The Enticing CEO’s Chosen Bride
Chapter 2053

Seth stood behind her, his expression somber as he watched her silhouette.

Her head turned slowly from side to side, disbelief etched on her face as she took in her surroundings, unable to accept what had happened. After what felt like an eternity, she spun around, her eyes bloodshot with distress. "Issac's dead?"

She spoke directly, confronting the cruel, ruthless reality she least wanted to face.

Seth's deep-set eyes flickered slightly as he replied, his voice cool, "I don't know."

Cicely suddenly stepped toward him, and up close, the resentment in her gaze was unmistakable. She pushed against his chest with both hands.

A woman's strength isn't much. Seth thought she might slap him in fury, as she had done the day before, but instead she pushed him, and caught off guard, he swayed almost imperceptibly.d2

Cicely persisted, "Is Issac really dead?"

Seth met her gaze, "No."

Cicely's eyes widened, holding back restraint and forbearance. "Why didn't you let me go out last night?"

"Because you needed to have dinner, take a shower, and get some sleep."

"Because Issac's gone." She cut him off, her eyes shimmering with a layer of unshed tears.

Seth's face darkened, his voice suddenly turning cold, "He wasn't dead!"

Cicely's gaze drifted upward, studying Seth's stern face in silence. Then, as if a thought struck her, she pulled out her phone and dialed Brody's number, pressing the phone to her ear.

The call was cut off the moment it started to ring. She tried again, with the same result. After five or six attempts, she gave up and walked away.

The hospital director's office was in chaos, but the director could only plead with her to calm down.

"Where is he? How can someone just disappear?"

"Ms. Cicely, the patient was taken by his father. We couldn't stop it."

"So what good are you? You can't save a life, and you can't stop someone from leaving? What's the point of this hospital?"

The director could only let her vent her frustration. Seth stood by, allowing her to make a scene. In the end, exhausted and without any answers, she staggered out of the director's office, like a zombie devoid of thought, nearly drifting away.

Leaning against the hallway wall, she mechanically dialed Brody's number again and again, but the result was the same. The call was disconnected as soon as it began.

She put away her phone, her hand resting on her eyes, her slender shoulders curled into a ball. She seemed to be crying, soundlessly, but her helplessness and sorrow were palpable.

Seth approached her and gently pulled her into his arms, his hand cradling the back of her head, his deep and gentle voice emanating from above her. "Let's go have lunch."

Cicely let him hold her, making no attempt to struggle or resist. She didn't respond immediately, but after about a minute of silence, she spoke softly. "I want sour plum juice and Tom Yum soup. I don't want meat or anything from the restaurants outside."

Seth paused, surprised. Her current calm and compliance, compared to her earlier hysteria, seemed far too out of character.

Cicely closed her eyes, "I'm tired."

Seth bent down and picked her up. Cicely did not refuse, her body showing the extreme fatigue as she leaned on him, her eyes closed, unresponsive.

Seth instructed Charlie to prepare lunch.

Cicely was laid on the bed, and Seth handed her a glass of water, which she obediently accepted. After she drank, she nestled into the covers.

An hour later, Charlie brought dinner.

Cicely always ate with a slow, distinctive elegance. Eventually, she set down her cutlery, dabbed her mouth with a napkin, and looked at Seth with a calm expression. "Do you not want to divorce me?" Seth's grip on his cup tightened slightly.

Cicely, who was leaning on the couch, her tone as cold and indifferent as her complexion. "So you think, by taking Issac away, making me unable to see him again, I'll just think he's left, not that he's dead, and that I won't choose to divorce you over him?"

Seth remained silent. After setting the glass down, he said, "It sounds like you might be right."

Cicely tugged at her lip, "Why? What else do you want? Aren't the Ellis Group's shares in my hands good enough? Or is it because I was the one who spoke up first, giving you a feeling of being dumped, and you feel that your supreme dignity has been trampled on, and you can't get over it, so you won't divorce?"

Seth's jaw was tightly clenched, his thin lips pressed into a straight line. He was restraining himself, and after a long while, he hooked his lips and piled the leftover food in front of him. "So no matter what, this marriage... might not be able to be ended for now."

Cicely's lips curled in a sardonic smile, "Can't you just pretend you dumped me?"

"How can we pretend? The fact is you wanted to dump me. Why would I want to dump you for no reason?"

Cicely's eyes, tinged with a cold smile, grew chillier as she murmured thoughtfully: "For no reason, huh?"

The sound of a knock on the door interrupted them, and Seth turned to open it himself. Charlie stepped in, "Mr. Diaz, the company matters are pressing. Everyone's waiting for you; it can't be delayed any longer."

After the events of the previous day and losing an entire building, Diaz International's shareholders and executives were restless.

Charlie's work phone had been bombarded with calls, including the one Mr. Diaz had handed off to him. Mr. Diaz had first gone to the Ellis Group, then straight to the hospital, staying by his wife's side, cool and composed as if nothing had happened. But Charlie didn't believe Mr. Diaz was unaware of how bad the situation truly was.

"Okay."

Cicely withdrew her gaze and slowly closed her eyes against the back of the couch.

Seth straightened up and grabbed his jacket from the couch. "I've got to head out. It's a mess out there, and you won't gain anything from roaming around. Stay put in the hospital to avoid unnecessary trouble. Cicely remained silent. She could hear Seth's footsteps fading away, followed by his detached voice at the door. "Keep a close eye on her. Don't take her anywhere but the hospital."

"Understood."

Someone came in to clear the table and tidy up the room, removing the remnants of the meal.

Cicely slowly stood and left the ward. Two burly men followed her as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

She rode the elevator up to Creighton's intensive care unit. The medical staff inside were busy, so she waited outside for a good fifteen minutes before she could enter.

The doctor's report was still not optimistic. Creighton needed to stabilize and make it past the critical forty-eight hours to be truly out of danger.

Cicely nodded and thanked the doctor. She then sat beside the bed, gently holding Creighton's hand, and rested her cheek against its back. "Dad..." Cicely closed her eyes, pushing down the sourness and fear welling up inside her.

"Don't worry about what was said in those recordings. Yes, I said it, but it was just to trick Ray. Joel gave me that USB drive. He's part of a computer club at school, and that drive is a bit special. It can fry a computer, but all the data transfers onto the drive and hides automatically. As soon as someone cracks it, there's no issue. Joel and his team are working hard on the decryption software. Once that's ready and we retrieve the files, I'll be vindicated.

"You really don't need to worry. I'm your daughter, after all. How could I let myself be mistreated? I agreed to go to the justice department because I have solid evidence of my innocence. If they dare to bring me in for questioning, as soon as I prove I'm clear, I'll tear the place apart.

"I've caused plenty of trouble growing up, but I've never actually dismantled a justice department. The thought of it makes my hands itch to do it. But that's likely to be a mess to deal with later, and I'll definitely need your support.

"But since you don't want me to get arrested, I won't. However, I still intend to smash the place up. Dad, you've got to recover quickly and be my strong support."

Cicely stood up and wiped away the tears at the corner of her eyes. She stroked Creighton's graying hair. Her heart was full of pain and tenderness. Right now, she had so much to say to someone, so very much.

She wanted to talk about Issac's situation, her desire to divorce Seth, and the possibility that she might be pregnant. But everyone who should know was indifferent, detached bystanders. Even if someone died, it was just a bit of excitement for them.

When one person's tragedy becomes another's entertainment, the thought itself is infuriating.

The people who truly cared for her would react the most, and offer her the utmost support. That was why she couldn't bring herself to tell Creighton about these issues.

Creighton knew how much Issac meant to her, how heartbroken she'd be over divorcing Seth, and how ill-timed a pregnancy would be now. Creighton must be disappointed in Seth too, so she couldn't tell him any of it.

Cicely talked to Creighton about trivial things, carefully avoiding any mention of the aftermath of the Diaz International explosion.

Half an hour passed quickly, and the ICU doctor came in to ask her to leave.

After leaving the unit, Cicely went to the hospital's park and sat on a bench near the fence. Beyond the fence was the parking lot. Her mind was a blur. All she could think about was hoping for Creighton to wake up; she couldn't figure out anything beyond that.

As she stared blankly at the distant parking lot, watching people come and go, some leaving with large bags and happy faces, others rushing in with somber expressions, she recognized a familiar figure carrying things from a car towards the hospital. At that moment, her phone rang.

It was Grandpa calling. He asked about her dad and Danielle's condition. Cicely's eyes narrowed. Danielle...

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