Chapter 217 We Are the Same Kind
Stefan glanced at the caller ID on the screen, and his relaxed expression instantly froze.
It was Dione.
He instinctively looked at Cecilia, his finger hovering over the decline button, as if he wanted to just hang up.
"Answer it." Cecilia put down her pencil, her eyes regaining their usual clarity and composure. "You can't avoid this."
Stefan looked at her deeply, then finally pressed the answer button and turned on the speaker.
In this glass room filled with the fragrance of flowers, there were no secrets.
The moment the call connected, Dione's piercing voice burst through the speaker, instantly shattering the warmth and peace that had just been established in the greenhouse.
"Stefan! Have you lost your mind?"
Even through the speaker, the overwhelming anger and accusation were suffocating. Dione was clearly furious beyond measure, her usual refined lady's composure completely gone.
"Mom." Stefan's expression turned cold.
"Getting so worked up this early in the morning isn't good for your heart."
"You know about my heart? I think you're trying to kill me with anger!" Dione's voice became shrill and distorted. "Where were you last night? What did you do? Do I need to remind you?"
"Your sources are quite well-informed." Stefan let out a cold laugh, his gaze sweeping over the scissors on the workbench, their edge gleaming coldly. "Did Anna tell you?"
Besides Anna, no one would have fed information to Dione this quickly and precisely, exaggerating it to provoke Dione's fury.
"Who told me doesn't matter! What matters is the truth!" Dione completely ignored his question and went straight to the point. "I heard Amelia's mother is a lunatic? Is that true?"
The air seemed to freeze in that instant.
Cecilia stood there, her body stiffening for a moment, then letting out a sigh.
She knew why Dione was reacting so strongly.
Everyone in Harmony City's upper circles knew about Dione's disgraceful elopement in her youth. Locked in that dark basement and tortured for half a year, Dione herself had nearly gone mad.
Out of respect for the power of the Saunders family and the Hensley family, no one dared to bring up Dione's painful past to her face, but that didn't stop them from gossiping about her in private.
And for Dione herself... having once been in the abyss, she hated the scent of the abyss more than anyone. She despised poverty, despised chaos, and even more despised words like "mental illness" that carried such dirty stigma.
"Watch your language." Stefan's voice suddenly dropped, carrying a clear warning. "That's a patient, not a lunatic."
"What's the difference?" Dione shrieked. "Heredity! Don't you understand? Mental illness can be inherited! You actually got into a fight with that lunatic Rufus over a mentally ill woman's daughter? Are you trying to make the entire Harmony City laugh at the Hensley family?"
"A vile bitch, and the daughter of a lunatic! A woman with such inferior genes, and you dare keep her by your side? Stefan, have you gone mad too?"
Each sentence was like a poisoned knife, precisely stabbing at Cecilia's most painful spots.
Cecilia lowered her head, looking at the blue veins bulging on the back of her hand.
In her past life, she was the Ember family's illegitimate daughter, a shameful secret; in this life, she was the daughter of a "lunatic," an existence with inferior genes.
No matter how hard she tried, how talented she was, in the eyes of these so-called nobles, she seemed to forever carry an indelible original sin.
Stefan suddenly gripped his phone tightly, his knuckles turning white. Just as he was about to interrupt this absurd accusation, a cold hand gently touched his arm.
He turned his head and saw Cecilia.
She wasn't crying, nor was she trembling with anger. She just looked calmly at the phone, her eyes showing a heartbreaking acceptance.
"Let me hear it all." She silently mouthed the words.
Stefan gritted his teeth but didn't hang up.
On the other end, Dione continued her hysterical tirade: "I'm telling you, as long as I'm alive, that damned bitch Amelia will never set foot in The Hensley Mansion! If you want to fool around with her for fun, fine, but if you dare actually fall in love with her, or even think about marrying her, I'll act like I never had a son!"
"Fool around for fun?" Stefan finally couldn't hold back. He laughed coldly, his tone carrying an unprecedented chill. "Mom, it seems you really don't know me at all."
"I, Stefan, do things never just to pass the time."
"And another thing, Mother, if you're really that bored, you should spend more time managing Anna. Tell Anna to stop pulling these manipulative tricks behind my back. Otherwise, don't blame me for not caring about the relationship between the Hensley family and the Clark family, and making it impossible for her to stay in Harmony City!"
With that, he didn't give Dione another chance to shriek and hung up directly.
The world was finally quiet.
But those hurtful words were like shattered glass scattered on the floor, impossible to sweep clean.
Stefan threw his phone on the workbench and turned to look at Cecilia. His chest rose and fell slightly, clearly struggling to suppress his anger.
"Don't listen to her." He reached out, wanting to touch Cecilia's shoulder. "She has a trauma response to this kind of thing and speaks without thinking."
But Cecilia took half a step back, avoiding his touch.
This movement left Stefan's hand frozen in mid-air.
"Your mother is right." Cecilia raised her head, the corner of her mouth curling into a self-mocking smile that looked worse than crying. "Having a mother like that is indeed a huge liability."
"And..." She took a deep breath, her eyes becoming somewhat hollow. "What if?"
"What if it's really like she said, and this madness flows in my blood? After all, I've died once too, so my mental state might not be much more normal than my mom's."
"Cecilia!" Stefan sharply cut off her self-destructive confession.
He stepped forward and forcefully grabbed her shoulders, with such strength he almost seemed ready to crush her.
"Look at me." He stared into her eyes, two flames burning in his deep pupils. "I won't allow you to talk about yourself like that."
"Whether you're Cecilia or Amelia, you are first and foremost yourself. The renowned 'Echo,' the woman who dared to confront Rufus, the person who can stand up again after setbacks."
"As for genes, mental illness..." Stefan snorted coldly, his eyes showing an unparalleled arrogance. "Have I done few crazy things in my life? If we're really talking about madness, I'm probably more suited for a mental hospital than you."
"Dione doesn't represent the Hensley family, and she certainly doesn't represent me. My choices don't need anyone's approval."
He lowered his head, moving close to her face, the distance between them so close their breaths mingled.
"Listen, even if you really go mad, I'll go mad with you. Worst case, we'll book a double room at the mental hospital."
This somewhat roguish statement with its dark humor successfully brought a faint light to the deathly stillness in Cecilia's eyes.
She looked at Stefan so close before her, at the unreserved determination in his eyes, and her eyes suddenly felt a bit sore.
"You're the crazy one." She cursed hoarsely.
"Thanks for the compliment." Stefan released her shoulders and instead took her hand, gripping it tightly in his palm. "Since we're both crazy, that makes us the same kind."
"Come on, let's go back inside." He pulled her toward the exit, his back straight as a pine. "I'll deal with all that messy noise from outside. Your job right now is to live well, live more beautifully than anyone else, and infuriate those who want to see you fail."
Cecilia let him lead her, looking at their clasped hands.
Warmth continuously flowed from his palm.
On this early winter morning, facing malice from the entire world, she felt for the first time that she had truly found a comrade-in-arms to whom she could entrust her back.
Even if the road ahead was full of thorns, even if behind her was an endless abyss. As long as his hand didn't let go, she dared to keep walking forward.
As for what their relationship actually was?
Partners? Or... lovers?
It seemed that in this moment, none of that mattered anymore.