Chapter 6 I Hate You All

Rufus let out a cold, derisive laugh. "Cecilia, do you really think life works that way? You destroyed my marriage with Blair and shoved yourself between us without a second thought."

His tone was casual, almost bored, as if he were discussing the weather. But the words hit Cecilia like plunging into icy water, freezing her from the crown of her head to the tips of her toes.

She realized she had been wrong—wrong to cling to a promise made in childhood, wrong to trap herself in such a powerless position.

Cecilia began to laugh, but somewhere in the sound, the laughter broke. Tears slipped down her cheeks.

"I'm a fool… foolish enough to keep a promise no one else even remembers, all these years."

Rufus's eyes narrowed, about to press her for more, when a knock sounded at the door. Gia, the attendant from the VIP suite, stepped inside.

"Mr. Chapman, Ms. Ember woke in the middle of the night asking to see you."

At the mention of Blair, concern flickered across Rufus's face. He rose immediately, ready to leave.

Watching his back retreat toward the door, Cecilia felt despair coil tight in her chest. Why was it that whenever Blair was involved—no matter how trivial—Rufus's answer was always the same: his back, disappearing from her sight.

Just like Brad.

Summoning what strength she had left, Cecilia shouted, her voice raw, "Rufus… Blair… I hate you both!"

Rufus froze at the doorway. A heartbeat later, he heard the thud of her body hitting the floor. She had fainted.

Her voice, cracked with fury, lingered in his mind, refusing to fade.

Hate him? Why? Cecilia had the title of his wife. She had everything she claimed to want.

"Mr. Chapman? Mr. Chapman!" Gia's voice tugged at him, trying to draw him toward the stairs. Blair would be furious if she woke to find him gone. Only in Rufus's presence did she soften; otherwise, she was notoriously difficult.

Rufus's expression tightened. After a long pause, he said, "Go back and tell Ms. Ember I'm handling business. I'll be up shortly."

Gia hesitated. She knew Blair wouldn't like that answer. But seeing that Rufus had no intention of moving, she bit her lip and left.

When the door closed, Rufus pressed the call button for the nurse. If it were about Blair, ensuring Cecilia didn't die would have been enough. But for reasons he couldn't name, he dragged a chair to her bedside and sat.

Moonlight slipped through the gap in the curtains, tracing the curve of her cheek. Rufus found himself wondering how long it had been since he really looked at her.

She was frighteningly thin now. Was she starving herself again to get her way? In the early years of her marriage into the Chapman family, she had used every trick she could to draw his attention—including hunger strikes.

The thought made his jaw tighten. He was ready to walk out when her voice stopped him.

"Why?"

He glanced down, thinking she had woken. But her brows were drawn tight in sleep, her face shadowed with distress. She was dreaming.

In that dream, she was back on the ship where she had been trafficked as a child. Ten days of darkness, fear, and uncertainty, clinging to warmth wherever they could find it. She saw herself and a young Rufus from outside, as though watching strangers, making a promise they believed would last forever.

To recognize each other again, they exchanged jade pendants.

"With this, I'll be able to find you. I'll never forget you. I'll never leave you." The boy's voice was fierce, certain.

But why? Why had Rufus given that pendant to Blair? Why had he forgotten the vow he made? Why had he loved Blair instead? Why had he come to despise her so much?

"Rufus, how could you throw away your promise to me? You swore we would never abandon each other…" A tear slid from the corner of her eye.

Rufus felt the words hit like a blow. They dragged him back to memories he preferred to keep buried—those ten days when the Chapman family had not yet built its empire, and his father, Robbie Chapman, was locked in a brutal fight for a piece of commercial land. His enemies had chosen to kidnap Rufus to force Robbie's hand.

It had been the darkest time of his life. The guards beat him for the smallest offense, fed him only when they felt like it—sometimes a bowl of thin gruel, sometimes stale bread.

He had survived on sheer willpower… until he met the girl.

She had been kidnapped too, though treated a little better. She shared half her food with him, and at night they huddled together for warmth. He remembered lying awake, the sound of waves pounding against the hull, fear knotting in his chest, until the girl's soft voice told him stories and lulled him to sleep.

One night, just before sleep claimed him, he had sworn silently that he would find her again and protect her with everything he had.

Now, he told himself he had found her—in Blair—and treated her like a treasure.

Cecilia's ambiguous words at that moment made him think, for a fleeting instant, that the girl was her… But then he shook his head. No. The venomous woman lying here could never be that little girl.

Upstairs, Blair stirred. She had light sleep, and when Rufus left her side, she had woken. At first, she thought he was handling work. But when he didn't return, unease crept in.

She sent Gia to fetch him. Only with Rufus nearby could she rest.

The door opened. Blair's smile lifted—then fell when she saw only Gia.

"Where's Mr. Chapman?" Her voice cooled, irritation edging in.

"Mr. Chapman says he's still handling business. He'll be up soon," Gia replied, hesitant.

Blair's eyes sharpened. "I hate being lied to. Tell me the truth, or I can't promise you'll keep your job."

The threat was naked, and Gia crumbled under it. She told Blair exactly what she had seen.

Blair's temper ignited. Her eyes burned with fury.

"That damn bitch Cecilia… she still won't give up, will she? Still trying to lure Rufus away from me!"