Chapter 8
The man gave a casual shrug and issued instructions to the medical staff.
The procedure was carried out immediately.
Half an hour later, I stepped off the operating table and stared at the tray, where a mass of
distinguishable flesh and blood lay.
My hands trembled as I clenched them into fists.
Tyler Horton, you don’t deserve the child I carried.
I’ll make you and Sarah pay a blood price.
After the procedure, the man took me to a villa perched on a hillside to recuperate.
A housekeeper helped me onto a luxurious, soft bed, and the man followed us inside.
“Beautiful view, isn’t it? This is my family’s ancestral home,” he said, standing by the large floor–to–ceiling windows that overlooked the mountains and lake.
“I’ve been living overseas for years, so it’s been empty until now.”
السرية
I looked at him in confusion, my voice weak. “I don’t understand. Why do you keep helping
me?”
He gazed out the window for a moment before turning to face me.
“We were in the same elementary school class. Don’t you remember?” He winked playfully.
I searched my memory desperately but came up blank. “I’m sorry,” I admitted.
He didn’t seem surprised and brushed it off with a smile. “Let me reintroduce myself. This
time, don’t forget.”
He walked over to the bed, his expression serious, and extended a strong, elegant hand
toward me.
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He Forgot It, He Regreted It
Chapter 8
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“My name is Jeff Vince.”
I hesitated, then reached out to shake his hand.
The moment our hands touched, a long–forgotten memory from third grade surfaced.
A frail, newly transferred boy had been surrounded and bullied by a group of classmates. Without thinking, I had rushed in, pushing them away and shielding the boy behind me.
What are you doing?! Stop bullying him!” I had yelled.
At that age, girls matured faster than boys. I was half a head taller than the rowdy boys and, as class president, held authority they dared not challenge.
“Whoa, the class president’s protecting the beanpole!” they jeered.
“Beanpole is her boyfriend! Beanpole is her boyfriend!”
Flushed with embarrassment, I had driven them off.
Then, the timid boy hiding behind me had blushed furiously and shyly taken my hand.
“My name’s not Beanpole. It’s Jeff Vince,” he had said.
Looking at the tall, muscular man before me, realization dawned.
“So, you were that Beanpole!”
Jeff laughed heartily, his eyes sparkling. “I’m not a Beanpole anymore. Want to feel my
muscles?”
He leaned down, guiding my hand toward his chest, but I quickly pulled away, flustered.
After the playful moment, Jeff grew serious.
“Not long after elementary school, my family went through upheaval. As the least favored grandson, I suddenly became the sole heir.
I was sent abroad and only returned this year.”
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Chapter 8
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I nodded. That explained why I hadn’t seen him in so many years,
“But how did you recognize me so easily?” I asked, still puzzled.
“You’re unforgettable,” he replied with a smile. “I’ve kept tabs on you, searching your name
online from time to time.
It helps that your name isn’t common, and your exceptional pipa performances in competitions have been hard to miss.
I’ve even saved photos of your performances from childhood to adulthood.”
The idea that someone had quietly done all this without my knowledge left me speechless. I managed a faint smile.
“Some things are just fate,” he said.
“Not long after I returned, I was passing by Charm Bund late at night and saw four men dragging two women out of a car.
I vaguely recognized you as one of them.”
“When I rushed over, you were already unconscious, and the other woman was ordering the men to hurry up and assault you.”
My teeth clenched involuntarily.
I had thought that Sarah and I had been kidnapped together in Bede Alley, both victims.
Jeff’s gaze sharpened.
“There was only ever one target for the kidnapping: you.”
I clenched my fists tightly.
Jeff continued, his tone cold.
“The rules of the underworld are simple: people who can be bought can also be bought out by someone else for a higher price.
Uo Forget lt. He Regreted It
Chapter 8
I offered ten times the amount and took you away, leaving her with those men. She screamed terribly, you know.”
“Then why didn’t I see you when I woke up?” I asked.
Jeff’s expression turned regretful.
“That’s the part I wish I could change. After getting you to the hospital, I had an urgent
matter overseas that couldn’t wait.
I had to leave that same night and informed the Carlisle family about your hospitalization,”
The rest of the story I already knew.
Jeff had assumed that notifying my family would ensure my safety.
But he couldn’t have imagined that the person who hired the four me to assault me was my own half–sister.
The Carlisle family had been turned upside down by Sarah’s arrival.
Soon after moving in, she earned my father’s full trust with her manipulative charm, even framing me for poisoning his coffee to sow discord.
My mother, already frail, deteriorated rapidly and passed away within three months of
Sarah’s arrival.
After my mother’s death, the Carlisle home became a battlefield.
Sarah turned it into her personal hunting ground, and even my own father became her unwitting accomplice,
choosing to believe the daughter he barely knew over me, his child of more than twenty
years.
He ignored Sarah’s affair with Tyler, tolerated Tyler’s abuse toward me, and said nothing.
3
Hatred rose from the depths of my soul, coursing through my veins like fire, burning through every fiber of my being.
Degreted It
jeff leaned over, his arms resting on either side of me, his gaze steady and commanding.
“Elizabeth, you now have a chance to take your revenge
His deep, magnetic voice carried an almost hypnotic allure, awakening my deepest desires.
I met his gaze and asked, “What do I need to do?”
spoke slowly, enunciating each word:
“Marry me.”
I stared at him, wide–eyed, utterly stunned.
