Chapter 6 Declan’s Hostility
Declan didn’t want a sister like Celeste. As soon as he woke up and found out that Celeste was back home, he felt so furious that he thought he might just have another heart attack.
He shot back at his parents, “Mom, Dad, even if you end up hating me for this, I’ll never accept Celeste as my sister. I’m determined to keep her out of our family!”
“Shut up, you brat! That’s nonsense,” Amara said.
Just as Declan finished complaining, Rafferty and Amara patted him on the shoulder again, and he winced in pain. “Seriously? I’m dying here, and you hit me for her? Do you care more about me or about her?”
To Rafferty and Amara, Declan and Celeste were both important, but given everything Celeste had been through, it was natural for their concern to lean her way.
Amara replied earnestly, “You both matter to us. You’re siblings, and I want you guys to get along.”
“Yeah, right! Who wants to get along with that stupid, ugly woman?”
The moment those words came out, Celeste pushed the door open and walked in. Declan glared at her, disgust clear on his face as he noticed she was wearing a mask.
Rumor had it that her face underneath it was so hideous it could scare anyone.
Celeste strolled up to him, looking completely unfazed. “Just so you know, your well-being depends on me now. Do you really want to risk that by talking trash about me?”
She had always been blunt and never held back her thoughts, no matter how Declan might react. If she was upset, she saw no problem in making sure he felt it, too.
Declan looked like he’d just heard the funniest joke in the world. “I remember you’re a medical student, but my life depends on you, a woman who failed every exam at school? That’s hilarious!”
Celeste shot back, “If I hadn’t saved you, where would you get the energy to open your eyes and spit at me now?” Without the medicine she gave him, he’d be dead by now.
Honestly, she needed to teach this brat a lesson—talking too much could get him in trouble.
Declan was completely taken aback by Celeste’s question. He had just woken up a little while ago and always thought the doctor had been the one to save him. But now, that didn’t seem to be the case.
He frowned. “I don’t believe you can save me!”
“That’s okay,” Celeste said, pulling out a bottle of medicine and waving it in front of Declan. “This is my latest cure for heart disease. Once you finish this bottle, you’ll be all set.
“But honestly, with the way you’re treating me, I’m not exactly motivated to help you. If you don’t want to risk your life again, you should come and beg.”
‘Does she really think that showing me some random medicine would make me believe she could save my life? Seriously, does she think I’m that gullible?’ Declan thought.
“I don’t buy any of this. You think I’ll beg? No chance,” he snapped.
Celeste just smiled as she put the medicine away. “Oh, you’ll be begging for it soon enough.”
With that, Celeste turned to leave. Seeing her go, Rafferty and Amara quickly reacted: one stuck around to give Declan a talking-to, while the other hurried after Celeste.
“Celeste, Declan has been spoiled by your dad and me because of his poor health since he was little. He’s not a bad kid. He just has a few rough edges. So, don’t take it to heart, okay?” Amara caught up to her.
She was clearly anxious that Celeste was upset with Declan. Celeste smiled and reassured her, “I’m not mad at him.”
“Then why did you make him beg for the medicine?” Amara wanted to know.
Celeste replied honestly, “If he doesn’t trust me, he won’t take the medicine even if I hand it to him. But if he begs for it himself, he might still doubt me, but at least he’s more likely to take it.”
There was another reason behind this: she wanted to knock down Declan’s arrogance and show him that not everyone would spoil him like Rafferty and Amara did.
As Amara thought about Celeste’s words, she realized they made a lot of sense. Declan was particularly stubborn and set in his ways when it came to Celeste, and he’d see her offering him medicine as a personal jab.
He’d have no problem tossing it aside. But if he begged for it first, he’d think twice about throwing it away.
Amara looked at Celeste, who seemed so wise for her age, and felt a wave of comfort wash over her.
“I see those dark circles under your eyes, Celeste. It looks like you haven’t slept in ages while you’ve been making medicine for Declan. How about I ask Evan to take you back to the villa so you can get some rest?”
“Sounds good,” Celeste replied, clearly tired and ready for a break.
After getting the green light from Celeste, Amara quickly called Evan to give her a ride back home.
Once they arrived, Celeste plugged in her phone to charge and then happily fell to sleep.
*****
Marcus finally regained consciousness after three long days in recovery. As he leaned back in his hospital bed, he listened to his assistant, Cassian Merritt, recount the events that unfolded during his coma.
Once Cassian finished, Marcus said, “Can you find out who has been visiting me in this room over the past few days?”
Cassian nodded and headed out to gather the information.
Marcus sat quietly on the bed, his expression hard to read. His sharp gaze drifted as he recalled the woman with the red bracelet from three days ago.
‘Could she be the one I have been searching for?’ he wondered. He hadn’t seen her face, but that red bracelet was burned into his memory.
“Hey, Marcus.” A bright voice pulled him back to reality. He looked up to see Isolde, wearing a doctor’s coat, standing beside him.
“What brings you here?” he asked, trying to keep his tone casual but failing to hide his annoyance.
His grandfather had arranged for him to be engaged to Celeste Huxley, the daughter of the Huxley family when he was young.
But after Celeste disappeared, his parents pushed for him to marry Isolde instead. For years, Isolde had acted like his fiancée. While his parents loved her, he never felt the same way.
He had outright rejected her before, yet she still found ways to show up and annoy him. Her presence now was particularly unwelcome.
Isolde seemed embarrassed by his cold reception. “You’re my mentor’s patient,” she reminded him. “He’s busy with other things right now, so I came to check on you and see if everything is okay with your medication.”
Marcus shrugged, keeping his expression neutral, and didn’t reply as she began examining his wounds.
As she noticed the healing injuries on his chest and abdomen, Isolde asked, concern evident in her voice, “You’ve always been such a careful driver. What happened that led to such a bad accident?”
