Chapter 12

Seraphina followed the navigation at a light jog. By the time she reached his doorstep, she was panting heavily, leaning against her knees to catch her breath.

His home was not close; even at a jog, it had taken her twenty minutes. No wonder he was feeling unwell.

After knocking for five minutes without a response, she grew anxious. She found the phone number a colleague had sent her and dialed it several times, but no one answered.

In her desperation, Seraphina noticed a small crack in the window to the right. She simply pushed the window open and climbed inside.

"Caleb? Are you okay? What’s wrong?"

Before she could say more, a large hand clamped firmly over her mouth. A burning-hot body pressed against her, the heat so intense it felt as if the room’s temperature had risen several degrees.

A brief moment of silence followed.

Seraphina finally snapped back to her senses. Instinctively struggling, she bit down hard on his hand.

In the next second.

A heavy thud echoed behind her as Caleb collapsed to the floor.

Pushing everything else aside, she tried to pull him up, but she was startled by the scorching heat radiating from his arm.

It was only then she noticed his entire face was flushed with an unimaginable crimson. Even his breath seemed to carry a searing heat.

After touching his terrifyingly hot forehead, Seraphina didn't hesitate for a second and called for an ambulance.

Two hours later, Caleb woke up in the hospital. Seeing Seraphina sitting beside him, his voice carried a hint of apology.

"I’m sorry... I didn’t know it was you."

Seraphina knew he was referring to the incident where he covered her mouth, and her own sense of guilt deepened.

"The doctor said you caught a severe chill and need to rest for a few days. If it weren't for me, you wouldn't be like this..."

Caleb sensed her emotions acutely and gazed at her for a long time.

"It’s okay. I don't blame you. I was willing."

His voice was hoarse and gravelly, like stone grinding against sandpaper, yet it made the tips of Seraphina’s ears burn for some inexplicable reason.

For the next few days, she took leave from work to stay at the hospital and care for him diligently.

They transitioned from being distant colleagues to friends who could talk about anything.

Seraphina realized that Caleb wasn't as cold and unapproachable as he appeared; rather, he was "cold on the outside but warm on the inside," possessing a certain indescribable, stubborn charm.

Caleb never pried into her past, but whenever he saw the sorrowful look in her eyes when her history was mentioned, he would offer timely words of comfort.

When they eventually returned to work at the institute, they would naturally greet each other whenever they met.

The female colleagues who had become close to Seraphina often teased her with a smile.

"Sera, not bad! That's the first time I've seen that eternal iceberg smile at someone. Is there something going on between you two?"

Seraphina quickly waved her hand. "No, we're just friends."

The two colleagues looked at each other, their eyes full of gossip, but they tactfully dropped the subject.

However, their words served as a wake-up call for Seraphina.

Lately, Caleb would occasionally invite her to eat at the nearby Chinatown, take the initiative to help her solve difficult problems in her experiments, and even use the excuse of being "on the way" to walk an hour home with her.

These small gestures gathered into a warm current flowing into her heart.

She wasn't unmoved, but she no longer expected or craved love.

In the past, she had given her full heart and passion to Julian, only to be left broken and scarred.

The current Seraphina didn't dare—and didn't want—to give her heart to someone else again.

So, when Caleb invited her to dinner once more, Seraphina declined.

"I'm a bit tired today. I want to go back early and rest."

Sensing the coldness in her eyes, Caleb froze for a moment. But he quickly recovered, suppressing the bitterness in his heart, and spoke with a smile.

"Health comes first. We can eat together another time."

Chapter 13

The Sterling Group.

Julian stood before a massive floor-to-ceiling window, looking down at the bustling traffic below, smoking one cigarette after another.

Smoke shrouded his already gaunt face, but it couldn't hide the extreme gloom in his eyes.

The assistant stood to the side, reporting tremulously.

"Mr. Sterling, the Thorne Group officially declared bankruptcy today. We've intercepted the hidden assets they tried to transfer secretly. The shareholders of the Thorne Group are in an uproar, all claiming they want to tear the Thorne father and daughter to pieces."

"Where are they?" Julian didn't care to listen to the details. His sharp gaze snapped toward the assistant. "Bring the Thornes before me within five minutes."

During this period, the only belief keeping Julian alive was revenge.

He wanted to repay Clarissa a thousand times over for every bit of pain Seraphina had suffered. He wanted the Thorne family to vanish from Seattle forever.

Julian had worked ruthlessly, day and night for three months, finally rescuing the bankrupt Sterling Group from its crisis.

Not only did he open up multiple international markets and secure several billion-dollar orders, but he also aggressively swallowed other small and medium-sized enterprises. In just three months, the company's market value exceeded one hundred billion, and the stock price soared, making it one of the top leading enterprises in the country.

However, his first priority was to use all his resources to crush the Thorne Group.

This was his only way of seeking atonement for Seraphina.

Julian sat in his leather chair and reached out to stroke the only photo of them he had found under the bed.

An eighteen-year-old Julian stood beneath a swing set, pushing Seraphina with a sweet, genuine smile.

The setting sun cast a golden glow over them, and the scent of osmanthus lingered in the air; he remembered it all clearly to this day.

Likewise, he had already thoroughly investigated everything Clarissa had ever done to Seraphina.

From using deep hypnosis to alter his memories and trying to erase his primary personality, to the repeated attempts to kill Seraphina.

Every single incident was etched into Julian’s mind.

And for every single act, he would make Clarissa pay a thousand times over. He wanted her to be in a state worse than death, living forever in fear and despair.

Julian’s heart pounded with extreme fury. He clenched his fists until his veins bulged, the hatred in his eyes almost consuming him.

At that moment, the door was pushed open.

Clarissa and her family were brought in by the bodyguards.

The moment she saw Julian, Clarissa scrambled to his feet on all fours, grabbing the hem of his trousers and begging through tears.

"Julian, it’s my fault. Please let us go, please? I promise I’ll never show my face to you again."

Clarissa never imagined Julian would be so heartless as to crush the Thorne Group like this, even sending people to snatch them from the airport just to make her atone to Seraphina.

Why? What made Seraphina so special?

She was clearly more beautiful than Seraphina, her figure was better, and her family background was a thousand times superior. Why wouldn't he look at her?

She was just one step away—one step from becoming the unrivaled Mrs. Sterling. Seraphina, why can't you just stay quiet even after you're dead?

Clarissa thought resentfully, but she hid the malice in her eyes, deliberately adopting her previous fragile persona.

"I only did those things because I loved you too much. Please forgive me just this once? We can live a good life together from now on..."

Before she could finish, Julian grabbed her by the throat, lifted her bodily, and slammed her against the wall.

"You don't deserve it."

Chapter 14

The chilling aura radiating from Julian startled everyone present.

Clarissa’s parents collapsed to their knees, begging desperately.

"Our daughter is young and foolish. Please, Mr. Sterling, spare her life. I swear we will never appear before you again."

"Too late." Julian signaled the bodyguards to lock the door. His voice was as oppressive as an ice blade. "The sins of the child are borne by the parents. None of you will escape the debt she owes."

His eyes were bloodshot, swirling with unmistakable hatred and fury. "I want all of you to atone to Sera."

He didn't give them another chance to speak, ordering his subordinates to lock them in three separate secret rooms under strict supervision.

Every pain once inflicted upon Seraphina was repaid a thousandfold to Clarissa.

Stripped of her clothes and slammed onto a floor covered in glass shards, having her hand bones crushed so she could never lift them again...

This torture continued day after day. For the pampered Clarissa, it was a living hell.