After he left, Auntie Golding looked at the burn ointnt in her hand and suddenly understood everything.
At the corner under the stairs, Cynthia stood in the shadows holding a glass of water, her long hair covering her face, which was extrely sullen.
-
When Ann woke up, she found that the burn on the back of her hand didn’t look as frightening as it did the day before, and there was a faint dicinal scent on her skin.
For so reason, her heart suddenly skipped a beat.
Just then, Auntie Golding ca in with the ointnt, smiling broadly at Ann, "You’re awake, huh? How’s the injury on your hand? This ointnt I brought you is top-notch."
She said this as she sat down beside Ann to apply the ointnt.
Ann paused for a mont, clinging to a shred of hope as she asked, "Last night... was it you who applied the dicine for ?"
"Of course, seeing your hand so red was unbearable for , so I brought the ointnt and applied it for you." Auntie Golding smiled warmly, spreading the ointnt evenly before handing it to her.
"Apply it three to four tis a day, and it’ll almost be healed."
"I see, thank you." Ann gave her a grateful smile, forcibly ignoring the wave of disappointnt rising in her heart.
She realized how foolish she was to even entertain the outrageous thought that Cyrus Hawthorne would co in the middle of the night to apply dication for her burn.
After going downstairs, Ann found that Cyrus wasn’t there, only Cynthia in the living room.
She then left the villa, took a mont to breathe on the lawn, and was planning to take a walk along the road when her phone suddenly rang in her pocket.
Ann picked it up, glanced at it, and frowned.
It wasn’t Laura Quinn; it was Jade Shepherd.
Rembering how every ti Jade called, it was never good news, Ann felt a headache coming on.
But if she didn’t pick up, Jade wouldn’t settle down and might even beco more relentless.
After a mont’s thought, she answered the call, "Hello?"
"Have you gotten so independent that you don’t even answer my calls now?" Jade’s voice was hysterical on the other end, "Do you have any idea how much your past foolishness has affected the family company? You—"
Before she could finish, Ann interrupted her, "Mom, please get one thing straight. It was Cynthia’s foolishness, not mine. If you hadn’t tricked into taking the bla back then, the one being blad by everyone now would be Cynthia."
Jade was montarily choked up, for although it was Cynthia who had initially caused the trouble, after Ann took the bla, Jade subconsciously believed it was Ann’s doing.
So when criticizing her, she couldn’t possibly hold back her tongue.
Now, suddenly reminded by Ann, she felt sowhat embarrassed.
"You did that, don’t forget what you promised your father and back then. If you dare speak a word about it, your father and I will die right in front of you; let’s see if your conscience can take it!"
These words were all too familiar.
Ann gave a bleak smile, "If you have sothing to say, say it; if not, I’m hanging up."
"Wait!" Jade imdiately stopped her, then said, neither lightly nor heavily, "Your grandfather left sothing, specifically asking it to be given to you. I just found it in the warehouse. If you don’t want it, I’ll throw it away tomorrow!"
"I want it!" Ann’s eyes contracted, and she quickly replied, "I’ll co back to get it, only I’m tied up at the mont..."
"Spare the excuses; I gave birth to and raised you, but I’m not obligated to keep these things for you. If you don’t co to get them tomorrow, I’ll throw them away," Jade bluntly stated.
In a hurry, Ann agreed that she would definitely return ho tomorrow to retrieve her grandfather’s belongings.
She knew very well that if she didn’t go tomorrow, Jade, with her disdain for her grandfather, would certainly dispose of the items.
Perhaps in their eyes, everything her grandfather left behind was worthless, but to Ann, it was priceless.
But—
How was she going to leave this place?
Ann’s eyes grew a little confused, gradually turning resolute.
As night fell.
Ann went up to the fifth floor, waiting outside the master bedroom for Cyrus to return. Tired from standing, she eventually squatted at the side.
When Cyrus returned from the company to the estate, went upstairs, and saw Ann curled up near his door, his eyebrows slightly raised, and he spoke in a light, cool tone, "What are you doing here?"
Upon hearing the voice, Ann imdiately stood up, only to "bang" and bump into Cyrus’s arm as he reached out to help her.
With a pain in her head, Ann imdiately covered the top of her head and looked at him with tears in her eyes, "Why did you hit ?"
Cyrus was rarely at a loss for words, a slight awkwardness crossing his handso face, "You got up suddenly and hit my arm, twisting the facts."
Ann pursed her lips, recalling her purpose. She didn’t dwell on it and quickly said, "I need to go out for a bit tomorrow, and I’ll be back in at most two hours."
"No." Cyrus pushed open the bedroom door, dropped these two words, and stepped inside.
Ann hurriedly followed him in, wedging her small body inside before he could close the door, a bit anxious, "Why not? You can have people follow , I promise to return on ti!"
"I said no, and that’s it."
"Keeping here all the ti is not beneficial for you either, right? How about this, I’ll help treat Cynthia’s injuries, and you let go out for two hours?"
Hearing her persistent attempt to bargain, Cyrus let out a soft chuckle, tossed his tie aside, and then unhurriedly began to unbutton his shirt.
His tone was as calm and steady as ever, "I choose to keep you, so what?"
Ann was taken aback for a mont before realizing the implication in his words, finding it unreasonable, her cheeks flushed with annoyance, "Cyrus, can’t you be reasonable?"
By this ti, Cyrus had unbuttoned the last button, revealing his wheat-colored chest and clearly defined, powerful abs.
It was srizing.
When he glanced sideways at her, his eyes seed to be enveloped in layers of mist, and his thin lips curled into a faint, alluring smile.
"Being reasonable with cos at a price."
"What... price?" Ann’s eyes flickered slightly, her pretty face tinged with a faint blush, sowhat afraid to et his enigmatic gaze directly.
She didn’t know if she was overthinking it, but she felt as though there was a hidden aning in Cyrus’s words.
Just as Cyrus’s lips were about to part, seemingly to answer her question, Ann suddenly panicked, "I just rembered, I have sothing to do, I’m leaving!"
With that, she turned and ran out of the room, like a startled kitten.
Cyrus watched her retreating figure with his narrowed eyes, his thin lips curling into an almost pleased smile.
She was quite easily flustered.
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