Chapter 199
Victoria stepped inside. "Mr. Caldwell?" she called out softly, searching for Jayce's figure.
She dared not turn on the lights, fearing it might upset him. Edward had warned her that his condition was extremely unstable.
Victoria cautiously made her way deeper into the suite, her eyes slowly adapting to the darkness. The small living room opened up right at the entrance, with what appeared to be a bedroom to the right.
As she walked further in, she spotted a figure sitting on the edge of the bed, his back to the door.
Victoria's breath caught, but she kept her voice gentle. "Mr. Caldwell, are you alright?"
He remained motionless as if he had become one with the surrounding darkness.
A faint sound came from the entrance. Victoria turned her head to see the door closing shut. Her brows furrowed slightly, but she remained calm.
She walked over to Jayce and asked, "You were injured before. Are you feeling better?"
She was trying to find topics to bridge the distance between them. But the figure by the bed remained motionless.
Victoria sighed helplessly, "Mr. Caldwell, if you don't talk to me, I don't know what else to say."
As her words faded, the figure stirred, slowly turning his head to look at her. The room was pitch black, making it impossible for her to see his face clearly. She doubted if he could see hers.
Victoria blinked and asked, "Can I turn on the light? I'd like to check your wounds."
Jayce just stared at her steadily. Victoria took a few more steps forward, close enough now to make out the contours of his features.
"Didn't you promise to come to my opening?" she asked. "Why didn't you show up?"
Jayce remained silent in response to her question.
Victoria kept chatting away. "So many people came by today, and a lot happened. You missed out on all the excitement while you were gone."
They were getting closer and closer.
Just when Victoria thought he wasn't going to say anything, the motionless figure suddenly moved.
He lunged forward without warning, wrapping his arms around her in an iron grip.
"Oof." Victoria let out a muffled grunt. His sudden movement caught her off guard, and she instinctively tried to push away. But when her hands pressed against his chest, she could feel cach rib through the fabric–he'd gotten so thin.
That was when she remembered something wasn't right with him.
Fighting down her fear, Victoria kept her voice steady. "Mr. Caldwell, can we talk about this?"
Jayce just held her tighter, his breath hot against her neck, making her whole body tense up.
Victoria felt backed into a corner. Her hand slipped into her pocket where she'd stashed the aromatherapy vial.
If she could just get him to sleep, maybe he'd be better when he woke up.
But just as she pulled out the bottle, Jayce, who'd been silent this whole time, finally spoke. His voice came out rough and raspy. "I'm sorry."
Victoria froze. Jayce opened his mouth, stumbling over his words before she could respond. "I scared you that day, didn't I? I'm sorry. I really scared you."
His voice grew more frantic with each word, his sentences becoming increasingly jumbled.
"It's okay, really. I'm fine." Victoria quickly assured him.
Jayce's muffled voice came out as she held her tight. "Victoria, I like you. But I scared you. I'm just a monster, and nobody could ever like a monster, right?"
Victoria stood there stunned.
She'd known about Jayce's feelings and had gently turned him down several times before. But this time was different—he'd just come right out and said it. She didn't know what to do with her hands, with herself.
Taking a steadying breath, Victoria said, "Jayce, you're not in a good place right now. You haven't been eating, have you? Maybe we should get some food in you first? Your body can't keep going like this."
Jayce just held her tighter, breathing in her familiar scent. The voices that had been screaming in his head suddenly went quiet. Everything felt peaceful. All he wanted was to hold her like this forever.
Seeing no response from him, Victoria softened her tone. "Mr. Caldwell, you know how much I value our friendship. You've helped me out so many times. How am I supposed to pay you back if you won't take care of yourself?"
"I don't want anything back," Jayce mumbled. "I just want you to be happy."
"Then, do something that'll make me happy." Victoria seized the opportunity. "Eat something, get some sun, and come out of this room. What do you say?"
After a moment's hesitation, Jayce agreed, "Okay."
Victoria let out a relieved breath. "Great, but you'll need to let go of me first."
Jayce tensed up for a second before slowly loosening his grip.
Victoria felt herself relax a little. She took his hand. "Will you go outside with me?"
Jayce didn't say anything, but he didn't refuse, either.
Victoria turned around and led him out of the room.
Jayce's eyes never left her. Everything around him was darkness, but Victoria was like a warm, bright light guiding him slowly out of the abyss.
At the doorway, Edward and Delia both let out sighs of relief at the sight before them.
Edward nodded repeatedly. "Thank goodness you're out. This is wonderful."
Delia's voice caught with emotion. "Mr. Caldwell, you scared me half to death."
"What does he like to eat?" Victoria asked. "Let's get his favorite foods ready."
Edward immediately waved for the servants to start preparing food.
Looking at Jayce's pale, gaunt face with tired eyes, he let out a heavy sigh. "Jayce, I almost didn't know how I'd face your parents."
Jayce didn't respond. His gaze drifted down to Victoria's hand. She was still holding onto his, her skin smooth and beautiful, radiating warmth.
He tightened his grip on her hand, cherishing the contact.
Since the food would take some time, Victoria led Jayce out to the courtyard. The day was winding down, with the late afternoon sun casting a gentle warmth over everything. It felt like it could melt away all the cold that had settled in his heart.
She turned to look at him, her delicate features lighting up with a bright smile. "Mr. Caldwell, is there anything special you'd like to do?"
Jayce stared at her intently. After a long moment, he finally spoke, "I want..."
"It's about you," Victoria said quickly.
Jayce lowered his gaze slightly, his eyelashes casting shadows that hid the emotions in his eyes. "To see the aurora."
Victoria nodded. "I want to see it, too. So, focus on getting better and taking care of yourself. Then, we can all go see it together."
Jayce's head snapped up to look at her. "Really? You'd go with me?"
"Of course." Victoria nodded. "Beautiful things are meant to be shared, right? We can bring Jude, Evie and her daughter Emma, Diana, too. Maybe even Barrett? Uhm..., Not sure about him, but it'll be super fun with everyone there."
Jayce slowly lowered his eyes. He only wanted to go with Victoria.
Victoria seemed to be picturing the lively scene already, her smile growing wider.
"I'm going abroad for treatment," Jayce said suddenly.
A flash of surprise crossed Victoria's eyes. She hadn't even started trying to convince him yet, and he was already willing to go. This was great news.
Jayce gripped her hand tightly, his eyes intense as they locked with hers. "When I get back, let's go see the aurora together, okay?"
The raw emotion in his gaze was almost too much for Victoria to handle. She wanted to look away but forced herself not to. Right now, all that mattered was getting him to accept treatment.
She nodded. "Okay."
"You promised, Victoria. No taking it back." Jayce's voice was dead serious.
"I won't," Victoria said with a smile.
For the first time in what felt like forever, life sparked in Jayce's usually expressionless face. He smiled.
Not far away, Delia watched the scene unfold, biting her lip so hard it hurt.
Edward walked up beside her, letting out a tired sigh. "Delia, I know you mean well for Jayce, but you saw it yourself. Victoria's the only one who can get through to him. So, just drop what we talked about earlier, alright?"
Delia kept her eyes down. "I understand, Sir Caldwell."
"Dinner's ready," Edward said. "Go tell them to come eat."
"Sure."
The dining room was filled with dishes laid out across the solid wooden table.
"Jayce, these are all your favorites," Edward said. "Why don't you try some and see how they taste?"
Victoria slid a dish toward Jayce. "Come on, give it a try. You won't know if it's good unless you taste it."
Jayce looked at her. "You eat, too."
"Okay." Victoria nodded, picking up her fork and starting to eat. Only then did Jayce pick up his fork and begin his meal.
Edward watched the scene unfold with a quiet sigh in his heart.
The timing of everything was all wrong. If only Victoria wasn't Henry's wife.
How much better would it be if someone like her could reach into Jayce's heart, heal his past wounds, comfort his injured soul, and stay by his side until the end? It was such a shame.
"Victoria," Edward said, "you suddenly left at lunch today. Did something happen?"
Victoria shook her head with a smile. "Just a small matter. It's already taken care of."
"Ah, good to hear." Edward nodded. "Remember, if you ever run into something you can't handle, don't hesitate to give me a call."
Victoria smiled and nodded. "Sure thing."
Though Jayce's appetite wasn't great, at least he'd managed to eat something. It was a start.
The sky was growing dark. Victoria needed to leave.
Jayce looked at her. "Will you come see me off when I go?"
"Of course." She nodded. "Just let me know your flight number."
Jayce nodded, glancing at Sunny. "I'm taking it with me."
Victoria reached out to ruffle Sunny's head. "Take good care of Mr. Caldwell, okay? I'm counting on you." Sunny wagged its tail, its eyes big and dewy, looking absolutely adorable.
"I should get going." Victoria said goodbye to the Caldwell family and turned to leave. Even after her car disappeared into the distance, Jayce kept staring after it.
"Jayce," Edward said, "why not just be friends? You two would make great friends."
"But that's not what I want," Jayce replied.
Edward fell silent. As Jayce walked past Edward on his way back to his room, he mentioned he'd accept the proposal to get treatment abroad. Edward immediately started making arrangements. He thought maybe once Jayce was away and couldn't see Victoria anymore, those feelings would fade.