My Love for You Broke Me

Chapter 78

Because Nicholas had no idea about the vendetta between the Felix Corporation and Quinn, he blindly hoped that marrying Quinn would prompt her to cure my sickness.

As for Quinn, the only reason she would want to marry him despite not knowing him was because she knew what had happened between him and I.

She didn't mind putting a bet on her marriage as long as she could separate us.

"I will think of a way to get her to cure you."

Hearing his confident tone, I got out of his embrace to look into his eyes. "What if she doesn't?" I asked.

He briefly pursed his lips before admitting, "She gave me a choice."

A choice?

To marry her?!

I couldn't help but let out a snicker at that. "I don't need her charity."

Swiftly after spitting that out, I turned around and headed to my car. Nicholas immediately came after me and grabbed me by my wrist. "Ree," he pleaded in a soft voice. "Come home with me."

Our 'home' was the Felix's Villa.

"Let's break up, Nicholas."

It was exhausting to continue on with this entanglement. I would rather we break up once and for all.

I refused to let him hurt me time after time again.

Especially when he claimed that he was doing this for me.

His eyes instantly went dim when I said that. Still, he lowered his stance and stroked my face, his voice getting a little shaky as he murmured, "I won't break up with you, Ree. I will always be by your side no matter what happens."

I had to ask him again to reconfirm. "Are you going to marry her?"

I had told myself before that I would not forgive him no matter what if things were to restart between us, but now… I was the reason he was doing this.

Nicholas so desperately hoped for me to be cured of cancer, which made him agree to Quinn's ridiculous request. He wasn't even sure how the future would be if things were to go as Quinn was expecting. All he was worried about now was losing me.

But I was too tired for this.

I had a limited lifespan, and all I wanted out of this short time was a simple, beautiful love. I didn't want to fall for any deception or lies anymore.

I especially didn't need Nicholas to do something like that for me.

It didn't matter if Quinn could really help me, or if she was willing to do so. I no longer wanted help from my enemy in order to regain my health.

He hesitated after hearing my question. Before long, he raised his hand to caress my cheek. "I want you to be healthy," he eventually muttered.

"Nicholas, I will not let Quinn treat me."

"What happened between the two of you?" He paused before continuing, "She said that you and her know each other well. Why is she trying to tear us apart, then? Ree, does she have a grudge against you?"

In fact, there was no issue between us on a personal level. However, Quinn had a big problem with the Felix Family in general and I, coincidentally, was one of the Felixs.

I went on and told Nicholas in detail all that had happened between Quinn and the Felix Family. "She is only doing this to separate us. I even know that this is only the first step in her whole grand scheme."

What she truly wanted was my kidney.

He stayed quiet for a few long minutes after hearing the whole story from me. He must have thought it through when he spoke again. "Let's not put our hopes on her, then. I would rather have you undergo your treatments like you already are doing… Ree, there is nothing I fear more than losing you again."

I raised my gaze to meet his. I could clearly see my pale, tired reflection in his eyes. I looked like someone who was quickly losing their life force.

I was sick of this. My heart had suffered way too much for me to keep on with this.

"I am quitting this game of love, Nicholas."

There were still a lot of things that I had to face in the near future. I couldn't bear putting up with more pain.

He didn't say a word, but he finally let go of me. After I drove back to my apartment, I took out my phone, only to see that I had received a message from Nicholas.

'I am willing to wait for you.'

He must have figured out that he was in the wrong, and that was why he was willing to stay put and wait until I voluntarily took a step toward him. However, I wasn't brave enough to get close to him again.

I didn't reply to him as I put down my phone and went to take a bath in my bathroom. The instant warm, flowing water surrounded my body, I could feel how much I began to relax from head to toe. The only thing preventing me from fully relaxing was the injury on my shoulder that had yet to completely heal.

It was still throbbing painfully now.

The pain suddenly reminded me of the man whose hand I had bitten when he tried to stifle me, and

proceeded to pull me into the river two days ago.

He had kept quiet the whole time with that cool look on his face. He didn't make a sound even when he was in pain. He must be someone who was used to enduring pain and holding himself back.

I remembered how special I thought he was from everyone else I knew.

I only soaked briefly in the tub before I got up and wrapped a towel around me. It was then that I noticed that the bathwater had turned red. Alarmed, I reached out and pressed my hand to my lower body.

Droplets of blood instantly stained my palm red.

My illness must have gotten worse.

Oddly enough, I wasn't as upset as I thought I would be. I calmly took a few pieces of tissue to dry myself down there, and proceeded to go to the living room like I would any other day.

I had minimal lighting on in the living room as I sat on my sofa and went through my phone. Somehow, I kept thinking about Shawn as I held my phone.

After all, Waylen had tempted me when he mentioned us having the same model.

Soon, I got a message from Olivia. 'Thank you, Renee. I heard from the butler that you and Christopher were the ones who brought me home.'

My reply was short as I told her that she was welcome.

Her message soon came again. 'I just woke up. My head is a mess. I am going to smoke a cigarette to clear my head. Talk to you in a bit.'

Olivia was going to smoke…

I suddenly felt like having a puff myself.

Still, it was just a passing thought that I didn't have the courage to make come true.

Resisting the urge, I put down my phone and started zoning out. It didn't take me long before I fell asleep. The sky had already turned bright by the time I woke up.

I took my phone again to check the time, and I happened to see a message Olivia sent me yesterday that wrote 'Renee, I have given up on him.'

She was implying Christopher.

Not knowing what to reply to her, I gently massaged my temples before finally sending her a polite 'What is wrong?'

After sending that message, I headed to the bathroom to freshen up. Blood had gotten almost everywhere under my towel after I took it off. Letting out a sigh, I put on a sanitary pad to prevent making more mess.

I might be more carefree about my appearance when I was in Eldham, but I habitually wanted to doll myself up to look as elegant as I could in Bryxton.

I changed into a distinct black midi dress that had a golden dragon embroidered to one side. The upper half of the sleeves were adorned with dragon patterns in gold color, whereas the other black half of the sleeves had silver threads decorating them.

It was a beautifully designed dress and elegant in texture.

I put on concealer to hide the scar on my face before I curled my long hair into wavy locks. I also clipped on two diamond studded hair clips right above my ear to hold one side of my hair back.

A cat-eye makeup was the finishing touch to my look today.

Even I was even surprised when I saw myself in the reflection.

I definitely wasn't as ugly as Shawn said I was!

That one casual remark he made was somehow stuck in my head. It definitely worked wonders at urging me to someday get the scar removed surgically.

After I took my medicine like I usually did, I grabbed my car keys and made my way to the company.

I was fairly early, but Gary had beat me to it. Seeing him, I went to him and asked, "Has the company been busy these two days?"

He patiently answered, "The order the Yates Corporation received has been put to production. Also, the Yates Corporation has extended an invitation to join a banquet tonight, President Felix. You can't reject it this time. We will be on our flight to Ashere this afternoon."

What kind of banquet was it that I couldn't say no to?!

With a frown on my face, I asked him more about it.

"It is Old Master Yates' 80th birthday. The initial plan was to celebrate it abroad, but because of the unfortunate incident a few days ago that resulted in the drop of their company's share price, Old Master Yates wanted to take the opportunity to both revive Yates Corporation's image and make it up to you, President Felix."

Indeed, there was no way I could reject it when I was one of the reasons he was holding the banquet.

"Prepare a gift, then." I had finally resigned to my fate.

"Understood. I am off to do my work."

I went back to my office after Gary left. Seeing that there weren't a lot of files on the table, I picked up my fountain pen and I went through document by document.

I might not be very involved in the management of my company nowadays, but still, it wasn't hard work for me because of my years of experience in doing this.

It was about lunchtime when I was done with the files. As soon as Gary was done with his part, he took me to a restaurant for lunch before we headed to the airport to catch our flight.

Touchdown was about 4 PM. It was still too early to head to Yates Residence, and so I brought Gary with me as I went for a walk at a mall nearby.

Nothing really caught my eye, so I finally settled with two rings and a pair of earrings, and I also picked a lipstick.

After putting it on, I asked Gary, "Looks good?"

"Sure does." He smiled.

When we returned to the car, Gary unexpectedly made conversation with me. This definitely was a once-in-a-blue-moon occurrence. "You seem to be in a good mood, President Felix. I haven't seen you enjoy shopping so much in a long time."

Listening to his words put a smile on my face. "Am I supposed to have a sour face all day long?" I joked.

"There weren't many times where you were happy during your three years of marriage to President Forger. Back then, you used to go on shopping sprees like a young girl, and would always end up with tons of shopping bags. You haven't done that lately. You hold in too much sadness, President Felix."

I pressed my red lips together as I seemingly had let go of something. "I used to be too stubborn," I confessed. "I am just living life while I can."

"You are still young, President Felix," he insisted.

"Gary, I am someone who could die anytime."

I could drop dead without a sign.

Even though Nicholas had told me that Quinn could save me, I would never leave my life in her hands. I didn't need her to play savior, and neither did I need the man I loved to make such sacrifices. I was responsible for my own life.

If I could, I would try to hang on to life until Clair managed to create a new drug and if I couldn't, so be it. Such was life.

It wasn't that I didn't want to live. I simply refused to use Quinn's help. I never wanted to be indebted to her. I knew I would live the rest of my life in regret if I had done things the way she wanted.

Also, she was aiming for my kidney. Owing her naturally meant that I would have to repay her somehow.

"Don't be so pessimistic, President Felix."

I could tell that Gary didn't know what to say to make me feel better, and so I hummed with a smile on my face. "No worries. Let's go to the Yates Residence."

The Yates Residence was quite a drive away. Night had already fallen by the time we reached there. While we were still in the car, Gary started briefing me, "Since it is an 80th birthday celebration, the Yates have sent out an invitation to President Forger, the Adams Family, Norman Family, and so on. I heard that all those who have business dealings with the Yates Corporation are on the guest list."

"Will Clair be here as well?"

"Yes. Mr. Norman is one of the attendees," Gary confirmed.

I just knew the Yates Residence would be bustling with noise tonight.

Gary and I went straight to Benedict as soon as we entered the building. The latter was sitting on a chair when he saw me, and he hurriedly got up and called out to me. "Ree!'

I didn't mind that someone as senior as Benedict was calling me so intimately. Smilingly, I walked over to him and congratulated him. "Old Master Yates, may you live a long, meaningful life filled with prosperity and joy. I have a present prepared for you."

He held my hand then. "Thank you, child. I am sorry you had to suffer because of a mistake caused by one of us."

He bowed as he apologized. I didn't deserve this from a respected elderly of mine, so I quickly bowed as well. "Let's not bring up the past," I told him with a smile.

The smile on Benedict's face was extremely warm as he patted me on the back of my hand. "You have always been an understanding and kind child," he mused. "I wouldn't have to worry at all if Aly was more like you."

The moment he uttered those words, Alice, who was sitting beside, immediately turned pale. Come to think of it, Alice was the Yates Corporation's only successor. Furthermore, she was a blessing that came to him when he was already 50 years old. Despite how he might praise me, I was sure that he still thought that his own daughter was the best.

This might be clear to me, who was watching from the sidelines. However, it couldn't have been easy for Alice to understand her father's thoughts when she was the one who received the criticisms. Her

expression only fell when Benedict started praising me.

I let out a smile and politely replied, "Ms. Yates is a brilliant woman herself."

Benedict sighed in response. "It would be great if that was the case."

Our small talk soon came to an end, and I proceeded to join the banquet.

As it was too crowded and rowdy in the front yard, I made my way to the quieter backyard. I wanted to greet Clair before I left. Property © of NôvelDrama.Org.

The view at the back wasn't too bad. There was even a loft nearby. Deciding that this was a good place for me to stay away from the crowd, I sat down by the fountain and took out my phone. What I hadn't expected was for Alice to come to me with Maria by her side.

They were the epitome of 'birds of the same feather flock together'.

Thinking that I would be safe in the Yates Residence and that they wouldn't dare do anything to me, I accidentally forgot to keep an eye out for Maria.

Alice was dressed in an evening gown and high-heeled shoes when she stomped toward me, her face pale with anger. "Why the hell does everyone like you?!" she roared.

Sure was an odd question that stemmed from petty jealousy.

I continued to scroll through my phone without taking her seriously. "It is probably because I am pretty."

My answer definitely caught her off-guard, but when she found her tongue again, she questioned me, "You are playing around with every man just for that reason?"

What did she mean by 'every man'?!

I had never even treated or thought of Merlin or Christopher as my backup. Nicholas was the only official one I had.

I smiled playfully at the thought that she must have listened to nonsense Maria had told her. "Name a few examples, then. I would like to know who I have been playing with. Could the man you love be one of them?"

Alice immediately exploded in anger when I acted fearless and condescending. She then mockingly listed my 'toy boys' out one by one. "Christopher, Clair, Nicholas. Which one of them hasn't been wrapped around your finger, huh?!"

She actually included Clair in the list…

"Maria, did you tell her this?" I asked, my eyebrows raising inquisitively.

Maria was abnormally quiet as she stood there with a blank expression on her face. It felt as though she had no care about what was happening around her as she was preparing for something gargantuan.

Seeing that Maria wasn't going to answer me, I looked back at Alice's pale face and hissed, "You are right. I am playing with them. So what if it makes you feel bad about yourself? Will that make Nicholas say he loves you?"

I was too lazy to explain it to her. I would rather go along with the scenario she had made up in her head.

Her already-pale face became even whiter after I saw through her thoughts. She looked like she was going to throw punches any second now. Still, I was confident that she didn't have the guts to cause trouble on her father's 80th birthday.

She was so angry that she turned mute. This time, Maria was the one speaking, and she was much calmer than Alice. "You don't fear anything, do you? You have always been on your high horse from the first day I knew you."

On my high horse?

I didn't even ride horses.

I never pit against anyone. I only addressed issues as they were.

Why should I show her my kind side to someone who had bullied me?

My smile never left my face for a second as I sat there. "At least you are not the person I am scared of."

All of a sudden, she whipped a bottle out from behind. I couldn't tell what it was, but I had a feeling that the colored liquid was no ordinary water.

"Your face pisses me off. I might as well ruin it. I have been sick of your face for a while now," she

calmly stated.

She was too different from the crazy Maria I met in the hospital that day.

I was suddenly reminded of what May said about Maria being a lunatic.

And only lunatics did things without considering the consequences!

I jumped up off my seat right as she threw the contents of the bottle in my direction. I could only horridly watch as the liquid gradually closed in on me. Right at this moment, someone hugged me as they rolled me to the side.

Maria's surprised voice rang out next. "Nick!"