he mean by the iron tree blooming for Lucas?
I remembered William‘ s earlier words about
Lucas marrying me just to please Grandpa
Mark.
So, I asked, “Theodore, do you know why Lucas wants to marry me?”
“How could I not know?”
He casually fiddled with his phone, his voice light. “Lucas is one of those reserved types,
Chapter 18
always disciplined, likes you but never dares to say it.”
“If it weren’t for the incident last month when he accidentally saw the photo of William with your stepsister, he would‘ ve never dared to make the first move.”
So, it turned out that the photo of William’s betrayal sparked Lucas‘ s sudden proposal.
He had been silently waiting, watching, until William had given up on me, then, and only then, did he dare to approach.
A bitter knot formed in my chest.
I was strangely moved, almost on the edge of
tears.
A nurse emerged from the treatment room
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and said to me, “Miss, your boyfriend is cooperating with the stitches, but he insists on seeing you.”
Theodore straightened his legs and rose from his chair.
“Go ahead, I’ll be tied up for now.”
I didn’t enter the treatment room.
After a brief pause, I spoke to the nurse, “Please tell him I need to go home and cook for my fiancé.”
“Huh?”
The nurse blinked, clearly confused.
I added quickly, “He’s not my boyfriend.”
Night had already fallen, and dinner time had long passed.
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I pulled out my phone, only to find dozens of missed calls and countless messages, each one from Lucas.
He had come to pick me up downstairs, as promised, to take me grocery shopping.
From 6 to 7 PM, he had been searching for
- me.
But after that, there were no more calls— probably because Theodore had informed him of William’s injury.
I thought about calling Lucas back but quickly decided it would be better to apologize to him in person.
The villa, which should‘ ve been glowing
with warmth, now only had the faint light of a single lamp casting shadows.
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Chapter 18
The night had swallowed it whole, leaving an unsettling silence behind.
And there, parked in the yard, was Lucas‘ s
car.
I stepped into the entryway, flicked the light switch, and the sudden brightness flooded the
room.
Lucas sat on the sofa, his elegant fingers wrapped around half a cigarette, the smoke curling lazily in the air and blurring his face.
When our eyes locked, time seemed to freeze.
After a brief moment, he crushed the cigarette butt into the ashtray with near desperation, then grabbed a nearby magazine, waving it to clear the smoke.
