Free Web NovelChapter 98: Chapter 98: At Least She Knows Her Place
Another pleasant, cozy evening passed. The next morning, Damien had to go to the company.
He gave Candy a kiss goodbye, then looked to Cecelia.
"I’m leaving now. You and Grandpa have fun at home. Call me if you need anything."
Holding Candy’s hand, Cecelia saw him to the door. She watched him get into the car before returning to the living room. Seeing Grandpa sitting on the sofa rubbing his legs, she hurried over to help massage them, taking the opportunity to examine them.
"Sigh, I’m old and useless. My legs don’t listen to me anymore. It’s either this ache or that one, and the doctors can’t find anything wrong. Looks like I’m not far from death’s door."
Grandpa sighed. "But before I die, I want to see Damien have a few more children. That boy... he lacked familial warmth for the first thirty years of his life, he was so lonely. It’s a rare thing for him to meet you. He’s taken a liking to you, Cecelia. It might be tough on you, but please hurry and have a few more children for him."
"If I can see Damien and you with a warm, happy, big family, I can die in peace."
Cecelia said, "...Grandpa, don’t say that. You seem to be in great health."
"Don’t try to humor me with such words. I know my own body."
Cecelia wasn’t just humoring him; she truly wished him well.
"I studied a bit of medicine in the past. I know some acupuncture and physical therapy. My brother had a leg injury from a car accident, and it would bother him whenever the weather turned bad. He recovered a lot through physical therapy. If you don’t mind, I could try to help you, too."
"Really?" Grandpa’s eyes lit up. "You know medicine, too?"
"Only a little. I just hope you don’t mind me trying."
There was no proper equipment at home. Since they had nothing better to do anyway, the driver took Grandpa and Cecelia to a traditional Chinese medicine hall. They picked out some tools and medicinal herbs, brought them home, and she began his physical therapy.
Whether it was a placebo effect or genuinely effective, after half a day, a beaming Grandpa said he felt much more comfortable.
"Then let’s stick with it. If we do this every day, you’ll be full of life and energy in less than a month."
"That would be great! Maybe I’ll live to be a hundred, hahaha."
The three of them had lunch. Afterward, Grandpa went to rest. Cecelia gave Candy her medicine, and the little girl fell asleep for her nap.
Cecelia was about to rest for a while with Candy when she suddenly received a call from Annabelle Young.
"Why were you discharged? I went to the hospital to see Candy, but I couldn’t find you. You didn’t come to work yesterday, and you didn’t come in today either. Did something happen?"
Hearing Annabelle’s voice, Cecelia felt a pang of guilt.
She knew about Annabelle’s feelings for Damien, and she knew why Annabelle had gotten close to her in the first place.
The only reason she had accepted Annabelle’s help was because she’d had no improper designs on Damien and had genuinely wanted to set the two of them up.
’Who knew that in just one day, things would turn out like this?’ ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com
’Cecelia felt like she’d been pushed into a role she wasn’t ready for, and now she was stuck in a predicament with no easy way out. She had no idea how to explain any of it to Annabelle.’ She thought.
"I’m fine. The doctor said there was no need to stay in the hospital any longer—we just needed to take some medicine home and rest. So, we were discharged. I’ve had my hands full looking after Candy since we got home. I meant to call and let you know, but I got busy and it completely slipped my mind. I’m really sorry, Miss Young."
"Oh, so that’s what happened. Don’t worry about it."
Annabelle said politely, "So you’re at home now? Where do you live? I’ve already bought some gifts. I’ll come see Candy and chat with you."
’Cecelia really didn’t want to lie to her, but her situation with Damien couldn’t be explained in just a few words, and she didn’t dare say the wrong thing.’ She thought.
"I’m temporarily staying at a friend’s house. Miss Young, you don’t have to go to such trouble... How about this, where are you? I’ll come to you."
Annabelle, extremely curious about why Damien had pulled Cecelia away the other day, gave her the address of a coffee shop.
Cecelia informed Ms. King, the nanny, and left for the meeting.
She had originally planned to take a taxi, but the Vaughn family estate was quite far from the city, making it hard to hail one. Besides, the butler wouldn’t allow it.
"Young Madam, we have a dedicated driver. The family has so many cars. When you go out, just let the driver take you wherever you need to go. How could we let you take a taxi?"
Cecelia felt it would be awkward to be chauffeured. She wanted to drive herself, but the Vaughn family’s cars were all Bentleys, Rolls-Royces, McLarens, or Mercedes business vans. The thought of scratching or denting any of them was too much to bear.
She let the driver take her to the city. Not daring to let Annabelle see her grand arrival, she had the driver wait far away and walked the rest of the way to the coffee shop.
Annabelle had already arrived. Seeing Cecelia, she warmly gestured for her to sit down. She feigned concern, asking a few questions about Candy before getting to the point. frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓
"What happened the day before yesterday? Why did Damien suddenly pull you away? I feel like your relationship isn’t as simple as you made it out to be. What’s really going on between you two?"
Cecelia’s eyes darted away. "Mr. Vaughn is a good man. He’s fond of Candy, so he’s become her godfather."
"What? Damien likes kids that much? He’s taken Candy as his goddaughter?"
"Perhaps they just have a special connection... But I really don’t know him well, and my words don’t carry any weight with him. I’m so sorry, Miss Young. I don’t think I can be of any help with you and Mr. Vaughn. I’m truly grateful for the job you gave me, but I wasn’t up to the task. I’m afraid I won’t be able to work there anymore."
Annabelle knew what kind of man Damien was. If he liked someone, he liked them. If he didn’t, it was useless no matter who put in a good word.
She had never actually expected Cecelia to put in a good word for her; she just wanted to use Candy to create a natural reason to talk to him.
"If you’re not working, what about Candy’s medical bills?"
"Mr. Vaughn said he would pay for the medical expenses. After Candy’s surgery, I’ll work to pay him back."
Although Cecelia’s lie was seamless, Annabelle could still sense the special concern Damien had for the mother and daughter in her words.
’It was impossible that Damien would be interested in a single mother, especially one with such a poor background. She wasn’t fit to be the Young Madam of the Vaughn family in a million years.’ Annabelle thought. ’But comparing Damien’s attitude toward Cecelia to his attitude toward her... it was still extremely annoying.’
"Is that so? Damien really is concerned about you two. You must be thanking your lucky stars that you met him."
Cecelia replied, "Yes. I’m very grateful to Mr. Vaughn."
Since Cecelia was no longer of any use to her, Annabelle couldn’t be bothered to be polite anymore.
"Alright then. In that case, you should hurry back and take care of your child. I’ve already paid for the coffee. I have something else to do, so I’ll be leaving."
As she spoke, she started to rise, but then she seemed to remember something.
"Oh, right, I still haven’t paid you the commission you earned. It was 50,000 yuan, wasn’t it? I’ll have someone wire it to you. You can quit whenever you feel like it, but I’m not one to be stingy."
Cecelia looked at her with quiet dignity. "No, that’s not necessary. I quit without notice, which shows a lack of professional integrity. Without you, I wouldn’t have gotten that order, and there would be no commission. That money doesn’t belong to me. I can’t take it."
’At least she knows her place and understands how things work.’ Annabelle thought.
She couldn’t be bothered with any more unnecessary pleasantries.
"Since you’ve said so, fine. I’m leaving."
