Kaitlin stared at Hugh with cold eyes and said, "You are truly pathetic, Hugh. You believe everything other people tell you. It seems you lost your brain along with your memory."
"How could you say that?" Rosalie frowned.
Gently, Hugh patted Rosalie's back to calm her down, but then he looked at Kaitlin with a very scary and cold stare.
"Do not ever let Rosalie see your face again."
Kaitlin let out a sad, empty laugh and replied, "Sure."
To his surprise, Hugh felt a sudden pain in his heart, but he quickly ignored the feeling and acted like he didn't care.
Because Rosalie had stayed by his side after he fell into the sea, he felt he owed her everything. She had helped him walk again after he broke his leg and cried for him often, so he promised never to let anyone hurt her.
Hearing Rosalie's voice brought him back to the present moment. "Please don't hurt anyone for me, Hugh," she said with a shaky voice. "If what you do for me makes people think badly of you, I would rather just leave..."
"Don't be silly. You are the only person I love. If you leave me, I will have nothing. I already talked to your father, and we are getting married next month."
"As long as you stay with me, I will never leave you," Rosalie promised. She rested her head on his shoulder, but when he couldn't see her, a mean and evil smile appeared on her face.
While the storm grew worse outside, Kaitlin got drenched from the cold rain and walked the streets looking pale and lost.
In all her twenty-five years, this had been the saddest and most painful one to date.
She and Hugh had been each other's entire world since their days in the orphanage, a bond forged over twenty years of survival. It wasn't until five years ago that Hugh's biological family finally tracked him down and welcomed him back into high society.
And yet, that twenty-year history of shared struggle proved remarkably fragile, crumbling in the face of the mere six months he had known Rosalie.
A sleek, black luxury sedan glided to the curb in front of her. The door flew open, and a figure emerged, cutting through the rain toward her under the shelter of a large umbrella.
Kaitlin's vision blurred as her knees finally buckled. With the last of her energy drained, she pitched forward, falling directly into the broad, solid chest of the stranger.
After waking up in an unknown room, Kaitlin's survival instincts immediately spiked, her eyes darting around the lavish space.
"Finally awake?" a low, resonant voice asked, shattering the quiet of the room.
Perched on a black leather sofa near the bed, a man in a bespoke suit watched her; his face was a masterpiece of refined features and icy indifference.
A flicker of dark amusement danced in his eyes as he studied her with a languid, predatory interest.
Kaitlin recoiled, pressing herself against the headboard as she gasped, "Who on earth are you?"
His hand shifted lazily on the armrest, drawing her attention to the platinum bracelet he was holding-it was intricately designed with the shape of a delicate bluebell. "Suite 1107. Don't tell me your memory is that short."
As Kaitlin saw the bracelet, memories came rushing back.
Kaitlin's exhaustion was quickly overtaken by fury. "Why are you here? Get out!"
The man let out a dry, mocking snort. "Get out of my own home? I'm the one who just pulled you out of the rain. And you're mistaken-Hugh's setup was in 1109, but you walked into 1107."
Kaitlin froze as the reality of the situation began to sink in, her fingers bunching the expensive silk of the blanket as she finally recognized the man before her.
The situation was beyond surreal. This wasn't just some random stranger; it was Andrew Evans, the formidable CEO of the Evans Group in Zluasey. He was a power player her own firm had been desperate to court only months ago.
Handsome yet ruthless, he had already secured a powerful foothold in the domestic market at a young age.
Kaitlin swallowed hard. "What are you planning to do to me?"
