Gwendolyn's tears turned into a stream. She could not stop them.

Clutching his hand, she screamed, "Don't you dare die, Cedrick! I'm going to marry someone else if you die and make you regret it as long as you live!" Cedrick's bloody lips parted in a painful smile.

"T-That won't do. You're mine."

Despite her tears, she managed a chuckle before turning to the two paramedics in the corner. "I'm here. Send him in, quickly."

Cedrick would not let go of her hand. "Let me explain, Gwenny, please?"

"Be good and go through with the surgery. I'll be out here. You can tell me everything when it's over."

Cedrick's visage was paler than ever. It looked as though every drop of blood had been drained from him. It was plain he could not hold on much longer.

However, he stubbornly maintained his grip on her wrist-he wanted to get a good look at her. There was only a ten percent chance of survival if he went in, and he feared he might never regain consciousness

Gwendolyn's heart wrenched painfully. She forced herself to pry his fingers apart and watched him being wheeled into the emergency room.

The light came on, indicating that the surgery was underway. Gwendolyn sat outside and gazed blankly into space. The tears streaking her face had not yet dried.

It was her first time shedding tears in front of that many people, but she did not care. All she knew was that she did not want Cedrick to die.

She waited for three hours until nine that night, yet Cedrick still had not emerged.

Nico sent the squadron home. With a similarly grave expression, he sat on the bench across from Gwendolyn.

Then, as if he had considered something at length, he began, "You thought that Mr. Jenson had lied to you about the incident involving the abandoned warehouse six months ago. He was not. He did enter knowing full well he might die. If not for the rest of the boys making it there in time to rescue what's left of him, he would have died in the fire."

Gwendolyn looked up slowly to meet his gaze.

Nico continued glumly, "As for why he did not return to you despite having survived, the Jenson family had been going through internal strife, and he needed to return and deal with it. The whip scars on his back are a consequence of his defiance of the Jenson family laws. Though he was fortunate to have survived at the warehouse, vast areas of the skin on his face had been burned, and he had broken his leg in the fight. His internal organs, too, are not faring any better."

His gaze flicked and he skipped the part about the virus in Cedrick's body.

Aside from his duties to oversee his family, the reason why Cedrick did not return to Fairlake was that the professor still had not discovered a complete cure for the virus within him, and it necessitated a trip to the laboratory every other day. It was only with the help of the suppressant that he lived until now.

Cedrick had once decreed that not a word of any of it was to be mentioned to Gwendolyn.

Pulling himself out of his reverie, Nico continued, "When has Mr. Jenson not put his life on the line to win you back, Ms. Gwendolyn? He's true to you! He's a fool when it comes to love for he only knows how to give everything he has but would never tell you any of his pain. He was ashamed to reunite with you after regaining his identity because he was afraid you would hate him more if he mentioned it. He feared that he would lose you forever. He has bumbled himself before you."

Gwendolyn lowered her head. Her heart was filled with guilt to the brim, and it tormented her.

She saw Cedrick covered in blood every time shut her eyes. Worse still, something like that had happened to him more than once.

He must have been in even worse shape during the incident at the abandoned warehouse six months ago.

However, she was still furious that he had kept all that from her. She blamed him for his deception and she even whipped him.

Gwendolyn felt her heart sear with pain as though it was stabbed. The intensity of it made her gasp for breath.

"I am sorry."

Aside from those three words, she could not offer anything else to make up for it.

"An apology is not what he needs. Just a little bit of love on your part will send him over the moon."

Nico sighed at the sight of her despondency. "He no longer owes you anything, Ms. Gwendolyn, but when he found out that you were grieving for six months because of him, he blamed himself. He had me procure a whip not because he wanted to put on a charade for you but because he was trying his best to make up for the pain you have endured for six months. That you did, but he too, has been tormented by illnesses for half a year."

"When you slammed the door and left yesterday, he wanted to wait for you to come back so he could explain things, but you went to Old Mr. Jenson and asked to call off the engagement instead. Worse still, Old Mr. Jenson agreed to it. He was only hit by the bullet because he had been distracted."

Gwendolyn stopped crying at once and frowned. "I did see Old Mr. Jenson and proposed for the engagement to be called off, but he did not agree. I was planning on doing something about it. Who told you this?"

Nico met her gaze. Realizing that something did not add up, he quickly sent somebody to investigate.

Half an hour later, the atmosphere at the entrance to the emergency room grew tense.

"It was somebody sent by Mr. Xander."

Gwendolyn's features hardened. "Xander? How well does Cedrick get along with him?"

Nico appeared serious. "Not very well. The internal strife the Jenson family went through was caused by Mr. Yael, Mr. Xander's father. Mr. Cedrick had only been back for three days and the power nearly fell to Mr. Yael's hands; he only managed to snatch it back after almost two weeks."

Gwendolyn pursed her lips. Looking down, she did not speak.

After a spell of silence, her gaze grew colder. "Do you know how to sneak into the Jenson residence without being seen?"

Nico was taken aback. "Ms. Gwendolyn, are you suggesting..."

There was a cold, dangerous glint in Gwendolyn's eye.

"It's time to settle the score with him."

It was eleven in the evening, and a muffled cascade was sounding in the elegantly decorated bedroom.

Having just showered and clad in a bathrobe, Xander was drying his hair as he emerged from the bathroom.

As soon as he entered the bedroom, the lights in his chandelier began flickering. The curtains, too, rustled from being whipped by the wind. A sense of foreboding filled the space.

Noticing something awry, he put his gold-rimmed glasses on.

At some point, a woman had seated herself on his bed.

Her lithe legs were crossed sideways, and her arms were folded. She looked seductive yet elegant. It was a very pleasant sight.

I must say, Cedrick's little fiancée is beautiful, with an amazing body. Even I want to...

He gave a polite smile. "When did you come her, Ms. Harris? Why would you sneak into my bedroom at this time of night instead of coming through the front door? This is a little inappropriate, don't you think?" Gwendolyn did not speak. She merely fixed him with her glare.

As she was in Xander's villa, he had an army of bodyguards at his disposal. Furthermore, Xander had no reason to fear her as she was a woman. Instead, with a wicked smirk, he teased her.

"Could you have taken an interest in me, Ms. Harris? Are you trying to make my dear cousin a cuck?"

Gwendolyn scowled, her expression turning vicious. Leaping to her feet, she appeared in a flash before Xander and swung the handle of her dagger at his neck.

Xander tried to defend himself but was too weak to do so. As a result, he was knocked out mercilessly. He fell to the ground in a crumpled heap.

Gwendolyn gazed down at him. "Turns out you only look the part of a brute but you're actually pathetic."

When Xander next awoke, he found himself tied to an office chair, and a scrap of cloth stuffed in his mouth. Leaning against the table, Gwendolyn toyed idly with her dagger.

The glint of the blade illuminated her seductive yet cruel face.

Oh, no... This is not a woman to be trifled with.

Xander was beginning to grow afraid. Turning toward the door, he gave muffled yells.

"It's no u

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