Chapter 534

Chapter 534

It took Cecilia a while before she slowly turned around. Her face revealed nothing as she looked indifferent—she just stood there.

"So what?" She said, her voice flat. "After telling me all this, do you want me to forgive you? Or do you want me to understand how 'hard' things were for you back then?"

She slowly walked back to the bedside and looked down at Teresa, who once made her feel both respect and fear.

"Mom, listen carefully. Your suffering, your hatred—that's between you and your husband. It has nothing to do with me. I'm innocent. If you hated him so much back then, why did you give birth to me? You had a choice. You chose to have me, then you sent me to Grandma's house. You could have let me live freely in the countryside, but you still brought me back to the Green family and made me become that glamorous director. Now you come to tell me all this—don't you think it's a bit late and ridiculous?"

Every word from Cecilia was crystal clear, hammering down on Teresa's heart.

"I won't accept your apology, and I won't forgive you. What you did to me has grown into my bones—it'll never go away. Those gifts you mentioned, those thanksgiving gifts—they mean nothing to me. Whatever I want, I'll get it myself. I don't need you to give it to me."

After she finished, she didn't look at the pale-faced Teresa on the bed again. She turned and left, her steps quick and urgent.

Her footsteps echoed far down the empty corridor, each one making her chest feel tight.

She thought she could not care and could act like nothing had happened.

But when those old wounds were ripped open so brutally, she realized that the place she thought had gone numb still hurt—hurt to the bone.

She walked out of the hospital building. The afternoon sun was blazing bright, stinging her eyes.

Cecilia's steps felt unsteady, her mind a mess. Teresa's words and Teresa's appearance mixed together, pressing down on her until she could barely breathe.

Suddenly, a sharp screech of brakes!

A black car stopped right next to her, its hood only about two feet from her shins.

Cecilia jumped half a step back to steady herself. The driver's window rolled down, revealing a face she least wanted to see.

Shane, her ex-boyfriend.

Shane took off his sunglasses and grinned, his eyes scanning her up and down with bad intentions. "Well, if it isn't Ms. Green? What are you wandering around here alone for? Looking at you all lost like that—did the Green family kick you out?"

Cecilia frowned, her disgust impossible to hide. "None of your damn business."

"How is it not my business?" Shane turned off the engine, pushed open the door, and got out, walking toward her slowly. "Cecilia, I know you used to look down on me. You thought I wasn't good enough for you. But now, without the Green family backing you up, what do you have to be proud of?" Shane's hand reached out to grab Cecilia's wrist.

"Be with me. I don't mind. Cecilia, we were a couple after all. I've always had my eye on you."

"Get lost!" Cecilia jerked free, his touch making her stomach churn. "Shane, stop flattering yourself! Even if I had nothing, it still wouldn't be your place to tell me what to do!"

"Such a temper." Shane rubbed his hand, looking even more disgusting. "Ms. Green, be smart. You're not the rich young lady you used to be. Be good and I'll make you comfortable. Otherwise..."

Before he could finish, there was a thud.

Shane clutched his chin and staggered back several steps, staring hard at the figure that had suddenly appeared.

"Who—who the hell hit me?"

Harold stood in front of Cecilia, his presence making people hesitant to approach. He shook his wrist, the movement making hearts skip a beat.

"Otherwise what?" Harold's voice wasn't loud, but it carried weight.

"You again? Mr. Glover, we're all in the same circle. You keep coming at me—don't you want to do business in the future?" Shane recognized him and got angry, trying to charge forward, relying on his bigger build.

"Get lost!" Harold kicked again, cleanly knocking Shane to the ground. The latter rolled twice before stopping.

Shane gasped in pain. Looking at Harold's build and presence, and the protective way he stood by Cecilia, he felt intimidated, knowing he couldn't win today.

He scrambled up from the ground, spat out some bloody saliva, and left a parting shot: "Fine, you two just wait!" Then he jumped in his car and drove off.

Cecilia watched Shane's pathetic escape, and the tightness in her chest finally eased a bit.

She turned to Harold, the anger still not completely gone from her face, but her voice unconsciously softened. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to check on you after my meeting. What did your mother say to you? You're acting strange today. Last time we ran into him, you beat him up yourself. Today you didn't even get a chance to throw a punch," Harold said gently.

Thinking of what happened earlier, Cecilia showed a long-lost smile. "Maybe it's because always protecting your fiancé makes you look bad."

After saying this, she felt the tightness in her chest ease even further.

Harold stood beside her, his earlier coldness slowly melting away, his eyes showing something others couldn't read.

"Makes me look bad?" He repeated, his tone rising slightly at the end. "Cecilia, are you sure about that?"

"I was just saying," Cecilia replied. "Harold, when you protect me, I'm really happy. No woman doesn't want to be protected."

A low laugh came from Harold's throat. He walked to her side, his voice still gentle. "Hearing you praise me like this makes me pretty happy."

Cecilia turned her face away, the corners of her lips lifting.

"Can't help it. We're getting married, so I have to get used to being a wife."

Harold loved her frankness and directness.

"Then it's settled. From now on, give me chances to protect you."

He stopped laughing, his voice returning to its usual gentle steadiness. "You... what did Mrs. Green talk to you about that made you so upset? Cecilia, you..."

The usually eloquent Harold had just stumbled over his words.

The heat hadn't completely faded from Cecilia's face. Hearing Harold's gentle question, the frustration caused by Shane was stirred up again by Teresa's words.

She pressed her lips together, her voice somewhat dejected. "My mom, no, my mother... told me some things from back then."

She briefly told Harold about Teresa's rambling, regret-filled confession, and that secret about Drew's background.

"She said she prepared thanksgiving gifts for my wedding, said she loves me..." Cecilia lowered her eyes, a trace of confusion in her voice. "I don't know if I should believe her, and I don't know... if what she said is true, what should I do? Harold, am I not kind of pathetic? I can't lie to myself—deep down, I still hope she can love me. I don't have many relatives left in this world."