Niamh knew better than anyone the experience she was most reluctant to recall. It was the time when she had been in so much pain that she had wanted to die. To her, it had been a time of misery. A living hell.
Niamh then suddenly realized what might happen when the poison reached the final stage that Shirley mentioned.
‘No.
‘Don’t jump to conclusions.’
Niamh’s mind wondered, then she gently shook her head, collecting her thoughts.
Her heart was racing. Once her breathing difficulties had alleviated, she hailed a car by the roadside, considering returning to the hospital.
After getting into the car, however, Niamh’s imagination ran wild against her volition again.
Initially, she had been unafraid of the physical pain and torment. She had thought she could endure them because the pain she had experienced previously was far worse than it was now.
She had made it through those experiences, so why should she fear?
However, Niamh had a feeling that the final stage Shirley mentioned would not torment Niamh physically, but rather destroy her mentally.
Screech!
The car braked suddenly as Niamh was still deep in thought.
Her body reflexively launched forward, quickly grabbing onto the handle.
“What happened?”
Curious, Niamh lifted her gaze and looked.
Without waiting for the driver’s answer, Niamh immediately understood what had happened.
She saw that Carter and his car were in front of the taxi; it was clear that Carter had forced the taxi to stop.
“I’m sorry, that’s my friend. I’ll get out now.” Niamh immediately paid the driver and got out.
Upon seeing this, the driver knew something was amiss, so he reversed the car and left.
White snow gusted furtively into the air as biting squalls passed by on this winter day.
Niamh calmly looked at Carter who wore a black coat. His mannerism did not seem to be that of the cultured and refined noble that he had before. Now, his presence seemed to radiate a dark and chilling aura as dangerous as the piercing cold wind.
“I don’t want to cause you trouble,” Carter said, breaking the silence.
Niamh listened as the cold wind whistled past her ear. She lifted her hand to wrap her scarf around her neck.
“Why did you stop me then, Mr. Gray?” Niamh asked calmly.
Carter walked in front of Niamh. “Where’s Shirley?”
Niamh could not help but feel that something was odd upon hearing this.
She had thought that Carter intercepted her here because he had been tailing her, but that did not seem to be the case. He might have merely been waiting for an opportunity on this road.
“Are you concerned about her, or are you worried that your plan would be affected if something happens to your pawn?” Niamh asked and chuckled softly.
Carter seemed to frown, then opened his mouth to speak in a cold, but not quite angry, tone. “Eveline, I’m quite fond of you, truly. I think you’re very special, but I hope that you won’t use it in a different place.”
Upon hearing Carter’s words, Niamh smiled softly. “Thank you for your compliments, Mr. Carter, but I don’t need them. I don’t need you to think I’m special, and I certainly don’t need your admiration. On the contrary, you repulse me.”
Carter’s lips seemingly curled. “Is that so? Is that why you won’t tell me where Shirley is?”
“That’s right, I won’t.” Niamh maintained her cool as she looked into Carter’s inscrutable eyes. “However, if you intend to abduct me now to exchange for her, go ahead. I can’t compete with a man’s strength anyway.”
Carter had initially considered this. If Niamh would not speak, he would similarly use this method, abducting her so that Kendrick would exchange Shirley for Niamh.
However, he had not expected Niamh to have already seen through his thoughts and intentions.
Admiration flashed across Carter’s eyes. “Eveline, you’re indeed extraordinary, but I won’t abduct you.”
He walked toward the door to the passenger’s seat and said, “Mrs. Waldburg, please join me for a cup of tea at my place.”
Niamh knew that she did not have a choice. As she got into the car, she swiftly sent a text to Kendrick when Carter was not looking.
Carter did notice Niamh’s action. He figured that Niamh was texting Kendrick, but he pretended not to have noticed it.
His initial goal of whisking off Niamh was to let Kendrick know that Niamh was with him. Since Niamh had already informed Kendrick, she saved Carter some time.
Half an hour later, Niamh returned to the villa once again.
Upon getting out of the car, Niamh noticed that the snow had gotten heavier. The wet and cold ground was covered with a thin layer of snow.
Niamh pulled her coat tighter as she gradually made her way over the snow and into the entryway.
It was warm inside the house. Carter instructed a servant to brew some black tea and bring over some snacks.
He seemed unhurried as he turned and sat on the sofa before slowly speaking.
“It wasn’t truly my intention to cause so many of these incidents. At first, I’d just wanted to discuss business with Kendrick. After realizing that the chance of us reaching an agreement was close to none, I went with the most direct approach, which was you.”
Niamh calmly listened to Carter, then dryly asked, “What business did you and my husband talk about?”
Carter gazed into Niamh’s beautiful eyes for a few seconds, then the corner of his lips lifted into a mysterious smile.
“The plan was already scrapped, so there’s no point talking about it again. However, I won’t be stopping the current plan.”
“Your current plan is to use me to keep my husband in check to obtain your deep secret, is that right?”
“Deep secret.”
Carter repeated those two words, then elegantly lifted his black tea and took a sip.
“Indeed. As you’ve said, it is indeed a deep secret.”
Upon hearing that, Niamh fell silent for a few seconds then resumed her questions. “What exactly is the relationship between you and Shirley? Why does she listen to every word you say?”
“What’s our relationship?” It seemed that Carter was lost in thought, and there was a slight change in his expression as well. Carter seemed to only return to his senses a while later. “An insignificant pawn.”
“If she’s insignificant, then why are you so worried about this pawn to the point of searching everywhere for her, Mr. Gray?”
“Because…” Carter quickly stopped himself after uttering a single word. His sharp eyebrows and dazzling eyes rose as his handsome face smiled in intrigue.
“It seems that you’ve mistaken who’s in charge here, Mrs. Waldburg. I brought you here, so I should be the one directing this game instead of you questioning me incessantly like you’re interrogating a criminal.”
Niamh pretended to only realize this after hearing it. “Oh, I’m sorry. I’ve truly mistaken who’s in charge. Since that’s the case, please go ahead and ‘interrogate’ me, Mr. Gray.”
Niamh’s calmness impressed Carter yet again.
Perhaps it was this calmness of her that had made him feel that she was special back then.
Carter placed the cup in his hands steadily. “I don’t have anything to ask you.”
He checked the time on his watch. “Your husband should be here soon.”
Just as Carter had spoken, Niamh could hear the familiar car engine sound coming from the outside of the villa entrance.
That was Kendrick’s car.
Carter glimpsed at the French window through the corner of his eyes. “That was certainly fast. You’re someone he cares about indeed.”
“You’re so good at cracking jokes, Mr. Gray. I’m his wife, could he not care about me?” Niamh asked and chuckled lightly. “Some people are quite pitiful, however. They obviously care about someone, yet they don’t know how to care for them. Don’t you think so?”
“…”
Carter’s smile froze.
He could tell what Niamh was sneering at him, he did not know what Niamh had meant exactly.
Thud thud thud thud.
The familiar sound of footsteps came closer, and Niamh immediately rose from the sofa.
“Nia!”
“Kendrick, I’m here.”
Niamh looked toward the man who was walking over. The sight of Kendrick’s hurried and frantic look made her sincerely feel sorry for him.
If it were not for her wanting to be alone with Shirley and asking Kendrick to leave, this would not have happened.
At least now that they had reunited, Kendrick would protect her, even if Carter had shown up.
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.