"Sure, you rarely have a day off! Do you need to ask for official leave?"
Edith hadn't been out shopping with Cassandra in a very long time and she missed it. Now that
Cassandra brought it up, she was excitedly looking forward to it.
"That's all right. I just have to tell Lyndsy. Now that Stella is there, everything will be alright. You don't
need to worry."
She just hoped that Edith could soon leave this place. Lately, she had been having a very bad feeling
even though everything seemed calm. She intuitively felt that something was lurking beyond the
horizon and it made her anxious.
"Did I hear that Cassandra has a day off tomorrow? Would you like my company?"
Clark interrupted them as he walked inside the room and overheard their conversation.
"Yeah, that's a good idea, Clark. I am going to visit my daughter and I need to buy some things
tomorrow!"
As soon as Edith saw Clark, her face broke into a smile.
Clark was startled at her words but he immediately composed himself and feigned ignorance. The
corners of his lips lifted.
"Really? Then you need to be well prepared, Auntie Edith. You haven't seen your little daughter in a
very long time, right?"
Cassandra noticed a flash in his eyes as she watched him speaking but she wasn't sure if she was
reading too much into it.
Clark's eyes turned cold and calculative, abruptly and easily.
"Yeah, I haven't seen her in a long time. In fact, she looks quite like Cassandra!"
Edith's face wore a soft and gentle look when she spoke of her daughters. The older she got, the more
she cherished them.
"Really? Then I'm worried that I might mistake her for Cassandra when I get to meet her,"
Clark joked, knowing fully well how to get on Edith's good side. The smile on his face grew bigger.
But Cassandra didn't find it amusing. She was wary of Clark and even though she felt that her own
mind was playing tricks on her. She just knew that there must be something hiding behind Clark's
smile.
Ever since she learnt about him, she had started to scrutinize his every move. She found his behaviour
very strange and couldn't help but wonder why he behaved so generously in the presence of her and
Edith.
He seemed to care about her a lot, and was also very patient and gentle with Edith. Clark never acted
powerful nor dominating before them. He listened to them and seemed to have their best interests at
heart. In fact, he treated Edith and Cassandra like his own family.
If Cassandra hadn't noticed any inconsistencies, she would still have looked at him with grateful eyes.
She would have continued believing that he really was a kind man who loved her very much. But now,
all she did was anticipate his next move.
His entry into her life was too coincidental. He was too infallibly good to her. It wasn't normal. 'What the
hell is he trying to do?'
The next day, when Cassandra got up, she was surprised to find that Edith still wasn't up. Normally,
Edith woke up before her and always had breakfast ready for both of them. This routine had always
remained unchanged.
Suddenly, a thought struck Cassandra. She immediately ran to her mother's room. She opened the
door to find Edith, her face pale, lying on the bed in a very uncomfortable position.
"Mom! Mom! What happened?"
To say that Cassandra was frightened, was an understatement. She ran to her mother and immediately
checked her pulse.
Hearing her daughter's voice, Edith struggled to open her eyes and looked at Cassandra for a second
before her eyes closed again. She looked so tired. She weakly gestured at her head.
"My head hurts..."
Edith's voice was weak, and her lips were white. She was obviously very sick.
Clark appeared, having heard Cassandra's voice. He rushed into Edith's room right after Edith closed
her eyes again. Seeing her pale face, Clark immediately took out his phone and called an ambulance.
"Cassandra, don't move her! I have called an ambulance. Let's get her to the hospital now!"
Clark's brows furrowed into a tight frown when he saw Edith's condition, his eyes brimmed with worry.
Cassandra was panicking. She didn't know what to do right now. Her worry made her so feverish that
she rushed to do exactly as Clark said.
The ambulance came soon after Clark's call. The medical staff came in and carefully moved Edith into
the ambulance. They immediately took her to the hospital while Clark and Cassandra followed the
ambulance in his car.
Closeby, Rufus pulled open the curtains to see what the commotion in the next villa was about.
The medical staff, wearing white, carried a stretcher into the ambulance. Cassandra followed them
closely and wanted to enter the ambulance but was pulled back and held by Clark from behind.
Rufus didn't know what Clark had said to Cassandra to her change her mind. But finally, Cassandra
followed Clark to his car, and they drove after the ambulance.
Rufus's eyes grew cold as ice and his hands tightened on the curtains.
The person on the stretcher was obviously Edith. He had already asked his people to find a way to
persuade her to leave that house. 'Why did this have to happen at such a critical time?'
His guts told him that this was definitely not a coincidence!
This was very similar to the issue with Cassandra's throat. It definitely had something to do with Clark.
Clark seemingly wanted to destroy everyone around him. He wanted to make them suffer. What was
more, he even wanted them to remain in his house to make Rufus suffer as well.
Rufus's face grew darker and darker as he made the connections in his head. If Clark really did
something to make Edith fall sick so she couldn't go abroad, then it was mortally dangerous for
Cassandra and her to remain there with him any longer. No, he must think of a way to get them out of
that monster's lair!
In the hospital, seeing her mother lying in the hospital bed, Cassandra's eyes were filled with tears.
She tried to contain herself and didn't allow them to fall down.
It was lucky that she found Edith when she was taken ill. Or her mother could be seriously in danger of
losing her life.
Clark walked into the ward after chatting with Edith's doctor for a while.
"The doctor said that you are fine now. You just need to rest and keep yourself calm. Auntie, I don't
think it's advisable for you to go abroad in this condition right now. You can wait till Cloris is on holiday. I
will ask someone to bring her back, so you won't need to worry about not seeing her!"
Clark said to Edith.
He gave Cassandra a meaningful look, and she understood the implication. She followed him out into
the hallway.
"I guess your mother was so excited to see your sister that it triggered her episode. She needs
complete bedrest. And most importantly, she should keep herself calm and not excite herself again, it's
not good for her health,"
Clark spoke, a frown superimposed on his handsome face.
Cassandra still remembered the feeling of horror when she saw Edith earlier. If there wasn't anyone
around to take care of her, a simple episode could probably prove to be fatal.
"Cassandra, how about I find someone to look after Auntie? You are usually busy at work and are
rarely at home. If we hire a nanny, she can take care of your mother and also help with other things. It
will be very beneficial for her! And she will have someone to give her company as well,"
Clark proffered and looked at Cassandra with eyes full of care and affection. It seemed that he did
genuinely care about her mother.
Cassandra's head was in a mess right now. She had no idea of what to do. Clark's idea was welcome
and she immediately agreed.
"Oh, okay, I will pay for it!"
Cassandra wasn't willing to exploit Clark's kindness anymore. He had done enough for her and her
mother. So she quickly made it clear that she would be the one to pay for the nanny.
A trace of disappointment flashed through Clark's eyes and the smile on his face faltered. He stared at
Cassandra with a serious look on his face.
"Cassandra, why are you still drawing a line between us after all this time? Do you still consider me an
outsider, seriously?"
Clark's voice got higher with passion. He reached out and grabbed Cassandra's hand, looking at her
intensely.
"You know how I feel about you. I won't hesitate to do anything for you when you are in need.
Cassandra, you need not be this formal with me, okay?"
Clark kept his eyes fixed on Cassandra's face. His eyes were full of affection for her. He really did feel
for her.
But Cassandra felt too uncomfortable. She wanted to withdraw her hand, but she just couldn't.
Clark was rigid and clearly, he wasn't willing to let her go. Cassandra just couldn't get his hand off her,
so she tolerated it.
"Cassandra, I really don't know what to do now. Can you tell me how I can win your heart?"
His tone was so helpless and desperate. If Cassandra hadn't suspected his true motives, she would
have surely fallen for him by now.
"Mr. Ji, please let go of me. We are in public."
She tried to avoid Clark's question. There were a lot of people in the hospital and Cassandra was at
great discomfort at being held by Clark.
Clark stared at her for another moment before slowly letting go of her hand.
"I am leaving now. Take good care of your mother."
With these words, he looked at Cassandra with anguish. Then he turned around and left.
Only when Clark completely disappeared from Cassandra's eyes could she finally feel her body relax.
'Gosh! Why does Clark always make me feel so nervous? Yes, I also feel nervous when I'm close to
Rufus. But Clark always succeeds in making me feel uncomfortable.'
She felt depressed, afraid and also suspicious of the man.
Cassandra let out a long sigh before turning around to walk back into the hospital room. But as soon as
she turned around, her hand was grabbed by someone again.
A big and strong hand grabbed her wrist and the person dragged her all the way along the corridor to
the staircase.
"Rufus, what are you doing ?"
Cassandra knew, in her heart, that it was Rufus. She struggled but just couldn't get free. There was no
one in the dimly-lit staircase. Cassandra had no idea why Rufus was here.
"Why did you let him hold your hand?"
Rufus's words dripped with jealousy as he recalled the way Clark held Cassandra's hand a few
moments ago. He so badly wanted to punch Clark in the face then take Cassandra away just now. But
he just had to control himself—it was not the right time.
"What? Yeah, I let him hold my hand, so what? I like the way he holds my hand! It's none of your
business!"
Cassandra was startled by Rufus's sudden appearance and now was also interrogated by him. She
was not in the mood so she deliberately lashed out at him.
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