Chapter 117
Octavius's POV
The lights in the hallway flickered on and off. On the hospital room door, my anxious face was reflected.
Inside, Seraphine lay on the bed. Her face was pale, her lips had no color, and she looked much more fragile than last time.
She must have been very uncomfortable. Even in her sleep, her brows were slightly furrowed.
I opened the door and went in, closing it behind me, then walked step by step to the bedside.
Zander's call tonight came out of nowhere. He said Nolan's heart wasn't feeling well this afternoon and I'd better come to the hospital to check on him.
When I got to the room, Nolan was already asleep, breathing fairly steadily.
Zander said it was a false alarm. Nolan had remembered some old things and got emotional, but medication had been given.
Then he changed the subject and mentioned that he'd just heard from the ER that Seraphine seemed to have been brought in for poisoning.
My heart sank. Without thinking much, I asked for her room number and rushed over.
Hating Heath was one thing, but hearing that something had happened to Seraphine...
I pulled my thoughts back and looked at Seraphine's sleeping face.
I kept reminding myself to remember the hatred, but in this moment, none of it seemed to matter.
Like I was possessed, I reached out my hand. My fingertips hovered above Seraphine's forehead. After hesitating for two seconds, I gently touched down, very lightly stroking her delicate eyebrows and eyes.
Suddenly, Seraphine's hand reached out from under the blanket and grabbed my wrist.
My whole body stiffened, thinking she had woken up.
But Seraphine didn't open her eyes. She just drowsily leaned her face toward me.
Her cheek was warm and soft, pressing against my palm like a kitten seeking warmth, rubbing against it with such trust.
She was saying something, her voice unclear and mumbled.
I froze in place, not daring to move.
The temperature in my palm gradually rose. Seraphine's breath lightly brushed my fingertips, bringing waves of warm air.
What was she saying?
I couldn't help but lean down slightly, turning my ear close to Seraphine's lips, trying to hear what she was saying.
The instant I got close, Seraphine seemed to sense something and turned her face uncomfortably to the side.
The next second, her soft, slightly cool lips brushed past the tip of my nose.
My breath caught, and I lowered my head.
Seraphine's eyes were still tightly closed. That touch just now was just her unconscious movement in her sleep.
Unknown feelings began to surge in my heart. I couldn't control myself from looking at Seraphine's rosy lips.
Like I was possessed, I wanted to kiss her.
Just then, footsteps came from the hallway outside the room.
It was a nurse passing by.
But I snapped back to reality as if waking from a dream. I straightened up and stepped back two steps.
The warmth of Seraphine's cheek still lingered on my palm. I took one last deep look at her, pulled open the door and quickly walked out, gently closing it behind me.
The light in the hallway was even brighter than inside the room.
The light made me squint. I leaned against the cold wall and took several deep breaths, trying to calm my thoughts.
Just then, from behind the door to the emergency stairwell, came a man's voice.
"Yes, Mr. Ryder Obelon, don't worry. The marriage between Seraphine and your grandson Gabriel is settled."
It was Heath.
I slowly frowned and listened quietly.
"It's fine. She was just poisoned, but she's out of danger now. Next weekend, the Whitaker family will officially announce the engagement date."
"Right, we'll release the news first to build anticipation. Seraphine suffered a bit this time, but it's time to settle this. With Gabriel taking care of her, I can feel more at ease."
Seraphine was going to officially announce her engagement to Gabriel in one week.
I clenched my fists. My heart felt like someone had forcibly carved a hole in it.
The elevator doors opened, reflecting my suddenly dark expression.
Several people inside walked in and froze in place when they saw my face.
I ignored them and turned to look at the stairwell.
Heath, the enemy who killed my mother—why does he get to live a happy now, with a thriving company and smooth sailing?
He arranged for Seraphine to marry into the Obelon family, and Seraphine actually agreed?
Even though I kept telling myself that Seraphine and I were already separated by a sea of blood and deep hatred, hearing that she was going to get engaged to someone else, that she would rightfully become someone else's wife, made me feel suffocated.
The violent rage in my heart, the kind that almost made me want to kill someone, was becoming impossible to suppress.
I wanted to wreck Seraphine and Gabriel's engagement party.
I wanted to take her away.
I wanted her to only look at me obediently, forever!
This was just my desire to get revenge on Heath, definitely not because I liked Seraphine.
Right, that's all it was.
I clenched my fists tightly and turned to stride away.
As soon as I walked out of the inpatient building, my phone rang.
It was Quinlan.
"Octavius, how's your grandfather doing? I'm so worried." Her voice was gentle and concerned.
But at this moment, I just felt irritated.
"Grandfather's fine." My tone was cold.
"That's good." Quinlan paused, seeming to hear that my mood was off, and asked carefully, "Octavius, are you in a bad mood? Is it because of Seraphine again?"
I didn't answer her question. I just looked at the hospital building.
In one of those rooms was Nolan.
In another room was Seraphine.
I tried hard to suppress my inner struggle, forcing myself to only remember the hatred.
"Quinlan," I said flatly, making a decision, "that arranged marriage you mentioned before—I agree to it."
The other end of the phone went silent instantly.
Quinlan drew in a breath, her voice starting to tremble: "Really? Octavius, have you really thought this through?"
"I've thought it through. Like you said, if I marry you and use the Powell Group to go after the Whitaker Group, it'll save a lot of trouble. Release the news. Say our two families are interested in a strong alliance and are discussing an arranged marriage, with good news to be announced soon."
I couldn't keep doing these meaningless things just following my heart.
Between Seraphine and me, it should have been a fight to the death all along.
"I heard that Seraphine is going to marry Gabriel and they're getting engaged soon." Quinlan sighed. "Octavius, are you doing this because you're upset about that..."
"Her marrying Gabriel is actually a good thing. If she leaves the Whitaker Group, I can still show her some mercy. But if she gets engaged and still throws herself into the Whitaker Group, then she and I will fight to the death." I interrupted her and spoke my true thoughts.
To this day, I actually really hoped Seraphine would get married, leave the Whitaker family, and become someone else's wife.
But if she insisted on helping Heath...
Raina was the person who gave me life. I could never put Seraphine first again.
No matter how much I couldn't control myself from caring about her now, or like last time at the restaurant when I discovered she was following Amara and was about to be exposed, so I deliberately had someone help her.
All of that was only in situations that didn't matter.
When it came to avenging Raina, I was more clear-headed than anyone.
After hanging up, I gripped my phone tightly in my hand, turned around and threw myself into the night wind.