It might worsen each time.
Those words felt like heavy rocks crashing down on Kendrick’s heart. His eyebrows tightly knitted together as he looked at Niamh, who had now fallen asleep…
Niamh slept for the entire afternoon. When she woke, she saw Kendrick staring at her with a gentle gaze.
She had always been aware of the circumstances right before she fell asleep. Before Kendrick could speak, Niamh spoke instead, comforting him. “Kendrick, don’t worry. I’m fine.”
After hearing Niamh’s comforting words, Kendrick felt even more distressed.
He sat on the bed and raised his hand, softly stroking Niamh’s delicate cheeks. “Nia, sometimes I’d truly hope that you could be coquettish and complain like those ignorant little ladies. I truly don’t want you to be so compassionate. You’re obviously the one who is suffering, yet you’re the one who is comforting me.”
Niamh smiled slightly. “You’re so weird, Mr. Waldburg. Most men want their women to be considerate, gentle, and thoughtful, yet you’re the complete opposite. Do you want me to behave like a little lady, acting coyly and without restraint?”
“I hope so. I truly hope so.” Kendrick held Niamh’s hand tightly, holding them in his palms, and kissed them. “Nia, you are too thoughtful, in the past and the present. That is why I hope you’d be less thoughtful in the future.”
Niamh understood what Kendrick meant by “less thoughtful”. She smiled and nodded. “Okay, I got it. I’ll try to make myself into a ‘less thoughtful’ little lady in the future.”
Kendrick pressed his lips into a smile. He bowed his head close to Niamh, dropping a light kiss on her somewhat pale lips.
“Nia, I made you suffer again because of me.” He lowered his voice, his words ridden with guilt.
Niamh smiled, shaking her head. “Have you forgotten, Mr. Waldburg? We are husband and wife, and the husbands and wives should stick together, through thick and thin.”
Kendrick hugged Niamh, feeling his heart breaking further. “Nia…”
“Cough.”
Niamh was about to speak, but she could not help but cough slightly.
Kendrick released his arms nervously, and his eyes were filled with worry. “Nia, are you alright? Is the poison flaring up again?”
“No, don’t worry.” Niamh immediately assured him. “I just feel a slight discomfort in my throat.”
Kendrick breathed a sigh of relief, but his gaze turned more solemn.
He knew neither when Niamh would flare up next nor what her condition would be like. He only knew that before it came, Shirley had to be dealt with.
“Kendrick, how’s the arrangement regarding Felipe wanting to see Cathy? Didn’t you say that Felipe and Cathy could meet at a special ceremony? What is it?” Niamh finally revealed her curiosity.
“You’re still concerned about that right now?” Kendrick touched Niamh’s head. “Relax, I think they should be seeing each other now.”
“Now?” At this point, Niamh’s shock overshadowed her curiosity.
She still wanted to ask further, but Kendrick took her hand.
“Nia, let me bring you somewhere.”
“Where?”
Kendrick gave a mysterious smile. “To a place that is worth remembering and imbued with memories.”
A place that is worth remembering and imbued with memories.
A scene quickly emerged in Niamh’s mind…
The blue sea and the salty sea breeze.
That was the smell of April Hill all year round.
Now, however, the sea breeze blew with a biting coldness.
Crash.
The waves rushed forth, repeatedly crashing against the reef and shore.
On the empty beach, two figures stood face to face.
Felipe had deliberately groomed himself today, restoring his former graceful gentleman image. He now looked at the person in front of him, unlike in the past, with tenderness and affection.
The person in front of him no longer looked the way she did back then as well.
Cathy’s once tender and sweet little face was now adorned with a hint of mature charm unfamiliar to him. There was no longer the pure admiration for him in her eyes; it had been replaced with some level of calmness and composure that could only be gained through experience.
Whoosh.
Although the sea breeze felt like knives as it blew at them, Felipe did not feel the cold, for his heart was burning hot at this moment.
He had not expected Kendrick to arrange for him to meet Cathy here.
Even though a policeman waited for him in the police car a short distance away, even though he had only one hour, he was already satisfied.
Amidst the silence, Felipe finally summoned the courage to speak. “Cath.”
The way by which he addressed her, though in a familiar voice, bore a hint of foreignness within its intimacy.
Cathy calmly looked at Felipe. Her tone was still so gentle as she spoke. “There’s no need for you to call me that, Mr. Waldburg. It should be clear to you that you don’t have much time, so if there’s anything you want to say, you should just say it as quickly as you can.”
In the face of Cathy’s indifference, Felipe felt disappointed, but he figured that this was fine.
The best outcome would be for her to let go.
Smiling in relief, he said, “Cath, you remembered everything, is that right?”
Cathy no longer denied it. “Yes, I have remembered a long time ago. I’m also aware that Evie and Ken have already told you that you are the father of those two children.”
Upon hearing Cathy’s admission of this, an indescribable wave of emotions seemed to ripple through Felipe’s heart.
“However, I won’t be letting them know that you’re their biological father. You are not worthy.”
Cathy’s words seemed to rapidly freeze the ripples of emotions in Felipe’s heart. His whole body seemed to immediately freeze over too, let alone his heart.
Who could he blame though?
He only had himself to blame.
Felipe put on a bitter, self-deprecating smile, the light in his eyes flickering. A while later, he uttered, “Adam is a good man. He’s worthy for you to depend on.”
Cathy looked at Felipe, indifferent. “Of course, I know Adam is a good man. I don’t need you to tell me that, Felipe. If you don’t have anything else to say to me, I’ll leave then. My kids would cry if they didn’t see their mother for too long.”
After she had said that, Cathy glanced at Felipe and turned around.
“Wait.” Felipe hurriedly stepped forward. At that moment, he could not control himself as he grabbed Cathy’s hand.
The moment their skin came into contact, everything around them seemed to suddenly come to a standstill.
At this moment, it was as though the two of them were the only people on earth.
Felipe and Cathy locked eyes. After a long while, Cathy returned to her senses and broke free from Felipe’s hand.
“What on earth do you want to say?” Cathy asked, seemingly impatiently. “If you’re still not going to speak, I’ll leave, seriously.”
Seeing the decisiveness in Cathy’s eyes, Felipe dared not waste any more time.
Carefully, he took out an object from his pocket, then stretched out his hand toward Cathy.
Cathy looked down. The sight of the red string in Felipe’s palm stupefied her.
“I’m sorry. Forgive me for only realizing your importance after losing you. Forgive me for discovering you to be that little girl I have been thinking about for more than ten years only after realizing your importance.”
When Cathy heard Felipe’s words, her expression became slightly dazed for a moment, and a strange emotion flashed in her eyes.
“What… did you say?” Her tone, losing the earlier calmness, now sounded somewhat shaky. “Didn’t you know the entire time? Didn’t you only decide to sponsor me because you knew about our first meeting back then?”
“No.” Felipe shook his head slightly. “This whole time, I had mistaken Eveline as you.”
“… What?” Cathy was shocked once again. At the same time, she finally understood.
‘No wonder Felipe had been so concerned about Niamh and would protect her no matter what. It seemed that he had made a mistake…’
“For all those years, since meeting Eveline, I had thought she was you. I had thought that she was the girl who had given me the red rope when I was a child, bringing me hope and joy. Until I thought that you were going to leave me forever. Then, I finally realized that, after all these years, I had been giving the warmth and love that I should have given you to the wrong person.”
“…”
Upon hearing this, tears silently fell from Cathy’s eyes.
Those tears were quickly dried by the wind, and she started laughing through her tears.
“Cath, perhaps we’re not fated to be with each other in this life.” Felipe raised his hand and tried to caress Cathy’s cheek, but midway, he clenched back his fist, slowly retracting it.
“When Kendrick had hurt Eveline back then, he could turn back because he had not crossed the line. However, I’m different. I had crossed the line. This is also the gap that prevents us from coming together again.”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.