Đang tải thông tin quảng bá...
Our Blind Love Lost Fragrance, I Smelled My Mom's Killer
NovelShort
Hoàn thành
In the third year of my marriage to Conrad Hollowell, after being blind for ten long years, my sight finally came back. I was so overwhelmed with joy that I ran all the way home, eager to tell him the...
Chương (5)
第1章
In the third year of my marriage to Conrad Hollowell, I, who had been blind for ten years, finally recovered my eyesight.
Just as I was overjoyed and running home, preparing to tell him about this, I saw him and Estelle Denyer fooling around in the bedroom that belonged to both of us.
His usually cold, indifferent face was flushed, his body moving against hers.
Estelle was even more delicate and seductive, her mouth continuously letting out moans.
My body instantly stiffened in place. Just as I was about to speak, I heard the conversation between them.
“Conrad, when do you plan to stop Ophelia’s meds? The doctor said that if it goes on for another month, she’ll probably go permanently blind.”
She said it with feigned concern.
He reached out and pinched her waist, coldly saying, “Isn’t it good that she’s blind? That way, there’s no need to ever worry about her discovering our affair. I’ve already swallowed up most of her family’s property. Apart from providing you with fragrances, she’s completely useless.”
My heart instantly thumped heavily at those words.
I saw a trace of smugness flash across Estelle’s eyes, and then she hypocritically said, “Still, I was the one who hit her mother with my car back then. We should at least leave Ophelia something… Think of it as my apology.”
Hearing this, I finally understood everything.
The husband I saved from a pack of wolves became a man-eating devil.
He was like colorless, tasteless deadly poison, completely swallowing me with sweetness.
He gave my fragrances to another woman, took away my honor, and even took away my eyesight!
After realizing all this, my heart was instantly cut like a knife.
I stared fiercely at the adulterous man and woman in front of me who had betrayed me, endless flames burning in my eyes.
Right then, I swore—I would destroy the Hollowells!
I would use fragrances, and the crimes Conrad and the others committed, to drag them completely into hell, to console my mother’s departed soul!
1
Ophelia’s POV
The day I regained my eyesight happened to be the third anniversary of my marriage to Conrad.
I thought it was a gift from God. I planned to bring the report home and celebrate with Conrad.
Unexpectedly, half an hour later, I received a letter.
On the letter, in Braille, my husband’s affair was clearly engraved.
The number of times, the time, the frequency—everything was recorded clearly.
I was unwilling to believe it, yet my heart was trembling violently.
The times recorded of him cheating—indeed, during those times, he was not by my side.
But the times recorded… All of them were moments he really wasn’t with me.
My heart suddenly dropped when I thought about it.
With trembling hands, I called him. He, who had never not answered my calls, did not pick up this time for a long while.
That’s when the panic hit. I called him over and over, more than twelve times, and he didn’t answer once.
And just then, my phone suddenly popped up a notification from the weight tracker.
[Your current weight is three kilograms more than your previous measurement. Rapid weight gain can easily harm your body. Please pay attention.]
The moment I saw it, my heart just instantly sank.
There was a woman in my bedroom, standing on my weighing scale!
I could no longer hold back. I grabbed a taxi straight home. The second I set foot inside the villa, I heard coquettish gasps coming from upstairs, along with a man’s low voice.
Even without seeing it with my own eyes, I could already tell that this was Conrad’s voice.
After being together for more than ten years, his voice had long been engraved into my bones.
I just never thought that he would sleep with another woman.
I wanted to storm upstairs and confront him, but then I heard their conversation.
“Conrad, if I hadn’t run over and killed Ophelia’s mom back then, you wouldn’t have had to marry her just for a letter of forgiveness. And for so many years, in order to keep her completely in the dark, you even tampered her eye meds. You’ve really worked hard.”
Estelle’s voice was dripping with fake pity. But the second her words hit me, my whole body went numb.
Conrad kissed her eyelids gently. “For you, anything I do is worth it. Just one more month. After that, she’ll go completely blind. Then you never have to worry about her finding out the truth.”
His cold voice stabbed into my ears, making my brows tighten from pain instantly.
“But if she goes blind in a month, will it affect the baby she’s carrying? I mean, that’s our child.
“And what about her fragrances? Although I’ve already relied on her fragrances to gain a firm foothold in the company, I am, after all, the R&D director. If she goes blind and can’t create other new products, what should I do?”
Estelle’s anxious voice followed.
Conrad stroked her hair and smiled.
“I’ve already arranged everything. You don’t have to worry about anything. The baby will be perfectly fine. And the fragnrances—once she goes blind, I’ve already hired a whole new researchers. Anything they make will be credited to you… just like everything Ophelia made.”
As he spoke, he placed a light kiss on Estelle’s face.
“All you need to do is wait to become my bride. I’ve already swallowed up her entire family’s assets. She’s useless now. In a month, I’ll make her get into another car accident—just like the one that blinded her the first time.”
My skull felt like it exploded, and all that was left in my ears was a sharp ringing.
So it turned out that everything I had suffered all these years was entirely thanks to him!
My mother’s death was done by Estelle, and Conrad clearly knew it, yet he chose to cover for her.
He even chose to marry me in order to obtain a letter of forgiveness from me.
In an instant, countless memories with him surfaced in my mind.
He was the boy I rescued from a pack of wolves when I was seven.
At that time, he only had his last breath left, and there were no family members by his side.
So I asked my mother for help, and in the end, we took him in, letting him become my bodyguard.
He stayed by my side for more than ten years and promised he would always take care of me.
On the eve of my marriage to him, my mother was in a car accident. That day it was drizzling with rain, and the surveillance cameras were also damaged. All that could be known was that the culprit was a woman.
On the very day I found key information and was preparing to submit it to the court, an out-of-control sedan crashed straight into me.
When I woke up again, I had already become blind.
Conrad was by my hospital bed, gripping my hands, saying he wanted to marry me, saying he would definitely send the person who killed my mother to prison.
In my helplessness, I agreed to marry him and handed him all the evidence.
That very day, he put a document in my hands, saying justice was served.
I was overjoyed and, trusting him completely, I signed that document.
In the days that followed, he was even more gentle and attentive. But my eyes never recovered.
On countless nights when I cried because of my eyes, he would always comfort me incomparably gently.
He said that whether or not my eyes recovered, he would always stay by my side, and I believed his words.
I handed my fragrances to him without reservation.
And it was precisely because of those fragrances I gave him that he was able to develop the Hollowells Group into a well-known perfume company in Colorado.
I honestly thought that even though I went blind, and even though my mom died right before my wedding, maybe I was still lucky because at least I had him.
Now, it seems that I personally brought a white-eyed wolf into my home.
And it was precisely because of Conrad and Estelle that my family was destroyed.
The fragrances I created were taken away, and even my body became someone else’s surrogate tool—how beautifully tragic.
Realizing all that, I staggered backward, missed a step, and my whole body fell heavily down the stairs.
Conrad instantly sensed something was wrong. His voice shot out like an ice awl.
“Who’s there?!”
Before Conrad stepped out, I forced myself up off the floor.
Thanks to that fall down the stairs earlier, we were far enough apart that he didn’t notice anything off.
When he saw me standing there, his face went cold. His eyes flicked with a little hesitation, but his voice remained incomparably gentle.
“Ophelia? When did you get home? Why didn’t you tell me? Did you… hear anything just now?”
The second he started acting, I slipped right back into my “blind” routine. I let my gaze go empty as I replied.
“I called you a bunch of times, but you didn’t pick up the phone. I freaked out a little, so I rushed home.”
His expression did not change. He only pulled out his phone.
Only after he checked and saw I really did call him over ten times did he finally relax.
“Sorry. I was busy with work stuff. My phone was turned off.”
My nails dug into my palm. Not one damn word he said was true.
He ignored my calls for one reason: I wasn’t useful to him anymore.
As soon as his words fell, a fair and tender hand stretched out from behind him. Estelle slowly clung to him, her entire body like a beautiful snake.
He frowned and jerked his chin toward me, reminding her I was still right there.
But she blew a little breath against his neck, looked straight at me with that provocative gaze, and whispered, “Come on, she can’t see anything. As long as I’m careful, you’re still happy, right?”
As she spoke, she moved her hand downward.
Watching that disgusting scene play out in front of me, I bit down so hard I tasted blood. But honestly, the pain didn’t even compare to what was happening to my heart.
With her seduction, Conrad didn’t even bother stopping her anymore.
Instead, right in front of me, he openly began to be intimate with her.
Wet kissing noises and hushed little moans echoed from upstairs.
As usual, I sat on the couch, but my heart hated until it dripped blood.
“Ophelia, I’ll be swamped with company matters for a while. If you need anything, just call me again. And make sure you take your meds on time every day.”
He said it gently… while holding her in his arms, walking right up to me.
I leaned away from their bodies practically glued together and acted like nothing was happening. I just quietly nodded.
I thought that was it. But he just had to keep reminding me.
“I remember the meds in your bed running low. I’ll bring more tomorrow. Oh right, have you already made the new fragrance? The company’s been pressuring me, but if you’re not feeling well, I can stall a bit longer.”
It was the same script he always used.
Every time he said stuff like that, I’d stay up night after night, my nose hurting and bleeding from exhaustion, just to make whatever fragrance he wanted—to make things easier for him.
But today I finally learned the truth: every single fragrance I made… had been long handed over as Estelle’s work!
They even let this murderer who killed my mother become the R&D director!
I wished I could expose everything right now and then perish together with them.
But the remaining bit of rationality still stopped me.
If I exposed everything here, it’d be just like letting myself die quietly.
Conrad was no longer the husband who loved me as before.
I forced myself to hold back my tears and pretended to be calm as I replied, “I’ll drop the fragrance off at the company tomorrow.”
Only then did he finally look satisfied. He tightened his grip on the already dazed Estelle.
And in a low, husky voice, he said, “I’ve got to work overtime tonight, so I can’t stay with you. Ophelia, take care of yourself, stay home, and wait for me like a good girl. I’ll come back early.”
The second he said that, Estelle pinched his waist in dissatisfaction. In an instant, he shot her this sharp, dangerous glare.
He didn’t wait for me to say a word. He couldn’t get out of here fast enough, carrying her out of the villa.
Watching their silhouettes finally disappear, I leaned against the couch, my face pale. I turned on my phone and booked an abortion appointment for three days later.
I would absolutely not let the murderer’s child be born from my womb!
If Conrad planned to kill me at the perfume launch next month…
Then that day, I’d drag the two of them into hell together.
The second after setting the plan, my phone suddenly rang.
I frowned slightly, but in the end, I answered anyway.
“Hi, sorry, is this Ophelia? The baby you’re carrying… It’s not yours and your husband’s. It’s mine. Can I discuss this with you?”
The moment I heard that, my eyes widened in disbelief.
第2章
Ophelia’s POV
“What nonsense are you talking about? How could the baby I’m carrying possibly be yours?”
The man on the other end sounded way too calm, unhurriedly explaining, “I’m very sorry, but the baby you’re carrying is indeed mine. The doctor made a mistake during the procedure… and this is the result.”
Then he added, “Because of my family situation, I need a child—and a wife. I believe you could also use my help right now.”
When I heard that, my heart dropped so hard it felt like it hit the floor.
In the dead silence, the only thing I could hear was my own strangled voice.
“Who exactly are you? Why do you know so much?”
The man on the other end of the phone was silent for a moment, then explained everything clearly to me.
Because of my health issues, when Conrad said he wanted a baby with me, I was so excited.
But for some reason, years passed and I still couldn’t get pregnant.
Back then, I was very discouraged. Now, it seems that everything had been planned by Conrad and Estelle from the very beginning.
Because she was afraid of pain and didn’t want to give birth, they decided it would be simpler to let me be the surrogate.
And it was exactly because of this that I prepared for pregnancy for several years but still couldn’t get pregnant.
It wasn’t until this year that I finally made up my mind to go to the hospital. I didn’t expect the doctor to mess up and use Zane Montrose’s sperm with my egg. And that’s how this baby happened.
If I had gotten this news earlier, I would probably have been extremely furious, and might even have directly aborted the child.
But after knowing all the truth, the fact that this child is not Conrad’s instead made me incomparably relieved.
Zane said that if I agreed to become his contract wife, he’d help me deal with Conrad and Estelle.
And honestly, I could not do that on my own.
My family company had already been infiltrated by Conrad. He was just waiting for one month later, when I would have an “accident,” and then he could completely swallow the rest.
Thinking of this, I agreed to Zane’s request without any more hesitation.
In one month, I’ll take my baby and my new fragrance line to join Montrose Corporation.
And the Hollowells Group would be completely destroyed in my hands!
That night, I prepared the divorce agreement, ready for Conrad to sign it.
But even late into the night, he still hadn’t come back.
I moved my stiff body, tugged at the corner of my mouth, and silently sneered.
Just as I was about to make a phone call, my phone suddenly rang.
An anonymous number sent me an address, along with a message.
My phone’s auto-reader started playing it out loud.
“Your husband is here with another woman. Maybe you should come see. But you should just know your place and back off. After all, you’re just a blind woman.”
I didn’t need to think twice; that message was definitely from Estelle.
I didn’t want to pay attention to it, but in the end, I still grabbed the divorce agreement and went to the address.
Before I even stepped inside, I heard Conrad’s buddies laughing.
Different from the shy politeness they showed in front of me before, inside the private room they seemed to have let go of all restraints.
“Bro, when are you gonna bring Estelle home? Isn’t it time to get rid of that blind woman? Though… she’s still pregnant. That’s a bit of a problem.”
“The baby’s no issue. She can give birth, and then Estelle can raise it. Estelle is so kind-hearted. If it weren’t for that blind woman guilt-tripping Conrad into marrying her, the two of them wouldn’t have been separated in the first place.”
Just those two sentences made all the blood in my body run backward, turning completely cold.
It turned out, everyone knew about Conrad and Estelle. Only I was kept in the dark.
I gripped the divorce agreement, my whole body trembling violently. A surge of anger and pain from being toyed with completely swallowed my heart.
Just then, my phone suddenly rang. It was Conrad calling!
In an instant, the private room went silent.
“Ophelia?”
His hesitant voice came through.
I turned around and left without thinking.
He rushed out just in time to see my back. It was familiar enough to make his heart race.
He almost chased after me. But then Estelle’s voice called him from inside the room.
He hesitated just for a second. In the end, under her increasingly urgent calls, he returned to the private room.
I didn’t even know how I made it back to the villa.
All I knew was, the second I stepped inside, Conrad’s call came through.
“Ophelia, I just called you. Why didn’t you answer earlier? Were you not home?”
His voice was still as gentle as ever, yet I could hear a trace of suspicion in it.
I stayed quiet for a moment, and when he spoke again, his tone carried a hint of panic.
“Did someone tell you something? Don’t listen to them. Whatever it is, I’ll explain when I get back.”
He sounded just as affectionate as he did in the beginning; there wasn’t the slightest hint of lying.
But the way he acted in front of Estelle? He was a completely different man.
Thinking about everything he’d done to me, I didn’t hesitate anymore. I finally asked, “When are you coming back? I have something to tell you.”
The moment he heard that, he simply said, “Wait for me,” and hung up.
A second later, a message from Estelle popped up.
[Did you really think calling him home like this means you’ve won? As long as I want him, all I have to do is curl my finger and Conrad will come running right back to me. You heard it yourself earlier. Neither Conrad nor his buddies like you. If I were you, I wouldn’t even want to keep living.]
After everything I’ve been through, reading that message didn’t even stir anything in me anymore.
I just closed my phone and waited calmly for Conrad to show up.
The trip should’ve taken thirty minutes. But he shoved it into ten. When he rushed up to me, he was even out of breath.
He came over like he always did, gently supporting me.
“Ophelia, what did you want to talk about?”
I subtly avoided his hand and handed him the divorce agreement.
“Sign it.”
He froze for a second, then took the documents, asking, “Is this the fragrance project contract?”
He was just about to flip it open when his phone suddenly rang.
Even though he grabbed the phone fast, I still clearly saw the caller ID. It was Estelle.
When the call connected, all I heard on her end was her saying, “Conrad… I miss you so much…”
His expression shifted slightly. He lowered the volume and whispered a few comforting words to her.
When the call finally ended, he didn’t even bother reading the papers anymore; he just signed his name quickly.
Then he grabbed his car keys, ready to leave again.
“Ophelia, something urgent came up at work. Go to bed early. And about the fragrance project, there’s no need to rush.”
He casually tossed out a few lazy, half-hearted reassurances, then walked out without even looking back.
I clutched the signed divorce agreement tightly, watching his back as he left, and tugged at the corner of my lips.
“Conrad…” I muttered, “starting now, we’re no longer a married couple.”
第3章
Ophelia’s POV
The next day, I took the perfume and went straight to the company.
Zane and I had already discussed it—this perfume was the “gift” to be given to Conrad.
On the day of the new product launch, it would make him completely fall into hell.
After handing the perfume over to the R&D department, I followed my usual routine and slowly felt my way toward the laboratory.
There was some necessary equipment that I had still stored here. Even if I was going to resign, I had to take all of these things away.
I had barely started packing when other employees from the R&D department walked up to me, their faces full of contempt.
One said, “Some people are just thick-skinned. They haven’t made the slightest contribution to the R&D department, yet they still come to the lab every day to put on an act. If the director hadn’t handed over her own perfumes to let her submit them every time, this kind of employee would have been fired long ago.”
Another staff member couldn't wait to chime in. “Exactly, exactly. Someone blind—who knows where she gets the nerve to rely on connections to join the team and get her salary for doing nothing. No wonder people say it’s good to have connections backing you.”
“People like her are even more disgusting because they don’t know how to be grateful. The director lets her submit the perfumes, and she turns around and sets her sights on the director’s man. Who doesn’t know that the CEO and our director are a pair?”
I clenched my palm tightly.
From the very beginning of the company’s establishment, Conrad had concealed my identity.
He said it was so that I could work with peace of mind.
I believed him, and that secret lasted all these years.
I never expected that after Estelle entered the company, everyone would think that the two of them were the real couple.
I was blind. Even if I heard things on a daily basis, I was never able to see the complete picture.
On top of that, Conrad would always explain things to me in a righteous and sincere manner.
And it was precisely because of this that I never doubted them.
Now, it seemed that the matter of the two of them being together was something everyone in the company already knew, and they even thought that I was the third party.
I had no intention of paying attention to those people. I only tightened my grip on the things I was holding and prepared to leave.
But they refused to let it go. Seeing that I was about to leave, they grabbed the stuff in my hand, their faces full of mockery.
“What? You still haven’t realized that the person we’re talking about is you? How can you be so shameless? Stealing other people’s perfume works and trying to steal another woman’s boyfriend, too. With someone like you around, the reputation of our R&D department in this company is about to rot completely!”
After saying that, they shoved me hard.
I slammed straight into the sharp corner of a table, and blood immediately gushed out violently from my waist.
I could no longer endure it. Gritting my teeth, I said word by word, “All the perfume formula I submitted were my work, and Conrad and I are the real—”
Before my words finished, Estelle’s hypocritical voice suddenly came from the doorway.
“What are you doing?” She widened her eyes in surprise, looking as if she hadn’t expected this.
The people around immediately put on ingratiating smiles.
“Director, we were getting along amicably with Ophelia. Who knew she would suddenly fall to the floor on her own? As expected of someone who seduces other women’s boyfriends, this kind of trick really comes naturally. Director, you mustn’t be fooled by her.”
Hearing this, Estelle frowned deeply.
She glanced at the staff in the R&D department and said disapprovingly, “Even if it’s just for fun, this is a bit too much. Ophelia is blind after all; treating her like this isn’t very appropriate. Although she did indeed cause the CEO a certain amount of trouble…”
She looked at me as if she wanted to say something but stopped, letting out a silent sigh, and fully putting on a show in front of others.
“Forget it. Ophelia, just don’t do this again next time. You don’t need to worry; so long as I’m still in the R&D department, you will definitely have perfumes to submit. I’ll also help speak for you to the CEO.”
After she finished speaking, everyone looked at her as if she were a saint.
She didn’t explain anything in detail, yet she pushed all of it onto me.
It was me who stole her work.
It was me who seduced Conrad.
But clearly, the perfume was mine, and Conrad was also my lawful husband.
She extended her hand toward me with a look of pity on her face, but after lowering her head, a trace of mockery flashed through her eyes.
I was furious beyond restraint and slapped her hand away hard!
“Estelle! Who wants your fake kindness? Do you dare tell them clearly—tell them that the perfume I submitted is my own work, and what exactly the relationship between Conrad and me is? You wouldn’t want to lie right in front of me, would you?”
I stared at her fiercely. For a moment, she panicked terribly, stammering and not daring to answer.
At that moment, Conrad’s voice came from the doorway.
“What are you all doing here?”
Estelle’s eyes instantly turned red.
The people from the R&D department beside her also started talking all at once.
“Sir, it’s a good thing you came. You have no idea—this blind woman almost hurt the director to death just now. She actually said that all of the director’s perfumes were made by her. And she even said that her relationship with you is even closer than the director’s…”
After hearing this, Conrad tightly furrowed his brows.
The look he gave the people from the R&D department became dark and unreadable.
He only heard himself say coldly, “Who allowed you to call her a blind woman? I’ll give you three seconds to pack your things and get out immediately!”
After saying that, he stretched his hand toward me, and a few traces of heartache appeared in his eyes.
The faces of the people from the R&D department instantly turned pale. They stammered a few times, but still didn’t dare to shout while facing the CEO’s cold gaze.
They hadn’t expected him to really stand up for me, and the way they looked at Estelle also carried hesitation.
“Sir, isn’t your girlfriend the director? Could it be that she is lying? And every time she presents those perfumes at meetings, they’re exactly the same as the ones Ophelia submitted. It was the director who told us that the perfumes in Ophelia’s hands were hers.”
“Could it be that the director is lying to us all along?”
Seeing that they were about to be kicked out of the company, at that moment, the men and women of the R&D department couldn’t care about anything else and directly questioned her in front of everyone.
In an instant, everyone present looked at her with eyes full of disdain.
Seeing this, Estelle hurried forward and grabbed Conrad’s sleeve, looking at him with tears welling up.
“Conrad, the R&D just misunderstood for a moment, but everything I said is true. You can prove it for me, right?”
A struggle flashed through Conrad’s eyes.
As the pleading in her eyes became more and more obvious, the guilt in the way he looked at me also grew heavier.
In the end, he directly pulled his hand back, leaving me lying there in front of everyone in utter embarrassment.
He didn’t even think for a moment that I was still pregnant.
Maybe he did think of it, but all of this still couldn’t compare to Estelle.
I thought this was already embarrassing enough.
But I didn’t expect her to still be unsatisfied. She sobbed, let go of Conrad’s sleeve, and said aggrievedly, “Conrad, after what happened today, I no longer have the face to stay here. Thank you for taking care of me before. I still can’t…”
As she spoke, large tears fell drop by drop.
Conrad instantly forgot everything else. He reached out, pulled her back, and held her tightly in his arms.
He patiently comforted her for a few words. Only after she completely calmed down did he look at the people from the R&D department.
“That’s definitely nonsense! Any perfume Estelle submitted was created by herself and has nothing to do with anyone else.”
He cast a seemingly casual glance at me from the corner of his eye, then said resolutely, “As for the relationship between Ophelia and me, that’s even more something you imagined. There’s nothing improper between us. Perhaps I did something inadequately that caused her to misunderstand.”
What he said was airtight. If I were just a shameless woman chasing after him, maybe I would have corrected myself from then on.
But I wasn’t. I was his wife in name, yet in front of everyone, he turned me into the mistress.
In an instant, I only felt that everything before my eyes had become so ridiculous.
Even though I had long expected that he wouldn’t stand by my side, I still didn’t expect him to so decisively choose to sacrifice me.
In an instant, the originally wavering crowd looked at me again with the same disdain as before, even with a few more traces of disgust.
I lowered my head and slumped on the floor, letting the blood from the wound at my waist drip down drop by drop.
When Conrad caught sight of the desperate, hollow expression on my face, his heart jolted.
He uncontrollably reached his hand toward me, but in the end, under Estelle’s tear-filled gaze, he silently gave up.
第4章
Ophelia’s POV
In the end, everyone present was evacuated.
The wounds on my body hadn’t even been treated yet when I was sent to Conrad’s office.
Perhaps because I was blind, a photo of him and Estelle intimately hugging each other was openly sitting on his desk.
Under the sunlight, his eyes looked incomparably gentle.
I pretended nothing was wrong and withdrew my gaze, but waves of stabbing pain surged in my chest.
After his secretary left, he finally looked at me.
With just one glance, a trace of heartache appeared in his eyes.
“Why didn’t they treat your wounds?”
He softened his voice, reached out carefully, wanting to touch my wounds, but I subtly avoided him.
Conrad’s fingers curled slightly, and he explained gently, “About what just happened, don’t be upset. Estelle has been in the R&D department for so many years, it hasn’t been easy for her. The upcoming fragrance project also has to rely on her. I had no choice but to say that. When all these matters are over, I’ll announce our relationship. Okay?”
His voice was the same as always, but my throat felt as if it were stuffed with cotton.
Looking at his face, I said softly, “Conrad, do you still remember what you said when I handed the first fragrance to you?”
He frowned. After a moment, he answered, “Of course, I remember. It’s just that recently, it’s not very convenient for the company. There were also many things that happened in the R&D department today. For your own good, you shouldn’t come here for now. When everything settles down, I’ll give your position back.”
My face turned pale inch by inch. Even though I had intended to resign today, after he chose to abandon me without hesitation, I still felt as if I had been pierced through by knives and swords.
More than ten years of feelings were like rotten flesh on a wound—even knowing long ago that it should be cut away, it still hurt unbearably.
And Conrad had long since forgotten what he said to me back then.
When I handed the first fragrance to him, he had once promised that no matter what, the credit would always be mine.
He would not sell any patent related to my fragrances.
But from the moment Estelle entered the company, every one of my fragrances was written with her name on it.
The man who once loved me and protected me had long since changed his heart.
I took a deep breath, pressed down the surging emotions, and handed the resignation agreement to him.
He frowned as he took it. “Is this about the fragrance again? This part of the work—for now, just hand it over to Estelle.”
Before I could answer, a burst of noise suddenly came from outside the door.
“Sir, something’s wrong! Miss Estelle has been taken away!”
Conrad’s face turned pale. He turned and was about to run out of the office.
I grabbed his hand tightly and said expressionlessly, “Sign it first.”
He glared at me, seemingly not expecting me to do this.
But his men at the door were urging him urgently. In the end, he only looked at me with disappointment, quickly signed his name, and left.
I carefully put away the resignation agreement. Just as I was about to leave, Conrad, who had suddenly turned back, grabbed my wrist.
Dragging me outside, he questioned me, “Ophelia! What exactly are you trying to do? The people from the R&D department said that after Estelle left with a guy, she didn’t come back—and that guy gave away your name!”
I said in shock, “It wasn’t me! I didn’t!”
His eyes were bloodshot. “That guy used your name. You and Estelle just had a conflict. If it wasn’t you, then who was it? Who would go to such lengths to frame a blind woman like you?!”
After saying that, without waiting for me to explain, he shoved me hard to the floor.
“If you have any complaints, you can come to me directly. Why did you have to go after Estelle?!”
I fell heavily to the floor again—this time my belly slammed into the floor.
In just an instant, I felt pain coming from my abdomen.
I screamed and shakily reached out my hand. “Conrad, take me to the hospital! My belly hurts so much!”
When he saw the blood flowing out from beneath me, his expression finally panicked, and he hurriedly picked me up.
At that moment, the secretary rushed in with a phone that was still on a call.
“Sir, Miss Estelle’s location has been found, but the kidnapper demands that Ma’am Ophelia go there before he’ll release Miss Estelle…”
The secretary hesitated, then, under Conrad’s blood-red stare, blurted everything out in one breath.
“He said that it was Ma’am Ophelia who gave him the money. Only if she says it in person will he release Miss Estelle…”
When he heard this, Conrad’s face completely darkened, and the look in his eyes when he turned to me became incomparably cold.
The secretary continued speaking.
“And sir… Miss Estelle’s not in a good condition right now. Because of excessive fright, she’s developed respiratory spasms. We’ve arranged for a doctor to go over, but the kidnapper has refused to let her receive treatment. If this continues, I’m afraid…”
Hearing this, Conrad finally made up his mind.
He changed direction, dragging me toward the parking lot while telling the secretary to send over the location.
Enduring the pain in my belly, I said in panic, “Conrad, where are you taking me? I told you, I didn’t hire that kidnapper. Hurry and take me to the hospital—at least for the sake of the baby!”
I almost wailed in a pleading voice.
But he turned a deaf ear, only pressing harder on the accelerator.
Along the way, I kept begging, explaining, even cursing him, but he ignored me the entire time.
I could only watch helplessly as the life of the baby in my womb slipped away.
When we arrived at the abandoned factory, Conrad anxiously dragged me out of the car.
Inside the factory, the kidnapper was holding a knife to Estelle’s neck. She was breathing rapidly, her face full of terror.
A trace of heartache instantly surfaced in Conrad’s eyes, and his gaze toward the kidnapper was cold.
“I’ve already brought the person. You can release Estelle now, right?”
The kidnapper sneered. “How do I know you’ll keep your word? How about this—you put that woman inside the factory, and I’ll have a good talk with her. Don’t worry, in three minutes, I’ll exchange Estelle back to you.”
Conrad’s brows knitted tightly.
He grabbed my hand, his grip trembling. I clutched my belly and struggled desperately.
This kidnapper was not someone I had hired, yet now, I was being asked to enter the factory. I feared this was all Estelle’s plan.
Once I went in, my chances of survival would be slim.
Thinking of this, I struggled even harder.
第5章
Ophelia’s POV
Pain showed in Conrad’s eyes. Just as he was about to refuse, the next second the kidnapper pushed the tip of the knife closer to Estelle’s neck, and she suddenly let out a sharp scream.
Conrad could no longer hold back. In panic, he pushed me in front of the kidnapper, his gaze fierce.
“You’d better keep your promise!”
The kidnapper burst into loud laughter. Conrad slowly withdrew from the factory.
After he completely disappeared, Estelle moved the kidnapper’s knife away from her own neck. The smile on her face was dazzling; at a glance, it was clear that everything had been within her calculations.
“Bitch, you can see your own place clearly now, right? Compared to me, you’re just a piece of trash that can be thrown away at any time.”
She slowly leaned close to my ear and sneered, “As long as I want, everything you have will be mine. Even the child in your belly will be mine and Conrad’s.”
“Back then, on the eve of your wedding,” she continued, “he and I drank all night. Your bitch mother showed up at a time that was far too inappropriate. I could only run her over and kill her. You have no idea how miserably she screamed.”
She laughed like a psycho, and overwhelming rage enveloped me. She actually dared to mention my mother in front of me?!
A layer of blood-red spread through my eyes. I could no longer endure it and pounced on her, biting down hard on her throat.
In just an instant, the wound on her throat was enlarged, and she cried in terror!
“Conrad! Save me! Ophelia wants to kill me!”
Conrad rushed in like an arrow. When he saw the scene in front of him, his eyes split open in fury.
The kidnapper was pressed to the floor by the bodyguards behind Conrad.
After seeing the situation, the secretary shouted, “Sir! Miss Estelle’s condition is getting worse, and Ma’am Ophelia’s condition is also serious. The paramedics can only save one first!”
Conrad’s gaze tightly wrapped around Estelle. Without hesitation, he blurted out, “Save Estelle!”
The next second, he pulled me away like a rag doll and threw me onto the ground.
Estelle closed her eyes and softly collapsed onto the floor.
Conrad scooped her up in one motion, turned around, and left.
In the corner he couldn’t see, Estelle silently opened her eyes.
“I won.”
In an instant, all the blood in my body flowed backward. The pain in my abdomen and the pain in my heart swept over me.
The next second, I could no longer support myself and collapsed onto the floor.
When I woke up again, Conrad was guarding my bedside.
Dark shadows lay under his eyes, filled with red bloodshot veins. At a glance, it was obvious he had been there for a long time.
“Ophelia, you’re finally awake!” He tightly gripped my hand and said in surprise.
I reflexively pulled my hand back and coldly looked at him.
The smile on his face stiffened, his heart feeling as if it were blocked by a ball of cotton.
He frowned tightly. “Ophelia, it was you who made a move against Estelle. I had to save the innocent person first.”
I stared at him fixedly and sneered, “I already told you—I didn’t hire the kidnapper! Estelle hired them herself!”
He looked at me, his eyes full of disappointment. “Ophelia… I thought that even though you changed, at least you were still kind. Now, it seems you’ve already become a vicious woman full of lies!”
I tugged at the corner of my mouth and couldn’t say a single word.
The hospital room fell into a terrifying silence until his phone suddenly rang.
Estelle’s soft voice came through from the other end.
Conrad didn’t even look at me. He comforted her with a few words, then coldly looked at me.
“During this time, calm yourself down properly. Let’s not meet for now. When the new fragrance launch happens, I’ll come pick you up.”
After saying that, he turned around and left.
I coldly watched his retreating back and threw away all the love for him from the bottom of my heart.
The next day, I deleted all the memories of more than ten years with him, then left the divorce agreement, the resignation papers, and that eyesight recovery diagnosis report on the table in the bedroom.
For the rest of my life, Conrad and I will never meet again.