Chapter 3

Feeling very exhausted, I pointed at the door.

"Leave, Amethyst. Don't come looking for me ever again."

Amethyst bit her bottom lip stubbornly. "I'm not leaving! You're still sick, Archer! I need to stay here and take care of you!"

She carefully scooped out some chicken noodle soup from the thermos food jar with a spoon before blowing on it carefully for me.

In the past, I had been hospitalized after suffering from a case of stomach bleeding that occurred due to me overdrinking while I was trying to close some business deals with my clients. Amethyst had taken care of me the same way at that time.

The only difference was, I was very sure that she was in love with me back then. Now, I couldn't tell who she was genuinely in love with.

Just as Amethyst passed a spoonful of cooled soup to my lips, she jolted instantly as soon as a notification popped up on her phone.

Realizing that she had overreacted earlier, she explained to me awkwardly, "Something just came up at my university. Rest well, Archer. I'll visit you once I'm done with my business."

Before I could even get a word out, Amethyst grabbed her handbag and left my ward in a hurry. Once the door was shut behind her, silence was restored to the ward.

What Amethyst didn't realize was that she had knocked over the jar of boiling hot soup all over me in her haste. Calmly, I rang over a nurse and had her deal with the fresh burns.

As soon as I was done allocating the workload to my secretary, Gail Bloom, Lance shot me a text.

"Guess where Amethyst and I are at right now?"

Soon, he sent me a photo of the marital bedroom Amethyst and I were bound to share that was tucked inside Knight Manor.

"I've already had a taste of your wife on your behalf. So, I might as well stress test your bed out for you."

It had only been 24 hours, and here Lance was, ruining the bedroom that I had painstakingly prepared for the past six months.

Unable to endure his shenanigans anymore, I changed out of my hospital gown and rushed back to Knight Manor. As soon as I walked into the mansion, I could feel the household staff's contemptuous gaze on my crotch.

"Is Mr. Archer really impotent?"

"Thank goodness Ms. Wyndham is smart enough to find herself another man in advance. It'd be far too pitiful for her to endure a sexless marriage for the rest of her life."

I swept my gaze across the gossipmongers who kept running their mouths in front of me. Once I dealt with Lance and Amethyst, I'd make sure to deal with them properly.

Taking a deep breath, I opened the door to my marital bedroom. What I ended up witnessing was far more shocking than the shameless scene I had witnessed in the hotel suite.

Amethyst was in the middle of a call. It was my first time hearing her speaking in such a humble manner.

"Professor Linden, I know you have very few slots left in your team. The thing is, Lance is extremely talented. Can you please give him a chance? At least give him a chance to attend an interview…"

The sight of Amethyst behaving like a pathetic sycophant who was terrified of being rejected reminded me of an incident that had happened three years ago.

At that time, I didn't have much standing at the company just yet. Although I was extremely capable, the shareholders didn't bother glancing in my way due to how inexperienced I was.

It just so happened that the daughter of one of our business clients had just graduated from college. I took the initiative to seek Amethyst out, hoping to convince her to tutor the young woman and help her prepare for grad school.

Amethyst had turned me down immediately. She even looked greatly disappointed and berated me for having an ulterior motive.

Having screwed up on this front, I ended up missing out on a business deal that was worth ten billion dollars. But at the same time, I ended up falling in love with Amethyst even more because of how fair and just she was.

Yet, now the very same woman had broken her principles for Lance's sake.

As Lance looked at me, he wrapped an arm around Amethyst's waist, as though he was declaring his dominance over her.

"Amethyst, will Archer get mad at you again for using your connections to get me a referral?"

After Amethyst ended the call, she pinched Lance on the cheek affectionately.

"You're different from him. I'm willing to do anything for you, Lance."

Only then did she notice me standing at the doorway.

"Aren't you supposed to be at the hospital? Why did you return home all of a sudden?"

Lance pretended to look sad. "Maybe he's been stalking you the whole time."

Amethyst's expression crashed instantly. "Archer Knight, do you know that stalking is a heinous crime? I can't believe you're such a twisted pervert! No wonder your mom chose to abandon you after she got divorced!"

I went pale instantly. Amethyst's words were like a blade that cut deep into my heart.

She knew that my mom chose to divorce my dad because she found out that he had kept a mistress by his side. On top of that, that mistress even had a bastard son who was three months younger than me.

Back then, Amethyst pitied me for losing my parents in a separation despite my young age. She had made an oath to never betray me.

Yet now, she was also the one who brought up my past just to hurt me while jeering at me for being an unwanted child.

At that moment, Lance's features were twisted with perverse satisfaction.

"What's the matter, Archer? Cat got your tongue?"

He lowered his head so that he could nuzzle against Amethyst's face affectionately.

"Thank goodness you saw Archer's true colors just in time, Amethyst. You should know that we're the most perfect match made in heaven."

Just as things started becoming tense between us, my dad, Jeremiah Knight, cleared his throat in the living room. It was a sign for us to head downstairs.

Upon hearing the cue, Lance shot me a knowing glance.

"Who knows who'll have the final say in the future, anyway?"

Amethyst glanced at me as well, clearly conflicted.

"Archer, Knight Corp will be going through tremendous changes soon. Stop fighting with Lance already, okay?"

But Lance merely pinched her on the cheek.

"Well, Archer will find out the truth sooner or later. There's no need to drop him any hints right now."

As I listened to the odd conversation, I felt uneasiness starting to gnaw at my heart.