Chloe Preston nodded. "Alright. Are we leaving now?"
Donovan Xavier took her hand. "Let take you ho first. Otherwise, I won’t be at ease."
"While I’m away, I’m worried Grandpa might cause trouble for you. If anything happens, call imdiately."
"I know," Chloe replied.
Donovan paused for a few seconds, tightening his grip on her hand. His dark eyes gazed at her as he said in a low voice, "Chloe Preston, no matter what happens, we are not breaking up. And you are not allowed to suddenly disappear."
"Just leave everything to ."
Chloe’s eyes flickered. She didn’t say anything, but she nodded nonetheless.
Then, she spoke up. "Your back injury is serious. When you get there, I won’t be around, so don’t forget to apply the dicine yourself."
"You also have to promise you won’t get hurt again."
A gentle look filled Donovan’s eyes. "Alright. You can check all you want when I get back."
After speaking, he lowered his head and kissed her on the forehead, ever so gently.
「Two days later.」
At night, moonlight poured into the room, casting a cold, clear glow.
Chloe was leaning against the headboard by herself, covered with a blanket, casually flipping through a book.
Donovan hadn’t returned since he left for Portdrey.
He seed to be very busy.
However, he still called and texted her frequently to ask if she was okay and if his grandfather had co over to bully her.
KNOCK. KNOCK.
There was a soft rap on the door.
"Co in," Chloe called out.
The door opened.
Cecilia Miller walked in with a grin, wearing a nightgown and holding a little orange cat.
"Sis-in-law!"
Chloe put down her book, looked up, and smiled warmly. "Why aren’t you asleep yet?"
Before Donovan left, he had been worried that the Xavier Family would cause trouble for her, so he had specifically called Adrian Rhodes and asked Cecilia to co over and protect her.
Cecilia scrambled onto the bed and lay beside her, linking arms with her. "I couldn’t sleep, so I ca to chat."
"Okay," Chloe said. "What do you want to talk about?"
Cecilia thought for a mont. "Sis-in-law, do you really like Donovan?"
Chloe nodded. "Yes."
She often thought that in her entire life, he would probably be the only person she would ever love.
"Why do you like him?"
"I was attracted to his looks," Chloe replied honestly.
Cecilia blinked and asked again, "When did you two get together?"
"University."
"Who pursued who?"
Chloe glanced at her. "I did."
Cecilia nodded. "That makes sense. Donovan is so arrogant; it’s hard to imagine him lowering himself to pursue soone."
"So, Sis-in-law, how did you do it?"
Chloe paused for a few seconds before speaking. "When no one was around, I’d corner him and confess. I told him, ’If you’re willing, let’s be together. If not, you can walk away. It’s not like you’re the only one for .’ Back then, I was very bold—spirited and bright. When I liked soone, I said so directly. I was never shy or one to hide my feelings."
Cecilia leaned in closer, looking at her in disbelief. "Wow, Sis-in-law, you’re pretty fierce. I thought you were the type to have a secret crush."
Chloe chuckled softly.
Cecilia’s gossipy spirit ignited. "And then what happened?"
"Donovan called a lunatic!" Chloe said.
"He also said I was delusional, dreaming in broad daylight.
"That made angry, and I swore I would win him over, only to kick him to the curb!"
After that, Chloe frantically gathered information about all his likes and dislikes. When she learned that he liked soup, she started cooking for him every day, bringing him soup for two months straight. Donovan really liked her cooking. She also managed to get his contact information and began bombarding him with ssages at all hours. Every single night, she’d tell him she liked him, pestering him relentlessly.
Donovan never paid her any mind, only occasionally replying with a curt "Mm." He was incredibly cold.
Eventually, Chloe stopped pursuing him. She stopped sending him ssages, too. She was playing hard to get.
One afternoon, for the very first ti, Donovan actively sent her a ssage.
[Why haven’t you brought soup lately?]
He retracted it a second later, but Chloe had already seen it.
She paid it no mind. Instead, she dressed up beautifully and went to watch them play basketball, where she deliberately gave water to one of his good friends right in front of him.
At that mont, Donovan’s expression was dark enough to kill.
That very afternoon, Donovan dragged her to a secluded corner and trapped her in his arms. He looked down at her and demanded, "Don’t you like ? Why are you flirting with other people? Who gave you the nerve!"
Chloe just smiled faintly. "Sorry. I used to like you, but I don’t feel anything anymore."
Donovan gripped her chin with one hand, his gaze icy as he gave a domineering laugh. "I’m not soone you can just ss with. Now that you have, you’re mine for life! You don’t feel anything anymore, is that right? Don’t worry. I’ll help you find that feeling again."
He kissed her forcefully.
It was her first kiss, and it was his, too.
After that, Chloe beca his girlfriend, slept in his bed, and beca his completely.
She fell more and more in love with him, until she couldn’t be without him. Without realizing it, she began to walk on eggshells around him, becoming sensible and obedient, terrified of the day she might lose him.
Snapping back to reality, Chloe turned her head and glanced at Cecilia, who had fallen asleep beside her.
Chloe moved the cat from Cecilia’s arms to the side and tucked the blanket securely around her.
Suddenly, a phone rang.
Chloe instinctively thought it was Donovan and hurriedly grabbed her phone. She glanced at the screen; it was an unknown number.
Chloe answered, "Hello."
From the phone ca Caleb Xavier’s deep voice. "It’s ."
A flicker of panic went through Chloe, but she forced herself to remain calm. "Grandpa Xavier, hello."
Caleb was silent for a few seconds before he spoke. "If you have ti tomorrow, co to the Xavier estate for a simple al."
Huh? What does he an by that? Hasn’t he always disliked and wanted to leave? Why the sudden change in attitude?
Caleb spoke again. "Are you unwilling?"
"I’m... I’m willing," Chloe said hastily.
The person on the other end said nothing more and hung up.
「The next morning.」
Adrian Rhodes had said Donovan would be back today, so he ca by early to pick Cecilia up.
Chloe drove to the Xavier estate by herself.
Twenty-five minutes later, her car arrived at the old Xavier family mansion. Chloe got out and walked to the entrance, where a servant stopped her.
"Do you have an invitation?"
Chloe paused for a mont. "No, Grandpa Xavier invited ."
The servant sized her up. "Are you Chloe Preston?"
"Yes."
"Please follow ," the servant said.
Chloe walked inside, careful not to let her eyes wander, and followed the servant all the way to the banquet hall.
The mont she stepped inside, she was t with a scene of grandeur and magnificence, so resplendent it was dazzling. Countless scions of noble families, business tycoons, and famous socialites were gathered together, clinking glasses and conversing with laughter.
Wasn’t this supposed to be a simple al? Why are there so many people?
Chloe stood rooted to the spot, montarily bewildered.
"Chloe!"
A voice called out from the front of the room.
Chloe looked up to see Evan York striding toward her. He was dressed in a suit and carried himself with an extraordinary air.
"Sis-in-law!"
Isla Xavier ran over from the other side, her high heels clicking. She wore a misty-blue, strapless tulle dress.
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