Chapter 39
Myles‘ slightly worn leather shoes tapped on the polished floor as he
followed quietly behind. Celeste bustled around cleaning the room, while Myles
stayed close by with a serious look.
“Dad, what’s bothering you?”
Myles lowered his voice, “Cely, you don’t share a room with Kendric?”
Celeste was momentarily at a loss for words. She didn’t know how to
explain the situation.
Her father looked deeply concerned, “is there trouble in your
relationship?”
The mix of concern and worry in her father’s eyes hit Celeste hard. He had
traveled a long way to see her, primarily to see if she was doing well. Celeste
surely didn’t wanna raise his worries.
She decided to conceal the truth of her breakup with Kendric temporarily.
She adopted a casual tone, “no, dad, our relationship is actually… quite good.”
“It’s because… I had a cold recently, and I was afraid of passing it on to
Kendric.”
Myles breathed a sigh of relief.
The wrinkles between his brows smoothed out, “Ken is a thoughtful guy. He
was worried that I would be uncomfortable to take the flight at my age, so he
even specially arranged a first–class ticket for me.”
“He’s patient with you as well, so you two may consider marriage.”
“Marriage!” Celeste turned her head abruptly, “what marriage?”
Redeemed From Caged Love
Capteris
“Didn’t he tell you that he asked me to come here to discuss your
marriage?”
If Celeste shook her head and claimed ignorance of this matter, her father
would surely become suspicious.
She absentmindedly nodded. She tightly controlled her impulses and
refrained from telling her father that she had already broken up with Kendric.
Perhaps… she should find a suitable time to have a serious conversation with
her father.
Celeste said goodnight to her father, closed the bedroom door, and headed to the adjacent room to find Kendric.
He was sitting by the window, reading some documents. Seeing Celeste striding in with fury, he took a sip of his tea.
Celeste restrained the urge to splash the tea on his face.
“You brought my father here?”
Kendric didn’t bother lifting his eyes from the document he was perusing, instead, he turned
page.
“And even using the excuse of discussing our marriage?!”
Finally, he tore his gaze from the documents. He stared at her as though trying to peer into her soul. “I’ve told you before, there’s always a way for me to keep you in line.”
Celeste was well aware that he had countless methods to control her.
He revealed a triumphant smile. “So, don’t even think about getting away from me. You’re not alone, and I have your father here.”
It was a calmly delivered threat.
Celeste was so furious that she struggled to find her words. She reached for
the tea cup in front of him.
But she never liked to throw things to vent her anger. She held the teacup, staring at him, her heart boiling like it had been drenched in scalding oil.
***
lay.
At night, Celeste lay in bed.
Her mind was in turmoil. Kendric knew precisely where her vulnerability
She used to be compliant with him, but now she no longer followed his
orders. So, he had found someone else who could make her toe the line.
Celeste felt anxious lying in Kendric’s bed. She’s enveloped by his scent,
which made her feel restless and agitated.
After taking a shower, Kendric climbed into bed. He switched off the
bedside lamp, and, as was his usual habit, pulled Celeste into his embrace.
She squirmed uncomfortably, making a few attempts to break free before finally growing irritated, “don’t touch me!”
Kendric pressed her beneath tightly, “you don’t want your father to hear us bickering, do you?”
Celeste clenched her teeth and stared at the ceiling, doing her best to ignore
his touch.
That night, Celeste had a multitude of nightmares. In these dreams, her
limbs remained bound, and she found herself unable to escape.
Next morning, Kendric got up early. As he descended the stairs, he noticed
Celeste’s father in the kitchen, engaged in dispute with a maid.
The thing was that Myles wanna cook some home dishes for his daughter.
However, the maid insisted it wasn’t proper for him to use the kitchen. It led to
a heated argument between the two.
“Mr. Alinsky,” Kendric strolled through the kitchen, “just tell the maid what
dishes you want, and leave it to her.”
Myles muttered to himself, “but Celeste favored the dishes cooked by me
the best…”
He didn’t want to push the matter further. Myles fetched the ingredients.
he’d brought from hometown and handed them over to the maid.
When Celeste woke up, her nose were greeted by a familiar aroma. She descended the stairs and found no trace of her father in the kitchen. Instead, she discovered him outside in the courtyard, engaged in conversation with
Kendric.
They stood near the flowerbed in the yard.
Celeste took a few steps closer, and only then could she clearly overhear their conversation.
“Is there any hope to save this flower?” Kendric asked.
Myles took a closer look and noticed that the flower’s stalk appeared
Chapter39
trampled.
“I’m afraid it’s beyond saving. Look at these leaves. They’ve lost their
vitality,” he said, lifting a limp leaf to demonstrate.
“Maybe we could breathe new life into it by grafting the healthy parts onto
a new plant.” Kendric insisted.
Grafting was a complicated, time–consuming, and costly process. Myles
advised, “This plant isn’t that valuable. Just buy a new one instead of going
through all that trouble.”
“It is valuable.”
Myles raised an eyebrow confusedly.
“This plant was cultivated by Celeste.”
Celeste inspected the plant more closely. Yeah, it’s one of her favorite
flowers.
But why did its stalk break?
