You Are Mine (English)

Chapter 373: Chapter 373: You Haven’t Changed One Bit

Childe eyed Ranney suspiciously. "Why isn’t Stuart with you?" he asked.

Ranny crossed his arms against his chest. "Do you think Mike is stupid? He’s fully aware of what’s been going on between you two," he replies with some annoyance in his voice.

"So Mike’s worried, I might hurt his precious CEO?" Even as Childe asked the question, he knew the answer.

"Your brother’s! You’ve got to let it go before someone gets hurt or dies," Ranney looked more concerned than irritated.

Childe throws his hands up in the air and raises his voice, "Okay. Do you know how many times I’ve heard this? You tell me to let it go. You let it go!"

"You’re still the same, Childe. You haven’t changed one bit," says Ranny, gently patting him on the back.

Childe raised his eyebrows in wonder. "Has anyone in the Yates Family ever died from the punishment," he asked.

Ranney hesitated a moment, then slowly shook his head. "It’s never happened before. Don’t worry," he reassured him.

Childe tilts his head quizzically. "Never?" His head lifts slowly, and one side of his mouth turns up in a coy grin. He looks shrewdly at Ranney. "Then, I hope I’m the first." He couldn’t bear to face the reality that he harbored unconscious murderous feelings toward his brother.

Ranney and Childe were old friends. They went way back. Ranney was aware of the abuse Childe suffered. They desperately wanted to defend Childe, despite the strict orders not to intervene. Ranney helped in every way he could.

Stuart was at the Loyal Villa, waiting for his punishment to be received. Ivan was in the room with Stuart. He was looking at Stuart intently, his face full of worry. "Childe is being punished because he’s using Edie as leverage. He had it all and gave it up. I don’t understand why?" Ivan was feeling anxious and concerned about Childes’ motives.

Stuart looked terrible, dark under his eyes, his skin pale and dry. He was thinner. He loved Edie, and Ivan understood how much he depended on Edie’s safety. Stuart took a deep breath, and then his eyes narrowed dangerously. "You need to keep a close eye on Childes’ people. I’m certain he’ll take Edie away the second I leave the city." frёewebηovel.cѳm

"That’s what he did with Marina!" Ivan cursed himself at the stupid way, and he blurted things out without thinking. For years Stuart brooded over the wounds in his heart. The scars were still fresh, and the guilt was still suffocating.

Stuart sat up, his expression changed, becoming more serious. He lifted his brow and looked at Ivan with uncertainty. He had a wild look in his eyes, the eyes of a vicious predator, ready to snap the neck of its prey. He clenched his fists tightly and looked up at Ivan square in the eye. The look on Stuart’s face was something Ivan had never seen before. It looked to him as if Stuart stared out into an invisible world that he could not see. The emptiness in his eyes chilled Ivan, so much that he shivered where he stood. Stuart spun around with pure anguish and fierce anger in his eyes. "While I’m gone, don’t take your eyes off, Childe." His voice was low and hoarse. "If he touches one hair on her head, he will die a painful death."

An alarmed expression spread over Ivan’s face. "Yes, Sir. I understand." And he lowered his head.

Just as Stuart had expected, Childe had taken Edie and Anne to a secluded place. Neither one of them knows where they were. Edie would have gone out of her mind if it hadn’t been Anne. She had no idea what was going on? If Stuart was okay? If he thought about her as much as she thought about him?

On the fourth day, Edie was notified that Childe would be returning. Hearing a car pull in, she rushed out and saw a black Bentley pull in front of the house, and Childe opened the door. Edie froze where she stood to look at him. "He’s hurt and....." she paused and took a deep breath. "He’s covered in blood." Her heart was beating wildly. She could barely breathe. "Did he do something to Stuart? Is Stuart okay?" Edie panicked and started screaming. "You were in a fight. Was it Stuart? Tell me what happened." Uncontrollable tears fell from her eyes.

Childes’ heart lurched into his chest as he looked into her eyes. He knew how stubborn she was, and she never revealed any sort of vulnerability in his presence. Although she wanted to ignore it, she couldn’t. Yet the tears she shed were not for him, and Childe felt compassion swell his heart, and he wanted to reach his hand to touch hers in the act of comfort. For the first time in his life, he felt completely weightless. He took two steps toward her, stumbled, and fell to his knees as a middle-aged man helped him up. "Master, slow down. You’re going to hurt yourself," he said. His face grew serious.

Childe pushed him out of the way and said, "Leave me alone." His speed continued unabated. When he stood in front of her, he wrapped his arms around her tightly, maybe to keep himself from falling again or maybe to just feel her in his arms. Edie was surprised at his sudden movement and started to push him away. "Please don’t push me away this time," he whispered. His voice was weak and trembling.

Edie held him with every ounce of her strength. Childes’ body was shaking violently in her arms, tremors that rocked his balance. "Somebody does something," she shouted.

The middle-aged man scowled, adding yet more wrinkle to what looked somehow like a warning, understanding look. "You heard the woman. Help him," he ordered. Two men came over and carried Childe inside.

Edie gasped when she looked at her hands. "They’re covered in blood!" she said and followed everyone inside and watched the doctors coming and going. She waited anxiously by the door as she wondered what happened. ’What happened to Childe, and did he do something to Stuart?" These two questions lingered in her mind. freeωebnovēl.c૦m

Right at that moment, the middle-aged man came out of the room. "Hello, Miss Edie," he said. "I’m Childes’ butler, Wilson."

"Where the hell am I?" she said, raising her voice. She lowered her head and said softly, "Forgive me, could you please tell me where Childe has taken me?"