A flash of murderous intent flickered in Charles Yin's eyes. Even though they were only accomplices, anyone who hurt Cecilia Gu—he wouldn't spare a single one!
"Cut off one hand and one foot from each of them. Burn the rest!" Charles Yin spat out the words, then turned and walked away.
Charles Yin couldn't be bothered to look at this pathetic scene any longer. He pulled away, ready to go see Cecilia.
Just then, Lydia Lin suddenly screamed in agony, "Charles Yin, stop! Ah..."
The group of vagrants never stopped. As Lydia Lin was ravaged, she shouted desperately at Charles Yin, "Why! I loved you so much—why are you doing this to me?"
"I warned you long ago—never touch Cecilia Gu. And what did you do?" Charles Yin stopped, his back to Lydia Lin.
Since he'd decided to send Lydia Lin to the High Seas, he was determined to make sure she lost all hope.
What is love, anyway?
Lydia Lin no longer had the strength to even sit up.
Charles Yin didn't even realize it himself, but the moment he thought of Cecilia, his eyes softened. As for Lydia Lin, she must be dealt with.
She had never imagined she'd end up like this!
She used to be so proud, so dazzling, so untouchable.
But in this moment, it was all destroyed!
Ruined completely by the man she had loved so deeply!
From a princess in the spotlight, she had become a discarded toy in the dust!
She couldn't accept it!
She needed answers!
Lydia Lin struggled, trying to crawl toward Charles Yin.
But she truly had no strength left.
All she could do was stretch out her right hand toward Charles Yin, unwilling to give up, but it was futile.
The others quickly cleared out, leaving the vast, abandoned factory with just the two of them.
"Why? Why are you doing this to me? Charles Yin, I just want to ask you one thing—did you ever love me?" Lydia Lin's tears streamed down her face as she looked desperately at Charles's back.
Charles Yin didn't answer her question.
Did he ever love her?
It was simply because Lydia Lin was the only woman who hadn't looked at him with greedy eyes, so he paid her a bit more attention, thinking she might be a decent choice for a wife.
At first, Lydia Lin did seem pretty good.
Charles Yin didn't even realize it himself, but the moment he thought of Cecilia, his eyes softened.
As for Lydia Lin...
He only ever considered her as someone who might be suitable for marriage.
It was simply because Lydia Lin was the only woman who hadn't looked at him with greedy eyes, so he paid her a bit more attention, thinking she might be a decent choice for a wife.
As for Lydia Lin...
She didn't drool over his looks and was focused on her own career.
Charles Yin really admired that at first.
That's why he even went against Mrs. Yin, just to delay the marriage.
Of course, Charles Yin doesn't deny that he used Lydia Lin as an excuse to postpone his own marriage.
When did things change?
Probably when Lydia Lin stood him up and, without his permission, sent a strange woman to his bed.
Who was he, anyway?
He was the CEO of Yin Enterprises, the future head of the company!
How could he allow himself to be played by a woman?
Besides, this woman was just a shield, wasn't she?
Just a shield that seemed decent enough—where did she get the nerve to try and play him?
But out of the respect he once had for her, Charles Yin didn't destroy her completely. He sent Lydia Lin back to Milan and even gave her a breakup fee.
If she'd known her place, everything would have faded away like smoke.
But this woman was so greedy—she even tried to sabotage the alliance between Yin Enterprises and the Korean company!
That was the last straw!
Setting feelings aside, anyone who stood in the way of his career deserved to be destroyed!
Maybe from that moment on, any affection Charles Yin had for Lydia Lin was completely spent.
Lydia Lin reappeared in his life—all because of Cecilia Gu.
To protect Cecilia's feelings, even though Charles Yin disliked Lydia Lin, he didn't do anything to her—for Cecilia's sake.
But Lydia Lin became just as vulgar and shameless as all the other women, even trying to climb into his bed!
If she was so eager to die, he'd let her have her wish!
Again and again, she dug her own grave—Lydia Lin had made her own bed.
Seeing that Charles Yin wouldn't answer, Lydia Lin stubbornly asked again, "Did you ever love me?"
"You? Worthy of my love?" Charles Yin let out a cold laugh.
A gust of autumn wind blew, lifting the hem of Charles Yin's coat.
Everything seemed so beautiful.
Beautiful, almost like a dream.
But Lydia Lin, lying on the ground, couldn't see any of that. Her face turned pale as her whole body trembled.
Just three simple words—her death sentence was sealed.
"Then do you love Cecilia Gu?" Lydia Lin pressed on, refusing to give up. If she couldn't have Charles Yin, she didn't want Cecilia to have him either!
If she couldn't get what she wanted and couldn't destroy it, then Cecilia Gu shouldn't get it either!
Charles Yin heard the question and smiled softly. "If I didn't love her, why would I be here?"
Hearing his answer, Lydia Lin felt a tightness in her chest, a sweet taste in her throat, and couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of blood!
No! No way!
Charles Yin, you can't fall in love with Cecilia Gu!
She's not worthy!
Lydia Lin screamed hysterically, "No! You can't love her! She's not better than me—how could you love her? I've always been better, always brighter, always stronger! She was just a gift I gave you, how could you fall for a gift that's not as good as me... Waaa..."
By the end, Lydia Lin was sobbing.
If Cecilia Gu was just Charles Yin's tool for having children, maybe Lydia could accept it.
But Charles Yin had admitted, right in front of her, that he loved Cecilia Gu!
She couldn't accept this reality!
"Then I should thank you for the gift you gave me. I really like it!" Charles Yin lowered his gaze, his long eyes curving into an impossibly beautiful arc, bringing out his cold allure to the fullest.
"No, Charles Yin! You're lying, aren't you? You can't be that kind of person! You've never loved anyone! You won't ever love anyone!" Lydia Lin shouted, refusing to give up.
"Stop kidding yourself. Do you really know me?" Charles Yin sneered. "Enough. Out of respect for our past, I've said everything I needed to say. From today on, we'll never meet again. The ship to international waters is ready—someone will pick you up. You love flirting and climbing into men's beds so much, I'll let you do it to your heart's content!"
After saying this, Charles Yin didn't linger another second and strode away.
Lydia Lin's right hand fell powerless to the ground.
How did it end up like this?
Why did things turn out this way?
Why...
Lydia Lin finally remembered that drugged glass of wine...
Why was Cecilia Gu fine, but she ended up drinking that wine...
Could it be that Charles Yin knew everything from the very beginning?
Had he been watching coldly the whole time?
The thought sent a chill down Lydia Lin's spine.
She finally regretted it.
She shouldn't have messed with Charles Yin.
And she definitely shouldn't have handed Cecilia Gu over to Charles Yin.
If... if things could be different, she never would have done it.
Despair overwhelmed all of Lydia Lin's thoughts.
She knew Charles Yin always meant what he said.
If he said Lydia Lin would go to international waters, even if she died, she'd be tossed into the sea!
Because he was Charles Yin!
Not long after Charles Yin left, someone came in, wrapped the limp Lydia Lin in a sheet, carried her to a car, and quickly drove away.
With Lydia Lin's problem finally resolved,
Charles Yin felt a weight lifted from his heart.
Whenever he thought of Cecilia Gu calling his name in despair, Charles Yin felt a rush of sweetness in his heart.
Charles Yin decided to visit Cecilia Gu and Jane Xiao at the hospital.
At that moment, Cecilia Gu and Jane Xiao had already finished a full check-up at the family hospital.
Once they were sure Cecilia Gu was fine, both she and Jane Xiao finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Cecilia Gu, still uneasy about what she'd drunk, asked the doctor to check her.
When the doctor told her it was just plain water, a cloud of doubt rose in Cecilia's heart.
Who had secretly saved her?
And why had Charles Yin shown up at exactly the right time?
Could it be...
Cecilia's thoughts were interrupted by Jane Xiao, who wiped her tears and said, "Cecilia, it's all my fault. I'm the one who dragged you into this! You silly child, why didn't you tell me sooner? If you'd told me about Lydia Lin, I wouldn't have been fooled!"
Cecilia Gu was filled with guilt and self-blame.
Yes, if she hadn't stubbornly kept these secrets, her mother wouldn't have suffered so much for nothing.
It was all her fault—she'd been too careless!
"I'm sorry, Mom, it's all my fault!" Cecilia said guiltily. "Things have been chaotic at home, and I didn't want you to worry about me again. I never thought Lydia Lin would go so far, to treat us like this."
"Luckily, Charles really is a good kid. Cecilia, I don't know what happened between you and Charles, and I won't ask. As long as you two live well together, I'll be at ease." Jane Xiao shook her head. "Now I'm completely cut off from the Gu family. As long as you and the baby are healthy, as long as you're happy, that's all that matters."
"Mom—" Cecilia immediately leaned on Jane Xiao's shoulder, hugging her neck just like when she was a child.
Jane Xiao patted Cecilia's shoulder, her eyes flickering as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.
"Mom? What's wrong?" Cecilia saw Jane's uneasiness and thought she was still shaken by what had happened.
After thinking it over, Jane Xiao steeled herself and said, "Cecilia, please don't blame me for being selfish, okay? After everything that's happened today, I've realized something. I can't protect you, but someone else can!"
Cecilia was taken aback. "Mom, what are you talking about?"
"Cecilia, do you want to know your true origins?" Jane Xiao gritted her teeth, determined to reveal the secret.