Substitute Bride: Utterly Pampered by Her Billionaire Husband-Chapter 846: Never Learned to Love, Loves Better Than Anyone
Zane Crawford glanced at Seraphina Shea’s disappearing figure and withdrew his gaze indifferently.
At this point, Wade Wyatt stepped forward, "Master, it seems Miss Shea is quite fond of you. Behind her stands the formidable power of the entire Shea family, a power that even Titus Ashworth greatly fears..."
Wade didn’t continue but instead carefully observed Zane Crawford’s expression.
Unfortunately, Zane didn’t reveal anything nor did he say a word. He merely said blandly, "I’m going to the research lab. No need to follow."
"Yes." Wade watched Zane leave. He knew his master was engaged in some kind of blood research because the blood report of Harrison Ashworth’s Pristine Blood had been sent over several days ago. However, what this research specifically entailed, Wade didn’t know, as even Zane hadn’t allowed him to be involved.
Wade frowned. He always felt that his master was engaging in something rather dangerous.
...
Research Lab.
Zane Crawford wore a clean and immaculate white lab coat. His long fingers held a test tube filled with a red liquid that looked quite enchanting.
A laptop was open, and Zane was engaged in a medical conference video call. On the other end was a foreign man of mixed descent, a world-renowned blood professor.
The professor looked at the red test tube in Zane’s hand and spoke in English, "Prof. Crawford, we have decomposed the special blood within Harrison Ashworth and extracted the most important element. That element is now in the test tube you are holding."
Zane’s cold black eyes fell on the professor’s face, "I have also decomposed my own blood. Harrison Ashworth and I are blood brothers. Through data comparison, if I inject this element into my body and it successfully fuses, I, too, can possess Pristine Blood."
The professor quickly shook his head, his expression serious. He warned, "Prof. Crawford, as a physician, I shouldn’t have to remind you how dangerous your idea is. Attempting to change your own blood genes is truly terrifying. The important element in Pristine Blood is congenital, and ordinary blood simply cannot handle it. Even though you and Harrison Ashworth are blood brothers, the success rate is only five percent. If the fusion fails, all of your blood vessels will burst, resulting in death. Prof. Crawford, I really don’t know what drives you to have such an idea. You must understand that you are... defying the laws of nature."
Defying the laws of nature?
Zane’s thin lips curved slightly. If it could protect her, what harm was there in defying the laws of nature?
From the moment Harrison Ashworth’s blood report arrived, he had already begun defying the laws of nature.
"I understand. Precisely because I am a physician, I have confidence. I don’t want to die yet because there are many things I haven’t completed. So I will inject in two phases."
"Prof. Crawford..." the professor on the other side was still advising him sincerely, "Prof. Crawford, take my advice. Those who defy the laws of nature will not meet a good end."
Zane reached out and directly cut off the video call.
Without the professor’s voice, the research lab seemed quiet. Zane sat on the sofa, his fair and slender fingers unbuttoning his shirt cuffs. Then he picked up the red test tube and slowly pushed half of the liquid into his bloodstream.
He sat on the sofa, and the surroundings were quiet, so quiet that he could hear the flow of his own blood vessels.
Soon, a sharp pain arose.
It was the Pristine Blood clashing with the blood in his body.
Zane’s handsome face turned pale instantly, cold sweat beaded densely on his forehead, and he suddenly fell from the sofa, rolling onto the handcrafted wool carpet.
The professor was right. Although he and Harrison Ashworth were blood brothers and met the basic conditions for blood fusion, the Pristine Blood was overwhelmingly fierce and difficult to control.
Zane’s cold black eyes were tinged with a crimson hue. He felt as if his blood vessels were about to burst, and he let out a cry of agony!
Zane had a long, long dream.
In the dream, he returned to his childhood. At that time, he was very young, just learning to walk. One day, he stumbled and fell.
His little hand scraped against the ground, and the skin on his palm was torn, causing pain.
At that moment, he heard the voice of his father, Jude Crawford. As a child, he idolized his father deeply. His father was tall and imposing, revered as a business magnate of his era, with an aura that was both awe-inspiring and intimidating.
He hurriedly got up from the ground and ran to the door. There, he saw his father stepping out of a luxury car on the lawn. His older brother was with him, and his father bent down, stretching out powerful arms to lift his brother into a loving embrace.
His father had never held him. As a young child, tears filled his eyes, and he secretly hid his injured hand behind his back, hiding himself behind the door.
From that moment, he learned to stay away.
Staying away meant no more hurt.
The scene shifted, and the noise returned, the sound of Aunt Iris and his father arguing fiercely, the complaints and schemes of his mother, Zelda Willow. As a small child, he accidentally ran into his father’s study and saw the painting his father kept in the drawer as a precious treasure.
He unrolled the painting; it was the first and only time he saw his birth mother, Isabelle Willow.
Such a beautiful person.
The young boy felt a stirring in his heart, as if something intangible was tugging at him. He wanted to look again, but just then, his father appeared and snatched the painting from his hands.
That day, his father was furious, harshly scolding him, forbidding him from stepping into the study again, and declaring that the person in the painting was off limits to him.
Just like that, all the warmth he yearned for withered before it could bloom.
Those feelings of love never belonged to him.
The scene shifted once more, returning to the streets of Aethelgard many years ago. That day, the sun was bright, the spring breeze gentle. He met Serena Sterling, the girl he loved most in his life.
They rescued someone together. Her soft, slender fingers intertwined with his, tightly locking them together.
In the underground base, he was poisoned by a toxic moth, and she risked herself to save him. Her warm voice echoed at his ears, "Zane, I’m here, I’ve always been here."
He opened his eyes, caught in her glistening, bright eyes. She was looking at him, smiling.
Out of love comes sorrow, out of love comes fear. Zane remembered a wandering monk who had once come to the Crawford estate to read the fortune of the second son.
The fortune said, "In life, those who are deeply attached will never understand love; the more one loves, how can they end happily?"
