Winston Wyatt answered swiftly, “Of course he’ll remember.
Never mind twenty years—he’d still remember even if fifty years passed and he was an old man.
And if he doesn’t, I’ll use my fists to remind him.” As he spoke, Winston raised his sandbag-sized fists.
The powerful muscles in his long arms bulged, exuding a fierce and savage air.
“What could he possibly look like now?
A poker face, not as handsome as me.” A hint of jealousy laced Winston’s words; he just had to compete with Silas Blackwood.
“Teacher, tell me I’m more handsome, right?”
Aurora Rivers couldn’t help but smile.
Silas Blackwood really had been a stoic child, all stone-faced and serious.
He spoke with the gravity of a little adult, which was an adorable contrast to his age.
Seeing that Winston wasn’t going to let it go, Aurora quickly said, “Yes, yes, you’re more handsome.” She looked at him with doting eyes, as if gazing at a small child.
Winston didn’t miss the hint of nostalgia for Silas Blackwood swimming in her eyes.
“Teacher, do you miss him?”
Aurora Rivers replied, “Yes, a little.”
Winston automatically translated “a little” into “a lot.”
He fell silent for a moment, then, as if suddenly remembering something, said, “There’s an auction in The Underworld in a few days.
An invitation was sent to Silas Blackwood, so he’ll definitely be at the auction house.
I’ll take you.”
Isla Chambers couldn’t make out every word, but she grasped the crucial information: Aurora Rivers wanted to see Silas Blackwood, and Winston was proactively offering to take her to the auction just to make her happy.
‘Why would Aurora Rivers want to see Silas Blackwood?
Doesn’t she love Winston Wyatt?’
‘Winston didn’t seem to mind at all that Aurora wanted to go find another man.
If it were her, who knows what kind of punishment Winston would have dreamed up.’
‘But doesn’t this also prove that even though Winston seems to cherish Aurora on the surface, he doesn’t actually like her that much?
Otherwise, how could he not be so fiercely possessive of her?’
‘Winston was so possessive of her.
In his eyes, her entire being belonged to him—her breath, her heartbeat, her very thoughts.
He forbade her from doing this and that; his dominance was completely irrational.’
‘If Winston weren’t so forceful, if he were willing to give me freedom and wasn’t so cruel, maybe I wouldn’t be so desperate to escape him,’ Isla Chambers thought, pursing her lips.
…
CRASH—!!
The jarring sound of something falling and glass shattering rang out, followed by a commotion.
When Aurora Rivers rushed over, she found Winston Wyatt and Isla Chambers standing amid the debris.
Winston’s eyes were bloodshot with rage.
He gripped Isla’s slender arm viciously, his hold tight enough to snap it.
“You broke the photo frame.”
Winston was frantic with anger, his features dark and menacing.
He was severely agitated and seemed on the verge of another episode.
She shook her head in a panic.
“I didn’t mean to.”
Aurora Rivers walked closer and saw that the family photo of her with Winston and his family was shattered into pieces.
There were even several footprints stamped across her image in the photo.
“Didn’t mean to?” With a flick of his arm, Winston hurled Isla toward the ground.
Isla let out a terrified scream, but in the next instant, Aurora caught her and pulled her back just in time.
“Winston, she already said she didn’t mean to.
Calm down.” Aurora worried that his episodes were becoming too frequent, which could worsen his condition.
When Winston saw Aurora approach, he did his best to restrain his temper, but his expression remained grim.
‘Why is this hard-won happiness of mine so easily shattered by others?’
“Why were you in my room?” Winston stared at Isla, his gaze as savage and predatory as a wild beast’s.
After regaining her footing, Isla stammered under his gaze, “I…
I came looking for you, but you weren’t here.
I was about to leave when I tripped and knocked over the photo frame.
I really, really didn’t mean to.”
‘Isla came looking for me on her own?’
‘That was a first.
Usually, he had to order Isla to come near him, and even then, she would approach him reluctantly.’
Winston’s expression didn’t soften.
“Stay in your room, and don’t come out unless you have a reason.”
Isla lowered her head, her hands clutching her white dress.
Her shoulders hitched as she began to sob.
“Let her go get that wound treated first,” Aurora said, her eyes on a cut on Isla’s calf that was now seeping blood.
Mr.
King nodded to a nearby servant, who immediately led Isla away to see the family doctor.
Isla froze.
She hadn’t even realized she was injured.
Looking down, she saw that she was, in fact, bleeding.
Only then did the stinging pain register.
As she was leaving, Isla glanced at Winston, and her posture immediately changed to a pronounced limp.
She looked utterly pitiful and frail.
Winston squatted down, about to pick the photo out from the pile of glass shards, but Aurora grabbed his hand, stopping him.
Seeing this, Mr.
King immediately instructed a servant to come and clean up.
King, are there spares of the photo and frame?”
Mr.
King answered quickly, “Yes, we have plenty of copies of the photo, and we had a few extra frames custom-made as well.”
Aurora smiled reassuringly at Winston.
“Winston, let’s put out a new one.”
Winston’s eyes flickered, and his mood finally began to improve.
“Okay,” he said in a hoarse voice.
Mr.
King moved quickly, bringing out a new photo frame.
Inside was the familiar picture of them making a finger heart.
Leaving it on the cabinet meant it could be knocked over and shattered again.
So this time, Winston chose to hang the frame on the wall—and high up, at that.
Aurora folded her arms, watching as Winston, refusing all offers of help, hung the frame himself.
When he stepped down from the ladder, Aurora graced him with another smile.
Seeing Aurora’s warm smile was like a balm.
The turmoil inside him was completely pacified, his ruffled feathers smoothed.
…
When Aurora Rivers found Isla Chambers, the family doctor was just leaving, having finished treating her wound.
Isla watched Aurora approach, her lips tightening.
“I already told you, I didn’t do it on purpose.” Her hand rested on the gauze over her wound, making her look like a stubborn yet fragile fawn.
Isla was growing impatient.
‘It doesn’t matter if Aurora believes me or not,’ she thought, ‘I’m sticking to my story.’
“You know, there’s no need to be so hostile toward me,” Aurora said.
She leaned against the sofa, her arms still folded.
Her waist was slim and her legs long, and she exuded an aura of lazy, unruffled confidence.
Isla froze for a second, her expression flickering before she forced a stiff smile.
“Miss Rivers, you’ve misunderstood.
How could I possibly be hostile toward you?
I’d be falling over myself to help you.
But it seems you’ve already made your choice and don’t plan on leaving the Wyatt family, so you don’t need my help after all.”
Aurora Rivers said, “I’m staying to help Winston with his treatment.
My relationship with him isn’t what you think.”
Isla retorted, “You don’t have to explain your relationship with Winston Wyatt to me, Miss Rivers.
I don’t care.
I’m not his wife, and I’m not his girlfriend.”