Chapter 822:
“Funny.”
Her sincerity was met with a cutting sneer. Brad’s eyes held not a trace of warmth as he said, “What made you think that without Rylie, I would ever fall in love with you?”
Candice’s pupils constricted, her breath catching as the words struck her like a blade.
Brad withdrew his hand from the window frame, letting it fall loosely at his side. “How long have we known each other?”
Candice said nothing. She had served as a military doctor aboard his ship for five years, ever since she joined the navy.
Brad’s voice stayed calm, unyielding. “If I were ever going to love you, it would have happened before Rylie appeared. Do you understand?”
“Five years… five whole years.” Her face turned pale, her voice trembling with disbelief and anguish. “I’ve stayed by your side for five years, and it still means less than the single year she’s been here? Brad, are you bewitched by her or something? What makes her so different?”
Her final words erupted in a near scream, carrying the raw edge of helplessness and a desperate need to understand.
Brad watched her unravel without the slightest flicker of emotion. His patience for this entanglement had long run dry.
“Whatever makes her different has nothing to do with you,” he said, his voice colder than before. “Let go of those misplaced emotions and pointless devotion. You and I were once commander and subordinate, but now, we are nothing but strangers. Leave yourself some dignity and stop acting like a lunatic.”
He stepped forward, the sea breeze lifting the hair across his forehead, yet it could not lessen the commanding aura that clung to him.
“In honor of the five years we’ve worked together, take this as the last time.” His gaze dropped to her pale face, carrying a warning that cut deeper than words. “Do not insult her again, and stay out of what concerns us. Otherwise…”
Your imagination begins with gαℓησν𝒆𝓁s﹒ç𝗈𝗺
He paused, his tone so cold that it sent a tremor through her.
“You won’t want to find out the consequences.”
With that, he turned away, leaving her behind without another glance.
The white curtain billowed violently in the wind, then settled slowly, like a silent line drawn between two separate worlds.
Candice stood frozen, trembling from head to toe. Her knees nearly gave out, and she gripped the edge of the window frame for support, unaware of the sting as her nails bent and split.
A hand extended a tissue toward her. She lifted her gaze to see Kristen’s face, soft with sympathy, and with a burst of fury, slapped the tissue away.
“I don’t need your pity! Leave me alone!”
Kristen remained beside her, lowering herself to gently wipe away Candice’s tears.
“You’re beautiful, Candice. Any man would be lucky to have you. The reason Brad can’t see it is that Rylie has bewitched him. Since her return, she’s managed to charm the Owen brothers and even pushed Paola aside to claim the title of the Owen family’s daughter. She’s clever enough to make any man lose his judgment.”
“Don’t hold Brad’s words against him,” Kristen continued softly after a brief pause. “He’s spent too many years at sea, cut off from emotion. He just needs someone to guide him back.”
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