CHAPTER 21: CHAPTER 21: HER KINDNESS, HE CAN’T ESCAPE

Keegan Lindsey saw this scene and hurried over, deliberately coughing twice.

Damn!

Isn’t Miss Kensington wide awake?

Why is her mother acting like she’s at a funeral? He was left speechless for a moment!

"Miss Kensington, President Fordham is here to see you." Keegan raised his voice.

Aiden Fordham let out a breath, and his gaze instantly deepened a shade.

Helen Warren saw the distinguished man at the door, wiped her tears, and rushed forward to greet him.

"President Fordham, you’re finally here. Our Corrie almost died. The doctor said, if we’d been two minutes later, I’d have had to bury my own child... Please, you must talk some sense into her. She can’t do anything foolish again—my heart can’t take it."

Helen Warren spoke as she shook her head, her face full of sorrow.

"I want to talk to Corinne alone."

Aiden Fordham stared coldly at the excessively pale face on the hospital bed and spoke chillingly, "Why did you do something so stupid?"

The person on the bed’s eyelashes trembled, and she slowly opened her eyes.

Seeing it was him, Corinne Kensington suddenly smiled. But before the smile could even reach her eyes, tears rushed down her face.

"My career... it’s all over."

Her voice was barely there, floating, laced with a shattering sense of despair.

"I’m just a rat on the street now, everyone wants me gone, living... what meaning does it have?"

As she spoke, her tears streamed even more fiercely as she choked up.

"I don’t want to be a burden to you. If I leave, it’ll be best—for you, for everyone."

She paused, gazing at him through teary eyes. Her voice grew low, filled with endless grievance and longing.

"I just... can’t let go of you."

Aiden Fordham’s heart was struck—not hard or soft—but just enough for those hard edges to instantly dissolve.

He softened his voice, gentler than he himself realized, "I told you, let me handle things."

He looked at her, emphasizing.

"Since when have I ever not taken care of you?"

These words, like a lifeline, instantly reignited the fire that had died in Corinne Kensington’s eyes.

She grabbed his hand urgently and confirmed,

"Aiden, you really... you’re really willing to help me?"

The hope that was extinguished surged back like a tide, almost drowning her.

Aiden Fordham looked at her in this state and sighed inwardly. "In the future, don’t ever do something so foolish again."

He pulled his hand back, tucking her in. The move wasn’t particularly gentle, but it left no room for argument.

"I made a reservation at your favorite restaurant. Tomorrow night, let’s have dinner together."

Corinne Kensington understood at once—he was going to acknowledge her publicly, clear her name from this scandal.

She could barely believe her ears, delight swelling to bursting inside her, but she tried hard to keep a fragile, on-the-verge-of-tears look on her face.

She nodded, docile as a startled bunny.

Wonderful!

This time, she’d truly walked away from death’s door!

As long as Aiden Fordham was willing to stand up for her, who cared about those insults? Who cared about those losses?

This time, misfortune had been a blessing in disguise for her.

She held his hand again, this time with a hint of coquettishness.

"Aiden, you’re so good to me. I’m really glad, that year I jumped into the ocean to save you."

She deliberately paused, watching for a shift in Aiden Fordham’s expression, and, seeing none, continued in a trembling voice tinged with lingering fear.

"Do you know? Back then, I was almost sinking... but all I could think was, I had to save you. Nothing could happen to you.

Luckily, you finally woke up. They all made fun of me—for giving you my first kiss... as CPR!"

Every word slammed right onto the mark of Aiden Fordham’s guilt.

Total emotional blackmail.

Aiden Fordham’s thoughts truly drifted back to that year.

The icy, bone-piercing sea water, the suffocating grip of death. Then, as he was rescued, struggling to open his eyes.

The first thing he saw was Corinne Kensington’s face, soaked by the seawater, yet breathtakingly beautiful as ever.

That moment of heart-pounding—was real! He really did fall in love with her then.

This lifesaving debt, that initial spark of affection, they became invisible shackles binding him tight.

He was silent for a moment, suppressing the turbulent emotions inside.

"From now on, don’t ever do anything stupid again."

He repeated himself, his tone heavier this time.

Immediately, his words took a turn, now carrying a warning. "And you’d better not target Stella anymore. She’ll soon no longer be part of the Fordham Family."

Corinne Kensington’s heart skipped a beat.

Is he really divorcing Stella?

Wonderful!

But she kept it off her face, still appearing utterly sweet and meek, nodding firmly.

"Okay, I know, Aiden. As long as she doesn’t mess with me, I would never do anything to her."

Aiden Fordham nodded in satisfaction, reaching out to gently pat her head.

"Grandpa may not accept you right away, but I won’t let anyone touch you."

Corinne Kensington understood. She didn’t have to marry into the Fordham Family right away—so long as she had his heart, she was never afraid.

She shook his big hand, her voice soft as cotton, eyes brimming with hope.

"The doctor said I need to be observed overnight. I don’t want to be here alone—I’m scared. Can you... stay with me?"

Aiden Fordham looked at her pale face, at the dependence in her gaze.

He didn’t want to disappoint her again. These four years, they’d gone through so much... And in the end, here they were.

He didn’t want to lose her either.

This time, he made his choice.

"Okay." One word, heavy with promise.

Night fell deeper.

Aiden Fordham didn’t go back to the old house for dinner, but neither did Stella Grant.

She made up a random excuse to cover for herself.

Truth was, she just didn’t want to see Aiden Fordham.

Thinking of him, recalling everything in the cabin, made her restless and lost.

Vivi Sterling got a scolding from her parents when she got home—how could a lady from a prominent family brawl in public?

Meanwhile, the Grant Family rushed Abraham Grant to the Sterling Family to beg forgiveness.

Apparently, the Grants wanted to set the wedding date, but Vivi Sterling shot them down instantly!

She said, when there are no more rumors about Abraham Grant’s scandals in Meritopia, then she’ll marry!

Now, the two families were drinking together, trying to make peace.

At some point, it began to rain. A steady drizzle, tapping against the windows.

Wind from the balcony blew in, carrying the late autumn chill.

Stella Grant stood on the balcony, watching the rainy curtain outside. City lights blurred into abstraction behind the rain.

In the darkness, Fordham Tower still stood grand and imposing, but seemed cold and unwelcoming.

"Ding dong, ding dong"—the doorbell rang abruptly.

Could it be Vivi sneaking out again? She slipped her feet into slippers and went to open the door.

The door opened.

Standing outside was not Vivi Sterling, but the one face she least wanted to see right now.

Aiden Fordham.

He stood at the door, the cold and damp of the rain wrapped around him, his handsome face frozen in icy indifference.

That gaze bore into her, heavy with a kind of inescapable, suffocating pressure.

Stella Grant tried to shut the door, but his large hand blocked her way.

He stared at her with a half-smile, half-scowl. "Stella Grant, you can’t run from me!"