Chapter 239 You Still Love Me
When Darwin finally had his fill, Fiona seized her chance and shoved him back. He stumbled, steadying himself and glancing at his bloodied thumb.
"You didn't bite it off; you still love me," Darwin declared, a wild look in his eyes.
Fiona's gaze met his, a chill slithering up her spine.
"Darwin, I never wanted to make an enemy out of you," Fiona said, wiping her mouth with disgust. The taste of blood lingered, making her uneasy.
Darwin's gaze was somber as he watched her. "You left me no choice," Fiona uttered, emphasizing each word. "From now on, it's you and me, Solomon and the Rhoads family, on opposing ends."
"Fine by me!" Darwin replied instantly, without a hint of hesitation.
"We'll see how Janna Rhoads, coasting through the golden years of her life, copes with the chaos I'll bring!" Darwin locked eyes with Fiona. "I've told you, Fiona, nothing matters to me except for you. Anyone who stands in the way of me taking you back will have an eternal enemy in me."
"Darwin!" Threats from Darwin were something Fiona hadn't faced in a while. Predictably, he knew exactly how to hit where it hurt the most. Janna Rhoads was advancing in years, and she was already struggling to keep up with the family business. Fiona couldn't bear the thought of Janna getting entangled with Darwin because of her.
"If you care about her, then come back with your daughter. I'll treat her as my own," Darwin offered, stepping closer.
Fiona immediately recoiled with wariness.
Another pang of pain clenched Darwin's chest. He didn't want this - for her to fear and hate him. But the fear of living without her was greater. The suffocating pain he had endured for the past five years without her was unbearable. He yearned to bring his beloved home – to their home... for that, he was willing to sacrifice everything, forgive her abandonment, her betrayal, and cherish her daughter.
As long as...
She would come back.
"I won't let my child grow up with a father like you – dark and cruel," Fiona stated resolutely, "Darwin, what's done is done. If you dare harm my friends or family again..."
Fiona's stare bore into Darwin before she continued, deliberately, "I will end you."
Darwin's eyes shook violently with emotion. It had been years since Anniston had found out he wasn't really her son and uttered similar words: "Darwin, you monster, I'll kill you! I swear it!"
So many on this earth wanted him dead.
But Fiona's name had never been among them.
Until now, she said she would end him.
"Do you really wish me dead?" Darwin inched towards Fiona.
She frowned, retreating with each step he took, until her back hit the altar, nowhere left to retreat.
With an ominous closeness, Darwin picked up a knife from the table and grabbed Fiona's hand, intending for her to grip it: "Then do it now. It'll spare your loved ones from any further harm by my hands."
His eyes blazed, his face deathly pale.
Vulnerability seeped from every pore of his being, a side of him Fiona had never seen. The formidable Darwin always bore an air of arrogance—unyielding pride that seemed inconceivable now. His despair, so profound, so stark, it bordered on terrifying.
Her heart ached uncontrollably, betraying her attempts to maintain composure.
“Enough! If you want to harm yourself, don't do it here!” Fiona snapped, turning her head away, her brows knitting together in frustration. Her voice, however, had shed some of its earlier venom.
Silence fell between them.
The distinctive clink of a dropped knife broke the quiet. Darwin enveloped Fiona in an embrace, burying his face in the nape of her neck. His tears, warm and damp, hit her ivory skin, causing Fiona's body to stiffen.
Holding her tight, Darwin sobbed quietly with restrained breaths.
Initially, Fiona's body remained rigid, her guard up.
Gradually, her resistance began to wane, and her muscles relaxed against her will. She wanted to push Darwin away but couldn’t bring herself to do it.
That only deepened her sorrow.
In a battle between reason and instinct, her innate responses won.
Throughout the years of standing in another's place, Fiona often daydreamed that one day Darwin would forget Lilian and love her for who she truly was. She would take him to meet her grandmother and assure her that he was a man worth entrusting with her heart. Together, they would spend their days in a modest but cozy home, living through the rhythm of seasons at an unhurried pace—just a simple, shared existence.
But fate was cruelly playful.
She never got the chance to introduce Darwin to her grandmother.
And, in turn, she had lost all hope in him.
Yet it was precisely at this moment that Darwin started to love her.
The chasms of despair that haunted her nightmares had become vast gorges etched deep into her soul, impossible to traverse.
At the core, it was the damage from the past that festered, too grievous to believe Darwin's love could be genuine.
After some time, Fiona gently pushed Darwin away.
"Why are you crying? It’s you who’s messed everything up, not me. Don't act like I'm the bad guy," Fiona said sternly. "Let go and get those ridiculous headlines taken down!”
“It wasn’t me,” Darwin replied, not letting go.
“Then who was it?” Fiona shot back, her irritation flaring anew.
“I just didn’t stop it. The buzz happened on its own," Darwin defended with conviction.
Fiona couldn’t help but laugh in disbelief, “Oh, should I be praising you then?”
Darwin remained silent.
Just then, Fiona noticed the patchy bloodstains on the blue-gray stone floor.
“Darwin, step outside. Let's take this elsewhere,” she said gravely. “And get that finger of yours seen to.”
Moments later, in the quiet corridor, Fiona tended to Darwin’s wound with an impassive face.
“You should get a tetanus shot, just to be safe,” she suggested, concerned by the depth of the cut.
Darwin couldn't take his eyes off her. It's almost as if his eyelids refused to blink.
"You're lying to me," Darwin finally spoke up, his voice raspy with emotion.
Fiona's brow furrowed and, before she knew it, her hand was coming down a little too hard.
A grunt of pain escaped Darwin, and Fiona's panic momentarily took over. "Who-who's lying to you?" she blurted out.
She had deceived him plenty; there was no question about that.
"You still love me," Darwin proclaimed with a confidence that seemed to touch the stars.
Fiona remained silent; her touch grew even firmer.
"Ow!" Darwin couldn't hold back his whimper of pain.
"Love you?" Fiona snorted with derision. "As if. If I weren't worried someone would play the victim, neglecting their wounds only to feign injury later, I wouldn't bother at all!"
The idea of Darwin stooping to such a scam was laughable. If someone dared to hurt him, they'd face his immediate storm of retaliation. But now...
Fiona couldn't quite find the right words to say.
Darwin didn't attempt to reply.
After a tense silence, Darwin leaned in unexpectedly and pecked Fiona on the lips so swiftly it left her dumbstruck.
Her response was numbed disbelief; she couldn't even muster anger anymore.