Ignored When Chasing: Why Cry After I Got Engaged-Chapter 38: Don’t Leave Me Behind

Serena Hughes glanced at Cecilia Nathan out of the corner of her eye. Seeing her laughing and talking with Hugo Grant, Serena kept her expression neutral, but her heart seethed with resentment.

If Damian Hawthorne had really just brought her here for fun, that would have been one thing. But the moment she saw Cecilia Nathan, it all clicked for Serena Hughes.

Damian Hawthorne was acting out of spite—and his spite was directed at Cecilia Nathan.

’She didn’t get it. Cecilia Nathan had a bad reputation and a poor family background. How did she manage to get involved with Hugo Grant right after breaking up with Damian Hawthorne?’

"Not at all," Damian Hawthorne said, a knowing, wicked smirk playing on his lips. "I just want to race."

"If you don’t want to race, just get some rest." After speaking, he shrugged off his jacket, put on a baseball cap, and sauntered over to Cecilia and her group.

When Serena Hughes saw he wasn’t stopping, she bit her lip and silently hurried after him.

Cecilia was already in the car with her seatbelt fastened.

She had taken the passenger seat, and Hugo Grant was about to hit the gas when a hand landed on the open window frame.

"Fancy seeing you here." Damian Hawthorne’s deep voice was laced with mockery. "Got room for one more?"

Hearing the familiar voice, Cecilia glanced to the side and, sure enough, saw Damian Hawthorne’s all-too-familiar handsome face.

Cecilia’s smile tightened.

The subtle shift didn’t escape Damian Hawthorne’s notice.

Clearly, Cecilia was not happy about his intrusion.

Damian Hawthorne’s lips curved into a smirk. "We’re all friends here," he said to Cecilia. "Don’t play favorites. We should all have fun together."

With that, he brazenly walked around the front of the vehicle and knocked on the passenger-side door. "Get out. I’m sitting here."

Cecilia, in the passenger seat, was exasperated.

Hugo Grant remained expressionless.

’If Damian Hawthorne weren’t his friend, he would have already floored it.’

Cecilia opened the window. "Sorry," she said to Damian, "there’s no more room."

Then she pointed to Serena Hughes, who was running toward them. "You two can take one car, and we’ll take this one. Perfect. That way, we won’t get in each other’s way and everyone can have a good time."

Without a second glance at Damian Hawthorne’s expression, she closed the window and smiled at Hugo Grant. "Go ahead."

Hugo Grant raised an eyebrow, gave Damian Hawthorne a quick look, and then floored it without hesitation. The vehicle shot forward, leaving behind a cloud of exhaust and sand.

"COUGH COUGH COUGH..." Serena Hughes coughed a few times. When she looked at Damian Hawthorne, she saw that his expression was grim.

Panic seized Serena Hughes’s heart.

Although Damian Hawthorne no longer doubted her identity, she felt that his feelings for Cecilia Nathan were growing increasingly complicated.

’She knew it. Considering how many years Cecilia had been with Damian, there was no way he could be completely indifferent.’ 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

"Mr. Hawthorne, should we pick a car too?"

Serena knew it was too late to stop Damian now. That being the case, she figured she might as well go along with him. It might even score her some points.

She was prone to motion sickness, but the die was cast.

Damian Hawthorne’s narrow eyes were cold as he strode toward another vehicle.

Serena fastened her seatbelt and gripped the grab handle, her face already turning pale.

She was about to ask Damian to slow down, but he floored the accelerator, and the roar of the engine swallowed her words.

By now, the vehicle carrying Cecilia and Hugo Grant had already crested several sand dunes.

The sand and terrain at this track were designed to simulate the landscape of Zartos, serving as a recreational spot for the people of Korsyth.

’Cecilia had always wanted to come here, but she had never dared to bring it up with Damian.’

After one lap, Cecilia still hadn’t had her fill.

Hugo Grant seemed to read her mind and offered her the driver’s seat. "You give it a try."

Cecilia didn’t hesitate. She slid into the driver’s seat. Feeling a bit nervous about him watching, she asked Hugo to get out of the car.

Just then, Damian Hawthorne’s car pulled up alongside them.

Inside his car, Serena’s face was white as a sheet, and her lips had a purplish tint. She looked like she was about to pass out at any moment.

Cecilia glanced at her. "Your passenger looks like she’s about to pass out," she said to Damian.

From the passenger seat, Serena gritted her teeth. "I’m fine," she told Damian.

’Even if something was wrong, she couldn’t show any weakness now.’

’She didn’t want to be a buzzkill.’

But Cecilia’s words clearly had an effect on Damian. He glanced at Serena. "Get out. You’ve had a head injury. You should avoid intense activities like this."

Just before she hit the gas, Cecilia overheard Damian coaxing Serena out of the car. The tender scene was a bit of a painful sight.

Cecilia blinked, composed herself, and floored it, driving away.

Once Serena was out of the car, Damian’s vehicle suddenly accelerated.

Cecilia frowned. Trying to get away from him, she steered toward a higher dune.

Just as she neared the summit, the car’s power suddenly gave out, and the wheels began to spin in place.

A long-forgotten memory rushed back, and a tremor ran through Cecilia.

In that critical instant, Cecilia felt her body about to be thrown from the vehicle. The world spun violently around her, and she lost all sense of direction.

’It’s over!’

’This time, I’m really going to die.’

At that thought, a strange calm washed over Cecilia. She closed her eyes, a bitter smile gracing her lips.

’I’ve cheated death so many times, but it looks like my luck has finally run out.’

Just then, another vehicle came speeding toward her.

"Mr. Hawthorne!" Serena screamed.

"Damian!"

A chorus of screams erupted.

The other cars steered clear, but this one charged forward without a moment’s hesitation.

Quickly, the car closed the distance to Cecilia’s, pressing up against it.

The rolling vehicle slowed, beginning to slide down the face of the dune.

Damian had used his own vehicle to stop the roll.

She didn’t know how much time had passed, but when Cecilia regained consciousness and opened her eyes, she was met with a pair of brown eyes filled with concern.

"You fool, don’t you dare fall asleep!"

Damian tapped her cheek, his deep voice laced with a panic he didn’t even realize was there. "Stay awake. I’m taking you to the hospital right now."

Cecilia’s eyes widened. She suddenly grabbed his hand, tears like falling pearls streaming down her face. "I’m not afraid... Please, don’t die."

"I’m perfectly fine," Damian said gruffly, cradling her head as he lifted her out of the wreck. "Hang on. Don’t fall asleep."

At that moment, seeing the blood on Cecilia’s head, Damian’s hands began to tremble.

He was a man of the world; there was very little that could faze him.

But this was the first time he had ever seen Cecilia so badly hurt.

The blood on his hands was thick and sticky, and he couldn’t stop them from shaking.

Hugo Grant was approaching with a medical team.

"Cecilia, don’t be scared, the medics are here." Damian’s voice was filled with a panic he himself was unaware of.

He couldn’t keep his voice from trembling.

Cecilia’s eyes were open, staring at him blankly. A dazed smile touched her lips. "It doesn’t hurt, Hugo."

’Hugo...’

A jolt went through Damian Hawthorne.

’Not Damian Hawthorne, not Damian, not even an affectionate "Dami"... but who the hell was Hugo?’

’She had mistaken him for someone else...’

Damian’s arms tightened around her. He suppressed the bitter ache in his chest and carried her toward the stretcher.

"Hugo, please... don’t leave me..."

Cecilia lay deliriously in Damian’s arms, muttering "Hugo" over and over.

A chill ran through Damian.

’Even now, all she cared about was her Hugo.’

’Hugo... Was it Hugo Grant?’

Watching Hugo Grant hurry toward them with an anxious look on his face, the bitterness and rage in Damian’s heart threatened to consume him.

’He had thought that even if Cecilia said she was leaving him a thousand times, she would never really be able to go.’

’He never imagined she had already moved on, that she had fallen in love with someone else without him even realizing it.’

The realization made Damian’s heart sink like a stone.