Ignored When Chasing: Why Cry After I Got Engaged-Chapter 72: Dead?

’Serena Hughes wouldn’t be saying these things to her for no reason.’

"I don’t want to make a deal with you. I’m Fiona Sinclair’s granddaughter. The Sinclair Family will give me anything I want. I don’t need to ask someone like you, who has nothing, for a trade." Serena Hughes’s tone was filled with arrogance.

Fiona Sinclair was the head of the Sinclair Family, and Serena was her only granddaughter, making her the family’s sole heir.

The entire Sinclair Family would be hers one day. She really didn’t need anything from Cecilia Nathan.

"Cecilia, do you still love Hugo?"

Serena Hughes asked tentatively, her face full of gossipy intrigue.

Cecilia Nathan smiled faintly. "Serena Hughes, what else do you know? You might as well tell me everything."

"Cecilia, if you still like Hugo, then you should stop pestering Mr. Hawthorne. What you’re doing is irresponsible to him, and it’s hurting him." Though Serena Hughes’s words sounded like advice, they were dripping with schadenfreude.

’She could tell that this Hugo was very important to Cecilia Nathan.’

"After all, the living can never compete with the dead."

Serena Hughes’s words were like a sharp sword, piercing straight into Cecilia Nathan’s heart.

"Cecilia, Hugo is already dead. You should spend your life mourning him, not focusing your attention on Mr. Hawthorne."

A sharp pain lanced through Cecilia Nathan’s heart, and tears welled up in her eyes.

Those four words, "Hugo is already dead," dragged all her memories back to the surface.

’That’s right. Hugo is already dead.’

’He’s never coming back.’

"Don’t worry, Cecilia. I haven’t told Mr. Hawthorne any of this." As if that wasn’t enough, Serena Hughes decided to add fuel to the fire.

Seeing the pain in Cecilia Nathan’s eyes only made Serena Hughes more excited as she continued to speak.

’She’d hit the nail on the head!’

She had found the diary in a trash pile. A corner of it had been burned, but it was clear the owner had been reluctant to destroy it completely. Instead of finishing the job, they had just thrown it in the trash.

But the diary was too beautiful to ignore, so she picked it up. As a fellow music student, she was immediately captivated by the sheet music on the first page.

Eventually, she couldn’t resist reading the entire thing.

At first, she’d intended to read it like someone else’s story, or perhaps a novel. But maybe because the owner’s emotions were so profound, the diary, despite its sparse entries, left a lasting impression on her.

She hadn’t thought about it again until Fiona Sinclair mentioned Hugo, which brought the story from the diary rushing back.

In the diary, Hugo had died.

But it didn’t say why.

Watching Serena Hughes’s unabashed excitement, Cecilia Nathan felt as if a knife were twisting in her heart.

’This time, Serena Hughes had gotten her revenge, and it was brutal.’

’Hugo was her weak spot.’

"Serena Hughes, didn’t you know the kitchen has security cameras?" Cecilia Nathan pointed to a corner of the ceiling where a small red light was blinking.

Serena Hughes looked up, and the color drained from her face.

’There are cameras in here!’

’Does that mean Mr. Hawthorne heard everything she just said?’

Before she could panic, the kitchen door suddenly swung open.

The kitchen fell completely silent.

Damian Hawthorne stood in the doorway, his gaze sweeping coolly over Serena Hughes.

He hadn’t heard everything they’d said.

But he had heard the most critical part.

’That guy, Hugo... he’s actually dead?’

’So now I have to compete with a dead man?’

Damian Hawthorne’s gaze shifted to Cecilia Nathan. He saw her red-rimmed eyes, and his thick brows furrowed slightly.

Cecilia Nathan’s eyes had never been so red.

She hadn’t even cried back when she’d climbed that tall building for him, threatening to jump.

Seeing her like this, a sharp pain pierced Damian Hawthorne’s heart.

His cold gaze fell on Serena Hughes as he said coolly, "Miss Hughes, you can leave now."

Serena Hughes froze.

’Leave? Why should I have to leave?’

’I haven’t even eaten yet!’

"Mr. Hawthorne, I thought you were... having me stay for dinner?"

"Not anymore." Damian Hawthorne was unmoved, his voice laced with disgust. "You can leave now. I’m sure a family as prominent as the Sinclairs has a chef on standby waiting to cook for you."

Serena Hughes’s face flushed crimson.

She wasn’t actually hungry—she rarely ate dinner in order to maintain her figure—but today, Cecilia Nathan was the one cooking.

’She wanted to try it...’

Seeing Damian Hawthorne’s attitude, Serena Hughes’s heart began to pound.

’She had a feeling Damian Hawthorne had definitely heard something.’

’Just how much had he heard?’

Cecilia Nathan continued chopping vegetables, paying no mind to their conversation.

Under Damian Hawthorne’s cold, scrutinizing gaze, Serena Hughes made a graceless exit.

She had wanted to tell Damian Hawthorne about Hugo herself, but then she remembered the camera. She feared that he now knew everything—both the things he might have wanted to know and the things he shouldn’t.

’If she had known about the camera, she never would have said any of that.’

’If Damian Hawthorne finds out that Luna is Cecilia Nathan, he’ll definitely pursue Cecilia with everything he has.’

At the thought, Serena Hughes was so furious it felt like a physical blow.

After Serena Hughes left, silence fell over the room once more.

The only sound was the rhythmic CHOP-CHOP-CHOP of Cecilia Nathan’s knife echoing through the kitchen.

"That Hugo... is he really dead?"

Damian Hawthorne leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed over his chest. His voice was deceptively light.

Cecilia Nathan’s hand paused for a fraction of a second before she resumed chopping.

Anxiety surged through Damian Hawthorne. He snatched the knife from her hand and set it aside. "So this Hugo isn’t Hugo Grant... he’s a dead man."

His sarcastic tone made Cecilia Nathan look up and glare at him with pure hatred.

It was the first time Cecilia Nathan had ever looked at him with such hatred.

Damian Hawthorne felt a jolt run through him.

Cecilia Nathan’s gaze was a sharp steel blade that plunged deep into his heart, drawing blood.

Cecilia Nathan used to adore him. She had always looked at him with loving eyes and spoken to him in the gentlest of tones. She had never, ever looked at him as if he were her enemy.

A wave of despair and pain washed over him. Damian Hawthorne forced a grim smile and tilted her chin up. "Cecilia, don’t look at me like that."

Only then did Damian Hawthorne realize he couldn’t stand the way Cecilia Nathan was looking at him.

She had looked at him with worship and adoration before, but this look—one of pure hatred—was the one thing he couldn’t accept.

"You still love him? Don’t you?"

Damian Hawthorne’s voice was hoarse, and the rims of his eyes began to turn red.

His hand gripping Cecilia’s began to tremble slightly.

’He didn’t know what was wrong with him.’

’He had never planned on marrying Cecilia Nathan, nor could he ever marry her.’

’Cecilia Nathan had pursued him for so long; logically, he should have grown tired of her ages ago.’

’If she had fallen for someone else in the past, he would have approved wholeheartedly—he might have even celebrated with a drink.’

But now that he was faced with the reality that Cecilia might love someone else, Damian Hawthorne felt like he was going to lose his mind.

’He was truly going insane!’

"Cecilia, I’ll give you one chance." Damian Hawthorne’s voice held a faint tremor as his tone softened subconsciously. "Tell me, you and that Hugo... when did it start, and when did it end?"

’He refused to believe that Cecilia Nathan was still in love with that man.’

’If Cecilia still loved that Hugo, then what did that make him?’

’Just a diversion on her romantic journey?’