Chapter 111 Protect Me?
The city hummed around him as Derek drove. Lights flickered past the buildings, but his mind was elsewhere, darkened by memories he had long buried.
He had convinced himself it was just curiosity, just the need for closure. But now, as he approached the café where they agreed to meet, that curiosity had a sharp edge. His chest tightened, not with desire, not yet, but with the weight of ego and memory.
When he stepped inside, she was already there, seated with effortless poise. Her hair framed her face perfectly, and even in casual clothes, there was an elegance that made the air around her seem thinner. She looked up and smiled; her smile small, calculating, and knowing.
“You came,” she said softly.
“I did,” Derek replied, his tone clipped, and controlled. He stood a moment, letting his eyes assess her this time.
She hadn’t changed much. Maybe a few more lines in her smile, a subtle shift in her posture, but the essence of her, the presence that had once consumed him, was intact.
Celia tilted her head. “You know, I used to wonder something.”
Derek raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”
She leaned back, letting her gaze linger on him. “Back then… when we fought, when we argued, when you promised me everything, you never really fought when I left. Not truly. You let me go without a real struggle. I’ve always wondered… did you ever truly love me, Derek?”
The words struck harder than the kiss ever could. His jaw tightened, and he clenched his fists on the table. His memory flashed back, every argument, every late-night confrontation, every moment he had tried to hold her close, every moment he had been ignored, dismissed, or left behind.
“I… I don’t understand,” he said finally, voice low but edged with heat. “Why did you leave?”
She met his eyes squarely. “Because your grandfather wanted me to. He said I had to go. That it was for the Hemsworth family. That you… weren’t ready to make me yours the way you thought you were. That I was nothing but a distraction to you.”
The words ignited something fierce inside him, a fire he hadn’t felt in years. Anger, humiliation, and a raw, aching ego all collided. He felt as if the past itself had been carved into him with a knife, reopening every wound he had tried to seal.
He couldn't have heard right. Had he? His own grandfather had sent Celia away? No. That can't be true.
“My grandfather?” Derek’s voice was sharp, tremulous. “Why would he ask you to leave? I need to know why he had the power to destroy what we had. Why he made you leave!”
Celia watched him carefully, a hint of triumph in her eyes. “He did what he thought was best. I didn’t have a choice. But… maybe that’s why I reached out now. So you could finally see the truth for yourself.”
Derek stood abruptly, pushing back his chair. “I’m going to him. Now.”
Celia’s eyes flickered with something, amusement, perhaps, or the satisfaction of a plan unfolding. “Be careful, Derek,” she said softly. “The past has a way of catching up to you.”
He didn’t answer. He left the café with a sense of urgency that made his chest pound. Every step was heavy with memory. Every thought was edged with anger.
How could his grandfather do that to him? How could he have asked Celia to leave yet had said nothing when he was in pain and causing himself pain?
How could his grandfather had remained silent even after he saw how much hurt Celia's disappearance caused him?
He needed answers and he needed them now. He didn't care that Edward was still recovering. He had to give him answers and now!
By the time he reached the Hemsworth estate, his heart was racing. He stormed through the front doors, past the servants who gave him careful, measured glances, and made his way to his grandfather’s study.
“Grandfather!” he shouted, voice echoing. “Why did you force her to leave? Why—”
The sight of his grandfather’s calm face, unchanged by the decades, only fueled his fury. His hands balled into fists. “You had no right to chase her away and then pretend you knew absolutely nothing!”
Edward Hemsworth raised a hand, his voice steady. “Derek. Sit. Calm yourself. This—”
“I will not calm myself!” Derek exploded. “You ruined everything! You took away someone I loved! Do you know what it’s like to lose someone without knowing why? To think you weren’t enough?”
The words hung in the air, heavy and sharp. Edward Hemsworth did not flinch at first. He stood slowly from behind his desk, leaning slightly on his cane.
His face remained composed, but there was a flicker in his eyes. Something that looked between regret and warning.
“Derek,” he said quietly, “you are not thinking clearly.”
“Then make me understand!” Derek shot back. “Did you go to her? Did you tell her to leave? Did you decide she wasn’t good enough for this family?”
Edward’s jaw tightened. “I spoke to her,” he admitted.
The words landed like a blow. Derek felt the ground shift beneath him.
“You—” His voice broke for a split second before anger swallowed it. “You had no right.”
“I had every right,” Edward replied, though his voice was not as steady now. “You were reckless. You were distracted. You were prepared to throw away responsibility for infatuation.”
“It wasn’t infatuation!” Derek roared. “I loved her!”
The strain in his grandfather’s face deepened. His hand gripped the edge of the desk.
“I did what I believed would protect you from her,” Edward said. “I did that to protect you and the legacy you now control.”
“Protect me?” Derek laughed bitterly. “You broke me. Do you know what it did to me when she disappeared? I stopped believing in anything real after that. I stopped—”
Edward suddenly swayed. The color drained from his face, and Derek who had been angry seconds ago felt his heart skip a beat.
“Grandfather?” Derek’s anger faltered.
Edward’s hand slipped from the desk. Everything happened too fast. Before Derek could blink once, his grandfather collapsed forward,
the cane clattering against the floor.
“Grandfather!” Derek lunged, barely catching him before he hit the ground fully.