Chapter 9

On the second day in the morning, the first ray of sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows into the villa's hall, and when Bryce Kendall Pickman came downstairs, he immediately saw Miles Hamilton sitting on the sofa.She had changed into a plain white T-shirt and jeans, tying a simple ponytail. She had shed the dishevelment and exposure of the previous night, looking youthful and clean. Her clear eyes were like they were filled with starlight, yet they held a trace of unnoticed fatigue and sorrow."How haven't you left yet?" Bryce Kendall Pickman sat down at the table leisurely, took the seafood congee handed by the maid, and asked in a flat tone, as if it were just an idle question. He knew long ago that Miles Hamilton wouldn't leave—she had no other choice but to rely on him.Miles Hamilton heard his words, took a deep breath, gathered all his courage, stood up, walked to his face, biting his lip said: "Young Master Lu, I have something to ask you, please help me.""Speak." Bryce Kendall Pickman scooped a spoonful of porridge, drinking it slowly, with a calm expression, as if he had long anticipated her request.Miles Hamilton looked at the lavish breakfast on the table, her stomach betraying her with a loud rumble. She hadn't eaten properly in a full day and a night, and the pangs of hunger came on strong, but at the thought of Reed Coleman in bed, she instantly suppressed the cravings in her heart.Last night in her room, she thought all night. Samuel Coleman owed a huge debt; that million, he probably used it to pay off gambling debts long ago, leaving almost nothing for Reed's treatment. Desperate, Bryce Kendall Pickman was her only hope—only he had the ability to save Reed."Boss Lu, my brother Reid Coleman is still lying in the hospital. The doctor said he's very likely to become a vegetable. Miles Hamilton's voice was slightly choked, 'My adoptive father said, in S City, only you can save him. Please, please save my brother. If you're willing to save him, I can promise you anything, even if it means working like a beast, I'm willing.'"After speaking, she bowed deeply ninety degrees to Bryce Kendall Pickman, her forehead nearly touching her knees, her posture so humble it seemed to reach the dust.Bryce Kendall Pickman stopped his actions, looked up at her, his eyes full of sarcasm, but his face remained expressionless: "Why should I save him? Don't forget, I saved you too. I owe you nothing."In a word, like a of cold water, it instantly extinguished Miles Hamilton's hope. Yes, why should he save Reid? He had already gone beyond the call of duty to save her. But she refused to accept it; Reid was everything to her, she couldn't lose him.“I know I’m being unreasonable, but Boss Lu, please.” Miles Hamilton abruptly knelt on the ground, tears instantly welling up in his eyes, “As long as you save my brother, I’ll do anything, really anything.”Bryce Kendall Pickman watched her kneeling on the ground, tears streaming down her face, and felt an inexplicable stirring in his heart. He put down the spoon, leaned forward slightly, his gaze fixed on her, his tone cold and ambiguous: "Willing to do anything? Then, be my lover.""What?" Miles Hamilton lifted his head abruptly, eyes filled with disbelief, as if he had heard the funniest joke in the world, "No... I can't agree to that!"She promised Reed that when he woke up, she would marry him. Her body, her innocence, all belonged to Reed—how could she be someone else's lover? A woman like her didn't deserve to stand by Reed, didn't deserve to love him anymore.Bryce Kendall Pickman's expression darkened instantly, his tone laced with a hint of threat: "Give you one day to think about it. Be back here by this time tomorrow and tell me your answer. If you don't come back, I'll never save your brother again, and even your friend Ye Chuchu won't have a good outcome."After speaking, he gave a signal to the servant beside him. The servant immediately approached, lifted Miles Hamilton who was still kneeling on the ground, and took her out of the villa.Miles Hamilton stood at the villa's entrance, dazed, cold to the bone, her mind a blank. The words of Bryce Kendall Pickman were like a sharp knife, piercing her heart. On one side was the life of the person she loved; on the other, her innocence and dignity. How could she choose?She walked aimlessly on the street, without realizing it, she ended up at the hospital. She stood outside Reed Coleman's hospital room, looking through the glass window at Reed Coleman on the bed, fully intubated and lifeless, and her tears surged again.“Brother Reed, what should I do?” she pressed her hands against the glass window, her voice choked, “He made me his lover, only then, would he be willing to save you. But Brother Reed, I don’t want to, I just want to marry you, I just want to stand by you cleanly.”But brother Reed, I can't lose you. Her voice grew softer, tears blurring her vision, "Your life was lost for me, for you, I could give up everything, including my innocence, including my dignity. Brother Reed, I'm sorry, I'll break my promise to you. When you wake up, forget me. Find a girl cleaner than me, better than me, and live well."As the visiting time arrived, Miles Hamilton rushed in immediately, sat by Reed Coleman's bedside, and tightly grasped his cold hand. She spoke to him, smiling through tears, telling him every little detail of their five years together—how he first brought her back to the Bai family, how he protected her from Samuel Coleman's bullying, how they had promised that when she grew up, they would leave the Bai family together and find a place where no one knew them, to live a good life.She stayed by the bedside, from morning till evening, from alertness to exhaustion, as long as she could be by Reed's side, she felt that all her grievances and pains could be temporarily eased.After dark, Miles Hamilton reluctantly let go of Reed Coleman's hand, leaving the hospital with frequent glances back. She knew she had no choice, for Reed's sake, she had to return to Bryce Kendall Pickman's side, to accept that humiliating condition.She walked along the roadside, step by step, towards the direction of Lan Mountain Villa. It took her two hours to finally reach the villa's entrance. The night was deep, and the villa's lights remained bright, like a cold prison waiting for her to step inside.She stood at the doorway, hesitating to take a step. She knew that once she stepped inside, her life would never be the same again. But at the thought of Reed Coleman in his hospital bed, she clenched her jaw, lifted her foot, and walked toward the villa's main gate.She didn't know that at the moment she entered the villa, was quietly watching her figure from the floor-to-ceiling window on the second floor, his eyes filled with complex emotions. And in his hand, he was holding a photo—the woman in the photo bore a seven-part resemblance to Miles Hamilton, yet her eyebrows and eyes held more maturity and charm, exactly the Wang Xiang who had been missing for a long time.Miles Hamilton, do you think you're just my lover? You don't know that since the first time you appeared before me, your fate has already been firmly in my control.