It was as if her feelings for him stemmed from that fleeting, breathtaking first glance years ago, and from the moment he had been the ray of dawn pulling her out of a deadly swamp. That salvation had driven her to throw herself recklessly into this unrequited romance. She had been stubbornly hitting this brick wall for nearly four years.
His head was spinning so violently that his thoughts were a jumbled mess, causing him to furrow his brow in discomfort. He seemed to disagree with her words, but when he finally spoke, he simply said, "Because she risked her life to save mine. She is the benefactor of the Hawthorne family."
Zoe froze. She hadn’t expected such a reason. Men of Simon’s caliber were accustomed to hypocritical masks and deceit. Most people approached him for profit, and genuine sincerity was exceedingly rare. If someone was willing to lay down their life for him, how could that not thaw his cold heart? So, between him and Peyton, it was a bond forged in life and death. No wonder she couldn’t win.
Simon had no idea what Zoe was thinking. He only knew that right now, he just wanted to hold her tightly. His throat was parched, and his voice grew increasingly slurred. "I owe her..."
"What?"
Zoe didn’t catch his last words clearly; she only knew he had mumbled something.
Simon closed his eyes, his Adam’s apple bobbing. He tilted his jaw back against the silk quilt. Now that his face was no longer buried in the crook of her neck, his voice sounded much clearer. His thin lips moved slightly as he said, "Peyton..."
Caught entirely off guard, she heard him call Peyton’s name. He continued to murmur unconsciously, "Peyton..."
It felt as though every bone in Zoe’s body had been pierced. At this moment, he was holding her, yet they were sharing a bed with entirely different dreams. Even in his drunken state, his heart and mind were fixated on Peyton. Perhaps... he hadn’t even intended to come to her room tonight.
A rustling sound came from the doorway. Zoe turned her head, only to realize that Linden was standing there, holding a bowl of hangover soup. His expression was stiff and tinged with awkwardness. It was obvious he had heard Simon calling Peyton’s name.
Had this happened in the past, she might have felt utterly humiliated. But now, she no longer cared.
Prying his hands off her waist, she slipped out of his embrace. She walked over to the door, looked at Linden, and said calmly, "You heard him. The one he needs is Peyton, not me."
Linden opened his mouth, unsure of how to respond.
Zoe lowered her eyes and gently caressed her belly. "He needs Peyton. Send him over to her place." With that, she walked out of the bedroom without looking back. It was as if the man in the room was no longer her husband; she could easily let him run to another woman, devoid of any lingering attachment or grievance.
Linden was stunned. Watching Zoe’s serene departing figure, his heart inexplicably skipped a beat. So, it seemed. Mrs. Hawthorne’s heart was truly dead.
After participating in several rounds of the violin competition, Peyton was getting into her stride. For convenience, she had moved out of the Hawthorne Residence and found a place near The Imperial Residence. She knew Simon had been staying at The Imperial Residence lately. Obviously, he and Zoe were living apart.
"Peyton, everything is pretty much sorted. If you’re missing anything, I’ll get it for you," Ryan said. He had been dedicating all his efforts to helping her organize the new place recently.
It had been a late night of unpacking. Peyton poured him a glass of water and smiled. "I’m not missing anything. It’s been hard on you to care for me so much. How should I thank you?"
Ryan looked at the hands holding the glass. He reached out, grasping the glass and her hands along with it.
Peyton paused in surprise. "Ryan?"
Ryan looked at her deeply, his emotions so intense that anyone could see them. "I don’t need you to thank me for anything. Peyton, you can’t possibly be unaware... After all these years, my feelings for you—"
"Ryan! I only have your brother in my heart. Don’t say it." Peyton pulled her hands free, cutting off his impending confession.
Ryan stepped forward and gripped her shoulders, forcing her to look at him. "But my brother isn’t worth all this devotion! After what happened that year, he grew cold toward you. But I don’t care! You’ve guarded him all these years, yet you’ve treated yourself so harshly. You’ve never had anyone by your side. Doesn’t that hurt?"
Peyton bit her lip. "I just need to be able to look at him."
"No!" Ryan leaned down, his gaze falling onto her lips. "You’re a woman. You need to be cherished, and you have normal needs. My brother can’t give that to you, but I can!"
"Ryan?" Peyton asked in astonishment.
Ryan pulled her into his arms and kissed her neck. "Peyton, I don’t believe you feel nothing. You need to be loved. You crave it too, don’t you?"
His kisses were highly skilled, making Peyton’s legs instantly give out. She did indeed have her cravings in the dead of night. Her mind would be so full of Simon that her midnight dreams were intensely passionate. But the man in front of her was Ryan, and she was seized by panic. "Ryan! You can’t do this! I can’t give you anything. I won’t be with you."
Ryan scooped her up into his arms. "It doesn’t matter. I can just satisfy your desires." She was pressed down onto the bed, the front of her pajamas unbuttoned. He didn’t give her a single chance to stop him. Ryan was determined to pull her down into the abyss with him!
"Ryan!" A jolt of numbness hit Peyton’s chest, and her voice almost changed pitch. The man’s hands cupped her, kneading and molding her at will. The numbness traveled all the way up her spine, bringing tears to her eyes. "You can’t..."
"Peyton, you feel it too. Look, my hands are covered in your wetness." Ryan’s lower body was aching with hardness, but he didn’t want to be too rough and hurt her, so he patiently slowed his pace.
However, in the very next second...
RING!
Peyton’s phone went off, shattering the heavy atmosphere. She instantly shoved the man off her and pulled her clothes tightly around herself. Her face flushed red and then paled. When she looked at the screen, she saw it was Secretary Linden calling.
Her heart immediately began to pound frantically, and she couldn’t help the joy that leaped into her eyes. She motioned for Ryan to be quiet and quickly answered the call. "Secretary Linden?"
Linden said, "Miss Joyce, Mr. Hawthorne is drunk tonight. Would it be convenient to bring him over to your place?"
Upon hearing this, Peyton’s heart rate skyrocketed. Her cheeks flushed with color as she exclaimed excitedly, "Of course it is!"
She hung up the phone, wrapping her clothes tightly around her, and looked at Ryan. "Ryan, Simon is coming over in a bit. You should head back. Let’s just pretend today’s incident—"
"—never happened!" Ryan’s fists clenched in an instant. He asked indignantly, "Does my brother truly love you?"
Peyton stiffened for a split second. Her eyes flickered as she forcibly suppressed the strange feeling in her heart. "Of course he does! I love him so much. We’ve known each other for over a decade, and I’ve always been the one by his side. I was even the one who saved him back then. Naturally, he loves me." No one could ever compare to the bond between them!
Ryan stood up and let out a self-deprecating laugh. "You mean that time in Portellis?"
"Naturally!"
"But... was it really you who saved him?"
Peyton snapped her head toward him.
Ryan took a deep breath and refused to say more. "I’m leaving!"
Yet that single sentence acted like a terrifying thunderclap, obliterating everything in Peyton’s mind! What did Ryan mean? What did he know?!
A nameless terror swept over her. Before she could recover her wits, the doorbell rang.