Free Web NovelChapter 234: Chapter 237: A Bitter Fruit is Still a Fruit
"You weren’t switched by accident. I was the one who intentionally swapped you."
Charlotte Shaw’s expression was one of utter confusion. Worried she hadn’t understood, Willow Quincy thoughtfully summarized it for her.
"..."
Her eyes were wide, her lips slightly parted, her expression and gaze both dazed. Willow Quincy’s words were so absurd that, amidst her terror, she couldn’t help but wonder if this story was something he had maliciously fabricated.
But the pain in Willow Quincy’s eyes was too real; Charlotte Shaw couldn’t see any sign of it being an act.
"You..." Her lips moved, and she managed to make a strained sound. "You’re... you’re making this up, right?"
Willow Quincy replied, "At this point, what reason would I have to make things up?"
He looked down at Charlotte Shaw, the corners of his mouth turning down into a mocking smile. "Sonia, they may not have proof, but they must have guessed that your disappearance has something to do with me."
"From the moment I decided to kidnap you, I knew this couldn’t be kept a secret."
Charlotte Shaw: "...Willow Quincy, have you gone mad?"
She didn’t want to believe this outrageous story was true, but Willow Quincy’s eyes and words forced her to.
She scrambled out of bed and stood stiffly by its side like a block of wood.
"Willow Quincy, how could you do something like this?"
Willow Quincy couldn’t explain his motives from when he was six, so he could only spread his hands helplessly and say, "I don’t know what I was thinking back then. In any case, by the time I came to my senses, the terrible mistake had already been made."
Charlotte Shaw: "You—"
Willow Quincy’s tone was too light, so casual it was as if he were commenting on something as trivial as "the weather is nice today."
Charlotte Shaw was infuriated by his attitude, and her emotions immediately spiraled out of control.
"Willow Quincy, is there something wrong with your head?!" She clenched her fists and roared hoarsely, "Do you have any idea what you’ve done? Do you know how many people you’ve hurt?"
"..." Willow Quincy was silent.
Charlotte Shaw said, "I... I’m a daughter of the Shaw Family! I shouldn’t have had to suffer so much in the Quincy Family! I could have avoided meeting Ethan Lockwood, avoided meeting Cecilia Quincy, avoided being driven mad by all of you, avoided becoming the laughingstock of all Aethelburg!"
"Your own sister... your own sister, Cecilia Quincy, wouldn’t have had to turn out this way! She could have grown up surrounded by love, become a cheerful and kind person, but because of your mistake, she was twisted into a lunatic by jealousy!"
"...And Wanda Shaw, poor Wanda Shaw! She died without ever receiving the love of her biological parents!"
"Willow Quincy, you twisted the fates of three people and hurt three families... You really deserve to die!"
Willow Quincy pushed himself up from the side of the bed, using his knees for support, and slowly walked around the foot of the bed to stand in front of Charlotte Shaw.
"Sonia." He looked at Charlotte Shaw, still in the mood to smile. "I know you hate me, but I don’t regret doing it. Because of my moment of madness, I was able to have these twenty years with you, day in and day out."
"Do you remember? You loved sticking to me when you were little. Even though I was always cold to you, you’d follow me around every day like a little shadow, shouting ’Brother’."
"I’d say you were being annoying, but I was actually really happy inside. The way you said ’Brother’ was so sweet. I loved hearing it."
"Shut up!!" Charlotte Shaw didn’t want to hear it. With every word he spoke, the hatred in her heart grew.
But he just blinked, as if he hadn’t heard her warning, and continued speaking, lost in his reverie:
"You’ve been afraid of thunder since you were a child. Whenever there was a thunderstorm, you’d hug your pillow, push open my door, and curl up in my arms to sleep next to me. I watched you grow from a short, little kid into a young woman."
"The day you got your first period was also a stormy day. Mom and Dad were out of town on business, so you had to cover your pants with your jacket and run to me. I complained that you were a nuisance, but I went out myself to buy you sanitary pads and even made you some sweet brown sugar water."
"We clearly have so many wonderful memories together. Why can’t you be with me?"
"Shut up!!" Charlotte Shaw tried her best to suppress her rage.
But Willow Quincy deliberately did not.
"Sonia, I’ve spent all these years living in torment and conflict. I love you, but I couldn’t get over the hurdle of our supposed family ties, so I could only push you further and further away. I did many things to hurt you in the past. From now on, I will make it up to you."
"Give me a chance. Be with me. I’ll take you..."
"SLAP!"
Charlotte Shaw, unable to bear it any longer, slapped Willow Quincy across the face with all her might.
Willow Quincy finally shut his mouth, but the glaring smile remained on his face.
"Hmph..." He shook his head nonchalantly, raised a hand to touch his stinging cheek, the love in his eyes bordering on pathological.
"It’s fine. As long as it helps you cool off, Sonia, you can hit me however you want. I’ll take it."
"I don’t accept it," Charlotte Shaw said through gritted teeth, every word dripping with intense hatred. "Willow Quincy, it is impossible for me to be with you. It’s useless to lock me up."
"Useless or not, I’m still locking you up." Willow Quincy stepped forward, closing the distance between them bit by bit.
"A bitter fruit is still a fruit. As long as I can keep you by my side, I’ll be content. As for whether you love me or not, we can discuss that slowly in the future."
"Heh..." Charlotte Shaw’s lips curled into a cold smile. "Do you really think you can lock me up for a lifetime?"
"Of course." Willow Quincy was very confident.
Charlotte Shaw: "You watched me grow up, so you should know my temper. If you plan to lock me up for life, then the only thing I’ll be leaving with you is a corpse."
"Ah..." Willow Quincy sighed, taking the hand Charlotte Shaw had just slapped him with and gently kneading it in his palm. "Sonia, don’t threaten me. Because you have too many weak spots right now."
"Felix Preston, Wilder Preston, Jackson Shaw, Brianna Bell, Mason Shaw... They’re all your weak spots. If I were to destroy any one of them, you wouldn’t be able to take it."
"...Get lost!" Charlotte Shaw forcefully shook his hand off, refusing to let him touch her.
He didn’t get angry, just regarded her with helpless indulgence.
"Sonia, I’ve already been tolerant enough with you. You love Felix Preston, so I’m allowing you to give birth to his child, to leave him a descendant. I could have kidnapped you much earlier, but I held back my longing and dragged this out until now. You should be grateful to me."
"...Grateful? Fuck your gratitude!" Charlotte Shaw snapped. "Willow Quincy, if you’re sick in the head, then go die! Don’t fucking come and ruin my life! Do you think doing this makes me see you as some deeply devoted lover? Wrong! I just think you’re a psycho."
"Don’t think you’re so in love with me. The truth is, you don’t even know the first thing about how to love someone."
