Chapter 464


    Chapter 464


    Shawn''s figure seemed to waver before my eyes as the wind grew stronger. I was too afraid to get


    close to him after he had lost his temper with me earlier. I felt rather helpless as I stood in my spot, and


    my head spun more than before. He continued to walk along the river, but I no longer had the strength


    to go after him, so I sat down to rest. When he sensed that there wasn''t anyone following behind him,


    he turned around to shoot me a rather unpleasant re. "Follow me."


    Does this mean he forgives me? I don''t think he''ll forgive me so easily, though. Maybe he just can''t


    bring himself to be too cruel to me. I forced myself to my feet before I hurried after him. Shawn could


    tell I wasn''t my usual self, so he frowned as he questioned me, "Are you not feeling well?"


    "I had a high fever and just got out of the hospital. I got an IV drip for a day, so I feel better now. But the


    wind earlier was—" Before I could finish my sentence, he threw his coat over me. Even though he still


    had the same cold look on his face, I could tell he was genuinely concerned about me, even if he was


    still angry. The fact that he had called me a pea-brain was enough to tell me how angry he was!


    Shawn turned his back toward me before bending down. "Help yourself up," he ordered. I obediently


    threw my arms over his shoulders before he lifted me into a piggyback. He didn''t say much along the


    way, but I held tightly onto him as I continued to apologize, "I''m sorry."


    He didn''t respond to me. "I''m really sorry for making you sad! I''ll never hide anything from you again,


    Shawn." He continued to stay silent even after that.


    "Do you think I''m stupid, Shawn?" I asked.


    "You''re getting all naggy again right after I show you a little bit of kindness. Do I think you''re stupid?


    Yes, but I find it hard to get mad at you sometimes. How could you be so infuriatingly innocent and


    sweet? Why are you always so simple-minded? I find it hard to exin some things to you, and it


    amuses and infuriates me at the same time. Forget it. You''re just dumb." Shawn''s words were filled


    with exasperation.


    "I''m sorry, Shawn. Maybe I''m too dumb," I replied. I had to go along with his words as I figured that was


    my best option. He continued to ignore me after that, and it took him about half an hour to carry me to


    the hospital. I received another IV drip that night, and I only saw Waylen when I woke up in the middle


    of the night. I was somewhat disappointed to see that Shawn was nowhere to be found.


    Waylen seemed rather dejected when he saw the disappointment on my face. "Don''t you want to see


    me, Mrs. Xenos?"


    "Is Shawn still angry at me?" I asked in a hopeful tone. "Well, he''s still angry, but he''s not going to


    make things hard for you, Mrs. Xenos. You need to give him some time to calm down," Waylen


    suggested. "Where did he go?" I asked.


    "He didn''t say much. He just left," he replied.


    "Okay, then," I muttered half-heartedly. I couldn''t fall asleep after that and only started feeling sleepy at


    the crack of dawn. However, Amy happened to call me right when I was about to sleep. "Where are


    you?" she asked.


    "What is it?" I asked in return.


    "I wanted toe to visit, just for fun," she replied. Since when did we get so close? I thought. "I''m sick


    and not in the mood to have fun right now," I replied.


    "What happened?" Amy asked with a hint of concern in her voice.


    "I have a persistent high fever. You enjoy yourself. Perhaps I can introduce you to a few friends of mine


    —they''re some of my best buddies in Bryxton," I offered.


    "Sure. You can give me their contact numbers," Amy said.


    I was speechless for a while. She hadpletely ignored the fact that I had a persistent high fever. I


    ended up passing her contact to Merlin, who was confused when I first did so. ''What is this number


    about?'' he asked.


    ''This is my friend''s contact. It''s her first time in Bryxton, so I hope you can show her around,'' I


    exined.


    ''Okay. What do I get in return?'' Merlin asked. However, Ipletely ignored his text—all I could think


    of then was Shawn. At that point, I still didn''t know he was meeting up with Ezekiel.


    …


    Shawn had always been a terrifyingly smart man. He had managed to make a few guesses after his


    brief conversations with Renee. He stood in front of the hospital for a while after that—he was


    reminiscing all the history he had with Ezekiel. Shawn recalled the pleading look in Ezekiel''s eyes back


    then—he knew that Ezekiel had been begging him to show mercy. In the past, Shawn had never


    expected a man as powerful as Ezekiel would beg for his mercy, so he thought he was hallucinating at


    one point.


    After a while, Shawn strode into the hospital and took an elevator to the fifth floor. The corridor was


    empty when he got there, and he headed toward number 504. "He sure has guts," Shawnmented


    to himself. Ezekiel doesn''t have a single guard watching over him in the hospital. Isn''t he afraid that


    someone''s going to attack him? Or has he alreadye to some decision on his own? Hmph. A


    psychologist would thoroughly analyze a person''s inner processes, and someone as innocent as my


    wife would just let her guard down. She didn''t have her defenses up as he attacked her one time after


    another, and she wasn''t even aware that she had turned into one of his pawns in his game.


    Shawn found Ezekiel staring at the two bells that he wore on his wrist when Shawn first entered the


    room. In the past, Ezekiel had strung the two bells together with some cheap string, which was now


    reced by a silver chain. A string couldn''tst him that long. "It''s been a while." Shawn was the first to


    speak.


    Even though Ezekiel had been back in the country for a while, this was the first time they were meeting


    one another in person. Shawn hadn''t intended to meet him at all, but he felt like he had no choice after


    Renee got herself involved. Ezekiel tore his gaze away from the bells. "This is because of Renee,


    right? What do you want to talk about?" he asked.


    "My wife told me you''re not back in Bryxton to attack me." Shawn had intentionally referred to Renee


    as his wife, and Ezekiel immediately noticed the intention behind Shawn''s choice of words. However,


    Ezekiel chose to ignore it. "That''s what I said. Do you believe me?"


    Shawn didn''t care. "I only have one question."


    "Tell me what it is. I''ll tell you whatever I know, and I won''t lie. There''s no point lying to someone as


    smart as you, after all," Ezekiel replied.


    "Why did you help me back then?" Shawn asked with a frown. "Is it because you wanted out?" he


    continued after a pause. He figured Ezekiel might have wanted to stop being an internationally


    influential figure. Shawn had contemted this question for years but still couldn''t figure out what


    Ezekiel wanted to do.


    Ezekiel finally gave him an answer. "Yes."


    "Why?" Shawn asked. Deep down, he already knew the answer. Ezekiel suddenly shifted his gaze to


    look at the bells on his wrist once more. "One of these bells was made from gold while the other was


    made from silver. They''ve been with me for 14 years now, and I''ve always cherished them with all my


    heart. Do you know who gave them to me, Shawn?"


    Shawn was at a loss for words, but Ezekiel then continued with a name that Shawn had suspected in


    his mind. "It was a gift from Renee," Ezekiel said. My wife sure is good at making others fall for her,


    huh? Shawn thought to himself.


    "Back then, when Renee''s parents got involved in that air crash, she was left all alone in the huge


    Felix''s Vi. I knew she felt hopeless and sad, and I wanted to leave theplicated scene to head


    back to Bryxton just to be with her. I figured that I could watch her grow up before getting married to


    her," Ezekiel exined.


    "Then, we attacked you, and you could no longer head back to Bryxton for her. She got married to


    Nichs, and then she got married to me. Now, she''s my wife and the mother to my child. What about


    you? She had no idea about your intentions even after all these years," Shawn replied.


    "So, Shawn… You took away everything that was supposed to be mine." Ezekiel made a heavy


    usation. Shawn had never once felt like he had stolen anything from anyone—he believed that he


    had fought for everything he owned, including his wife.


    "Whatever Renee chooses has got nothing to do with you, Ezekiel. There''s no point in you liking her—


    she''s still mine in the end," Shawn uttered in a firm and haughty tone.


    Belonging ? N?velDram/a.Org.


    "All the best, then." Ezekiel chuckled.


    "I don''t feel any remorse over what happened back then, Ezekiel. You know how you got to that


    position in the past. I was just the next best candidate who came along! There''ll be someone who


    overtakes me someday, and I''m waiting for someone to surpass my abilities. I''d be open to you


    overtaking me, too, of course," Shawn uttered.


    "You''re still as domineering and conceited as ever. Aren''t you afraid to face your downfall someday?"


    Ezekiel said with augh.


    "Hah. I''m not as narrow-minded as you," Shawn rebuked.