CHAPTER 2: CHAPTER 2: SHE WAITED FOR HIM FOR FIFTEEN YEARS

It felt like an eternity had passed when Cyrus Hawthorne heartlessly left Ann Vaughn and got up to leave.

Ann Vaughn lay amidst the chaos, staring blankly at the ceiling. After a long time, she wrapped herself in the sheet and walked into the bathroom.

Looking at the heavy red marks ravaged on her skin, Ann Vaughn was stunned, and after a long while, she burst into laughter.

As she laughed, tears began to fall.

Now, she was completely unworthy of liking her little brother.

Half an hour later, when Ann Vaughn walked out of the bathroom, she found Cyrus Hawthorne sitting on the edge of the bed, smoking. She smiled sarcastically and was about to turn away when she suddenly froze.

Cyrus Hawthorne was shirtless, his smooth, muscular back facing her, with a crooked half-moon scar on his waist clearly visible to Ann Vaughn’s eyes.

Years ago, to cover the burn on her little brother’s waist, she had personally tattooed that half-moon. Why was it on Cyrus Hawthorne?!

Ann Vaughn’s eyes widened, the bitterness in her heart instantly replaced by ecstasy and the thrill of rediscovery, a blush rising on her cheeks.

So, Cyrus Hawthorne was the little brother she had been waiting for all along?!

Just then, the phone suddenly vibrated. Ann Vaughn glanced at it and saw Cyrus Hawthorne answering the call.

Whoever was on the other end of the line, Cyrus Hawthorne’s previously indifferent and impatient handsome face suddenly filled with joy, the warmth in his narrowed eyes almost overflowing, leaving Ann Vaughn dazed.

"...Wait for me where you are, I’ll come to you right away, be good."

After hanging up, Cyrus Hawthorne stood up to get changed without looking at Ann Vaughn again, picked up his coat, and left the room in large strides.

The surprise in Ann Vaughn’s eyes faded slightly. She pressed her lips and told herself in her heart that Cyrus Hawthorne just didn’t recognize her, which was why he was so cold.

However, after hesitating for a while, Ann Vaughn decided to follow and see.

Just the thought of Cyrus Hawthorne discovering that she was the girl he said he would marry when they were little made Ann Vaughn’s heart race uncontrollably, impossible to suppress.

She had waited for him for fifteen years.

She didn’t want to wait any longer.

Screech—

The car stopped abruptly, Ann Vaughn’s face turned pale as she watched the couple embracing not far away, a dense, pricking pain spreading through her whole heart.

The rain drizzled, yet they showed no signs of parting, envious of bystanders.

Ann Vaughn’s eyes reddened suddenly, and she drove the car over uncontrollably. Just as she was about to lower the window, she heard Cyrus Hawthorne’s gentle yet cruel voice enter her ears.

"Cynthia, the one I’ve always wanted to marry has been you. As for Ann Vaughn, I will divorce her. She’s taken your place as Mrs. Hawthorne for too long; it’s time to return things to their rightful owner."

Every word pierced her heart, each one grating on the ears.

Ann Vaughn’s body swayed violently; through the car window, she watched Cyrus Hawthorne gently comfort the woman in his arms, the reality she heard provoking such a reaction that her vision turned black.

No way.

She... must have heard wrong.

-

Cyrus Hawthorne didn’t return all night, and it wasn’t until dawn approached that Ann Vaughn, holding onto her worries, fell groggily into sleep, only to be awakened by the incessant vibrating of her phone.

The screen displayed the words "Cyrus Hawthorne," and Ann Vaughn’s sleepiness vanished as she swiped to answer.

Before she could speak, she heard Cynthia Vaughn’s gentle voice coming from the other end.

"Sister, I have something important to discuss with you. It’s in room 512 of the First Hospital."

"How are you using Cyrus Hawthorne’s phone to call me?" Ann Vaughn frowned and asked, feeling a bad premonition in her heart.

Cynthia Vaughn’s soft laughter came through, as if she had heard a joke. "I’m sorry, Sister, because my health isn’t very good, Cian is worried about me, so he’s been keeping me company. Just now... he fell asleep."