Chapter 535 Direct Proposal
Wishing to avoid being bombarded with a barrage of probing questions, Cecily chose to pretended not to know anything. Her eyes, full of tension, showed no signs of acting.
Karen watched Cecily and thought about the situation. Considering that Cecily had been hospitalized and the fire at the Bennett Manor occurred in the middle of night, it seemed plausible that the Bennett family either opted not to inform Cecily to spare her unnecessary worry or perhaps they hadn't had the opportunity to relay the news to her yet.
Moreover, Cecily's anxious demeanor didn't seem fake.
Seeing Karen remain silent, Cecily was about to get out of bed.
Evander stopped her, pressing his lips before saying, "Don't worry. Vivienne should be fine. This happened last night, and the cause of the fire is still under investigation."
Karen, seeing Cecily's anxiety, comforted her. "Evander is right. Don't rush. Going there now won't help. It's better to wait for more information."
Cecily immediately grabbed her phone to call Vivienne, but Vivienne didn't answer. Cecily looked like she was about to cry, and even Evander couldn't detect any pretense, believing that Cecily truly didn't know about the incident.
Suddenly, the door was flung open, and a disheveled woman stormed in.
Cecily looked at Aurelie, whom she hadn't seen in two days, and asked, "Aurelie?"
"Cecily, is Aunt Vivienne okay? I saw the news about a severe fire, and when I saw the photos, I realized it was your house. I was so worried and rushed over to find you."
Although Nathaniel had forced Aurelie to stay in a house he had arranged, he didn't restrict her freedom. Upon learning about the fire, Aurelie immediately came to find Cecily.
Cecily pressed her lips tightly and shook her head. "I just found out about the fire too. I had no idea about the details."
Seeing Cecily was worried, Aurelie immediately hugged her, "Aunt Vivienne should be fine. Don't worry. It's just that Aunt Vivienne doesn't answer her phone. I called her, but she didn't pick up, either."
Seeing this, Karen was even more convinced that Cecily had no knowledge of the fire.
Karen didn't plan to stay long. After comforting Cecily, she left the ward. Just as she stepped outside, she saw Nathaniel leaning against the door, idly scrolling through his phone.
"Nathaniel? What are you doing here?"
Lillian was Karen's niece, and Nathaniel and Lillian's engagement was no secret, so Karen knew Nathaniel.
Nathaniel lazily lifted his gaze, as indifferent as ever. "Visiting a friend."
Karen glanced back at Cecily's ward and asked suspiciously, "Cecily is your friend?"
"Isn't Darian's wife considered a friend?"
Hearing this, Evander, standing behind, gave a bitter smile.
Everyone knew Cecily was Darian's wife. They were supposed to be a couple. Even if he was with Cecily, what did it matter?
Karen, however, was displeased by this. After all, Percy had set his sights on Cecily, meaning Cecily was destined to be part of the Lockwood family. Darian and Cecily were already divorced, and public perception should change accordingly.
"Cecily and Darian are divorced, and Darian has a fiancée now. Stop calling her Darian's wife."
Seeing Karen's sudden serious demeanor, Nathaniel chuckled, glanced at Evander behind her, and then looked back at Karen with a playful gaze. "Really? I almost forgot. But it doesn't matter; they'll remarry sooner or later."
Karen frowned. "You probably don't know what's been happening recently. There's no chance for them. Cecily is now Percy's future wife our family has chosen."
Nathaniel raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised.
He had heard bits and pieces about recent events but wasn't clear on the details. He was busy and never gossiped, and Aurelie, the chatterbox, had been ignoring him lately, so he had no chance to find out.
However, Nathaniel didn't say anything more, uninterested.
Karen, seeing Aurelie inside and knowing her past relationship with Nathaniel, reminded Nathaniel that his current fiancée was Lillian and that he should maintain boundaries and leave.
Nathaniel smiled and continued playing on his phone, not caring about her words at all.
But while he didn't care, Aurelie inside had taken his words to heart.
In fact, Nathaniel had accompanied her here, yet he said he was visiting a friend. Karen told him to maintain boundaries , and he indeed did.
She was his girlfriend, and she got pregnant during their relationship.
Yet now, she had become the one who couldn't be mentioned in public.
Aurelie didn't know whether to laugh at herself for being a clown or cry for her own misery.
Karen went back and told Percy about what had happened at the hospital. Despite Percy's underlying suspicion that the fire incident held deeper significance, he didn't pay it much attention. What he cared about most now was whether Cecily would agree to marry Evander.
"Alright, I got it. Don't worry about this anymore. Their fire has nothing to do with us. The priority now is to get Cecily to agree to marry Evander. Go and find out when Cecily will be discharged."
"What are you planning?" Karen frowned.
"On the day Cecily is discharged, I'll give her a grand proposal. I want everyone to know that Cecily is about to marry into the Lockwood family."
Karen's frown deepened as she walked over to Percy. "But we haven't even confirmed Cecily's opinion yet. What if she doesn't agree?"
"No 'what if.' I don't deal in 'what ifs.' What I arrange will happen. Besides, with so many people around, she'll feel pressured. I believe she's smart enough not to embarrass Evander and the Lockwood family in such a setting."
"But..." Karen was still worried that it was too rushed and that they were pushing Cecily too hard. After all, she had just suffered so much and lost her child. As a woman, Karen knew Cecily wouldn't recover so quickly.
Percy cut her off, "No more 'what ifs' and 'buts.' If I were as indecisive and hesitant as you all, the Lockwood family would have been finished long ago. Do as I say."
Percy issued an irrefutable order, "And tell Evander to prepare well. I don't want any slip-ups."
Karen opened her mouth, but upon seeing Percy's resolute expression, she understood that persuading him would be futile. She had no choice but to follow his instructions.
Meanwhile, at the hospital, Bryan, who had been admitted the previous night, was brought out after surgery. The doctor regretfully informed Sam, who was waiting outside, that Bryan's right leg was severely injured with a comminuted fracture. Even if the bones were reconnected, his leg would never be the same, and he would walk with a limp.
Freya's condition was even more severe. Although her life was saved, her back was badly burned.
In addition to this, her face and neck also suffered varying degrees of burns, and because she had been in a smoke-filled environment for too long, it was uncertain if she would wake up.
All this information was relayed to Cecily by Larkin, who had inquired with the doctors.
Cecily's face remained unchanged as she listened.
At that moment, Vivienne's phone rang. Cecily answered and said, "Mom, I was just about to call you. How are you doing?"
"I'm fine. Don't worry about me."
Vivienne's voice had returned to normal, showing no signs of distress.
Cecily pressed her lips together, hesitating momentarily before saying, "Mom, Bryan is not in life-threatening danger, but his leg is severely injured. The doctor said that even if it heals, he will likely walk with a limp."
There was a moment of silence on the other end before Vivienne spoke, "He didn't die? He survived that?"
Listening to Vivienne's seemingly heartless words, Cecily felt a mix of emotions.
"You don't really want him dead, do you?" Cecily suddenly asked.
Vivienne, holding the phone, reacted as if she were on edge. "Why wouldn't I? I wish he were dead. I never want to see him again."
In her mind, he was a bastard; it would be better if he were dead.
Cecily was momentarily speechless.
She gave a bitter smile. "Mom, he asked me to tell you that his life is there for you to take whenever you want."
"Who wants his life? Taking his life would dirty my hands. If he wants to die, he should do it himself. Why involve me?"
Cecily was again at a loss for words.
Hearing these contradictory statements, Cecily lowered her eyes and tugged at the corners of her mouth.
She could tell that Vivienne still cared about Bryan. If she truly didn't care at all, she wouldn't react so strongly at the mention of his name.
There was a knock on the door.
Cecily lifted her eyes and said, "Come in." The door was cautiously pushed open.
It was Sam, who was always by Bryan's side.
"Miss Watson."
Cecily looked at Sam seriously and asked calmly, "Is there something you need?"
"Mr. Whitaker has woken up. He wants to see you and Mrs. Whitaker."
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