Chapter 97
Octavius's POV
Seraphine was clearly taken aback by my words, her red lips parting in a look of utter helplessness.
"The engagement," I said, my voice ice-cold, "is it real or not?"
Her eyes widened slightly, and then she slowly nodded. "Yes." she whispered, her voice barely audible. "It's real."
My fists clenched. For days, she hadn't contacted me, hadn't offered a single word of explanation. From the moment she woke up in the hospital, she had treated me with a cold indifference. I had been thinking of breaking the ice, but then I heard from a friend that she was looking for an arranged marriage to get rid of Mitchell. Even though I knew she wouldn't choose me, I had held out a sliver of hope that she might come to me. Instead, I was greeted with news reports of her on a date with someone else.
She really didn't have any feelings for me at all. All her previous advances, her supposed affection, it had all been for the sake of the partnership, to use my power. I had foolishly thought she had finally seen the good in me. It was clear now that I had been deluding myself.
I shoved my chair back and stood up. I couldn't bear to look at her for another second. If I stayed any longer, I was afraid I would lose control, that I would just grab her and take her away.
"Octavius!" she cried, rushing after me.
I didn't stop. I pulled open the door to the office.
"Don't be angry!" She grabbed my sleeve, her other hand pushing the conference room door shut.
"What does my anger have to do with you?" I looked down at her, my voice like ice, watching her face turn pale.
She bit her lip, not saying a word, her eyes slowly welling up with tears, threatening to spill over at any moment.
There it was again. That pitiful, wronged look, as if she had no choice. And I, as always, was the weakest one. I couldn't stand to see her like this. The redder her eyes became, the softer my heart grew.
I grabbed her wrist and pulled her towards me. She stumbled into my arms, caught off guard.
I gritted my teeth, glaring down at her. "All you know how to do is cry! Who are you putting on this pathetic act for? I raise my voice at you once, and you start crying!"
She didn't speak, just cried harder.
My fingertips tingled. I loosened my grip on her wrist.
"I... I wish you and Ms. Powell all the best," she choked out, her voice broken. "My engagement to Gabriel is to get rid of Mitchell, and also because I don't want to hold you back anymore. Octavius, I don't want to explain the past. Just think of me as a bad person."
To get rid of Mitchell?
My brow furrowed. So, it wasn't to climb the social ladder with the Obelon family, to get rid of me. It was to get rid of Mitchell. So, her visiting him at the hospital, him showing up at her house... had I misunderstood everything? I had always thought she was still hung up on him, that she wanted to get back together with him.
For some reason, the fire in my chest subsided. I kept my face impassive. "You don't want to hold me back?"
She nodded.
I stared at her tear-streaked face. "So, you're not upset at all to see me with Quinlan?"
She froze, then lowered her gaze. "I am."
I raised an eyebrow. "Really?"
Before my expression could soften, she looked up, her gaze firm. "Even if it hurts, I have to let you go. Octavius, I'm not good enough for you. The Capulet family would never accept me. I'm not right for you."
"Since when is that for you to decide?" I cupped her chin and kissed her.
Her eyes flew open in shock. She froze, letting me kiss her, not daring to move. Was she that easily frightened? I almost laughed. I held her waist tightly, only letting her go when she was gasping for breath. "What if I said I wanted to continue seeing Quinlan, but I don't want to let you go either?"
Her eyes widened. "What?"
I stared at her flushed face. "Seraphine, you've played me for a fool, treated me as nothing more than a business partner, given me just enough hope to keep me hooked. It wouldn't be right if I didn't get some revenge, would it?"
She bit her lip, her eyes filled with a dazed confusion. "Revenge? Whatever you want, whatever I can do to make it up to you, I'll..."
"Make it up to me?" I scoffed, deliberately using the harshest tone I could muster. "Then be my mistress. Since you don't think you're worthy of being my wife, you can be my mistress."
She gasped, her eyes wide with disbelief, as if the suggestion had stunned her into silence.
"What, you don't want to?"
Just as she was about to speak, her expression suddenly changed. She looked up, past my shoulder. "Look out!"
With a cry, she found a sudden burst of strength and shoved me aside.
I stumbled back, just in time to see the wall clock above where I had been standing come crashing down.
"Seraphine!" My heart stopped. I reached for her, but it was too late. She hadn't tried to dodge. She had thrown herself in front of me.
The clock hit her arm. She cried out in pain, her face turning white. I caught her as she fell, a long gash on her arm, blood pouring out. My sleeve was soaked in red. In that moment, the world stood still.
When she was in danger, she had pushed me away.
She had actually done that for me.
Her lips trembled with pain, but she looked up at me, her eyes filled with a worried relief. "Are you okay?"
I looked down at her sweat-drenched face. "Seraphine, are you an idiot? Who told you to block that for me?" If that clock had hit her head, I couldn't imagine what would have happened.
She managed a weak smile. "As long as you're not hurt, Octavius. You have to be okay..." Her eyes held a strange mix of satisfaction and relief, as if my safety was all that mattered.
I didn't care about anything else. I scooped her up in my arms, my own arms trembling. "Hold on. I'm taking you to the hospital!" I kicked open the conference room door and rushed out. "Someone get a car! We're going to the hospital!"
The people in the hallway gasped in shock. In my arms, Seraphine was still trembling, the smell of blood filling the air around us. All my anger, all my resentment, it all vanished. Whatever she had done, whether she had humiliated me, hurt me, used me... it didn't matter. I, Octavius, was a fool for her, and I would be for the rest of my life. I would let her play me for a fool, I would accept it all.
Even if... even if this was just another one of her tricks to get something from me.
I didn't care anymore.
All I wanted was for Seraphine to be safe.
I carried her downstairs. Heath had been alerted and was waiting by the car. He rushed to open the door. "What happened, Mr. Capulet? Why is Seraphine so hurt?"
I laid her down in the back seat, then pushed the driver aside and got behind the wheel. "Everyone, get out of the way!"
Heath stumbled back, then looked at the back seat, his voice filled with panic."Seraphine fainted!"
I whipped my head around and saw her, her eyes closed, unconscious. I gritted my teeth and slammed on the gas, racing towards the hospital.
I ignored the stares and the murmurs of the people who recognized me. I carried her straight into the emergency room. "Zander! Get over here! It's Seraphine! She's lost a lot of blood and fainted!"
Zander's face darkened. He rushed over and quickly examined her. "She's just recovered from her illness. She's too weak. We need to treat her immediately. You should go out!" He glanced at my clothes. "Go on, change."
I looked down and saw that my shirt was soaked in her blood. I clenched my jaw, the ice around my heart finally melting away.
Seraphine...