Chapter 141 Only the Loved Have the Right to Be Vulnerable
"Let me go." Cecily pushed herself away from his embrace.
In an instant.
The air grew tense!
The flicker of excitement in Darian's eyes, sparked by Cecily's awakening, vanished in a blink, leaving behind a chilling void.
She was that opposed to his touch!
If she didn't want him to touch her, he became even more determined to do so.
"Where do you think you're going looking like that?" He yanked her back, his voice devoid of any warmth.
Cecily's clothes were soaked, the form-fitting dress clinging to her body, tracing her perfect curves in even more striking detail.
It was all too enticing, and Darian held her close, his large frame shielding Cecily from all prying eyes.
He couldn't stand the thought of others seeing Cecily in this state. Not at all.
Hayden and Declan sauntered out, unaware of what had transpired, but noticed that half the crowd from the ballroom had left, so they came out to see what the commotion was about.
They stumbled upon this drenched group of four.
Did someone go for a swim?
Who swims in their clothes!
Realizing something was wrong, they quickened their pace and came over, "Darian, what happened?"
"Clothes." The cold reply came from Darian.
Hayden glanced at himself, then took off his blazer and handed it to Darian.
Darian wrapped the woman in the jacket, and as he stood up, that was when he noticed Ophelia next to them, crying inconsolably.
Darian frowned, his gaze sweeping over to Declan. Clearly confused, Declan looked down at his own clothes and, hesitating, tugged at his jacket before asking uncertainly, "Should I take mine off too?"
With evident reluctance, Declan took off his jacket and passed it to Elysia, who was comforting Ophelia.
Elysia wrapped Ophelia in the jacket. Ophelia turned her head to look at Elysia, squinting slightly.
Elysia caught on quickly, nodding subtly with a voice tinged with the sound of tears. "Ophelia, are you okay? Cecily, that was really cruel of you. You can swim, but Ophelia can’t, and you still deliberately pulled her into the water. Were you trying to get her killed?”
As soon as Elysia spoke, all eyes turned towards them.
"Stop it, Elysia. She hates me, I know, and I don't blame her. Help me up," Ophelia said, leaning on Elysia's hand as she slowly stood up, her body looking incredibly frail.
Ophelia's eyes met Cecily’s, who was in Darian’s arms, her gaze full of grievance and defiance. "Cecily, whether you're pretending or performing, at least someone feels sorry for you. You've got what you wanted, and as long as you're satisfied, that's all that matters."
The implication of Ophelia's words was clear—she was accusing Cecily of orchestrating the whole scene, playing the victim to win sympathy.
Darian's dark eyes narrowed as his gaze fell on the woman in his arms.
A cold smirk crossed Cecily's mind. She had just been rescued, feeling cold and without much strength, too weary to explain anything.
She pushed Darian away. "Don't worry about me, I can walk on my own."
While she was in the water, she had seen Darian saving Ophelia, leaving her behind.
Cecily had been upset then.
However, now, she was no longer sad. Ophelia was his fiancée, and it wasn’t wrong that he saved her first.
And she, being nothing to him, didn’t expect anything more.
Though that was what she thought, deep down, she couldn't help feeling a bit dejected.
Realizing her emotions, Cecily's lips curled into a mocking smile, inwardly chastising herself for such feelings.
Ophelia, watching Cecily walk away from Darian's embrace, took a couple of steps forward and then, accurately and with seeming weakness, collapsed into Darian’s arms.
Her pallor and frail appearance were particularly heart-rending.
Darian extended his arms to support Ophelia, who was practically draped over him, relying entirely on his strength to prevent her from falling.
Someone had just called for emergency assistance, and the doctor swiftly followed the hotel manager to the scene. With such an incident unfolding in the hotel, the manager was visibly upset and said in a flustered manner, "Darian, the doctor has arrived; should we take the two ladies to their rooms to be checked out?"
Darian's gaze settled on Cecily. Despite being pale, she stood upright, able to refuse his help which implied she was in no immediate danger.
On the other hand, Ophelia looked like she was about to faint. Darian frowned deeply and scooped Ophelia into his arms, saying curtly, "Lead the way."
He carried Ophelia, following the hotel manager to the room.
Cecily exerted all her strength to stand tall; she did not want to show any sign of weakness in front of Darian.
As the crowd began to disperse, Cecily's forced poise finally gave way, and she reached out to steady herself against the wall but was instead supported by a steady hand.
Cecily lifted her head and met Blaise's deep, dark eyes.
Cecily, noticing Blaise was also drenched, flashed a look of gratitude, understanding that he had jumped in to save her earlier.
"Thank you."
Blaise's face was expressionless, his voice chillingly cold, "Why the pretense of strength?"
Cecily pulled at her lip slightly. "Who am I supposed to appear weak for?"
Only the ones we love have the right to be vulnerable. What's the point of showing frailty when it's unrequited?
"Let's go back," she said softly, attempting to move forward, but no sooner had she finished speaking than her eyes closed, and she collapsed sideways.
Blaise's breath caught, and without thinking, he swiftly pulled her into his embrace, "Cecily? Cecily?"
Blaise's brows knitted tightly as he held the woman who was clearly frail yet had managed to stand all this while. His eyes reflected both distress and anger as he quickly carried her, shouting furiously, "Get a doctor over here, now!"
"Cecily, you better not have anything seriously wrong, or I swear I'll take out your beloved Darian as recompense. Do you hear me?"
The elevator doors opened with a ding.
Blaise carried Cecily in a rush, quickly entering the room he had already opened, and gently placed her on the large bed. He was about to remove her clothes, but his slim fingers hesitated, tensing in the moment before he abruptly pulled back.
"Damn!"
In the moment he attempted to undress her, Blaise's breathing became disordered for a few seconds, and he had to admit he balked at the task.
In the end, he decided to ask the hotel's female staff to help Cecily out of her wet clothes. Since there were no other clothes available, they had to settle for a hotel robe.
The doctor arrived soon to check on Cecily, while Blaise leaned against the doorway, chain-smoking.
Blaise usually had a bad temper, and when he couldn't control it, he turned to smoking, often going through packs of cigarettes at a time. Cecily detested the smell of smoke and worried that it was harmful to his health, so she had persuaded him to eat candy instead when he was irritated.
But right now, he was beyond agitated, and neither candy nor cigarettes could quell the raging fury within him.
"Boss." Cassian rushed over, his heart skipping a beat when he saw the look in Blaise's eyes.
Ever since Cecily had become a part of Blaise's life, it had been a long time since Cassian had seen such an expression in his eyes.
That look told him, Blaise was in the mood to kill someone.
Ophelia's room was just across from Cecily's, both managed by the hotel manager and were among the best the hotel had to offer. At that moment, the doors to both rooms were open, and different doctors were coming and going.
From Ophelia's room, her sobbing could occasionally be heard, "Darian, what can I do so Miss Cecily won't hate me so much? I don't blame her for this time, but I'm afraid of what could happen next, I really can't endure Miss Cecily's torment anymore."
"Why don't you just die then," Blaise said, kicking the ajar door wide open, his cold gaze fixed chillingly on Ophelia on the bed.
Ophelia's heart shuddered severely, and in an instant, she scrambled toward Darian, clinging to him like a frightened rabbit, shivering, "Darian, I'm scared."
She was genuinely afraid of Blaise, a man shrouded in mystery and danger.
Blaise strode in, and in a blink, he grabbed Ophelia by the arm, dragging her onto the floor.
"Ah! Darian, save me..."
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