Chapter 32

"After that corpse incident last time, their whole family has come to hate you completely. Even if you can still maintain surface-level peace, it's just a fragile illusion," Virio said.

I thought back - after that corpse incident, the way they looked at me was definitely off, like they wanted to get rid of me at any moment.

That's why, when I thought about the people chasing me this time, I couldn't help breaking out in a cold sweat.

I asked, "Are they sending people to kill me this time to get rid of me directly, to avoid future problems?"

"Yes. I negotiated with the local intelligence family, and got some information from them - the group monitoring Anderson received orders that if they found out you went there, they should get rid of you directly."

In other words, they never intended to let me live.

When facing me, Killian turned out to be such a ruthless character.

Hearing this, I stood there struggling with my thoughts for a long time.

"What's wrong? Is there still anything about the Lacey family that you can't let go of? If you're worried about your belongings, I can send people to move everything from your room here anytime."

Hearing Virio's words, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "I'm not worried about that, I'm just a bit surprised."

"I've thought about running away from home before, but I didn't know where I could go without the Lacey family's protection. All these years, I've been compromising and putting up with things around Killian, just because they could still protect me." I never expected that Virio would be willing to take me under his wing.

Thinking of this, I gratefully hooked my arms around his neck.

I gently leaned down.

Even though our position was pretty awkward, I still moved closer to kiss his cheek.

"From today on, will I be living here with you?"

Virio nodded, then smiled and said to me, "Unless you find a way to help yourself, unless Killian dies, I can't think of any other reason you'd need to leave."

I thought for a moment, then said to Virio, "If something has to happen, I hope it's Killian dying!"

But after saying it, I felt a bit regretful.

If Killian just died like that, who would compensate me?

I still need to make him pay back all the suffering my father went through, and all the torment I've endured over these years!

And there was my sister Freya.

When Killian first adopted us, Freya told me that we two must support each other.

But over the years, she had grown to dislike me more and more, and had always been jealous of me.

The two of us couldn't stand each other, yet we maintained this fragile family bond.

Thinking back on it really made me sick.

So I moved into Virio's place.

Killian and Freya seemed to know about this too, but never called.

Virio arranged for people to move some of my clothes and accessories from my room, and the bedroom I was staying in at Virio's place increasingly felt like my own room.

Early the next morning, I went straight to see Vivian.

Compared to what I'd imagined, Vivian's body was recovering even faster.

Seeing me come over, she propped herself up to greet me, "Ms. Lacey."

I quickly walked over and pressed her back down onto the bed, saying carefully, "Don't be so formal with me, you helped me. How are you feeling now?"

Vivian shook her head and said to me, "I'm fine, just got shot in the leg. As long as they take the bullet out and do surgery, it'll be okay. It didn't damage too many nerves or hit the bone."

Vivian also said to me, "As long as I can protect you, my mission is complete. I don't really care that much about other things."

But I grabbed her hand with concern. "I'm sorry, if I hadn't been so slow, you wouldn't have had to..."

Vivian quickly said, "You really don't need to feel guilty about this! For me, all these scars are my badges of honor. I started working as a bodyguard a long time ago. As long as I can protect the person I'm supposed to protect, nothing else matters to me."

Hearing Vivian's words, my eyes welled up.

I sat by her bed for a long time, and we just chatted.

Over the next two days, once Vivian had rested enough, she left directly.

I asked Virio if Vivian had to carry out some other mission.

"But right now, the wound on her leg probably hasn't completely healed yet," I said worriedly.

But Virio held me. "Why are you especially concerned about Vivian?"

I answered without hesitation, "Because this time when we went out, she protected me and kept me from getting hurt."

"What about me?"

Faced with Virio's question, I froze, not knowing what he meant by asking this.

Looking at the man in front of me, I blinked.

Virio stayed silent, using his eyes to signal me to continue answering.

I said softly, "Mr. Soren..."

But Virio sighed and said to me, "I used force to threaten those people to save you, did all this, and in the end, you don't know what I'm thinking?"

"Why can't you care about me the way you care about Vivian? Or do you think everything I do for you is just expected, because we have a partnership?"

His last few sentences set off alarm bells in my heart.

I shook my head frantically, telling him it wasn't like that.

But Virio looked at me with doubt on his face.

I knew he was starting to evaluate the relationship between us.

Maybe to him, I was just someone who kept causing him trouble.

Thinking of this, I suddenly became anxious, and my tone became more urgent. "I haven't just been treating you as a business partner, and that's not why I don't care about you."

"Actually, I care about you every time! But I think you're strong enough, you've always been the one protecting me, so I just never said those concerns out loud."

Virio listened to me seriously.

He gave me enough time to defend myself.

Some inexplicable emotion pushed me, so that looking at Virio, I let down my guard for the first time.

I told him about all my thoughts during this time. "I'm just worried that if I show you feelings beyond what's normal, you'll find me annoying."

So many people come and go around him. They approach him maybe for benefits, maybe wanting to become his woman.

But without exception, they're all after his status.

"What about me? I have a partnership with you, but I can't provide you with enough benefits, and I keep causing you trouble. If we're talking about sincerity, I can't compare to those people who truly admire you." I said in a low voice, my expression gradually becoming dejected. "All I can do is what I'm capable of, which is to be by your side when you need me."