Pierce's voice was soft, yet it shook Millie to her core. She felt proud of him, yet deeply uneasy at the same time.By the time she pushed Pierce back to his hospital room, her eyes were all swollen. Her emotions weighed her down so much that even breathing felt constricted."Will you die, Pierce?" Millie asked, realizing how foolish her question sounded.Hadn't he just narrowly escaped death? Someone like Pierce, who risked his life constantly, was living on borrowed time."Millie, I can't give you any guarantees, but I can tell you this much—with you in my life, I'll live a little longer. With you around, I don't want to die," Pierce replied."But this time, you almost did," Millie said, her voice trembling."That's because you didn't want me anymore," he murmured.Pierce's voice was so low that it was almost inaudible, but Millie understood his words by reading his lips. Her mind buzzed, and the silence around her became deafening."Let me think about it, okay?" Millie de
Millie believed that she had to take it slow because getting this clam to open up would take patience.Pierce's face turned ghastly pale as if Millie had just exposed every dark secret he had kept hidden. Her tone was full of disdain, and her sharp gaze felt like daggers.Pierce could deduce the decision she'd made. After all, someone as complicated and difficult as him would be way too exhausting to deal with.Pierce had no idea who he could confide in. He wanted to tell Millie all about himself, as she was the one person in this world he trusted unconditionally. She was also the one he was willing to give everything to.But how could a man say such things? It would sound too sentimental—and worse, it would make him seem like a complete lunatic."Alright, I understand," Pierce muttered, lowering his head. His voice was heavy with resignation.Millie was caught off guard. "You understand? Understand what?""Leave. I won't blame you," he softly said."You still have the nerve to
"Ten years old," Pierce said, forcing himself to endure the shame as he uttered those three words.Millie's eyes widened. Pierce was five years older than her, which meant that she had been five at the time he had developed feelings for her."How is that possible? We were just kids. How could you have feelings for me that young?""You've forgotten, but I haven't. Samantha and I were kidnapped, and you were there too," he explained."Me?" Millie was stunned.Pierce began to recount the story. Millie's mind became a confused mess as fragmented memories surfaced—a boy covered in blood, his eyes cold yet resolute.Millie couldn't recall anything else other than that. Emily had told her that she'd been a mischievous child who had once fallen and hit her head. That must have happened during the incident Pierce mentioned."The police coordinated with you to raid the abandoned factory. When the kidnappers realized that you were working with the police, they were furious and tried
Millie had never been able to afford Emily's medical treatment and had constantly worried that the hospital would demand payment. Thankfully, the hospital never pressed them for money. She had assumed it was simply a debt she would have to settle later.When Stefan stepped in to help, she paid the hospital bill in full, believing her luck had turned. It never occurred to her that Pierce had been silently assisting her all along.At that time, she did have fleeting suspicions, but the chaos in her life left her no room to dwell on them. Once Stefan entered the picture, she dismissed the matter entirely and attributed it all to sheer good luck.Millie thought that she'd gotten lucky and that perhaps the Jordan family just wasn't meant to end so tragically."What else have you done? Tell me everything. I want to know," Millie demanded, her gaze unwavering as she stared at Pierce.She had always been the one left behind. Before her younger brother was born, her parents had loved her d
"You said you'd forgive me," Pierce muttered. His confidence was deflating, and he looked kind of pitiful.Millie's anger flared again. How dare he act like the wronged victim now?"Fine, let's hear it. What kind of tricks did you pull? I'm doubtful about you managing to manipulate Stefan to such an extent," Millie remarked, her tone skeptical.Pierce recounted, "Wanda's first husband came from an affluent family. His parents were capable and kept him in line. But after the couple passed away, he revealed his true nature. He drunk, gambled, and hit Wanda at home, causing her life to become unbearable."All I did was accelerate the collapse of that household. I arranged for someone to lend him high-interest loans and encouraged him to gamble even more recklessly. I also rigged the odds so that he lost far more than he won. It didn't take long for him to squander everything."Eventually, with no money to repay his debts, he set his eyes on Wanda. I sent someone to subtly suggest t
"Is there anything else besides this?" Millie asked.Pierce thought for a moment. "I've also sent people to investigate you in secret so I could keep an eye on your daily activities. But I didn't intervene in anything too private—I just wanted to know where you went and what you did."I think that's all I did. I'll let you know if anything else comes to mind. "Millie laughed out of frustration. This was already far too much. How could she handle it if there was anything more?She'd seen Pierce's paranoia before. But it wasn't until now that she realized she'd barely scratched the surface. He'd concealed himself far too well. If it wasn't for the influence she had on him in the past, he might've long since went astray. In fact, he would've turned into a complete villain. He wouldn't have fought for justice for the people. Instead, he'd have become complicit with them.He was definitely capable of doing something like that. Even the glory of the Atkinson family meant nothing to h
Was death the best relief to Pierce? Just like this time, he was determined to risk it all just to take his enemies down with him.It was glaringly obvious how deeply he cared for Millie. But despite the ache in his heart, he still managed to joke about it so casually.This stubborn man. Couldn't he understand that a woman's heart can be easily moved if he showed a little vulnerability? He was so stubborn, especially when it came to his words!…Millie stayed by Pierce's side and looked after him in the military hospital.Pierce was so severely injured that he couldn't even get out of bed for the first few days.Millie saw the festering wound—it was a terrifying and gruesome sight.Back then, she'd retched at the sight. Later on, she noticed that Pierce would secretly change his dressings without her. He always made up excuses to get her out whenever his wound needed to be tended to.Once, Millie had left her phone in the room while she went downstairs to get the medicine.
"Grandpa, what's the deal with Pierce being an illegitimate child?" Millie couldn't help but ask.Bill asked back with a chuckle, "Haven't you asked Pierce about this?""He hasn't brought it up, and it feels awkward for me to ask.""Then why are you asking me?""I want to know.""Pierce should tell you about this himself. It's not the same if you hear it from someone else."Millie felt defeated upon hearing this. She lowered her head and ranted, "Grandpa, don't you know him? He keeps everything bottled up. He's too good at hiding things. He'll just keep everything to himself and try to make peace with it on his own."It's fine if he can really do that, but the truth is he's just exhausting and tormenting himself mentally. Who knows how long it'll take before he comes around and tells me about this." Millie pouted after getting that off her chest. From her expression, her frustration was evident.It had already taken her half a year just to pry open Pierce's mouth and learn ev
Millie gently closed the box.Suddenly, a single tear slipped down, landing silently on the surface. Only then did Millie realize that she had been crying. She wasn't sure if she was mourning the love she once had or if her tears were for something else entirely.No wonder Pierce had told her to look at it in private. He didn't want to see her shedding tears for another man."It's all in the past. Why send this now?" Millie murmured.She wiped away her tears and picked up her phone. "Tobias, do me a favor. Auction something for me. Donate every last cent of the proceeds to charity. Not a single penny should be kept."She then ended the call and looked at the small box again. At least this way, it would be put to good use…Afterward, Millie headed to the study to check on Pierce. He watched her closely, his deep eyes unreadable.Millie pretended not to notice and said, "You keep working. I'm just going to sketch for a while."Pierce pressed his lips together as if he wante
Millie followed Pierce back home. As she stepped into the familiar space that belonged to just the two of them, her heart felt heavy with emotions.It had been two months since she had last been here, yet everything remained unchanged. Even the wardrobe had been stocked with new seasonal outfits.In those two months, Millie had lost a lot of weight. So, Pierce instructed the kitchen to prepare nourishing meals for her. He was determined to bring her back to full health.Pierce remained bedridden for another half month before he could finally use a cane to walk around a bit. His right leg was still severely injured, and every step sent searing pain through his body, making his face go pale and his forehead damp with cold sweat.Millie couldn't bear to watch him suffer and urged him to rest. But Pierce was stubborn and walked until his legs trembled, and he could no longer stand. Only then would he sit down."Does it hurt?" Millie worriedly asked."It doesn't. I just need to pr
With that, Millie turned around and left without hesitation. But just as she was about to step out of the room, Stefan's voice called out behind her once more, "Millie, I owe you an apology for everything. I never really said it before. It's late… but at least I'm finally saying it. "Millie, I'm sorry. I was the one in the wrong." Stefan's voice was soft, weakened by his injuries. It sounded as though those few words had drained all the strength from his body.Millie's body stiffened, and her hands were tightly clenched into fists at her sides.Stefan was apologizing at long last.Millie wanted to turn around to see if he was truly sincere or if this was just another one of his manipulations. However, she held herself back. Unimportant people didn't deserve even a second glance.Millie didn't say anything. She didn't say whether she would or would not forgive him. She just walked away.Stefan's face turned even paler. He knew that after everything he had done, he would never
Millie didn't want to see Pierce struggling alone, bottling up all his pain like a wounded lion licking its wounds in solitude.Upon hearing her words, Pierce simply tightened his embrace around her. "Mills… I'm scared…""I know. I understand," Millie whispered, gently patting his back."I'm afraid I won't be able to lift you anymore, and I'm afraid I won't be able to run or jump. I'm scared I won't be able to fight the bad guys and protect you anymore." Pierce's voice was soft and barely above a whisper. His sorrow was almost imperceptible, but it could be because he still hadn't fully released his emotions.Millie started, "You still have me. If you can't carry me, then don't. If you can't run fast or jump high, then I'll slow down and walk beside you. I can be your crutch and your support for a lifetime, okay?"And listen, Pierce, you may not be able to fight on the front lines anymore, but you're still there in spirit. We can move to the back lines to provide funding and strat
Pierce didn't tell Millie everything—such as the fact that Stefan had initially wanted to kill him. He spared Stefan some dignity, not wanting Millie to hate him forever.Millie stayed in the hospital to care for Pierce for two days when there was finally a change in Stefan's condition.Before he even regained consciousness, he was already calling her name. Robin anxiously rushed in to find Millie, and she hurried over."The patient's wound has gotten infected, leading to complications. We need to start emergency treatment immediately!""How could this have happened? Wasn't he supposed to wake up?" Robin was beside himself with worry."Millie… Millie…" Even in his fevered delirium, Stefan kept murmuring her name.Millie went over to him. His hand, which had been weakly grasping at the air, finally caught hold of something—her fingers. He clung to her tightly."I'm here, Stefan," she softly uttered.It was as if her words held some kind of magic, as Stefan immediately calmed d
Every word Pierce spoke was firm and impactful. Each word hammered on Stefan's heart mercilessly.Pierce owned up to his mistakes. But what about him? Could he do the same?All this while, he had been shifting the blame to everyone else. He blamed Pierce for stealing Millie away. Then, he blamed Millie for not forgiving him. He even blamed Wanda for seducing him, and the list went on…He had blamed so many people, holding onto their faults while conveniently brushing aside his own. When it came to himself, he always found a way to justify his actions. He completely ignored that he was the true cause of everything.Stefan's grip on Pierce's collar loosened. He took a few steps back in a daze and stumbled on his own feet, causing him to nearly fall to the ground."Those criminals… They're planning to strike again. I agreed to help them," Stefan said."Why are you telling me this?" Pierce responded."She said… She said that if you died, she wouldn't live either." Stefan's voice was
Millie gave Pierce a profound look that contained a myriad of emotions. Pierce could have been selfish and not tell her any of Stefan's good deeds. He could've even stopped her from visiting Stefan. Yet, he didn't do that.After giving Pierce one heavy nod, Millie went over to the adjacent hospital room.Stefan was seriously injured too. His health wasn't as good as Pierce's to begin with, so he still hadn't woken up yet.Robin was in his room, sitting beside him. He kept silently wiping away tears at one side."This is my only nephew. If anything were to happen to him, how would I face his late parents?" Robin mournfully said."Does Grandma know about this?" Millie inquired."I don't have the heart to tell Mom about this. She's old and frail. I don't want her to have a breakdown," Robin replied."I'll keep him company, Robin," Millie said.Robin hesitated for a moment and ultimately nodded. He believed that Stefan would want to see Millie upon waking up. So, Millie staye
"Don't move around. You're still very weak. The doctor said to give you some oatmeal porridge when you wake up. Your digestive system is still quite weak, so you need to eat something that goes down easily."A familiar voice sounded in Millie's ears."G-Grandpa? Why are you here? Where's Pierce? Pierce? Pierce…" After a moment of silence, Millie mumbled, "I forgot… Pierce is dead. Not even his body remains.""What nonsense are you speaking, child? Isn't he lying right beside you?" Bill interjected.Millie visibly froze for a second. Then, she whipped her head around to look. As Bill had said, Pierce was indeed right beside her. Layers of gauze were wrapped around his body, and he seemed to be heavily injured. However, his vital signs were steady, and his heartbeat was rhythmic—he was no longer in a critical condition."Pierce…" Millie tumbled out of bed without a care for the pain in her limbs.Bill quickly went over to support her and combined their beds together."H-How is t
Millie broke down emotionally. She was done with Stefan's constant self-righteous justification. He always blamed everyone else and deemed himself free of any wrongdoing. He acted as if the whole world had wronged him, while he had never wronged anyone.He painted himself as the pitiful and innocent victim, twisting logic to justify everything he did.Millie was done acting her part. She would let things play out however they should. There was no longer anything tying her to this world. If anything happened to Pierce, she wouldn't live either. Just the thought of being imprisoned by Stefan for three years was worse than death.And so, she locked herself in her room and refused to come out. Every day, the housekeepers delivered her meals. She had no appetite but still ate well.Millie also no longer cared whether Stefan had drugged her food or not. If she turned into a mindless lunatic, maybe that would be better than this painful clarity.…Days passed one after another.One