Shaking his head in terror and confusion, Winston Wyatt took a step back.
The next second, he saw Mr.
Wyatt’s face.
His father’s eyes were icy and grim, looking at him with utter disgust and no emotion.
“Useless trash.”
As he stumbled back again, Winston Wyatt’s entire world plunged into darkness.
Everyone around him was staring at him.
He couldn’t make out any of their faces, only pairs of sinister eyes and snarling mouths.
They all burst into wicked, terrifying laughter.
Sweat beaded on Winston Wyatt’s forehead.
He clapped his hands over his ears in agony, his body trembling as he hunched over.
Just then, a hand touched his head and gently ruffled his hair.
Winston Wyatt slowly looked up.
The moment he saw Aurora Rivers, the darkness surrounding him instantly vanished, and the world returned to normal.
Aurora Rivers: “Stay close.
Don’t get lost.”
Winston Wyatt’s eyes reddened, his gaze trembling.
His Adam’s apple bobbed as a sound like a whimpering cub escaped his throat.
Aurora Rivers ruffled his hair again.
“It’s okay.”
This time, Winston Wyatt tightly gripped the corner of Aurora Rivers’s clothing.
Standing at six-foot-two, he was a giant of a man following beside her, nearly twice her size, yet he was as fragile and dependent as a child clinging tightly to its mother.
…
“Isla, how are things between you and Winston Wyatt?”
Isla Chambers was sitting by the hospital bed, feeding her mother oatmeal.
She froze when Mrs.
Chambers suddenly asked the question.
“How are things?
How could they be?
They’re just…
the same as always.” Isla kept her head down.
The oatmeal had long since cooled, but she found herself stirring it more and more.
Though her voice sounded casual and indifferent, it was laced with a dull weight.
Noticing this, Mrs.
Chambers immediately sensed something was wrong.
“Isla, are you and Winston Wyatt having problems?”
Thinking of Aurora Rivers’s sudden appearance, Winston Wyatt’s special treatment of her, and even Bale’s closeness to her, Isla felt her irritation mount.
She stabbed at the already mushy oatmeal with her spoon.
“No, Mom.
Just drop it.”
“How can I not ask?
You’ve been with Winston Wyatt for three years with no official status.
Hasn’t he ever said anything about marrying you?” Mrs.
Chambers was incredibly anxious.
Isla’s eyes flew wide open and she shot to her feet.
Mom, what are you talking about?
It’s not like that between me and Winston Wyatt.” Isla stomped her foot and bit her lip.
But the words “marrying you” echoed in her mind, and a hot flush of embarrassment crept over her, turning her face red all the way to the tips of her ears.
Although she acted resistant, her eyes glistened with a moist, flickering light.
“Not like that?
Do you mean you and Winston Wyatt haven’t…
done what a man and woman do together?” Mrs.
Chambers grew even more frantic.
Isla turned an even deeper shade of red, flustered and annoyed.
“Mom, what are you even saying!?” ‘But it’s true, Winston Wyatt has never touched me.
He’s always forcing me to do things I don’t want to, forcing me to stay by his side.
He has so many rules, restricting my freedom.
And when his episodes hit and he turns into a monster, he always scares me to tears…’
‘Even if Winston Wyatt did try to touch me, I wouldn’t want him to.
I’m not the kind of person who would sell her body to get ahead.’
‘Even though I’m no longer the young miss of the Chambers family, and he does keep me in his villa like a canary in a gilded cage, I still have my pride and self-respect.’
“Oh, my silly girl.” Mrs.
Chambers was practically fuming with anxiety.
But then, a thought occurred to her.
‘The fact that Winston Wyatt could restrain himself for three years without touching Isla must prove how much he truly likes and cherishes her.
That’s why he wouldn’t just touch her casually.’
Mrs.
Chambers, moving with some difficulty, took Isla’s hand.
“Isla, you have to hold on to Winston Wyatt and secure your position as the matriarch of the Wyatt family.”
Isla pouted.
“I don’t care about being the Wyatt family matriarch.”
Mrs.
Chambers: “Even if it’s not for yourself, you have to think about your father.”
“You want me to go beg Winston Wyatt?” Isla’s brows knitted together, a feeling of resistance welling up inside her.
She didn’t want to be so lowly and pathetic in front of him.
“But Dad…
he committed a crime…”
Mrs.
Chambers cut her off.
“No matter how terrible his crime, he’s still your father!
He only made a mistake because he was momentarily confused, trying to give you a life of luxury.
Isla, can you really bear to not save your father?
To let him suffer in prison for the rest of his life?” Mrs.
Chambers’s eyes filled with miserable tears.
“I don’t have much time left.
My only wish is to see your father one more time before I die, for our family to be reunited.”
Hearing this, Isla’s heart ached with sorrow.
Her eyes immediately reddened, and she squeezed her mother’s old, thin hand.
“Mom, don’t say that.
I promise you, I’ll go beg Winston Wyatt.”
Just then, there was a knock on the door.
The mother and daughter froze for a moment before simultaneously composing themselves.
On the third knock, the door opened and someone walked in.
Miles.”
A friendly smile appeared on Mrs.
Chambers’s face as she greeted him familiarly, “Brendan, you’re here.”
Brendan Miles nodded politely.
His gaze first fell on Isla, and his heart trembled at the sight of the person he hadn’t seen in so long.
He then forced himself to look away and focus on Mrs.
Chambers.
“Mrs.
Chambers, I’m here to do a check-up.”
“Really just for a check-up?
Didn’t you already check on me today?” Mrs.
Chambers teased, her tone suggestive.
Brendan Miles’s earlobes instantly flushed red.
“I did, but I’ll feel more at ease if I check again.
After all, I’m your attending physician.
I have to be responsible for you.”
“Mrs.
Chambers, you’re looking well today.”
Mrs.
Chambers: “…” ‘That’s just because I was fuming a moment ago.’
“That’s all because of your excellent care.
Brendan, you’re so young, not even thirty, and you’re already an attending physician.
You’re tall and handsome, and so gentle and patient.
Any girl who marries you would be incredibly blessed.” Mrs.
Chambers beamed at Brendan Miles, her expression filled with the kind of satisfaction one has when looking at a potential son-in-law.
Meeting Mrs.
Chambers’s gaze, which felt like a stamp of approval, Brendan’s heart couldn’t help but race with excitement.
He became even more diligent in his care for her.
“Mrs.
Chambers, I’m not as good as you say.
Your praise is making me blush.
I’m already approaching thirty; I just hope the girl who marries me in the future won’t mind my age.”
“Anyone who’d mind is someone with no taste.
In my eyes, Brendan, you’re a wonderful and genuine person.”
Her words were a huge encouragement to Brendan Miles.
In a rush of blood to the head, he couldn’t help but say, “Mrs.
Chambers, actually, I…”
Mrs.
Chambers’s eyelid twitched.
She interrupted him, pressing a hand to her head.
“I suddenly feel a little sleepy.
I think I need to rest.”
Brendan was stunned for a second, but then he understood.
He helped Mrs.
Chambers lie back down slowly, and Isla came to the other side of the bed to help.
As they carefully supported Mrs.
Chambers together, their hands accidentally brushed against each other.