Chapter 4

She had a new daughter now?

That was good. At least someone would be there for her in the future.

But why did my heart hurt so much?

Just as my nose began to sting, the little girl added another sentence:

"But I'm adopted though."

"Mom said she used to have a daughter, but she didn't want her anymore."

I froze for a moment.

This was for the best.

In my previous life, because the family wouldn't accept me, she suffered half a lifetime of hardship.

This lifetime, she finally had a clean, unblemished daughter.

I patted her head.

The little girl tugged at the corner of my dress, pointing down the hallway:

"Mom told me to bring you to meet your future husband."

I followed the little girl down the corridor, my heart racing.

What kind of person was the crazy heir of the Godfrey family?

Could it really be him?

Someone as cold and aloof as he was—how could he have become the "crazy" person others described?

The little girl stopped in front of a wooden door, waved, and ran off.

I stared at that door, my heart pounding incessantly.

I pushed it open.

A tall, slender man stood by the window.

Hearing the sound, he turned around.

That familiar, cold, hard face instantly crashed into my line of sight.

It really was Caspian Godfrey.

He was more mature than five years ago, and colder.

The moment I saw him, memories flooded back of when I'd heartlessly dumped him.

Even telling him he was a pauper who couldn't give me a future.

I instinctively turned to flee.

"Where are you running!"

He reacted extremely fast, crossing the distance in a few strides.

He grabbed my wrist and yanked me into the room.

The door locked heavily behind us.

He threw me onto the sofa, looking down at me from above, his eyes full of mockery:

"You walked away without a second thought back then, and now that you see I've become the Godfrey heir, you're feeling guilty?"

I opened my mouth to speak.

But his violent movement had aggravated my fragile nerves.

A fierce dizziness struck.

The world before my eyes instantly twisted and went black.

I didn't even have time to explain before completely losing consciousness.

I don't know how long passed before a cold touch jolted me awake.

I struggled to open my eyes.

Caspian was sitting on the edge of the sofa, two fingers resting on the pulse at my wrist.

His face was extremely grim. Seeing me wake up, his voice was cold and piercing:

"Quinn, what's wrong with your body?"

I looked at his tense face, knowing I couldn't hide it.

He was studying medicine—five years ago he was already a prodigy at medical school.

Even with just a simple pulse check, there was no way he couldn't detect how desperately weak my pulse was.

I calmly pulled my hand back.

Smoothing out my wrinkled dress, I met his gaze.

"Brain cancer. Late stage."

His body shook violently, the coldness in his eyes instantly shattering.

I ignored his shock and continued:

"Caspian Godfrey, I agree to the marriage alliance."

"But I have one condition. After we're married, you can't tell my mother about any of my movements."

Caspian stared at me intently.

His chest heaved violently, his hands clenched into tight fists.

I looked at his pale face, thinking he would lose his temper.

But he said nothing.

He gazed at my bloodless face for a long time, then slowly closed his eyes.

Hiding all his emotions.

His voice was hoarse:

"Okay."

My tense nerves finally relaxed.

I'm sorry.

I can only let you bear this pain.

But my mother is different.

I'm not afraid of my mother hating me, but I'm afraid of her worrying about me.

Hatred is better than worry.

After I die, my mother will have my adopted sister with her.

She'll only think her vain, greedy daughter is better off far away.

I looked at Caspian and said to him sincerely and calmly:

"Thank you."