"Oh my, Lenoir, we managed to trick him again."
"I will be more prepared next time. Just a scratch is not enough to realize my mistake."
"And you have to pay for all the drink today. I have prepared a mysterious gift for you."
Lenoir fell silent for a moment.
"Tell the waiter to put it on my bill."
I walked back in my soaking wet clothes, their laughter replaying in my mind.
With every step I took, my love for Lenoir disappeared bit by bit.
When I reached the gate, I saw a man dressed elegantly.
I suddenly understood that it was the gift Caitlin prepared for her.
"Sir, please move aside, you are blocking me."
I quickly stood aside and waited for him to go into the room.
"Isn't this the best hotel? How come someone dressed like this shows up? It really spoils the fun."
I thought Liam was back, but as soon as he spoke, I knew it was not.
Liam came from an educated family, so he would never say such words in public.
Caitlin prepared a fake substitute for Lenoir.
On the way back to the Jenner Family's villa, I contacted my aunt who was away for the first time.
Five years ago, in order to take care of the disabled Lenoir, I did not agree to go abroad with her.
She promised to help me get a new identity without asking anything this time.
Before that, I just needed to maintain the status and wholeheartedly take care of everything for Lenoir.
Unfortunately, she did not appear for the next three days.
Her assistant told me that she had an emergency situation in the company and only she could handle it.
"Yohan, I'm already there."
"I'm not here, so you should have a good rest and don't run around."
As usual, Lenoir called me after arriving at the location.
It was a promise we once made, to tell each other that we were safe no matter what.
The year I first arrived at Jenner Family, I made plans to travel around with a few classmates. On the way, the tour guide threatened us and locked us in a small dark room. It was she who mobilized all her strength to find us when we were starving.
From that day on, she asked me to call her every time I went out.
She had also maintained this habit for so many years.
But this time, I clearly heard a charming male voice from the other end. "Ms. Jenner, come and take a look. Do you like this sample? I'll wear it for you to see."
"Stop it."
I hung up the phone with bitterness.
The appearance of this man made her lies clumsy.
Since she could not move her legs, she never went on business trips out of town. Moreover, with the current status of the Jenner Group, there could not be any problems that could only be handled by her, unless the Jenner Group went bankrupt.
I stepped up my plan to leave while she was away.
The weather forecast said it would rain in five days, which was the day I left the Jenner Family's villa.
Lenoir came back and brought the man back to the Kilmer Family.
"Where have you been? The butler said you've been out a lot lately."
She looked at me, who had just walked in, with an unhappy expression on her face.
I took out the traditional medicine bag in my hand and shook it.
"I just found a small clinic with very good medical skills."
"It just so happened you're back. I'll make some for you to soak your feet tonight."
Her gaze lingered on the medicine bag for a moment.
"Um." She gave a short response.
My tense heart immediately relieved. I handed the medicine bag to the butler and walked over to push her.
But to my surprise, the man behind her pushed her wheelchair away.
"Yohan, this is Ronan Nolte, the private doctor Caitlin hired for me."
"From now on, he will be in charge of arranging my daily care and you should listen to whatever he tells you."
I watched the lies came out of her mouth and laughed at myself.
Private doctor or private lover?
"You must be Ms. Jenner's nephew, I hope we can get along and cooperate well."
That was how Lenoir introduced me, her nephew?
My last name was Kilmer and her last name was Jenner.
What kind of aunt was she to me? What kind of aunt would hug or even kiss her nephew?
Since she no longer needed me, I went upstairs tactfully.
"Yes, I am her nephew, Dude. I will go up first."
When it came to the words "Dude", I deliberately emphasized my voice.
She frowned, but she did not say anything until I went upstairs.
Soon, the sound of two people laughing could be heard downstairs.
"Ms. Jenner, this is the Tonic Diet I made for you myself. I'll feed you."
"You are so mean. Just eat your meal, why are you biting someone's hand?"
"Don't you know whether I need to make up for it or not? Do you want to try it tonight?"
I covered my ears and turned up the volume of my phone to the maximum, but I still could not avoid it.
In the end, I simply let go, letting my tears soak the corners of the quilt, but I covered my mouth tightly to prevent myself from making any sound.
At the age of fifteen, my parents died in a sudden. Lenoir's father, David Jenner, was my grandfather's comrade-in-arms. He took me to the Jenner Family and handed me over to the care of his youngest daughter, Lenoir.
I did call her "Auntie" for five years and it was she who accompanied me through the pain of losing my loved ones.
She would help me attend parent-teacher meetings, remember my birthday, always take me with her when she went out and even put down her work to take care of me whenever I was sick.
At the age of eighteen, I gathered the courage to confess my feelings to her, only to find out that she had a boyfriend.
After her legs became disabled, we resumed our previous relationship and she even took the initiative to kiss me.
I thought I had found love in the end and I took great pains to take care of her for five years, but I never expected it was all just a show for her.
Also, Lenoir, it seemed she had never said she loved me.
It was all just my wishful thinking.
After a sleepless night, I woke up with red and swollen eyes.
However, I saw Ronan coming out of her room wearing loose pajamas.
The kiss marks on the neck and the charm in the eyes all showed what they did last night.
I was stunned.
"You guys ...."
I thought I was prepared to leave.
But seeing it with my own eyes still makes my eyes sore.
Lenoir, how could you do it?
Right under my nose, in the next room, they ....
The cup in my hand fell to the floor with a "bang" and the fragments scratched my ankle.
Hearing the sound, Lenoir immediately came out of the room. As soon as she saw me, her eyes began to panic and dodge.
"Yohan, listen to me explain."
"It's not what you think. Ronan just came to my room to help me massage my legs."
"If you don't believe me, ask him."
He yawned nonchalantly.
"Yes, I'm just giving her a massage."
But I clearly saw the provocation in his eyes, that was a man's intuition.
Seeing that I still did not believe it, Lenoir started to get angry.
"How can you be so dirty-minded? What do you think of a good treatment?"
"How will he continue to work as a doctor in the future?"
"You don't want my leg to get better."
With every word came out of her mouth, the pain in my heart increased.
It was clearly her fault, but in the end, it was my fault for having dirty thoughts.
Lenoir, was I really so unbearable in your heart?
No wonder you thought I pretended to be sick on that day to stop you from going to see Liam.
"Apologize to Dr. Nolte."
Her last words shattered my heart.
I suppressed the pain in my heart and apologized sincerely to Ronan.
"Dr. Nolte, I'm sorry, I misunderstood you."
After receiving a satisfactory reply, Lenoir's expression changed.
She waved her hand to let the man leave and then said to me, "Come here, I'll give you some medicine."
Only then did I notice that the wound on my feet had stained the originally white slippers red.
Lenoir carefully picked up the fragments on my feet, as if the treasure in her hand would shatter at a touch.
In these five years, she always scolded and belittled me with the harshest words when she was in a bad mood.
When I tried to escape, he stuffed another dried berries into my pocket.
I stared at her serious face and said to her gently, "Lenoir, I don't want to eat dried berries you gave me anymore."
I mostly stayed in my room due to my foot injury.
Suddenly, the butler knocked on the door and behind him was Ronan.
"Sir, Ms. Jenner asked you to switch rooms with Dr. Nolte for the convenience of treating her."
"Harold, please replace all the furniture here. I have a mysophobia and I don't use things others have been used."
I moved to the smallest room in the corner. I put away the things Lenoir gave me one by one.
Watching the flames devour them, my love for Lenoir disappeared along with them.
"What are you burning?"
"Nothing, just packing up some unwanted stuff."
The weather forecast said it would rain today.
Ronan and Lenoir left early in the morning.
Raindrops began to hit the window. I held the phone tightly in my hand, quietly waiting for the 99th time to come.
Finally, the phone rang.
The voice on the other end remained as urgent as ever, accompanied by Lenoir's muffled groan.
"Yohan, quickly deliver the medicine to Ms. Jenner. We are at 35 Lavaryn Street."
I took a deep breath and answered softly, "I'll be right there."
The rain today was as heavy as the day Liam left.
The difference was, back then I got caught in the rain and had a fever because I was trying to help Lenoir find the ring that Liam had thrown in the bushes.
And today, I was willing to walk into the trap Lenoir designed to punish me even though I had learned about it.
On the other side, Lenoir was leisurely drinking while Ronan, who was by her side, wanted to lean against her, but she coldly refused.
"If he learns to be like him, he won't be like this."
Ronan sat up straight with an unpleasant look on his face.
Caitlin, who was standing beside her, saw that something was wrong and spoke up jokingly,
"Lenoir, I have arranged a big one this time, which will definitely make Yohan regret stopping you."
"I specifically looked for those thugs."
"But what are you planning to do with him after it's over?"
Lenoir fiddled with the wine glass in her hand expressionlessly and everyone around her dared not respond for a moment.
"The punishment is over. I won't see him again."
After saying this, Caitlin beside her suddenly breathed a sigh of relief.
When I arrived at Lavaryn Street, what I saw was a narrow and dark alley and No. 35 was at the very end.
I mustered up the courage and stepped in, convincing myself with every step.
"Yohan, don't be afraid ... don't be afraid."
"After today, you will be free."
"No matter how ruthless she is, she can only hurt you a bit and the pain will be gone in a few days."
But I was wrong, so wrong.
Some people mercilessly torn my clothes apart and their cold hands wandered freely on my body.
"No, let me go!"
"Lenoir, I was wrong, please forgive me!"
"Auntie, I know I was wrong."
I went from struggling at the beginning to being indifferent in the end.
I did not know how long it had been, I just let the rain fall and for the first time, I hated myself for falling in love with someone I should not have.
