The Enticing CEO’s Chosen Bride

Chapter 2085

Seth's eyes twinkled with a hint of sardonic amusement, but hearing Damon's words, he couldn't help being a tad surprised. The always composed and suave CEO Damon, who was the very epitome of a gentleman, had his moments of wanting to curse someone out.

However, considering it was because of Chloe, it wasn't that surprising after all.

With a smirk tugging at his lips, Seth's gaze softened, concealing the emotions in his eyes. "I don't remember the last time I saw your lady flustered like that."

Damon didn't bite, instead, he changed the subject. "Is everything set for tomorrow's surgery?"

A crease formed between Seth's brows as he looked up at Damon. "What, you've been running a background check on me?"

"I haven't got that kind of hobby," Damon replied coolly, his gaze drifting towards the direction Chloe had left. "Grandma mentioned it earlier today."d2

Even though Seth wasn't sure how much they knew, he didn't plan on hiding anything from him.

"It's taken care of."

Damon's expression darkened slightly at Seth's confirmed suspicion. "So you're just going to keep things like this?"

Seth chuckled, shaking his head. "One last time."

Damon gave him a pointed look. "It better be. Handle your own messes without dragging others into them."

Seth's eyes flickered, holding Damon's gaze for a few silent seconds, but Damon said no more and walked past Seth, chasing after Chloe.

Seth stood motionless, lost in thought.

Charlie, who had been eavesdropping, was thoroughly confused. Although he knew that Mr. Diaz and Mr. Harper had a good relationship, they never meddled in each other's affairs. So the fact that Damon was clueless about Erik's surgery was to be expected.

Damon's sudden mention of the surgery, and his seemingly informed demeanor, had taken Charlie aback.

Their conversation had been terse and cryptic, but that last line about not always troubling others with personal issues was particularly puzzling.

"Mr. Diaz." Charlie hesitated, looking at Seth, who hadn't moved an inch.

Was it time to leave, or should they stay?

*

When Damon reached the emergency room, Chloe was pacing outside, her anxiety barely concealed. Seeing him, she glanced over his shoulder. "Did he leave?"

Damon wrapped his arm around her waist, guiding her to sit on a nearby bench.

"Seems like it."

Chloe's expression turned serious. "Lucky for us, Cicely's call didn't go through."

She had been so nervous bumping into Seth; she couldn't imagine how Cicely would have reacted. Moreover, if Cicely had shown up here, Hugo's secret would've been impossible to keep.

"Let nature take its course. She can't hide it from him forever."

Damon gently rubbed the spot on her arm where Hugo's shoe had hit, his tone flat.

Chloe had no counterargument, only taking a deep breath as she leaned into Damon's embrace. "Seth seems smart enough, so why does he act just as foolhardy as Nathan in situations like this?"

Damon had no immediate answer, only managing to offer, "Different circumstances."

Chloe looked up at him. "Also, you have too many bastards running around."

Damon: "I tend to agree."

A quiet laugh escaped Chloe, and Damon felt her relax against him, a smile playing on his lips.

*

Outside the hospital, a taxi came to a slow stop.

Cicely paid the fare and stepped out, looking up at the imposing hospital entrance. Her feet seemed rooted to the spot, and she didn't move for the longest time.

Charlie, driving by, spotted her from a distance. Cicely was standing there, staring at the hospital, lost in thought.

"Mr. Diaz, it's Ms. Cicely."

Hearing this, Seth, who had been reflecting quietly, slowly lifted his gaze towards Cicely. She was still there, her tall, slender figure like a statue. If not for her right hand, which was tightly clutching her purse strap, relaxing and then suddenly tightening again, she might have been mistaken for one.

Charlie lowered the window a few inches, ready to greet her, but Seth's stern voice stopped him. "Don't."

Charlie was taken aback, quickly rolling the window back up. "Drive."

Seth commanded once more, and although confused, Charlie obeyed.

Cicely stood there for another two minutes before she seemed to muster the courage to walk towards the hospital.

Meanwhile, Seth's car was parked not too far away. Through the window, his dark eyes watched Cicely's retreating figure enter the hospital with a heavy gaze.

*

Ever since she was released, Cicely had known which hospital and which room her grandfather was in. The hospital had reported that his condition was stable, which was why she had allowed herself such undutiful procrastination, debating whether to visit him.

Erik was staying in a high-end sterile room, with top-notch nursing care.

Standing outside his room, Cicely peered through the observation window and saw her grandfather, an old man with gray hair, lying quietly in the center of the large sterile room, surrounded by medical equipment.

She couldn't see his face clearly from that distance, but the frail silhouette made her eyes well up with tears. Her hand on the doorknob turned white with tension as guilt and remorse enveloped her. She struggled to breathe under the weight of her self-reproach.

Seeing that face would remind her just how much they had loved her. But back then, overwhelmed by the loss of her father and Issac, the desire to hurt Seth, and her own turmoil, she had chosen to

abandon her grandfather.

Three years… Did he feel disappointed in her, angry, or even hopeless?

Grandpa lost his own son, the assistant he had nurtured and trusted as a family for years, and finally had to be heartlessly abandoned by his own granddaughter, whom he had spoiled for so many years.

Cicely's heart felt as if it was being squeezed by an iron claw, gnawed on by countless worms of discomfort and self-hatred.

Cicely thought to herself. “Compared to your grandfather's suffering, what was your self-righteous pain worth? What were you thinking, losing the people you loved most and hurting another just as dearly? Cicely, the person you should really hate is yourself.”

Tears streamed through her fingers as she covered her eyes.

She had been wrong, so very wrong. All her choices had been mistakes.

"Excuse me, may I ask who you are?"

A puzzled voice came from beside her. Cicely paused, wiping away her tears, and turned around.

It was a young nurse. The nurse paused when she saw the redness in her eyes and the tear stains on her lashes. "You're here to see Mr. Erik, aren't you?"

Cicely nodded, sensing that the nurse in front of her knew her grandfather, so she asked. "How is he doing?"

The nurse gave a reassuring nod, her young face showing a touch of inexperience. "He's stable for now, and if all goes well, tomorrow's surgery should go smoothly. After all, it's been three years, and

the doctors are quite seasoned by now."

Cicely froze. "Tomorrow's surgery?"

"Yes, every Thanksgiving, Mr. Erik has his operation."

"What kind of surgery?" Cicely asked, confused.

"In layman's terms, it's a blood transfusion. With his age, his organs are failing. Mr. Erik has a severe case of hematopoietic dysfunction. The annual Thanksgiving surgery involves removing the 'bad' blood and infusing new, fresh blood. It's a high-risk procedure."

High risk?

Cicely's gaze faltered, her face paling as if drained of blood. She leaned weakly against the hospital room door, staring blankly. Her mind was a tangled mess, unable to sort through the swirl of thoughts.

After a long moment, she managed to ask, "And where does the blood for the surgery come from?"

"Well, a direct bloodline donor. Another person whose bone marrow and blood type match will undergo the procedure simultaneously, transferring their blood directly to the patient."

Cicely's grip on the doorknob tightened almost to the point of distortion. "And who's the donor?"

"Mr. Erik's granddaughter."

His granddaughter...

If it wasn't her, it must be Danielle.

*

Outside Danielle's hospital room, Cicely was stopped by four bodyguards. "No visitors allowed here."

Cicely frowned. "Isn't that Danielle inside?"

The bodyguards remained stoic. "Visitation is denied."

Hearing Cicely's voice from outside, Danielle hesitated for a moment. After a brief silence, Danielle suddenly stood up and walked toward the door.

"Ms. Danielle!" The assistant and two nurses hurried to stop her. "You can't go out."

Danielle stood at the door, her gaze icy. "Do you really think I could get out?"

As they hesitated, Danielle spoke again, "Someone's here to see me. All I have to do is open this door. Do you think those four bodyguards outside can’t stop me?"

The nurses and assistant knew little about her circumstances, but after her recent conversation with Mr. Diaz, as women, they felt some sympathy for Danielle.

They pondered Danielle's words for a moment, then looked at each other. In the midst of their hesitation, Danielle had stepped forward and pulled the door to the room open.

Cicely was confronting the bodyguards when the door unexpectedly swung open. She turned and found herself face to face with Danielle, whom she hadn't seen in ages.

The bodyguards instantly turned, sealing the doorway.

Danielle let out a cold laugh, her eyes mockingly fixed on Cicely outside, who was visibly perplexed. "Isn't it ironic?"

Before Cicely could respond, Danielle spoke up. Cicely glanced at the three people behind Danielle, puzzled by the scene before her. But she sensed Danielle would have answers.

As her gaze returned to Danielle's wrist, wrapped in a bandage, her brows furrowed, and a flash of coldness crossed Cicely’s eyes. "I came to ask about grandfather's condition and to thank you for whatever you've done. About our past issues."

Danielle laughed bitterly. "Shouldn't Seth be the one who knows best? You're here to see my humiliation, aren't you?"

Cicely's lips pressed together, her gaze cold. Cicely remained silent, waiting for the visibly upset woman before her to speak.

"For three years, Seth had me fooled." Mentioning Seth brought a wave of sorrow to Danielle's voice. She clenched her fists, her perfectly manicured nails digging into her palms, painless against the torment in her heart. "Do you feel victorious? You hurt him so ruthlessly, yet he never gave up on you. For three years!"

Danielle's voice rose sharply. "To make you hate him less, he turned himself into a despicable liar."

Cicely's grip on her purse tightened at the sight of Danielle's injured wrist. "So you're not a willing savior for grandfather."

With grandfather's surgery on the morrow, the importance of Danielle's blood was clear. If Danielle truly wanted to save him, how could she afford to waste even a drop?

Danielle's mocking laughter filled the room as her eyes swept over the nurses, the assistant, and the bodyguards. "What do you think?"

Cicely had a hunch. "Danielle, he's your grandfather too."

Danielle, exhausted, touched her forehead. "Enough, I've had enough. It's all so infuriating."

Cicely's expression turned icy. Any gratitude she felt for Danielle and any thought of settling old scores vanished.

"Is this some kind of game to you? He tells me one thing, and you repeat it. I'm selfish. If you were me, you'd willingly donate blood to save our grandfather. But because it's me, he has to deceive me into agreeing to save him."

"Your love is so grand, and full of story, isn't it? He should have died long ago. Just to spare you pain, Seth made me his blood bank for three years. Everyone thought he was my love, but no one knew that I was merely a sacrifice for your romance. My existence was to make your love possible. How ridiculous, too ridiculous..."

Tears fell again from Danielle's eyes. She thought she could finally shake off the humiliation Cicely had put her through three years ago. Danielle thought that she had won back the man she once loved and was ready to triumph over Cicely. Yet, the joke was on her, even more laughable than before.

Her resentment surged as she looked at Cicely's still beautiful and radiant face, feeling even more aggrieved. She had tried to emulate Cicely in every way, from her clothes to her mannerisms. Seth loved Cicely, so Danielle tried to become the image of his affection. Still, it wasn't enough.

Danielle had changed herself completely and still wasn't the object of his love. Seth only loved Cicely. Only this woman standing before her, and the one that fueled her envy through and through.

Even though right now, Danielle seemed utterly ridiculous, but the last thing Danielle wanted was to let Cicely have the satisfaction.

Danielle racked her brain for a way to wound Cicely, because only when Cicely hurt did she feel some semblance of equilibrium. "Don't get too cocky, Cicely. Times have changed since three years ago. So what if you're proud? You've lost everything, everything you were meant to and weren't meant to lose."

Cicely's face drained of color, as a pain so deep-seated it felt like it was in her bones uncontrollably spread across her face. Her expression barely changed, but Danielle caught the flinch. And it pleased Danielle.

"Do you know why Ray decided to steal the software from Diaz International?"

Cicely's demeanor froze, and she abruptly looked up. "What are you implying?"

Seth and Charlie, who had followed Cicely to the hospital but ended up here after not finding her in Erik's room, had just stepped out of the elevator when they were greeted by Danielle's near- hysterical voice, causing them to halt in their tracks.

"I was at the business registration office starting up my own studio when I heard about his plan to transfer Diaz International into your name."

Cicely stiffened.

"And at that time, Seth was taking out loans left and right, betting it all on one software project. What was he waiting for? Someone as arrogant as him, how could he accept failure? It's easy to understand. He wanted to hand over Diaz International to you, at its prime."

Cicely was stunned for a moment, then shook her head. It wasn't so much disbelief she felt as a refusal to accept this reality.

"Ray hated him. With Seth's high-profile rush, wasn't the vulnerability obvious? All I had to do was play the part, shed a few tears, and his plan for revenge against Seth moved right up the agenda."

Charlie, listening on the side, was aghast. So the accident from years ago was orchestrated by Ms. Danielle.

Charlie looked up at the man standing before him, back turned. Seth’s tall figure was as solid as an old pine, calm as a distant mountain, and unaffected by the terrible truth.

How could one remain unmoved by such a revelation? Yet, he really didn't see Seth make a single move.

Cicely was trembling all over. "You knew he was all in. You knew how proud he was, and you knew he couldn't accept failure, yet you did this anyway. Is this how much you loved him?"

"He did it all for you!"

Even the stoic bodyguards were chilled to the bone by the venom in Danielle's words. They knew what had happened to Diaz International three years ago, but they never imagined it was so connected to the woman before them.

"You got so worked up over this? There’s more..."

Watching Cicely struggle to contain her rage, Danielle laughed and cried at the same time. "Patty had a mental illness. I suspected it but wasn't sure, until the day at Diaz International when your dad had his heart attack, and her erratic behavior confirmed it. That day in my hospital room, if I hadn't mentioned your dad's failing health, Patty wouldn’t have reacted so extremely. I originally just wanted her to hurt you. But she turned the knife on herself instead. Do you know the look in Patty's eyes when she called out my name? She was begging me to sue you, and accuse you of being a murderer. The murderer of Seth's birth mother."

Danielle's gaze was fixed on Cicely as her pretty and bright face twisted into something grotesque. Danielle laughed loudly and spoke cruelly. "She said even in death, she'd make Seth hate you

forever. And then she really did die, taking your father with her. Heh. Although the outcome was a bit off, it's either he hates you, or you hate him. Tell me, how could you two ever come together after all this?"

Cicely had never imagined that one day she'd be driven to such a murderous rage by Danielle.

Danielle watched her, anger and pallor mixing on her face, laughing like a lunatic. "But he still wouldn't give up on you. Tell me, has he gone mad? He disobeyed his mother over and over again for you, and even when he heard you killed his mother with your own hands, he wouldn't give up on you. Is he twisted or what?"

At that moment, something snapped in Cicely's mind. She pushed past the shocked bodyguards and grabbed Danielle by her long hair, slamming her against the wall. "So from start to finish, it was all your doing? Without you, Diaz International wouldn't be gone, my father wouldn't be dead, Isaac wouldn't be dead, Patty wouldn't be dead, and grandfather wouldn't be in this state! All of this is because of you?!"

Danielle's head banged against the wall, dazing her for a moment. But seeing Cicely's twisted, pained, and crazed expression, Danielle smirked, "And don't forget your three years behind bars..."

"Slap!"

Cicely's palm struck Danielle's cheek hard, her hand gripping Danielle's hair as if she meant to tear Danielle's scalp off.

"You bastard. You're a monster, Danielle! The Ellis family doesn't owe you anything. And even if you think they do, think about your dead parents. With all these things you've done, how can you face them? Your dad was an Ellis, my dad was his brother, and your grandfather was his father. Where do you place your father? Where's your conscience? Your humanity?!"

Danielle's body tensed.

Cicely, eyes blazing, shook Danielle's head violently, smashing it against the wall behind them.

Danielle was left reeling from the impact, until suddenly, Seth's hand caught Cicely's wrist.

He turned his head, his expression serene as he moved her hand aside. "Let go."

"Enough."Seth said flatly, his grip on Cicely's wrist tightening slightly.

Cicely's eyes reddened as she looked up at him. "Enough?" Tears were threatening to fall.

Seth's lips were pressed into a thin line, a tightness in his jaw as he struggled with his emotions. He swallowed hard, but his resolve didn't waver as he gently, yet firmly, tried to push Cicely away.

Cicely, ever the stubborn one, refused to budge. Seth's eyes softened for a moment. "Charlie, take her away," he commanded with a quiet authority.