355 I Think You are Gone

Cedric’s black eyes were discernible. She did not sleep well last night, and because she was beaten yesterday, her entire face was swollen. It was like adding new injuries to the old, so she looked extremely haggard.

“What are you doing, Isabella?”

Cedric sat at the table, staring at Isabella from a distance. “What did you go?”

Isabella was startled by Cedric’s behavior. “I went to buy eggs. I want to make something new for you.”

“I’m sorry. Did I disturb you when I opened the door?” she apologized.

“No...”

Cedric rubbed his eyes and propped up his forehead with his hand as if he was really tired. “It’s nothing. I just thought...”

Isabella felt that Cedric was in a bad shape and could not help but ask, “What did you think?”

Cedric lowered his eyes and remained silent for a while. “I thought you left without saying goodbye.”

.....

Isabella was stunned. “Cedric ... how could I do that to you? If I were to leave, I would tell you first.”

“Yes.”

Cedric rubbed his head, and his eyes blinked indolently. “Sorry, I’m not trying to take away your freedom. I just ... I just want to know where you are and whether you are safe or not.”

Isabella glanced at Cedric’s haggard face and pursed her lips. “Cedric, didn’t you sleep well last night?”

Cedric smiled gently. “It’s nothing. I was just thinking about the thing that happened in the last two days.”

Cedric took a respite and changed the topic. “By the way, what’s new for today’s breakfast?”

Isabella chuckled, “I noticed that you really liked that bread I made on the ship, so I prepared to make that again. But today, I want to innovate a bit and add some eggs.”

Cedric walked to the kitchen. “That’s great. Let’s do it together.”

Half an hour later, the sweet milk aroma emanated from the breakfast filled in the dining room.

Cedric and Isabella sat opposite each other. While eating breakfast, Cedric didn’t move his eyes away from her.

Sensing Cedric’s gaze, Isabella raised her head and asked curiously, “What’s wrong? Cedric?”

She touched her face and smiled. “Something wrong with my makeup?”

“No.” Cedric smiled back at her, “You are exceptionally beautiful.”

Isabella suddenly grinned from ear to ear, and she said, “Then hurry up and eat. Every day, you just made it look like I was feeding you poison. This needs to stop from today and onwards. You have stomach problems. You must eat breakfast.”

“Hurry up. We still need to go to work today,” she urged.

Cedric stared at Isabella’s beaming face and whispered, “I promise you. I will eat breakfast. I will eat all the breakfast you make for me. But, I won’t go to work today.”

Isabella was puzzled. “What’s wrong? Do you want to take a day off? Then you should sleep more.”

“It’s fine. Even if I don’t show up at work, there will be someone to take care of it.”

Cedric looked at Isabella in a daze. “I just want to stay at home with you and do nothing. Or we can go to the grocery store to buy vegetables or some seafood, and come back to experiment with new dishes and make delicious food.”

Isabella finally stopped what she was doing. “Cedric, today, you...”

“Until you make the final decision, I will stay with you all the time.”

Cedric’s eyes were twinkling like the stars in the night sky, and his pupils were as dark as the bottom of the ocean. “I won’t force you or make you do something you don’t like, but I will always stay by your side until you figure out who do you love in your heart. Either Joseph or I have to give up first. I only hope that the spark between us will not be put out because I lost my enthusiasm.”

Isabella’s eyelids twitched.

She was not stupid. How could she not understand the reason why Cedric had black circles under his eyes and why he asked her where she went early in the morning?

How could she not understand the connotation of “I thought you left without saying goodbye”?

Ever since Cedric found out about the relationship between her and Joseph, he had become very sensitive. From last night, he had been waiting for her downstairs at Jane’s all the time. And now this speech...

As he claimed, he really fell in love with her.

Isabella thought of Joseph’s cold eyes and then glanced at Cedric’s affectionate and tired expression. She clenched her fists in pain and gushed, “Cedric, I...”

“Isabella! Isabella! Please, reply. Angelina is talking to you!”

A shrill suddenly came from downstairs. Both of them were dumbstruck.

“Angelina?”

Isabella stood up in a hurry and walked to the bedside. She saw Angelina standing on a small truck loaded with six big speakers. She held one of them and shouted anxiously, “Isabella! I know you are upstairs! Come out quickly! Grandpa is sick! Grandpa is not good! Grandpa wants to see you!”

“Something happened to Charlie?”

Isabella was shocked. She released her apron, put on her shoes, and hurried downstairs. Cedric trembled. He quickly got up and grabbed her. “Isabella! There’s nothing between you and Joseph now. You don’t have to interfere with their family affairs!”

“You’re right.”

“But I can’t give up Charlie! Charlie loves me!” Isabella said anxiously.

Cedric gripped Isabella’s wrist tightly. “The Wilsons have their own hospital and medical resources. They will provide the best treatment for Charlie. You know nothing about it! You can’t help them!”

“Cedric!”

Isabella panicked and shook off Cedric. “Didn’t you hear Angelina say that Charlie was not well? How could I not go and see him? Even if I don’t know anything, I can at least stay by his side!”

As she spoke, she opened the door and ran out.

“Isabella!”

Cedric looked at his empty hand with his pitch-black eyes flickered and her Adam’s apple moved up and down.

He turned around and walked to the window. When Angelina saw Isabella, she hurriedly wiped her tears and hugged Isabella. Isabella followed her and hopped into the black car. Then the car drove off...

Cedric’s hand slowly clenched into a fist and pressed against the window. He then leaned against the window and closed his eyes...

After a long time, he opened his eyes again, and the rare coldness took up all the space in them.

He returned to his bedroom, took out his phone, and dialed a number. “Hello? Stella? I am Cedric...”

...

The car roared on the road to the hospital.

Angelina wiped her tears and wailed, “Isabella, I have finally found you. I have finally found you! Where have you been these days? Joseph was a dick to you. Why didn’t you just tell us? We would help you teach him a lesson. Why did you want to abandon us?”

Tears welled up in Isabella’s eyes. “Angelina ... tell me, what happened to Charlie? What happened to him?”