Chapter 211

Chapter 211

Octavia's eyes blinked uncontrollably as tears fell again. She wiped them away herself.

She looked at Leopold earnestly.

"I've liked you for a long time. When you helped me find my mom's necklace. When you rescued me from Phoenix City. When you told everyone 'Mrs. Seymour can be whoever she wants to be.' Every time you stood by my side, backed me up, made me feel like I wasn't alone—I was happy. I liked you."

"Leopold, I really, really like you."

It was the best confession Leopold had ever heard.

He gazed at her for a long moment, then the corners of his mouth slowly curved upward. This wasn't his usual faint, fleeting smile—this one came from somewhere deep inside, carrying both tenderness and joy.

"It's not too late to say it now," he said. "I really like you too, Octavia."

Octavia looked at him—at those eyes that finally had focus again, at that gentle smile playing on his lips—and suddenly felt her nose sting.

She lowered her head and buried her face back into his shoulder, her voice muffled.

"Leopold, you're not allowed to fly anymore."

Leopold gave a helpless laugh and answered gently, "Okay."

"Don't go anywhere far away by yourself."

"Okay."

"Don't make me worry again."

"Okay."

"You have to firmly choose me. If anyone gives me trouble, you have to take my side."

Leopold chuckled. "When haven't I taken your side?"

Octavia knew he always had, but for once she wanted to be unreasonable.

She ignored him and continued listing demands. Leopold said "okay" to every single one.

"Last one."

Octavia paused. "You have to love me forever, only me, most of all. And if you betray me, I'll poison you blind again."

Leopold laughed fully this time, lowering his head to brush his lips lightly against her hair.

"Okay."

Outside the window, the night was deep.

The hospital room's light was dim and warm, falling over them both, casting their shadows on the wall where they overlapped—impossible to tell whose was whose.

Octavia rested against his shoulder. She'd cried enough, yelled enough. She felt drained, soft and boneless as she leaned into him.

She didn't want to move, didn't want to leave, didn't want to return to a world without him.

She just wanted to stay like this—listening to his heartbeat, breathing in that familiar crisp scent mixed with antiseptic. It wasn't the most pleasant smell, but it made her feel safe.

"Leopold," she called.

"Mm."

"Your eyes—they're really better?"

"I can see."

"Can you see me clearly?"

Leopold answered with action.

He lowered his head. Her face was very close.

"You've still got tears hanging on your lashes. Are you made of water? You cry so much."

He was teasing, but before Octavia could respond, he continued: "You have a very faint little mole at the corner of your eye. Most people probably haven't noticed it, right? It's so pale you can't see it at normal social distance."

Octavia froze as Leopold leaned even closer, his lips almost touching her face.

His warm breath brushed lightly across the corner of her eye, making her shiver.

"Only like this can I see it clearly."

Octavia closed her eyes as he kissed the mole below her eye, her lips slowly curving into a smile.

"Good," she said. "I was afraid once you could see me clearly, you wouldn't like me anymore."

Leopold looked at her, his gaze lingering on her smile for a long moment.

"Never," he said. "That will never happen."

Octavia watched him for a bit longer, then grabbed his collar. When Leopold had to lean down toward her again, she lifted her head and kissed him first.

Imogen and Lucas were both taken by the police on the same day.

That morning, Octavia had just returned from the hospital and was sitting in the living room reviewing documents John had sent over.

Leopold's recovery was going well—he could already get out of bed and walk around, though the doctor wouldn't discharge him yet. She ran between the hospital and home every day, exhausted, but her spirits were much better than before. She was happy.

At least she knew he was alive, he'd come back, his eyes had healed, and he wasn't going to divorce her.

When the doorbell rang, she assumed John was delivering more documents.

The housekeeper went to answer it, but two uniformed police officers walked in instead.

Monica happened to be coming downstairs. When she saw those uniforms, her steps stopped abruptly.

"Is Octavia here? We need to ask you about something."

The officers showed their badges and briefly explained their purpose.

Imogen and Lucas had been detained on suspicion of orchestrating the plane incident, endangering public safety, and multiple other charges.

They'd come to the Seymour Family home to get information from Octavia and inform her that Imogen and Lucas would be transferred to the prosecutor's office.

Monica stood frozen on the stairs. After hearing what the officers said, she was stunned. "They caused the plane crash? Imogen did that?"

The officers didn't answer her question. They asked Octavia a few more things, took her statement, then left.

Monica came down from the stairs, her face flushed with anger.

"Has Imogen lost her mind? She dared to hurt Leopold! And Lucas—isn't he part of the Seymour Family? Why would he do this? I thought he just wanted to replace Leopold, but I didn't think he was this evil!"

Octavia didn't respond. She picked up her phone and dialed Leopold's number.

Leopold answered, his tone calm. "You heard?"

Octavia: "Yes. When did you know?"

Leopold: "When the rescue team found me, I guessed. There aren't many people who could tamper with my plane."

Octavia's fingers tightened around the phone. "Why didn't you say something earlier?"

Leopold: "No evidence. But now there is. The police found related records on Imogen's computer, and someone on Lucas's side testified against him. They thought I wasn't coming back, so they didn't have time to clean everything up."

Octavia took a deep breath, pushing down the churning emotions inside her.

"I'm coming to see you now."