novelraw Chapter 498: His Finger is Enveloped
Chapter 498: His Finger is Enveloped
These days, Delphine often finds herself unintentionally reminiscing about past moments, mostly the trivial little things from when she first arrived in Southeast Asia.
Now that her body is becoming heavier, she grows lazier, confined to the house every day and stifled by the monotony. Most of her time is spent following Mrs. Li or Yunji as they tend to the flowers.
The old three-story villa is surrounded by lush greenery, with flowers blooming year-round. When Delphine noticed the roses blooming beautifully behind the house, she took a pair of pruning shears one afternoon and went to trim their branches.
Roses are thorny and hard to prune, but with ample time and patience now, she persevered.
After trimming a small patch of the flower field, she cut seven or eight roses that were in full bloom. Just as she was about to take them inside, she accidentally pricked herself on an overlooked thorn, and blood immediately welled up.
The sting was sharp, leaving her momentarily stunned. She dropped the shears to the ground, and then suddenly, she was pulled into a strong embrace. A man held her tightly, his voice urgent and angry: "What are you doing?"
Delphine was a little dazed, watching the man pick up the fallen shears and throw them far away. Ignatius Leclair, with a dark and stormy expression, grabbed her injured finger and gently lowered his lips to it.
His warm, soft lips enveloped her fingertip, sending an involuntary shiver down her spine. Soon, a subtle, tingling numbness spread through her.
Delphine withdrew her finger and said, "I was pruning the rose branches."
Ignatius said heavily, "From now on, you’re not allowed to handle sharp tools, not even pruning shears."
Though he realized he had misunderstood, the sight of her holding scissors had still spiked his heartbeat with fear. Ever since hypnosis had revealed the dependency and delicate, soft-hearted vulnerability she’d once shown in her youth—so unlike her current aloof, joyless, pale, and indifferent demeanor—Ignatius felt his heart slowly sinking into a fathomless abyss.
What kind of experiences could completely transform a person’s nature? And yet, he knew nothing about it.
"Did the baby kick today?" His brows were shadowed with complex emotions, his handsome face lowered as he hesitated to touch her belly, afraid of hurting her with his uninformed carelessness.
Delphine shook her head. The child had been very quiet, much like her first baby.
"Was the baby back then quiet too?" Ignatius hesitated to ask, his voice heavy with sorrow as he recalled the child they had lost.
Delphine said nothing. Even the quietest child had been lost.
Seeing her fall silent, Ignatius tightened his embrace, his breath hitching slightly as he leaned in and murmured, "If you’re feeling stifled, I’ll take you out for a walk this afternoon."
Delphine was surprised—lately, Ignatius had been determined to keep her confined to the house, not permitting her to go anywhere. But at the thought of being with him, her mood instantly soured.
"I’m going back inside." She squirmed slightly, rising to pick up the roses she had pruned from the ground.
"I’ll do it." The man was one step ahead, picking up the rose branches himself. His sharp, phoenix-like eyes were deep and focused as he slowly said, "Better than letting you get pricked by the thorns again."
Delphine followed him, noting how, whenever Ignatius made a mistake, he would try to act extremely gentle and apologetic. But that behavior never lasted more than a few days before reverting to his usual self.
Once inside, Delphine saw Maximilian waiting in the living room with a young man she found vaguely familiar. The man wore a pristine new suit and had naturally curly short hair. His gaze was somewhat evasive when he looked at her. Though it was their first formal meeting, Delphine immediately recognized genius yet reclusive neurosurgeon Ansel—known as the fourth member of the think tank. Years ago, he had bluntly stated that he didn’t like her.
Back then, he and Arthur White had been Ignatius Leclair’s right-hand men.