Chapter 156 Secret Identity

Charles could see Bella’s face as long as he raised up his head. It was pale as a sheet of paper, the lips were extremely thin, and her entire body was as fragile as a porcelain doll.

So fragile, you could smash it into a thousand pieces.

She lowered her head and stared down at her palm. The long eyelashes covering her eyes obstructed her view. She felt so nervous she could not help biting her teeth.

Charles's eyes fell on Bella's body, while his hands were still around Katherine whose eyes focused on his. She could not help feel jealous for Charles. He kept saying that he didn’t love Bella but he was always taking care of her.

“Ouch!” shouted out Catherine.

Both Charles and Elsa were surprised by this sudden demonstration of pain.

“What’s wrong with you?” asked Charles.

“All of a sudden my stomach started hurting,” said Katherine and gripped Charles's hand tightly. She looked at him in a pitiful manner and tears rolled down her cheeks. “Honey, am I dying?”

“Stop talking nonsense,” he said in a stern manner, “Elsa is taking care of you.” Charles put his arms around her and stared at Elsa with a frown.

“What happened?” he asked.

“It might be a side-effect of the antidote,” said the old woman. She put her hand on Katherine's abdomen and pressed gently.

“Does it hurt?”

“Yes, it does,” said Katherine. Her face was one grotesque mask of agony.

“Can’t you do something to help her?” asked Charles. He was now staring at Elsa with a dose of hostility.

“Let’s try some acupuncture,” said Elsa. She took out two long silver needles, which she stuck symmetrically in two spots on Katherine’s belly.

The expression of pain on Katherine’s face began to dissolve.

“Does it still hurt now?”

“Not so much,” replied Katherine.

Elsa gave her a hopeful glance and turned her head to Charles.

“My Lord, if you want Miss Katherine to recover faster, you ought to hug her more tightly.”

“What do you mean?” asked Charles while raising his eyebrows.

A chuckle escaped from Bella. Elsa’s point clearly illustrated that it was all an act from Katherine’s side.

Charles gave Bella a sinister look, “What are you laughing at?”

Bella bowed her head and refused to answer.

“The bandage is okay,” said Elsa’s assistant. “Just don't get it wet and avoid strenuous exercise.”

“Okay, thank you,” said Bella and got up from the couch. Without even shooting a glance at Charles, she walked out of the door.

She was convinced that since he didn’t love her anymore, she could easily stop loving him.

If she couldn’t control her own heart, she could at least try to control her body.

As soon as she was out in the courtyard, Bella’s face was full of tears. She realized that it was easy to control her reflexes but hard to control her emotions.

She was now in a very bad mood. He was treating Katherine in such a considerate manner while Bella was nothing but an object of contempt. After spending the entire day at work trying to get close to her, he was now kicking her aside like a stray dog. He had given up on her the very moment she decided to cave in to his demands. 

She clenched her fists in anger. She would not allow this to happen again.

She straightened her back and walked back to the main villa. Her eyes were red because of the crying. This didn’t stop her from being more determined than ever. She would not allow Charles Williams to take her pride away.

At that precise moment, Charles felt a sudden pressure over his heart. It was as if an invisible hand was squeezing it tightly.

Katherine must have sensed the changed. She put her hand over his shoulder and stared at him with a great deal of consideration.

“Honey Charles, are you going to visit her?”

“No,” replied Charles. 

Elsa stuck two more needles on Katherine’s belly.

“These are going to make you feel much better,” said the old woman with a smile.

Edwin's car drove off the main road and turned into a forest trail. After a few hours of bumping up and down along an endless winding road, he arrived in front of a stone mansion on the top of a hill. It was barely discernible among the trees, as if the person who had built it wanted to make sure it would never be discovered.

Edwin parked his car outside the front gate and immediately a servant rushed out to greet him. 

“Young Master, you are back.”

Edwin ignored the comment and walked inside the mansion, “Where is the Master?”

“He is resting in his bedroom,” replied the servant. “Has the Young Master anything important to report?”

“I have some very important updates about the Lady. I had better talk to him right away.”

“Yes, sir,” replied the servant.

Edwin followed the servant through the vast hallway and up the staircase the sleeping quarters. They arrived in front of a large wooden door where the servant bowed in a respectful manner.

“Please wait a moment, Young Master.”

“OK,” said Edwin.

He sat on a large wooden chair in the corridor and crossed his arms over his chest. He would probably have to wait for a few minutes over here, why spend them standing?

After waiting for almost an hour, Edwin felt his eyes becoming heavier. He got up from the chair and walked back and forth down the corridor.

He was now getting impatient.

“What’s going on?” he wondered.

It seemed that the Master’s condition was deteriorating.

An hour later, a familiar figure appeared down the hall. He had the same face as Edwin’s but he looked ten years older.

“Brother!” Edwin cried out.

“Steven!”

There was still a dose of self-control in the man’s trembling voice. Edwin took his hand and gazed into his blurry eyes.

“How are things going?” asked Edwin.

“Steven, I am fine,” said the man and shook his head up and down a few times. “Tell me about Bell.”

“Nick wants to check Bell's blood that’s why I came here looking for help.”

The man offered Edwin a gentle smile.

“You don't have to worry about that. Bell's blood is just ordinary type O negative. Let him test her if that’s what he wants.”

“How do you know that?” asked Edwin..

The man’s hand was shivering badly and his voice was extremely weak but Edwin didn’t let go of him.

“I performed my own tests upon Bella. I relapsed afterwards so I was in no position to inform you about the results. For this you must forgive me.”

Edwin clenched the man’s hand tighter.

“Brother, can we pick up Bell? She is having a very hard time out there.”

The man pulled his hand away from Edwin’s grip and stretched it out. It was so thin it seemed transparent. The tone of his voice only added to his helplessness.

“Have you forgotten the reasons I remained here hidden while you took on my name and acted outside on my behalf? We did this to lure the bad guys out, but they have not shown their faces yet. If we rush hastily to Bella’s salvation there will be dire consequences. Do you understand the meaning of my words?”