"I..." Xavier faltered, nerves flickering in his eyes.
"Let go." Her voice was calm, yet it carried a weight that shook the heart.
Xavier's lips moved, but all he could do was sigh. "Serena, must you push me like this? You know I would never do anything that would hurt you!"
"If, in your eyes, lying to me doesn't even count as a big deal, then I'm sorry, Sir, but our values clearly don't align. And if we don't share the same values, there's absolutely no reason for us to live together."
As she spoke, she forcefully tried to shake off his grip.
But the man was holding on too tightly-she couldn't break free.
"If you're not planning to tell me the truth, then why are you still holding on to me?" Serena smiled faintly, looking at him. "Didn't you just instruct your staff to kick me out? Now that I want to leave on my own, why won't you let go? What's that supposed to mean?"
"Serena, I had no idea it would be you! That's why I..."
"Heh! Didn't expect I'd secretly follow you and expose your lie, did you?"
In Serena's mind, no matter what happens, everything should be laid out in the open.
Even if it's something unpleasant, there's no need to hide it-she's not some fragile woman who can't handle reality.
Especially after her marriage with Clint, she had developed an intense aversion to lies.
What she couldn't stand the most was being lied to by someone she trusted and relied on.
Just as she was beginning to open up to Xavier-starting to accept and trust him-he pulled a stunt like this. No wonder she was so furious.
"Serena, there are some things... I believe it's better if you don't know."
"Don't give me that excuse anymore!" Serena turned her head away from him. "Maybe you think I'm overreacting, but this is my bottom line-my principle."
Seeing how firm and stubborn her attitude was, it was clear that unless she got a reasonable explanation today, she was determined to draw a line between them.
Xavier let out a helpless chuckle.
"If you really want to know, then I'll tell you." He pointed toward the nearby sofa. "Let's sit down and talk properly, okay?"
Serena kept her back to him and didn't move.
So the man stayed put and said in a deep voice, "The reason I rushed to this private clinic today... was indeed not for work inspection. I admit-I lied to you."
A scoffing laugh came from her lips.
His eyes dimmed as Xavier shook his head self-deprecatingly. "But, Serena, I didn't lie to you with bad intentions. The real reason I came here... was because of Celia"
"Celia?!"
That name clearly caught Serena off guard. She instinctively turned around to look at him. "How is she connected to this place? I remember this private clinic is owned by the Blaze family. It only serves family members-it's not open to the public. So it doesn't need advertising or a spokesperson."
"When I said it was about Celia, I didn't mean we were making her the clinic's spokesperson."
"Then what is it? I really can't think of any other way she'd be related to this place."
Xavier lowered his gaze, his mood visibly sinking.
Serena tentatively asked, "You're not going to lie to me again, right? If you do it one more time, I'll never forgive you for the rest of my life."
"How would I dare?" He looked up, wearing a bitter smile. "She... Celia is here... undergoing emergency treatment."
"What?!"
Serena's eyes widened in shock as she stared at him in disbelief. "Emergency treatment?! What happened to her?!"
"She overdosed on sleeping pills. It was a suicide attempt."
"..." Serena stumbled back a few steps, so stunned that she could barely stand straight.
"How could this happen?! Why?!" She muttered blankly, her emotions suddenly a tangled mess too complex to sort through.
Suicide?
At a time like this, it had to be connected to the recent wave of scandalous gossip online!
And all those stories had been planted by Xavier to protect her.
Which meant-Celia's suicide... was indirectly her fault!
Serena suddenly found it hard to breathe. She gasped for air, but no matter how deeply she inhaled, she still felt suffocated.
The suicide of Clint's father, Gaius, remained unresolved.
A lot of the evidence pointed toward her own father, Bram.
And now, she was caught in the middle of Celia's suicide.
Was the Knowles family fated to carry the burden of other people's lives?
No. She couldn't accept that!
Xavier pulled her into his arms, stroking her hair gently, his voice soothing. "Serena, don't blame yourself. This has nothing to do with you. It was all my idea. If anything happens to Celia, I'll take full responsibility."
Serena clutched his shirt tightly, her tears soaking through his collar. "Is she... going to die?"
The man frowned. Each of her tears felt like a burning brand searing into his skin.
"She shouldn't. The amount she took wasn't enough to be fatal."
"Then... can I go visit her?"
He paused, then said quietly, "Serena, for your own good, I don't think it's a good idea for you to appear in front of Celia"
"I just want to apologize..."
"Silly girl," Xavier whispered in her ear. "If you go see her, how would you introduce yourself?"
"I..."
"This private clinic isn't open to outsiders. The number of people who even know she's being treated here is extremely small. Unless you tell her the full truth, she won't believe anything you say."
"You're Celia's biggest romantic rival. If she finds out you're the woman I truly love, that I ignored her because of you-do you think she'd be grateful or furious? She might even think you came just to rub it in."
"But..." Serena sniffled. "I still feel responsible. If I walk away like nothing happened, I'll never forgive myself."
Xavier held her shoulders and gently turned her to face him, looking deep into her eyes.
"Serena, listen to me. This is not your fault. You are not to blame."
"But-"
"No buts!" he interrupted firmly. "Even if you insist on blaming yourself, then let me carry that burden for you. Please."
***