The Ex and Her Riches

Gwendolyn’s tears turned into a stream. She could not stop them.

Clutching his hand, she screamed, “Don’t you dare die, Cedrick! I’m going to marry someone else if you die and make you regret it as long as you live!”

Cedrick’s bloody lips parted in a painful smile.

“T-That won’t do. You’re mine.”

Despite her tears, she managed a chuckle before turning to the two paramedics in the corner. “I’m here. Send him in, quickly.”

Cedrick would not let go of her hand. “Let me explain, Gwenny, please?”

“Be good and go through with the surgery. I’ll be out here. You can tell me everything when it’s over.”

Cedrick’s visage was paler than ever. It looked as though every drop of blood had been drained from him. It was plain he could not hold on much longer.

However, he stubbornly maintained his grip on her wrist—he wanted to get a good look at her. There was only a ten percent chance of survival if he went in, and he feared he might never regain consciousness.

Gwendolyn’s heart wrenched painfully. She forced herself to pry his fingers apart and watched him being wheeled into the emergency room.

The light came on, indicating that the surgery was underway. Gwendolyn sat outside and gazed blankly into space. The tears streaking her face had not yet dried.

It was her first time shedding tears in front of that many people, but she did not care. All she knew was that she did not want Cedrick to die.

She waited for three hours until nine that night, yet Cedrick still had not emerged.

Nico sent the squadron home. With a similarly grave expression, he sat on the bench across from Gwendolyn.

Then, as if he had considered something at length, he began, “You thought that Mr. Jenson had lied to you about the incident involving the abandoned warehouse six months ago. He was not. He did enter knowing full well he might die. If not for the rest of the boys making it there in time to rescue what’s left of him, he would have died in the fire.”

slowly to

with it. The whip scars on his back are a consequence of his defiance of the Jenson family laws. Though he was fortunate to have survived at the warehouse, vast areas of the skin on his face had been burned,

flicked and he skipped the part about the

Cedrick did not return to Fairlake was that the professor still had not discovered a complete cure for the virus

had once decreed that not a word of any of it was to be mentioned to

reverie, Nico continued, “When has Mr. Jenson not put his life on the line to win you back, Ms. Gwendolyn? He’s true to you! He’s a fool when it comes to love for he only knows how to give everything he has but would never tell you any of his pain. He was ashamed to reunite with you after regaining his identity because he was afraid you would hate him more if he mentioned

lowered her head. Her heart was filled with

every time shut her eyes. Worse

have been in even worse shape during the incident at the abandoned warehouse

was still furious that he had kept all that from her. She blamed him for

sear with pain as though it was stabbed. The

“I am sorry.”

from those three words, she could not

apology is not what he needs. Just a little bit of love on your part will send

despondency. “He no longer owes you anything, Ms. Gwendolyn, but when he found out that you were grieving for six months because of him, he blamed himself. He had me procure a whip not because he wanted to put on a charade for

wanted to wait for you to come back so he could explain things, but you went to Old Mr. Jenson and asked to call off the engagement instead. Worse still, Old Mr. Jenson agreed to it. He was only hit by the bullet because he had been

proposed for the engagement to be called off, but he did not agree. I was planning on doing

met her gaze. Realizing that something did not add up, he

hour later, the atmosphere at the entrance to the

was somebody sent

“Xander? How well does Cedrick get along

by Mr. Yael, Mr. Xander’s father. Mr. Cedrick had only been back for three days and the power nearly fell to Mr. Yael’s hands; he only managed

Looking down, she did not

you know how

taken aback. “Ms. Gwendolyn, are you

cold, dangerous glint in Gwendolyn’s

to settle the score with

…

muffled cascade was sounding in the elegantly

clad in a bathrobe, Xander was drying his hair as he emerged from the

the bedroom, the lights in his chandelier began flickering. The curtains, too, rustled from being whipped by the wind. A sense of

awry, he put