Seeing Isla Chambers’s indecisiveness, Leon Sherman’s gaze grew intense.
“Don’t you want to leave?”
“Of course not!” Isla Chambers denied it instantly, but a wave of guilt washed over her.
The next moment, she shook her head sorrowfully, tears welling in her eyes.
“We can’t escape.
Winston Wyatt will definitely drag us back.
You’ll die, Leon.
I don’t want you to die.
Besides, I have my mother to take care of.
I can’t be so selfish and just run away.
I can’t go.” Isla Chambers covered her mouth and burst into sobs.
Panicked and heartbroken, Leon Sherman pulled Isla Chambers into his arms.
“I’m sorry.
I was being too naive.
Okay, we won’t go.
We’ll both stay.
No matter what happens in the future, you’ll still have me.
I will protect you and keep you from harm, even if it costs me my life.”
Isla Chambers was deeply moved.
“Leon, you’re such a good person.
You’re like a brother to me.”
‘A brother?
So she doesn’t like me that way.’ A pang of bitterness rose in Leon’s heart, but he quickly composed himself.
‘As long as I can be by her side, it’s enough.’
…
Aurora Rivers arrived home.
She lifted a patch of lush turf, found a key under a rock, and opened the door.
The layout and furnishings of the house were just as she remembered—familiar, warm, and full of life.
Here, Aurora Rivers felt every pore in her body relax.
She kicked off her shoes and walked around barefoot on the floor.
Her soles didn’t pick up much dust, which suggested her parents had only left for work a few days ago.
Turning, she noticed Winston Wyatt still standing motionless at the door.
Aurora Rivers immediately beckoned to him.
“Come on in!
This is your home now, too.”
“My home, too.” Winston Wyatt repeated the words, his heart skipping a beat.
He, who was shrouded in darkness and chains, felt as if he were being enveloped by a warm light the moment he stepped inside.
Everything here easily suppressed the frantic, violent impulses within him, making his eyes grow clear and bright.
Winston Wyatt copied Aurora Rivers, taking off his shoes and entering barefoot.
He looked around curiously, his eyes wide as he tried to take in everything in the house.
Aurora Rivers led him around, introducing him to everything.
“We have fish and a turtle we’ve had for many years.
On the wall are plant and butterfly specimens.
The decorative pieces are shed fur, scales, antlers, and teeth from various animals.
Over there are mineral specimens…”
Winston Wyatt stopped in front of a display case.
Looking at the countless trophies, medals, and certificates of honor stacked inside, he said sincerely, “You really are amazing, Teacher.”
“Most of those are my parents’.
You’re the one who’s truly amazing, Winston.
Not just a boxing champion, but an all-around champion in weightlifting, shooting, combat sports, and wrestling.” A proud smile appeared on Aurora Rivers’s face as she spoke.
She reached out and ruffled Winston Wyatt’s hair, praising him generously.
“My Winston is the best.”
Winston Wyatt lowered his head slightly, the tips of his ears turning red.
“You saw all that, Teacher…?”
“When we were little, you always protected me.
Now, it’s my turn to protect you.
I have the ability to do so.
I’m going to be your strongest shield, Teacher.
No one is ever going to bully you.” Winston Wyatt took Aurora Rivers’s other hand, his gaze focused and determined.
As he spoke the last sentence, as if imagining someone challenging him, a beastly, ferocious glint flashed in his eyes.
“Okay.” Aurora Rivers smiled and nodded.
She walked to her bedroom door.
A sign hung on it.
The top read, “Mist’s Little Nest,” and a smaller line of text below said: “Our baby, you are a gift from heaven to Mom and Dad.”
Pushing the door open, she was greeted by a room decorated in a very girly style, with stuffed animals taking up over half the space.
In truth, if she weren’t a savior, Aurora Rivers would just be a twenty-year-old girl in the flower of her youth, raised with the love of her parents and possessing all the innocence and romance of her age.
Aurora Rivers found her phone and grabbed her ID, then opened the wardrobe and pulled out a suitcase.
When she noticed Winston Wyatt staring entranced at a photo frame, she paused.
The frame held a heartwarming photo of her and her parents—a family of three.
Aurora Rivers knew that because of his twisted and dysfunctional family, he had never had a photo taken with his parents.
It was even difficult to find a photo of his parents together.
“Winston, should we go get our picture taken later?”
Winston Wyatt’s head snapped up, his eyes filled with longing.
His Adam’s apple bobbed.
A mix of bittersweet surprise was in his voice as he uttered a single word, “Okay.”
“You don’t need to pack.
We can just buy new things.
It’s a perfect chance for me to show you around, Teacher.”
Aurora Rivers thought for a moment, then agreed.
“Okay.” ‘It’s a good chance for me to get a proper look at this world,’ she thought.
Aurora Rivers opened her phone and saved Winston Wyatt’s number.
Seeing this, Winston immediately found his other contact details for her to add as well, then pinned her as his top contact and set a special ringtone for her.
After leaving a note for her parents on a table, the two of them left the house and headed straight for the city center.
They were met by the sight of sprawling, dragon-like overpasses, a wide, glittering river, and various landmarks that pierced the clouds, full of modern flair.
There were spectacular, sci-fi-esque glasses-free 3D LED screens, creative crosswalks, artistic greenbelts, and bustling, intoxicating shopping streets teeming with people.
The world was no longer a picture of devastation.
The water was no longer foul and polluted, and there was no longer the despair of fields littered with bodies.
The first place they visited was an international luxury brand store that primarily sold high fashion.
Winston Wyatt was extremely enthusiastic about buying clothes for Aurora Rivers.
Using his own judgment, he first picked out more than a dozen outfits and had the models put on a show.
There was a wide variety of styles: tops, pants, miniskirts, skirts, dresses, matching sets, and even pajamas.
The two sat on a sofa, sipping refreshments as they watched the fashion show.
The cookies and nuts were surprisingly delicious.
After the first bite, Aurora Rivers couldn’t stop munching.
“Mm, these are pretty good.” She offered one to Winston Wyatt, who didn’t usually care for snacks.
Winston accepted it without question.
Even if his Teacher fed him poison, he would take it without hesitation.
Winston Wyatt greatly enjoyed being fed by Aurora Rivers, even wishing she would do it more often.
He knew that most parents feed their children, whether it’s a meal or something else.
If the child refused to eat or threw a tantrum, their first reaction would be to coax them.
But Winston Wyatt’s parents had never once fed him themselves, let alone coaxed him.
Even when Winston Wyatt was a newborn, his mother had never breastfed him.
Not even once.
How could he not care?
How could he not want it?
He was human, after all—a person of flesh and blood, with feelings and desires.
A look of gentleness and dependence filled Winston Wyatt’s eyes.
He chimed in, “They really are delicious.”
The two of them continued to munch away, completely absorbed, as if they were in a food shop rather than a fashion boutique.
By the time Aurora Rivers realized this, the models serving them were tired of holding their poses, and the sales associate was watching them with a sweet but desperate expression.