Ignored When Chasing: Why Cry After I Got Engaged-Chapter 42: You Remind Me of an Old Acquaintance
"Huh?" The assistant gave Damian Hawthorne a strange look. "President Hawthorne, are we... not investigating Miss Hughes anymore?"
"Put the matter with Serena Hughes aside for now." Damian Hawthorne glanced nonchalantly at his assistant. "Make the call."
The assistant felt bitter inside.
’It’s just one phone call. President Hawthorne could make it himself, couldn’t he?’
"My eyes are injured. You’ll have to handle things like making phone calls for me."
As if he knew what the assistant was thinking, Damian Hawthorne explained flatly.
’But you’re not hurt at all...’
Watching Damian Hawthorne’s behavior, the assistant felt that his boss had been growing more and more childish recently.
Who would have thought the heir to the Hawthorne Family would do something like this?
The assistant called Cecilia Nathan, and the call connected after a few moments.
"Hello, Assistant Bell." Cecilia’s voice was as gentle as ever. "Is something wrong?"
"Miss Nathan, you have to come quickly! President Hawthorne, he..." Justin Bell’s voice was laced with urgency. "He’s injured his eyes."
"His eyes are injured?" Cecilia asked hurriedly. "Is it serious? Where is he now?"
Hearing the tone of Cecilia’s voice, the assistant sighed to himself. ’As expected, Miss Nathan is still in love with President Hawthorne!’
"We’re at the Hawthorne Group. I don’t know what happened, but President Hawthorne’s eyes... he suddenly can’t see..." Just as Justin Bell finished speaking, he felt a sharp glare land on him.
His great boss, President Hawthorne, was giving him a look that could kill.
Justin Bell was terrified.
’Crap, I overdid it!’
After hanging up, Justin Bell offered a placating smile. "President Hawthorne, Miss Nathan said she’s on her way."
Damian Hawthorne’s expression softened slightly upon hearing that Cecilia was coming, but his tone was still harsh. "I only told you to say my eyes were injured. You went and said I was blind. Do you expect me to pretend to be blind later?"
Justin Bell fell silent.
’You’re not afraid of faking an illness, but you’re afraid of faking blindness?’
"President Hawthorne, is it still necessary to investigate Miss Hughes?" Justin Bell asked, afraid of losing his job.
"Change the direction of the investigation. I have a feeling someone doesn’t want me to find Luna." Damian Hawthorne’s eyes darkened at the thought. "Investigate Cecilia’s background at all costs. And find out who this ’Hugo’ she talks about really is."
This Hugo could be Hugo Grant, or he could be someone else.
If it was Hugo Grant, it would only prove that her affections had shifted a long time ago.
But if it wasn’t Hugo Grant, then Cecilia’s reasons for coming to his side were never that simple to begin with.
At this thought, Damian Hawthorne’s fingers tightened, his fist cracking audibly.
The moment Cecilia Nathan learned that Damian Hawthorne couldn’t see, she rushed over.
She could live without being with Damian Hawthorne, and she could accept him not loving her, but nothing could happen to his eyes.
During the period he was blind, Damian Hawthorne had been gloomy, unruly, and so cold that he wouldn’t have flinched even if someone had plunged a knife into him.
Without his sight, Damian Hawthorne had no will to live.
She couldn’t imagine how much pain he would be in if, after regaining his sight, he were to lose it once more.
When she arrived at the Hawthorne Group building, Justin Bell was already waiting downstairs. He anxiously led Cecilia upstairs. "It happened this afternoon. President Hawthorne’s eyes... he suddenly couldn’t see, and the doctors can’t find anything wrong..."
Cecilia’s breath hitched.
She remembered the last time Damian Hawthorne went for a check-up, the doctor had said there was always a risk of rejection.
If he went blind again, he might need another corneal transplant.
At this thought, Cecilia felt as if a gash had been torn open in her chest, letting a cold wind howl through it.
"How is he feeling? Is his sight completely gone?" Cecilia’s voice was hoarse and trembling slightly.
Seeing her so upset, Justin Bell felt a pang of guilt.
’President Hawthorne is really something else. Look how scared he’s made her.’
"Actually, it’s not that serious. You’ll know when you go in and ask President Hawthorne yourself in a bit."
Only Damian Hawthorne could access his floor via facial recognition. Everyone else, including his assistant Justin Bell, had to go up from a different floor.
This floor housed the core employees of Hawthorne Enterprises.
When Cecilia walked in, the core employees of Hawthorne Enterprises all looked her way. When they saw it was Cecilia, their expressions varied.
Some were sympathetic, some were scornful, and others were just waiting for the drama to unfold.
The proposal ceremony between Serena Hughes and Damian Hawthorne was the talk of the town. Everyone had expected their President Hawthorne to deny the rumors, but unexpectedly, Damian Hawthorne never responded.
No response was equivalent to a silent admission.
Everyone at Hawthorne Enterprises knew about the relationship between Cecilia and Damian Hawthorne. Cecilia was always by his side, even during business negotiations.
Whenever a major deal was being discussed, Cecilia was always the one who drank the most.
Everyone knew that Cecilia loved Damian Hawthorne, loved him enough to give her life for him.
And Damian Hawthorne needed Cecilia, because she was the one who secured many of the big contracts over drinks at the negotiating table.
They all thought it was only a matter of time before Cecilia became the boss’s wife at Hawthorne Enterprises, that President Hawthorne would eventually marry her.
But in the blink of an eye, President Hawthorne had proposed to Serena Hughes.
"All of Miss Nathan’s efforts were for nothing. What a shame."
"I used to ship her and President Hawthorne. I can’t believe my OTP was sunk so fast."
"A childhood sweetheart can’t compete with someone who just falls into your life. Poor Miss Nathan."
...
Their voices were quiet, but Cecilia had studied music and always had excellent hearing. She could hear them no matter how much they lowered their voices.
’A childhood sweetheart can’t compete with someone who just falls into your life.’
In Damian Hawthorne’s eyes, she was no match for Serena Hughes.
But then again, she had no intention of competing.
Cecilia walked through the crowd with a blank expression, and only when she had left the area could she no longer hear their words.
Justin Bell heard them too. After escorting Cecilia to the floor above, he immediately went back down to warn the gossiping employees.
Cecilia hurried to Damian Hawthorne’s office, quickly turned the handle, and saw him standing by the window, hands in his pockets, with a nonchalant, devil-may-care air about him.
Cecilia froze, staring straight into his eyes. "How are your eyes?"
Damian Hawthorne stared back at her, the corners of his lips curling up slightly. "They’re just a little blurry. It’s not as serious as Justin Bell made it sound."
"Blurry... Damian Hawthorne, let’s go to the hospital." Cecilia walked nervously to his side, her voice dry and hoarse. "There’s still time if we go to the hospital now. It’ll be too late if we wait until you go blind."
"Is it too late...?" Damian Hawthorne chuckled softly. "It’s already too late."
"Cecilia, at night, I can’t see very clearly anymore. The doctor said it’s a side effect of the corneal transplant. If I go blind in the future, will you still like my eyes?" Damian Hawthorne’s smile was a little wicked.
Hearing this, Cecilia’s heart sank. "What do you mean you can’t see very clearly? Damian Hawthorne, don’t talk nonsense. We’ll find the best doctors. It can be cured."
Damian Hawthorne raised an eyebrow and smiled mischievously. "You look so anxious. You remind me of an old acquaintance of mine."
"An old acquaintance?" Cecilia frowned.
"Her name was Luna."
