Chapter 3

Rowan immediately crouched down to check on her. "Where does it hurt? Let me see!"

He carefully inspected her calf, which did not even have a single red mark on it. Yet, he snapped his head up, and a furious fire blazed in his eyes.

"Sylvia, you did this on purpose! Not only did you bump into Lyra with these stupid books, but you also dared to hurt her? How could you be so malicious? Is it because Lyra is my fiancee now, and you're absolutely nothing?"

I gaped at Lyra, at the woman who had come to the Blackwood family from the orphanage with me. After depending on each other for so many years, I had never imagined she would use this kind of method to frame me.

"Lyra—" My voice trembled.

"I know you're upset, Sylvia," Lyra cut me off timidly, shrinking behind Rowan. "I'm sorry. It's my fault. I shouldn't be with Ro. Please don't be mad at me, and please don't throw books at me anymore..."

Those manipulative words solidified my jealousy and malice.

"Why are you wasting your breath on someone like her?" His patience was entirely spent. Rowan scooped Lyra up into his arms. "Let's go. From now on, steer clear of her, lest her bad luck rub off on us!"

He carried Lyra and strode away, giving me absolutely no opportunity to explain myself. Before they left, Lyra rested her chin on Rowan's shoulder and looked back at me as I stood frozen in place. In her teary eyes, I clearly saw a cold glint.

After they left, the empty corridor held only me and the old books scattered all over the floor. I slowly crouched down and picked them up one by one.

Right as I was organizing them, a pair of clean black leather shoes came to a silent halt in front of me. I froze, and I slowly looked up.

Adrian had arrived at some point. He stood there quietly, looking down at my disheveled state.

He didn't ask me what had happened. Instead, he simply crouched down in silence. Then, he reached out and picked up the scattered books, one by one.

"I can pick them up myself," I said quietly.

"The books did nothing wrong," he said indifferently. "They shouldn't be treated like this."

Following that incident, he allowed me into his study. Initially, he merely designated an area for me, and we each kept to ourselves.

I steeped some warm chamomile and honey to help with his stubborn cough. The first time I handed it to him, he only spared it a glance. "You don't need to trouble yourself."

"If I don't take care of you, I can't rest easy," I insisted. He was silent for a moment, but in the end, he accepted it.

That was a turning point in our relationship.

From that night on, he would occasionally give me a few pointers while I organized the medical books. His knowledge was astonishingly vast. Those obscure medical theories and pharmacological texts always became exceptionally clear to me whenever he explained them.

I absorbed everything like a sponge, and more than anything, it gave me a real sense of security, knowing that I was finally in control of my own life. That was until one afternoon when I was flipping through the calendar, and I realized in my previous life, Adrian had been kidnapped around this exact time.

Not long after that, news came that he had fallen gravely ill and gone away to recuperate. Then came... the news of his death.

I sprang to my feet, knocking over the medicine cup at my elbow. "Where's Mr. Blackwood?" I rushed out and grabbed Cyrus, who was pruning the flowers.

Cyrus was startled. "Mr. Blackwood mentioned that his chest felt tight this afternoon, so he went to Hopewell Hospital in the north of the city for a checkup. He only left a moment ago…"

Hopewell Hospital in the north of the city. Without a second thought, I grabbed a baton nearby and bolted out the door.

Rain lashed against my face, yet I couldn't feel the cold. There was only a single thought screaming in my mind. I couldn't let anything happen to him. Not on my watch!

I ran with all my might. Right at the entrance of a dim alleyway, I skidded to a halt.

Several burly men were roughly shoving a slender figure deeper into the alley. The man attempted to fight back, but he was easily restrained.

It was Adrian. To my surprise, Lyra was right beside him. She was being held by the arm and held in place by a man.

"Let them go!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, charging forward with the baton raised. "I've already called the cops! They'll be here any second now!"