My aunt said it was a rare, heavy snowfall–something that hadn’t happened in years.
That day, after I spoke to James, his condition seemed to worsen. He remained in bed for two
weeks.
The doctor explained that his illness was aggravated by emotional instability.
Chris, despite being James’s rival in love, wouldn’t let me help. He quietly took it upon himself to feed and tend to James, doing everything with meticulous care.
James demanded to see me, but Chris gave no response, merely passing the spoon to James with a
cold, silent expression.
After half a month, James finally managed to get out of bed. Seizing the moment when Chris was away, he left his room in search of me.
I was on the balcony, brewing a pot of herbal tea, watching the snow fall outside.
The cold wind made James flinch. He had clearly underestimated the harshness of winter here.
I looked at him without speaking. He walked straight to the spot opposite me, and I poured him a cup of hot tea.
“Hailey, is there truly no future for us?”
I was about to reply when he continued, speaking urgently.
“During these past two weeks in bed, I’ve thought about everything. Hailey… I was wrong. I know Susan’s feelings for me were complicated, but I truly only valued her professional skills.
At that time, with you trying to conceive, I handled all the work. Susan was capable, and I foolishly thought that I could take advantage of her feelings… but I never meant to hurt you.
As for the contraceptives, I had no idea. I was too naive, too arrogant, too trusting. But I want you to know—my love for you is real. No matter what, I will never hurt you.”
“Even if you don’t forgive me, it doesn’t matter. I won’t give up.”
He drained his cup of tea in one gulp and reached for my
hand.
At that moment, his phone in his pocket rang. His assistant’s urgent voice cut through the quiet.
Chapter 9
90.00%
“Mr. Bennett, we have a serious problem. Susan stole a huge chunk of our core company data and sold it to a competitor. Using this, they’ve taken several of our major clients.”
Hearing this, James jumped up from the chair.
He had intended to use Susan to secure orders, forgetting that she was the kind of person who would stop at nothing to achieve her goals.
I had once shared a brief friendship with Susan. Because she liked James, and he only had eyes for me, she had tried to trap me in that collapsing building.
I knew she would never give up. Since James didn’t love her, she would use every means to destroy everything he had.
James had thought he could control Susan, but he forgot–she was a coiled viper, ready to strike whenever her goals weren’t met.
Just after recovering from his illness, James hurriedly booked a flight home.
He needed to return as a leader to manage the company. Before leaving, he looked at me with
lingering concern.
“Hailey, I’ll come back. I’ll wait for you to change your mind. I want to prove that my love for you
is real.”
