Chapter 482: Chapter 482: Reluctance
"Go away..." With blurry vision, Ann Vaughn vaguely caught sight of a finely chiseled face, and anger arose from deep within her heart. Her hot little hand struck his shoulder forcefully, "Bastard."
The little fist made an intimidating motion as it struck, but it was soft, without any real threat.
Cyrus Hawthorne effortlessly caught her small hand, brought it to his lips, and bit her slender finger gently, asking in a low voice, "Who’s the bastard?"
"Cyr... Cyrus Hawthorne’s the bastard..."
The veins on Cyrus Hawthorne’s forehead slightly bulged, and he narrowed his eyes, staring intently at her trembling eyelashes and anxious, tightly pursed lips. In the end, his heart softened, and he adjusted her to a more comfortable position.
However, Ann Vaughn, caught in a dream, did not feel comfortable. Her mind felt like it was being scalded by hot iron, throbbing with pain mixed with chaotic fragments of dreams.
The ethereal shadow of a baby floated in mid-air, disappearing the moment Ann Vaughn reached out to touch it.
Kenny stood far away, so distant that no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t reach him. After waving to her, his small figure grew more distant until it vanished from sight.
In the end, she was left standing alone.
The terrifying nightmare, like a deep abyss beast, clung tightly to her heart as if to completely destroy her—
"Mommy, mommy..."
A small, tearful voice suddenly sounded by her ear, pulling Ann Vaughn from the endless nightmare, her eyes subconsciously widening.
The Little Dumpling perched by the bedside immediately brightened, "Mommy’s awake!"
"Quick, call the doctor over for an examination! She’s been asleep for two days; let’s hope nothing serious happens." Sherry was both surprised and delighted, immediately heading over to press the hospital call button.
Soon, doctors filed into the ward, conducting a thorough check-up on Ann Vaughn before reporting to the stern man standing by the bedside.
"Mr. Hawthorne, Miss Vaughn waking up indicates that she’s not in any major danger, although her body is still weak. If she doesn’t rest properly this time, I’m afraid..."
The man’s voice was heavy as he interrupted the doctor, "Do what you need to do; I’ll take care of the rest."
"Yes, we’ll leave now," the doctors said before leaving the room as swiftly as they had arrived.
Lying on the hospital bed, Ann Vaughn’s mind was blank for a while before Kenny’s calls brought her back to her senses.
She turned her head to look at the worry-ridden little face, her gaze softening, "Mommy’s fine, don’t worry."
Kenny sniffed and pouted in dissatisfaction, "Grown-ups never let kids be at ease."
Just as he finished saying this, a large hand pressed down on Kenny’s head, followed by The Archfiend’s cold interrogation from the depths of his soul, "Won’t let truants be at ease?"
The smile at the corner of Ann Vaughn’s eyes faded, her bright eyes lowered, avoiding eye contact with Cyrus Hawthorne.
He exposed him right in front of Mommy!
Kenny’s little face puffed up in anger, muttering, "I’ve read all the books in the school library; it’s boring."
The books he read weren’t the picture books opened to toddlers but the profound literature only teachers could access.
In order to understand a book written by a Gothasenian author, Kenny even took the time to learn the Gothasenian language.
Hearing this, Ann Vaughn coughed twice. While it’s good that the child likes to read, she couldn’t help but feel like the little one went to kindergarten every day just for the unread books in the library.
It wasn’t that the Little Dumpling was naturally bookish, but rather because of health issues, reading seemed like the safest and most reliable hobby...
As she pondered this, Ann Vaughn noticed a strong hand gently patting her back. Instinctively, she recoiled from the hand, her teeth biting down hard on her lip.
Cyrus Hawthorne’s sharp eyes paused slightly, his hand lingering mid-air before he withdrew it and spoke in a deep voice, "Kenny, you guys go out first."
Kenny naturally did not want to, but Sherry seemed to understand that there might be issues between them. Seeing Ann Vaughn nod, she picked up Kenny and headed out of the ward.
"Let’s talk." As he finished speaking, a phone rang in Cyrus Hawthorne’s hand — it was a call from Bella Hawthorne. He glanced at Ann Vaughn, who seemed lost in thought, and cut the call directly.
Soon, the phone beeped again with a message, still from Bella Hawthorne.
[Brother, are you busy? I’m not quite sure about something. That day at the entrance of the living room at home, I think I saw Miss Annie. I’m a bit worried she heard our conversation and didn’t come out... What if she misunderstood?]
Cyrus Hawthorne’s brow furrowed, and he quickly replied with one hand on the screen.
[She won’t misunderstand.]
After replying to Bella Hawthorne, he shut off his phone and tossed it carelessly on the side table, then bent his leg to sit by the edge of the bed, locking eyes with Ann Vaughn, "Two days ago, did you visit the Hawthorne Family?"
"Yes." Ann Vaughn did not deny it, her pale face expressionless, "And I heard things I shouldn’t have."
However, after a long dream, she had figured out what she was stubborn about in the beginning.
Since she learned about those things from Mrs. Lynch, she’d been stuck overthinking them. Later, hearing what Cyrus Hawthorne and Bella Hawthorne said made it worse.
She knew deep down that her thoughts might not be entirely rational, but she couldn’t control herself.
"Listen to me," he urged. Her expression was so forlorn that it was as though she already knew everything he was hiding, including the thing he least wanted her to know.
The colors in Cyrus Hawthorne’s narrow eyes deepened as he once again held Ann Vaughn’s small hand as he had the previous day.
"You don’t need to explain. After all, the conclusion’s already been drawn." The warmth of his palm always made Ann Vaughn reluctant to part, but this time, she slowly withdrew her hand, her weak voice barely a whisper.
"So, let’s not see each other for a while."
As long as they didn’t meet, she could avoid thinking about the child lost due to a series of unfortunate mistakes.
As long as they didn’t meet, she could force herself not to care about his shielding of Laura Quinn and concealing everything.
Ann Vaughn didn’t want to ask him if he had no pity for the unborn child, nor did she wish to vent her grievances and anger—
She simply had no energy left.
When a person reaches the extremity of exhaustion, even each breath becomes so heavy and powerless.
Ann Vaughn’s feelings were never transparent to Cyrus Hawthorne, so even a slight sign of her fatigue would prompt a wave of gentleness in his eyes.
He couldn’t bear to force her to discuss things she didn’t want to discuss, nor could he stand to see her show such vulnerability.
He couldn’t even bear to deny her unreasonable demands.