Chapter 180: Where Are You Hiding Now

When Cecilia awoke, she was drenched in sweat, her body shaking uncontrollably. In the faint glow from the adjacent care room, Nathaniel hurried to her side, breathing a sigh of relief upon seeing she was alright.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

Tears welled in Cecilia’s eyes. “I dreamt I was dead.” The sensation had felt incredibly real. The mere mention of death inexplicably resonated with Nathaniel. He pulled her into his embrace, gently patting her back, softening his voice.

“You’re not dead. I’m here. Don’t be scared.”

Cecilia slowly returned to reality. She lifted her gaze, but the dim light obscured his features. “Thank you,” she murmured.

She gently disengaged herself and lay back down. Her politeness and aloofness made Nathaniel uncomfortable. Instead of returning to the next room, he pulled back the covers and lay beside her, drawing her into his arms.

Cecilia stiffened.

“You know, you can share with me if something’s bothering you,” Nathaniel said, his voice deep.

A lump formed in Cecilia’s throat. Outside, a wild wind whipped up a torrential downpour, transforming the sweltering day into a refreshingly cool evening. Cecilia was scared, yet his embrace comforted her. She remembered his mild germophobia; throughout their three-year marriage, he had never embraced her. Now, everything had changed.

“Nathaniel, do you still hate me?”

His hold tightened. Before he could answer, she added, “I don’t understand…”

A tightness constricted Nathaniel’s throat, rendering him speechless. Can’t a person change? he wondered. He didn’t understand his own actions. He felt no particular affection for Cecilia; he simply feared the hassle of finding someone new. He was, in truth, afraid of her death.

After a long pause, he asked, “If we were to divorce, would you marry Calvin?”

Cecilia shook her head. “I don’t know.”

However, in her heart, she longed for freedom, a life unbound by her role as the Rainsworth family's daughter-in-law. She had a fulfilling job and children to care for. She was no longer the woman who had only Nathaniel in her heart, the woman solely focused on love.

“Would you like it if I let you go?” he asked.

A glimmer of hope flickered in Cecilia’s eyes. “I’d appreciate it if you would.”

Nathaniel released her, a mocking coldness in his eyes. “You really have quite the imagination!”

The sentence shattered her hopes, revealing his deception.

“What do you take me for?” she demanded.

“I’ll take you for what you take me for!” he retorted. “Faking death, vanishing, even having a child… How I wish I could tear Calvin apart. I won’t let Cecilia leave with him. Remember this: I’ve never been one to step aside for others.”

That night, neither slept well. A phone call interrupted the tense silence. Stella answered; Sean’s voice echoed, “Stella, you have to save me. I’m outside, hiding.”

Stella’s eyes narrowed. “Where are you hiding now?”

Sean gave her the address. Stella immediately forwarded it to the police.