Chapter 181
"Donovan, you let Leo up this instant, or you and I are done!" Alicia stormed in from outside, radiating fury.
The moment she spotted me, her expression darkened. She shot Donovan a look of pure displeasure.
"Whose grandfather are you, exactly? How can you side with an outsider and bully our grandson? Aren't you afraid of breaking his heart?"
Donovan's gaze was ice-cold. "I've spoiled him too much for too long. That's exactly why he keeps making mistakes."
"How can any of this be Leo's fault?" Alicia bristled. "Have you forgotten? Three years ago, someone nearly killed him. If it weren't for Sophia, we would've lost him forever!"
I sat bolt upright, immediately turning to Donovan. His expression had gone dark, and my heart constricted painfully.
"Grandpa, what happened three years ago?"
I'd always assumed Leopold's misunderstanding stemmed from seeing Ethan and me in the same bed.
Apparently, there was more to the story that he'd never told me.
"Cindy, about that..." Donovan hesitated. "Perhaps it's better if you don't know."
My brow furrowed. "After everything, you're still keeping things from me?"
Donovan remained silent.
"You really don't know?" Alicia's voice dripped with disdain as she questioned me.
I looked up at her, the disgust in her eyes making it hard to breathe.
"I don't know."
Alicia glared at me, then spoke coldly. "You're not worth what Leo has done for you."
"Fine. I'll tell you."
"Shut your mouth! We promised Leo—if he doesn't say anything, neither do we!"
Donovan tried to stop her.
But Alicia ignored him. "I'm telling her anyway. I don't have much time left. If he wants to resent me..."
She drew in a breath. "Then let him resent me."
"You—!" Donovan erupted into a violent coughing fit.
The butler rushed forward to pat his back and help him catch his breath.
I suppressed the urge to go to him, keeping my eyes on Alicia. "Tell me."
"These past three years, Leo has given Sophia everything she wanted. Didn't you ever find that suspicious?" Instead of diving straight in, Alicia posed a question.
I pressed my lips together and replied quietly, "Everyone said Sophia was Leopold's first love. That they had deep feelings for each other."
Alicia's voice turned sharp. "So you just believed it? Never once asked Leo directly?"
I heard the accusation in her tone and fell silent.
Leopold's favoritism toward Sophia had been blatant.
What was there to ask?
Alicia laughed bitterly. "Leo can't even handle you talking to other men. Why would you believe he'd forgive Sophia for abandoning him and running off with someone else?"
Her interrogation cut deep. "But he did forgive her. He paraded around with Sophia for everyone to see. What reason did I have not to believe it?"
"You're such a fool!" Alicia mocked. "You were with Leo for all those years and still didn't understand what kind of person he is."
I clenched my fists silently.
Arguing now was pointless. I needed to know what really happened three years ago.
Seeing my silence, Alicia scoffed. "Three years ago, Leo went to see you. He said he wouldn't be coming home that night, but suddenly showed up at midnight—completely changed. Yet you didn't notice a thing. You were too busy with your career."
"Later, Leo got drunk at a bar, and someone slipped him drugs. He tried to escape but got cornered by thugs in an alley. They were beating him to death when Sophia appeared and saved him."
"But the drugs had already taken effect. Leo was delirious. He mistook Sophia for you."
A sharp, tearing pain ripped through my chest.
I'd never understood why Sophia had a miscarriage three years ago, or when she'd even gotten pregnant in the first place.
Now everything made sense.
Leopold thought I'd betrayed him. He put on a facade in front of me while suffering in silence. He'd nearly been killed.
Why hadn't he told me any of this?
Even when we fought because of his coldness, he never mentioned it. Not once.
Seeing my prolonged silence, Donovan rushed to explain. "Cindy, Leo was in a terrible state back then. He didn't dare confront you. Later, when he finally wanted to talk to you, Sophia was already pregnant. But the baby wasn't developing properly—she miscarried after just a month."
"After that, Leo felt so guilty. That's why he's been taking such good care of her."
I turned to him suddenly. "Grandpa, did you know about this all along?"
Donovan shook his head. "No, I only found out a few days ago."
"Your parents came to see me and told me Leo was keeping you against your will. I confronted him about it, and he couldn't hide it anymore. That's when he told me."
I exhaled quietly in relief. At least Donovan hadn't been keeping secrets from me, too.
"Lucinda, you've already hurt Leo once. Now he's doing irrational things again because of you."
Alicia spoke up again, her words cutting deeper than before.
"Regardless of whether the child you're carrying belongs to the Percy family, I hope you'll leave him. We're old. We can't handle this kind of turmoil anymore."
"Alicia, stop talking nonsense!"
Donovan tried to intervene, but Alicia pressed on.
"After everything that's happened, you still want Leo to be with her? Aren't you afraid he'll end up like he was three years ago?"
Donovan froze. His lips moved several times, but no words came out.
I had nothing to say either.
I knew nothing about what happened three years ago. If I hadn't sensed something was wrong and started investigating, I wouldn't have even known I'd been set up.
Now that I knew Leopold's coldness and distance these past three years hadn't been baseless—that he hadn't simply fallen out of love—I felt even more suffocated.
The anger and resentment I'd bottled up for three years suddenly felt aimless and powerless.
In the end, no one was wrong.
But everyone was.
Seeing my continued silence, Alicia gripped her cane tightly, then had someone bring her bag over.
Neither Donovan nor I understood what she was doing.
A second later, she pulled out a report and handed it to me. "Look at this."
I hesitated before reaching out to take it.
It was a medical report. I didn't understand.
"Open it," Alicia instructed.
I did as she said.
When I saw the words 'late-stage lung cancer' printed clearly on the page, my eyes widened in shock.
"Mrs. Percy, you..."
"Cindy, what does the report say?"
Donovan's worry was palpable. He immediately asked me to show him.
I glanced at Alicia. Seeing no objection, I handed it over.
The moment he read it, his face went ashen. "Alicia, you..."
Alicia waved her hand calmly. "It's nothing. Everyone dies eventually."
Then she turned to me again, her tone no longer aggressive.
What remained was an elder's plea to a younger generation.
"I don't have much time left. Before, I wanted Leo to marry Sophia—not just because the Percy family owed her a debt, but because she wouldn't cause him pain."
"I know you're the one in Leo's heart. But these past three years, I've never seen Leo smile. You rarely came to Percy Manor. Your lives were like taut strings—never a moment's peace."
"Even your parents and Donovan have worried themselves sick over you two. I'm old. I don't need my grandchildren to be wealthy or successful. I just want him to be safe, healthy, and at peace."
"Lucinda, I'm begging you—grant me this one final wish. Please?"