The Enticing CEO’s Chosen Bride

Chapter 2077

The housekeeper was at a loss for words, and Cicely's response only deepened her silence.

Coco returned swiftly with breakfast, but something felt off in the room.

The housekeeper unfolded the table and arranged the food neatly on top. Cicely moved forward in her chair, took a spoonful of oatmeal, and tried to swallow, but nausea churned in her stomach. She gagged slightly, unable to stomach the meal before her.

The housekeeper watched anxiously from the side. Initially, she knew Cicely as Mr. Diaz's hidden mistress, a relationship not established by convention.

The housekeeper had no fondness for girls who would sell themselves for money without self- respect. But as time passed, she began to see that Cicely was not the typical mistress she had imagined.

Cicely never asked Mr. Diaz for anything, nor did she flirt with men as other women might. The housekeeper could even sense a deeper, more complicated, and inevitable bond between Mr. Diaz and Ms. Cicely, one that was far more profound than superficial displays of affection.d2

Unwittingly, the housekeeper found she couldn't bring herself to dislike Cicely. She even thought that this beautiful, radiant, and proud young woman, with her straightforward and unencumbered demeanor, deserved affection more than the widely known superstar girlfriend.

"Ms. Cicely, if you can't eat, don't force yourself. Is there something specific you'd like? I can prepare it for you," the housekeeper offered.

Cicely shook her head, took a bite of the breakfast roll, and forcefully pushed down the nausea. "No need. I'm quite hungry, and right now anything will do."

The food in the prison wasn't exactly something one could be picky about. Moreover, when feeling unwell, nothing tasted right.

Cicely alternated between bites of oatmeal, the side salad, and the breakfast roll, but it was as if she was chewing wax.

The housekeeper watched with a heavy heart, her eyes brimming with tears. She knew the girl had come from prison.

After finishing two breakfast rolls and her oatmeal, Cicely finally felt some strength returning. The housekeeper cleared the table while Cicely lay down on the bed.

"Do I need to continue with the IV drip?" Cicely asked.

The housekeeper nodded, "I'll go check with the doctor."

Cicely tucked herself under the covers and closed her eyes, her voice soft and steady, "I'd like to get it over with as soon as possible."

"Alright."

*

Chloe had just stepped out of the elevator and into the apartment lobby when she encountered the cool and distant Seth. Both slowed their pace.

Seth eyed her up and down. "Pregnant and still not staying put?"

Chloe tugged at her lips. "Just back from the hospital or heading there now?"

Seth, one hand in his pocket, his expression stern, retorted, "Can’t I be somewhere else? Why do I have to get involved with the hospital?"

"That's fine. As for me, I'm just off for a morning walk."

Seth glanced at her still-flat belly. "Be careful."

Chloe smiled and hummed in acknowledgment.

As they passed each other, Chloe suddenly called out, "Seth."

He stopped and turned around. "Something else?"

After a moment of silence, Chloe said slowly, "Do you understand what Damon means to me?"

Seth frowned. "I know you two are madly in love, but there's no need to flaunt it. I'm not keen on hearing about people's love lives."

Chloe smiled and continued, "To the world, he might just be another person, at best a diamond in the dust. But to me, he's my whole world—clear blue skies by day, vast starry nights that belong only to me. Even through storms or biting cold, his efforts are solely to shelter me."

Seth's lips tightened as he gazed at her, "What are you trying to say?"

Chloe's eyes curved with a smile, "And you? Whose world are you?"

Seth froze. He watched Chloe's figure disappear before finally turning away.

Whose world was he? His world wanted only to entrap one person, but that person was set on fleeing.

*

Cicely wasn't in her bedroom.

Seth had checked the guest room, the study—still no sign of her.

Descending the stairs, he interrogated the servants, who were trembling with fear. "Ms. Cicely was taken to the hospital with a fever from an infected wound. Mr. Seth, didn't you know?"

Seth felt a sudden jolt in his chest, his eyes darkening. "When did this happen?"

"Just last night, around ten. The housekeeper couldn't reach you by phone, so she had no choice but to call Ms. Summers from downstairs to help take Ms. Cicely to the hospital."

Chloe's words from earlier echoed in his ears. He suddenly found it difficult to breathe, his heart gripped tightly as if a sharp claw were about to pierce through it with every inch he breathed.

Last night around ten, he too had been at the hospital.

The walk from upstairs to downstairs took no more than five minutes, so encountering Chloe downstairs again was expected. She stood on the bridge over the man-made lake, watching him, two bodyguards lurking cautiously in the shadows nearby, careful to avoid being spotted.

Even when they saw him, their demeanor suggested they were ready to rush up at any moment.

"Why go through such a big detour?"

"Maybe she doesn't want to see you right now."

Seth clenched his fists tightly as Chloe maintained her indifferent expression. "I don't want to meddle in anyone else's business, but lately, I guess pregnancy has got me bored. If Damon were you, I definitely wouldn't want that. But now I'm pregnant, and I feel... even though it's against my principles to swallow my pride for the sake of children, to ensure their well-being, it's something I need to sacrifice for once. My children are worth that sacrifice to me. After all, something can only

be provided by Damon, and only with me and Damon together can we give that to them. No one else will do."

"Do you want me to use the child to keep her?" Seth's voice was deep and cold, Chloe's roundabout talk frustrating him, clearly implying something, yet he always felt he was missing the point. His patience had worn thin.

Chloe paused for a couple of seconds, then laughed softly, "No, that would be a harmful idea I strongly discourage. She has helped me, after all. I can't repay kindness with malice by pushing her into a pit of fire."

After finishing, she added a caution, "Don't get me wrong and force anything on her. With her temperament and character..."

Seth's patience was spent, "No need for your reminders." He knew Cicely’s temperament better than anyone.

"Then just consider my words as rambling," she said.

Seth's gaze lingered on Chloe's serene smile, a hint of contemplation breaking through his normally stoic and sharp demeanor. Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.

Such a shrewd woman, he thought. And here she was, investing her time and eloquence in what seemed like idle chatter with him.