Chapter 831 I’ll See You Off
Daphne's phone rang after a brief silence.
She quickly seized this rare opportunity and scurried off to the balcony to answer the call. "Hello?"
Her assistant informed, "Daph, we received an invitation to a private party next Saturday. Should I decline it like
before?"
Daphne cleared her throat. "H-Hold that off for now. Tell me about the agenda, please."
The assistant was a bit confused. "The agenda?"
"Yes." Daphne's face became serious, showing her dedication to work. "Things like the program flow and what time
the event starts. Please give me more details."
"Ah..."
The assistant read out the details according to the invitation they received.
While listening, Daphne nodded and made a few affirming remarks.
They then chatted about other work matters.
When she couldn't find anything else to say, she discreetly turned her head and noticed that Louis was no longer on
the couch. Seeing the closed bedroom door, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The assistant asked, "Daph, should I reply to them? Are you going to attend?"
Daphne snapped back to reality. "No need. Just decline it."
The assistant hesitated for a moment. "Alright."
After hanging up the phone, Daphne sat on the couch as her gaze fell on the books in front of her.
"The Spirit of Law," "Capital," "The Wealth of Nations," "Advanced Calculus"...
It was no wonder Louis said he didn't want to read books. Daphne was already dizzy just from reading the titles
alone.
Louis had already taken the cold medicine beside Daphne.
Daphne then leaned back. When she found a comfortable position, she took out her phone and idly scrolled through
it.
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The drawn-out and dense sound of rain outside continued to wash against the windows.
It was hypnotizing.
After a while, Daphne started to doze off.
She fought against her drowsiness and set an alarm for 30 minutes later, intending to take a short nap.
Just as she had fallen asleep for a few minutes, Louis came out of the bedroom and stood still for two seconds
before going back to the room to get a thin blanket. He then walked over and covered her with it.
With one leg bent, Louis squatted in front of her, silently watching her.
Time passed by, and the whole room was quiet except for the sound of breathing and the muffled rain.
Half an hour later, her phone vibrated softly.
Daphne turned off the alarm and opened her eyes as she started to get up. However, she saw Louis sitting on the
carpet under the couch, holding the book titled "Capital."
She rubbed her eyes. "When did you come out? Aren't you asleep?"
Louis closed the book and looked at her. "I can't sleep."
Daphne promptly sat up and reached out to check if his fever had subsided. It seemed even worse.
"This won't do. I'll take you to the hospital before it gets worse," Daphne urged, pulling back the blanket.
Louis grabbed her wrist. "I'll be fine after taking a few more pills."
"But you—"
"Stay here with me if you're worried."
Daphne hesitated for a bit.
So he was waiting for me here.
Louis let go of her and continued reading. "The rain won't stop for a while. If you want to leave, I'll see you off."
Daphne responded with an "Oh." Was this brat trying to threaten her?
If he went out again in the rain and caught a cold, it would only get worse.
But just staying here...
Something felt strange.
Perhaps sensing her discomfort, Louis flipped through the book and calmly uttered, "I won't do anything to you. I
don't want to infect you with my cold."
Daphne's mind must still be fuzzy right after she woke up as she blurted out, "Right. You would have stuck out your
tongue earlier otherwise."
When Louis looked over without a word, Daphne immediately grabbed a book and held it in front of her face.
Have I gone crazy? What the hell am I saying?!
After the sound of flipping pages came from beside her, Daphne finally breathed a sigh of relief and focused her
gaze on the book in front of her.
What were these numbers?
She quietly moved the book away from her face.
"Advanced Calculus."
She kept staring at the book.
Forget it.
She then grabbed a pillow and sat there, occasionally glancing at Louis. However, she hesitated each time she
wanted to speak.
The truth was, she had no experience in dealing with this kind of situation. Plus, seeing Louis' state today, she knew
without a doubt that this matter was of great importance to him.
She might cross his bottom line if she said the wrong thing.
So she was still pondering.
How could she broach the topic as gently, casually, and naturally as possible?
But she couldn't think of anything.
Just as Daphne was about to give up and let her mind go blank, Louis' voice rang out. "You've looked at me 25 times
already. If it's not because you want to kiss me, I'm sure you have something you want to say to me."
Daphne slowly met his dark and calm eyes.
Pursing her lips, she began to speak seriously. "I went to the studio and saw your sister yesterday."
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Louis nodded, indicating for her to continue.
"I talked to her, and she...told me some things."
Louis' expression didn't change as he continued to stare at her.
Although he didn't say anything, Daphne felt her heart race faster as she looked into his calm and unruffled eyes.
She grew nervous, and her hand resting on the cushion involuntarily clenched into a fist. She didn't know what to
say anymore.
After a while, Louis finally mentioned, "I remember you told me that no matter what Jethro did, it had nothing to do
with me. He is him, and I am me."
Surprised, Daphne nodded. "Uh-huh..."
Louis continued, "For me, that sentence is enough."
After speaking, he looked away and continued reading.
Daphne was stunned. She understood what he meant.
But...
Daphne stared at his profile and spoke softly, "If that's the case, why have you locked yourself up at home for the
past few days and starved yourself? Why didn't you take care of yourself even when you're sick?"
Louis' hand paused in the middle of flipping through the pages, and he kept his head down without saying a word.
Daphne continued, "I actually understand what you are thinking. To you, that person is like a stranger, and for the
past ten or twenty years, your hatred towards him has been weighing on your heart, tormenting you.
"You also carried the guilt and pain from the things he did to your sister. Even though he's dead, that feeling you
have hasn't gone away at all. So when you found out the truth, you couldn't accept how different the truth was
from what you thought."
Louis' lips tightened, and his gaze became gloomy.
As Daphne sat next to him, her voice sounded even softer. "You don't need to hate anyone, and you don't need to
torment yourself anymore. It doesn't matter if your father is Jethro or that person who is a complete stranger to
you. You are just yourself, not anyone's appendage."