Chapter 194
"I've hated someone before," he said, not waiting for her answer. "Hated them intensely. I've spent countless hours fantasizing about revenge. I want to do it on their birthday. I still feel uneasy. My heart is only at peace with you, Sis."
Grace kept her eyes closed, silent, pretending to sleep. He hoped she was asleep; he didn't want her to hear this. Her pretense worked.
"Maybe I want to see her again soon," he continued. "To get my revenge. No matter where she's hiding, I'll find her and make her experience the betrayal and torture of a loved one."
His voice, though faint, held a palpable hostility. Grace trembled slightly. A loved one… Could the person he hated be his mother?
She remembered him saying his mother had abandoned him and his father. If that was true… she feared for his mother's future. Jason, the Emperor of Emerald City—who could withstand his wrath?
Grace unconsciously thought of her three years in prison.
"Sis, please never become someone I hate," he whispered, his voice like the wind howling in the night. A chill ran through her. Did he know she was awake?
The night passed. When Grace rose at four to go to work, Jason was gone. She was surprised—when had he left?—and relieved; she wouldn't have to face him. Seeing her unfinished gloves, she resolved to finish them quickly. Perhaps their completion would somehow sever her connection to him.
Jason sat in the back of the car, eyes closed, lost in thought. One hand gently rubbed his forehead. He hadn't slept. After Grace fell asleep, he'd watched her. He'd never found anyone's sleeping face appealing before, but hers was an exception. He could look at it endlessly.
"Young Master Reed, are we returning to the house?" Terrence asked.
"Mm-hm," Jason replied flatly.
Halfway there, Terrence's phone rang. His expression changed. "Young Master," he reported, "the master's condition has worsened. They're performing emergency surgery. Do you… want to go to the hospital?"
Jason's black eyes snapped open. "To the hospital," he said curtly.