Love Comes Freely, Cherish Every Encounter

My mind was foggy, and all I could see was Timothy's car disappearing around the corner.

When I finally opened my eyes again, a nurse was responding to Timothy's frantic calls for me.

"Ophelia, if you cause me any more trouble, don't even think about going home!" Timothy yelled and then hung up.

The nurse looked at the phone, appearing angry.

Turning to me as she noticed I was awake, she quickly handed me the phone and said, "You're awake. I just dealt with a harassing call for you."

I didn't expose her white lie.

I spent a few days in the hospital before returning to Wallace Manor to gather my things.

The house was in a complete mess.

It was no wonder Timothy was furious; he must have thought I had ransacked the place.

Fortunately, all the important documents were still intact, and I didn't have the energy to call the police or clean up the mess.

I took a taxi to the train station with my suitcase and received an unexpected invitation from Kaylee.

It turned out she was getting engaged to Timothy the next day.

As soon as I arrived at the train station, a middle-aged couple rushed toward me, enveloping me in their arms and crying uncontrollably.

"My daughter! We finally found you!" the woman wailed. "You ran away without telling us, forcing your father and me to search for you endlessly!"

I struggled against their embrace, repeatedly insisting that I didn't know them.

But the man grew angry and slapped me across the face, shouting, "You bastard! Do you really want to drive your mother and me to our graves?"

A crowd began to gather, but no one stepped in to help.

Given the striking resemblance I bore to the man, it was easy for onlookers to assume we were family.

The crowd urged me to go home with them.

The couple held on to my arms so tightly that I saw no chance of escape.

Once they dragged me into their car, I started to regain my senses after the shock of the slap.

While the woman was distracted, I secretly called Timothy.

But before he could answer, she caught me in the act.

Wiping the tears from her face, she hissed, "You think you can ask for help? Your uncle is too busy to pay attention to you right now!"

She snatched my phone and called Timothy.

She was right; Timothy didn't answer and even screened my call.

Finally, when he picked up, I tried to plead for help, but Kaylee's mocking voice interrupted me. "What's the matter? Do you want to talk to Timothy? He's in the shower. Don't cause trouble when he's in a good mood!"

Then she called out loudly for Timothy to answer the phone.

When he found out it was me, Timothy's voice dripped with irritation. "Ignore her and block her!"

Hearing his voice, mixed with Kaylee's ridicule, shattered my heart.

The middle-aged couple dragged me into an empty room, and it seemed they were waiting for someone.

Just as I was starting to doze off, something hit me in the face.

A voice snapped, "Ophelia, you're quite the schemer! You left a fake pregnancy test report and thought you could ruin my engagement party?

"If I hadn't gone to Wallace Manor and found it, you would have succeeded!"

Recognizing the familiar voice, I realized that the chaos at the manor and my current situation were all thanks to Kaylee.

Swallowing my bitterness, I forced a smile. "You misunderstood. I didn't intend to come back after I left."

"Misunderstanding? You're just playing hard to get. I heard you helped Timothy get rid of women while I was away. But now that I'm back, stop being delusional!"

With that, she clapped her hands, summoning a group of hooligans into the room.

They whistled, their eyes roving over me.

One of them said, "You escaped last time, but it won't be that easy this time!"

Desperation gripped me; I would rather die than surrender.

Just as I was about to leap out of the window, they grabbed me and pulled me back.

For some reason, Kaylee glanced at her phone and stopped the hooligans.

She said, "Ophelia, you're lucky. But don't think you're off the hook!"

I had a bad feeling.

The next second, Kaylee cut her clothes with scissors and pinched her skin, leaving bruises.

When the door was kicked open, she curled up and cried, "Ophelia, did you bring me here just to get someone to assault me?"

The hooligans, responding to her signal, jumped out of the window and fled.

As soon as she finished speaking, Timothy kicked me and shouted,

As soon as she finished speaking, Timothy burst in, kicking me and shouting, "Ophelia! I tracked you down because I was worried you'd get into trouble! If I hadn't arrived, how could you have bullied Kaylee? When did you become so vicious?"

He kicked me hard.

The pain made tears stream down my face as I tried to explain, "I didn't do anything. It was her..."

But Timothy ignored me completely.

He took off his coat and draped it over Kaylee, gazing at her lovingly while comforting her softly, "Kaylee, nobody can hurt you while I'm here!"

Those words felt all too familiar, but they were no longer meant for me.

He cupped Kaylee's swollen face in his hands, his eyes filled with anguish.

However, the look he shot me was one of disgust and hatred.

He roared without asking for confirmation, "Ophelia! Are you going to apologize, or should I take you to the police?"

Kaylee sobbed, pleading with him, "Timothy, don't blame her. She just can't accept that we're getting married.

"Thank goodness you arrived in time; those people didn't succeed..."

I interrupted, "You're lying! You hired those people to bully me!"

Timothy looked at her tattered clothes, then slapped me across the face.

He shouted, "I listened to you to drive away those women before because I didn't like them, but Kaylee is the love of my life! I'll never let you hurt her!"

Kaylee smirked, but then, with tears in her eyes, she begged, "Ophelia, as long as you cut ties with those hooligans and stop causing trouble, I'll let go of today's events."

Her red, swollen eyes sparkled with provocation.

Hearing her, Timothy assumed that the last time I had been attacked by a hooligan was another one of my tricks.

"Ophelia, apologize to Kaylee!" he commanded.

If I were to make a mistake, it was that I shouldn't have slept with him.

My face burned with pain, but I lost all desire to defend myself.

"It's fine if you don't want to apologize; then go back to Wallace Manor and be grounded! Reflect on whether your actions are worthy of the Wallace family's upbringing!"

His tone was cold and commanding.

He dragged me back to the manor, grounding me while he embraced a smug-looking Kaylee and walked away.

I was so exhausted that I almost fainted.

The bodyguard assigned to keep an eye on me wanted to take me to the hospital, but I slipped him some cash and begged him to take me to the airport.

I just wanted to escape Timothy as quickly as possible when his call came unexpectedly.

He shouted, "Ophelia! You've grown bold. You're pregnant with a bastard, and now you're trying to run away with someone?"