Rubbing her eyes—sore, probably from crying so much—she blinked wearily.
Xavier Fostern was leaning back against the head of the bed reading a newspaper. Seeing her sit up, he folded the paper and set it aside.
"You’re awake," he said, getting out of bed. With his long legs, a few steps was all it took to reach her side.
Cecilia lowered her hand from her eyes, responding softly.
It felt strange. Before, though she’d been with Xavier Fostern, she always thought their marriage was only because of a contract. So, in her heart, love was still just her own secret vintage—an old, quietly brewed infatuation.
Back then, she didn’t dare get too close to Xavier Fostern, afraid she’d overstep, afraid he’d disapprove. His occasional tenderness always felt like some unexpected gift, able to lift her spirits for a long time.
But now that she knew he liked her too, suddenly she wanted more—wanted to be close, wanted to reach out.
Xavier Fostern glanced at her eyes. The corners were still red, and from rubbing, her lids were tinged with a light pink, a little swollen.
"Sit still. Let me get a towel for your eyes."
He went to the bathroom, wrung out a towel, and returned to gently press the warm cloth over her eyes.
Suddenly her vision went dark. Obediently, Cecilia sat by the bed, steadying herself.
The folded towel covered half her petite face, revealing just the tip of her nose and her soft, rosy lips.
Xavier Fostern's gaze lingered on her lips—so pink, so delicate, he couldn't help but want to kiss her.
He leaned in slowly, inch by inch, his breath mixing with hers. Cecilia seemed to sense something; her little mouth pursed just slightly.
Mmm, that made him want to kiss her even more. Xavier Fostern's heart pounded madly. He’d never felt like this before—now, just the thought of kissing Cecilia made his heart race out of control.
He drew closer, closing the distance between them.
Bang! The door suddenly slammed open.
"Get out!"
"You get out!"
Lao San and Da Sen jostled in the doorway, each carrying dinner.
"President, dinn—"
"Miss, dinn—er..."
The two tall bodyguards squeezed into the tiny doorway, nearly bursting the poor hospital room’s door off its hinges. Seeing the scene inside, they both thought, Oh no!
The two big men were now completely stuck—neither able to go forward nor back.
The curse on Xavier Fostern’s lips hovered, then he swallowed it back down.
He set the towel aside. Cecilia opened her eyes and, seeing the chaos at the door, couldn't help laughing.
He reached out and gently patted her head. “If your eyes still hurt, blink instead of rubbing them.”
Obediently, she blinked twice. Xavier Fostern smiled, the irritation from being interrupted fading away.
He got up to collect the dinner, and with a quick kick for each, he sent the two clueless bodyguards flying out, slamming the door hard behind them.
Cecilia went to the bathroom to wash up. By the time she came out, the food was already laid out, and the two of them sat down together.
Wasn’t it Xavier Fostern who was sick? How come it always felt like he was taking care of her instead?
The dishes were exquisite—everything Cecilia usually liked to eat. As expected, Grandma Rivers’s call came in right on schedule.
“Grandma Rivers.”
“Cecilia, you said yesterday you were craving something sweet and sour, so Aunt Whitney made sweet-and-sour spare ribs for you—all marinated with plums. And you should eat more of the steamed egg with silverfish, it’s good protein!”
Grandma Rivers had timed the call, waiting in the living room as soon as the driver went out.
“Thank you, Grandma Rivers, I was just thinking about eating those ribs.”
“Good, good, and I had some fresh shrimp steamed. Let Xavier Fostern peel them for you—don’t do it yourself.”
Cecilia Ye coughed, glancing at Xavier Fostern beside her.
Only a snippet of the call could be heard, but that didn’t stop him from eavesdropping. He started peeling shrimp for her, taking it quite seriously.
“All right, Grandma Rivers’s hanging up now—eat while it's hot.”
“Mm, goodbye, Grandma Rivers.”
After she hung up, Xavier Fostern had already placed a freshly peeled shrimp into her little bowl.
“Eat up—I'll peel them all for you.”
“I can do it myself…” she whispered, but then popped the sweet shrimp into her mouth.
One small plate of shrimp, and by the end Xavier Fostern had peeled every one, with most ending up in Cecilia’s belly.
She was more than satisfied, feeling pleasantly full.
When she was done, Xavier Fostern finally ate his own meal. He ate quickly, but always with effortless elegance.
All Cecilia knew was that he liked steamed fish; she’d never noticed him particularly favoring anything else. Musing over it, she blurted out:
“Xavier Fostern, what do you like to eat?”
He glanced at her and swallowed his mouthful.
“What I like best is what you cook.”
Cecilia paused, looking thoughtful. Now that she considered it, he always finished her soup, always cleaned his plate when she cooked.
“Okay, then I’ll cook for you again sometime.”
A sudden pang twisted in Xavier Fostern's heart. Cecilia was just like this—once she let someone back in, she gave her all. How could he have ever… let himself hurt her so much before?
He reached out and stroked her soft cheek, his voice gentle. “From now on, I’ll cook for you.”
Cecilia, oblivious to his inner turmoil, looked up at him, skeptical. “Will your cooking even taste good…?”
“If it doesn’t, I’ll learn.” He grinned and finished the rest of his meal.
“Xavier Fostern, my brother's coming to pick me up tomorrow…”
Xavier Fostern paused, chopsticks midair. “So, you’re going home first? Want me to come with you?”
“No, you should stay here and rest.”
Xavier Fostern sighed. He’d finally managed to get close to Cecilia—just thinking about being apart for days was hard to swallow.
Cecilia tugged at his sleeve and looked up at him. “I want to spend some time with Mom. I’ll come visit you, okay?”
“Okay.” Xavier Fostern sat down and pulled her into his arms. “But you have to take care of yourself, and call me every day. And… you have to miss me.”
His steady heartbeat thumped right above her ear.
“Then you have to get well soon, so… so you can come pick me and our baby up, take us back home.”
Xavier Fostern let out a long, deep breath. “Okay.”
…
The next morning, Charles Chase arrived just as Cecilia woke up.
Da Sen sent him memes every day about cabbages getting stolen by pigs (a common joke about little sisters being courted), so he knew exactly what was going on.
Seeing her brother come in, Cecilia felt a twinge of guilt, quickly finished her soymilk, and stood up.
“Brother, let's go.”
Xavier Fostern approached and naturally wiped away a drop of soymilk at the corner of her mouth.
Charles Chase shoved his hands in his pockets, glaring daggers at Xavier Fostern, as if he could burn holes right through him.
“Get some good rest when you’re home. Be good, remember to answer my calls, and wait for me to come get you.”
Ignoring Charles Chase’s stares, Xavier Fostern spoke gently to Cecilia.
Seeing that her brother was about to explode, Cecilia blushed and quickly pulled him toward the door.
Charles Chase glanced back to see Xavier Fostern raising his eyebrows in open provocation, and in response, he made a slicing motion with his hand—don’t think I’ll just let you off so easily.
They got in the car and headed for the old Chen family house. On the way, they got a call from Mia Moore.
“Cecilia, where are you? I’m finally, finally free! I’m coming to see you and my goddaughter.”
Mia Moore clicked along in her heels across the art academy grounds, heading for the parking lot. After being kept busy for over a month, she’d originally planned to slip out herself to keep Cecilia hidden from Xavier Fostern. But look how things turned out—she’d lost more than she’d gained, and now it was Cecilia getting swept away.
“Ah, I’m heading home today,” Cecilia replied, giving her the address. “Come over, and when you get here, I should be home by then too.”
“Great!”
Mia Moore hung up and opened her car door, replaying all the recent events Cecilia had told her. Sometimes fate could just be too cruel; there were things entirely out of their control.
After she hung up, Charles Chase finally spoke. “There’s no steward in the old house right now. I’ve made some arrangements with the staff—if you need anything, just ask Xiao Mu.”
Cecilia nodded.
“So, you’ve patched things up with Xavier Fostern?”
Charles Chase tried to sound casual, but his ears perked up to catch her answer.
Fidgeting with her seatbelt, Cecilia bowed her head like a child confessing a mistake. “Yeah, I… I want to give him another chance.”
She glanced up at her brother, anxiety clear on her face. If possible, she really did hope her family would like the person she loved.
In the end, Charles Chase just sighed and glanced over at her. “All right, trust your heart and do what feels right. No matter what, your brother’s always here for you.”
“Thanks, bro.”
…
When they arrived at the old house, Charles Chase didn’t get out. He had left in a rush that morning and had documents to sign at the office.
“Cecilia, I’ll be back at noon. Go on in.”
Xiao Mu was waiting at the door. Cecilia Ye nodded and got out of the car.
Soon, Yaoyao would be arriving too. They could have lunch together at home—maybe introduce her to her brother.
On the broad avenue, Charles Chase turned the car around and headed off.
A bright red SUV brushed past him. Inside, a woman with perfectly done makeup checked her navigation, driving toward the old Chen house.