Chapter 8
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Suddenly, Red’s expression darkened, and he let go of her.
“Lavender, am I really someone you’re ashamed to be seen with?
“I’m not Desmond. I won you through my own merits–why should I sneak around like I have something to hide?
“My family has strict values. When I choose a woman, I don’t change my mind. A secret marriage? Never.”
He assumed Lavender still had her reservations, so he immediately stepped back from her.
But before he could take another step, she tightened her arms around his waist, pulling them close again.
“Red, is that how little you trust me?
“In your eyes, am I really the kind of woman who would two–time a man?
“Are you degrading me–or doubting your own judgment?”
For all these years, Red had been the kind of man whose word was law whether in his family or the business world. No one ever dared talk to him like this.
No one, except Lavender.
“Then what exactly are you trying to say? We’ll get married, but you don’t want it public. How is that any different from an affair?”
Seeing the mix of fury and frustration on his face, Lavender suddenly found herself amused. She deliberately provoked him.
“Then what about the past three years? Every time I had a business deal, you’d send me a gift under a different excuse. What was that supposed to be? A side guy’s peace offering?”
Red’s back went rigid, and his voice softened just a little. “How did you know those gifts were from me?”
She looked up, met his blue eyes, and her soft lips parted slightly. “Because no one else in this world remembers my birthday.”
Back when she was just the maid’s daughter, she was told by the maid herself that they were just servants–unworthy of celebrating something so ‘expensive.’
And when she became the Winslets’s heiress, her birthday happened to fall on the same day as Cyanne’s.
So the Winslets only ever celebrated Cyanne’s, afraid the truth of their dirty secrets might leak out.
Only Red had remembered, year after year, for the past seven years–always sending her a different gift.
He realized then that she’d seen through his quiet affections all along. A ripple stirred in his chest.
Still, he couldn’t help but ask, “If you knew how I felt, then why did you choose Desmond
Chapter 8
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14:56 Thu, 22 May
three years ago? What does he have that I don’t?”
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Lavender lowered her gaze, a flicker of self–mockery in her eyes. “Nothing. He’s not better than you in any way. But when I was fifteen, I was wrongly accused of breaking a vase in my family’s place. I knelt in the snow for three days and three nights. Just as I fainted, he was the one who saved me.
“Back then, Desmond was the only light I saw in the darkness.”
The moment the words left her lips, Red’s eyes narrowed, and his voice was laced with restrained fury.
“Who told you… he was the one who saved you?”
This time, Red pushed her away–there was frustration in his eyes, but also a deeper kind
of hurt.
Lavender couldn’t tell which part of what she’d said had made him so upset, but she still answered.
“When I woke up in the hospital, he was the one sitting beside me, taking care of me.”
Red gave a bitter laugh.
“Lavender, I remember you being a smart kid. Who would’ve thought you’d grow up not even recognizing the guy who saved your life?”
His words hit her like a wave crashing into still water–she froze, her mind reeling.
“What do you mean… I got it wrong? If it wasn’t him, then why was he there? Why would he stay by my side?“.
Red’s expression turned colder, his words clear and cutting.
“Lavender, listen to me carefully. The one who saved you… was me.
“There was a situation with my family at the time, and I had to rush back. So I asked Desmond to look after you.
“From beginning to end, I was the one who saved you. Even Desmond’s help–I paid for it. I gave the Hacketts a business project in return.”
Lavender’s lips parted slightly, but no words came out.
Red stepped closer, forcing her back until she was pressed against the wall. His voice was firm, more serious than she had ever heard it.
“Lavender, if the only reason you fell in love with Desmond… was because of that moment -then I’m telling you now, you gave your heart to the wrong guy.”
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