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Chapter 9%
“Don’t catch a cold. His voice was softer than the evening breeze
I froze, unmoving &
He stood so close that I could feel the warmth of his breath against my ear. With delicate fingers, he gently picked a fallen leaf from my hair, as if handling something precious
“Nina! Nina!” A desperate, hoarse cry suddenly rang out from outside.
There were only a few bodyguards on duty, and they failed to stop Lucas. He stumbled into the garden, gaunt and disheveled, his eyes bloodshot and wild
“Nina, I’m sorry! I know I was wrong!“#
“I was wrong I should never have let you bear all of this alone!”
I stayed silent
Jack stepped forward, calm and cold.”
Lucas’s face twisted. “Nina! Who is he?!“M
Without a word, Jack closed the distance and landed a punch squarely on his face.
“This one’s for Nina.”
Then another.
“And this one’s for the child you never protected.”}]
His voice was low and cold. “You had no right to make her suffer like that.“}
Lucas wiped the blood from his mouth and suddenly dropped to his knees in front of me.}
“Nina, I was blind–I see it now. Please come home with me. I’ll make everything right, I swear!“}
He clung to my legs, refusing to let go.
“Home?” I laughed bitterly. “What home?“}
“Lucas, have you forgotten? We’re already divorced. You signed the papers yourself.“}
The color drained from his face. “You’re just angry, right? You didn’t mean it, did you?“}
“You always shielded Lily,” I said, voice shaking. “At first, I thought it was out of loyalty. But in the end, you chose her lies over me. You let me carry the shame. You even asked me to abort our child.”
I gently touched my stomach, where life once stirred.
Tears welled in my eyes. “Did you know I couldn’t go through with the abortion at first? But it wasn’t my choice in the end. Your mother- your family–took that decision away from me.”
I paused.
“She locked me in the ancestral hall and left me under the scorching sun. My baby didn’t stand a chance.”
Lucas collapsed, as if struck by lightning, his body crumpling to the ground.
He kept calling my name even as the bodyguards dragged him away.
In the days that followed, he returned to Carter’s residence like a ghost–every single day.}
Sometimes he knelt at the gate and wept bitterly. Other times, he broke into drinking and raving. The guards always threw him out, bruised and bloodied. But he kept coming.
Then, one day, news broke: Lu’s mother had suffered a sudden cerebral infarction and was rushed to the hospital. On screen, Lucas looked like he had aged a decade overnight.”
Later, I heard he spent his nights drowning in alcohol.
When Lily finally went to see him, he hurled a wine bottle at her. The shattered glass pierced his right eye, blinding him. Lily was sentenced for intentional injury. The Turner Group collapsed into bankruptcy.}
I began taking over my father’s company.
At the annual meeting, I stood beneath the stage lights, delivering a composed speech. From the front row, Jack watched me, his eyes brimming with pride.]
When I finished, he stood up immediately and draped his coat over my shoulders.}
As we exited the venue, I caught a glimpse of a slouched figure hidden in the shadows.”
The man wore sunglasses, his left eye hollowed and lifeless.
Lucas.
He opened his mouth, as if to speak–but in the end, no words came.
“Don’t look.” Jack squeezed my hand so tightly it hurt.”
I reached up and smoothed the frown on his brow with a smile. “We’re getting our marriage certificate tomorrow. Are you still afraid I’ll run away?”
His eyes softened a little, though he still clung to my hand tightly.”
A few nights ago, he knelt in the garden and opened his heart to me.”
