The Enticing CEO’s Chosen Bride

Chapter 2100

Seth was rushed into the ER, where the battle for his life began behind closed doors.

Cicely stood outside, her gaze fixed on the sterile door, motionless as if frozen in time. When Damon arrived, she was still in the same stance, her face ashen, lips pale, and her eyes glazed over with shock.

She seemed outwardly calm, but a closer look would reveal that her hair, her eyelashes, even the fabric of her clothes were trembling almost imperceptibly.

Damon spoke up, his voice casual yet carrying a weight of concern, "What did he say to you, Cicely?"

Her eyelashes fluttered as she slowly turned to look at him, "He said that he wanted to give his life back to me. Damon, do you think he'll make it?"

"I don't know." Damon didn't offer false comfort, "But you've got to admit, it's kind of impressive how you got him to choose this way out."d2

Cicely watched him quietly, her hands clenched into fists, "You knew all along?"

"Mad at me? I gave him three years of borrowed time. Without me, he would've paid his dues to them three years earlier."

Cicely's breath hitched, and after a few silent seconds, she spoke softly, "He wouldn't have done that, not even for my grandfather."

"So you knew he stayed for your grandfather too? Your granddad fell ill two months after you were locked up. Beyond what Charlie said, a lot can happen in two months, and a lot more decisions can be made. Nobody's got it easy. Living for the dead is the height of folly."

Cicely closed her eyes briefly, "Easy for you to say, spouting lofty principles. Who doesn't want to live free and easy?"

Damon looked at her with a distant gaze, his tone detached. "Yeah, if he dies, he'll be free, alright."

Cicely staggered slightly, "He won't. Damon, don't scare me. You got there with the ambulance ahead of time. You knew what was going to happen, and you wouldn't let anything happen to him."

"I'm not all-powerful. Not all his requests are within my reach. It's like bargaining with the Grim Reaper. Getting one favor is already a stretch, and expecting two is just being greedy." After a pause, Damon added, "Funny thing is, up until now, he's only ever asked me for two things. Wanna know?"

Cicely looked at him steadily, her fists trembling slightly with anticipation. Given Damon's question, she knew it had to be about her.

"The last thing he asked was for me to save him. Not because he's afraid of dying, but because, he said that you loved your father, and you also loved him. You had already lost the father you cherished most; He can't let you lose him."

"Though he claims not to fear death, he sure clings to life." Damon's voice was heavy, and he felt an unexpected twinge of discomfort as he spoke. He and Chloe had never exchanged such intense declarations of love.

Suddenly, Cicely felt as though it was her own heart that Seth's knife had pierced.

"And the other thing..." Before he could finish, the ER doors burst open, and a doctor rushed out, urgency etched on his face.

Cicely's eyes flickered, but she lost sight of the person as the doctor carried a stack of blood bags back into the room. Her face turned deathly pale.

All those bags of blood...

She had indeed seen him bleed so much.

The surgery had been going on for over six hours with no end in sight. Hugo had been holding up strong, but eventually succumbed to sleep.

The wait was too long, and Chloe showed up as well. Nathan, Kane, and others arrived in rapid succession. Soon, the entire hallway was crowded with people.

Kane and Nathan discussed the likelihood of a stab to the heart being fatal. They managed to grab a doctor for an explanation.

"If the blade strikes the heart and causes it to rupture, the person can die instantly. If it misses the heart and major vessels, such a patient might survive a while longer, but without immediate medical attention within ten to twenty minutes, they could still die from significant blood loss.

"The thing with a cardiac stab wound, even if you pull out the knife, the heart's muscle is so strong it tends to seal the wound and there won't be a spray of blood. However, a small amount of blood can leak into the pericardium, preventing the heart from expanding, leading to cardiac arrest due to tamponade. The key is to keep blood out of the pericardium, as just a few milliliters are enough to be lethal. Of course, the heart's pericardium is its outermost protective layer, and the reaction differs depending on where the stab wound is, but once it occurs, it's generally a death sentence."

Cicely's last shred of hope eroded with the doctor's overly technical explanation.

"Damn, were you quacks in your past life, roaming the lands peddling fake potions? After hearing this, what's the point of saving him? Should've just dug a hole and buried him on the spot." Kane couldn't help but blurt out. They had hoped to get some reassuring information from the doctor, but the effect was the complete opposite.

"Should I go ahead and buy the burial plot?" Nathan sighed with a look of regret.

"I'll find someone to engrave the headstone," Kane breathed deeply.

"I'll arrange the funeral," Nathan added.

"I'll cover the cremation costs," Kane said, wiping the corner of his eye.

...

Cicely just sat there, her body ice-cold, her hands clasped on her lap, fingers white, her knuckles stark against her skin.

Unaffected by Nathan and Kane's heartless banter, Damon remained indifferent. Chloe, however, glanced over with a frosty look. Nathan and Kane, sensitive to such chilling stares, somehow met Chloe's eyes and promptly sealed their lips, falling silent.

Lana held Hugo, feeling a slight relief in her heart. She had half a mind to sew those two's mouths shut herself.

When she turned to look at Cicely's forlorn figure, her heart ached. Before this, Lana had harbored some resentment, but after this commotion, she felt a sudden clarity. From NôvelDrama.Org.

Looking at the child in her arms, Lana shook her head. They say a woman shouldn't make choices just for her child. But how many mothers in this world can truly do that?

"Cicely, he's doing all this to be with you and Hugo. He won't let himself be harmed. You have to believe in him."

Cicely stared blankly at the ER door, her voice rough from not speaking for so long.

"Aunt," she said, her voice quivering as if the chill of her words could freeze the very air around her, "I saw it with my own eyes, Seth plunged the knife right into his chest. He said he was paying back a life debt with his own life. He kept saying he'd be fine, but that's not something I can just take on faith. He really did it. He drove the knife into his heart, for real."

Her face was void of expression, drained of all color, tears cascading unconsciously from her eyes.

As she spoke, she seemed to be thinking of Seth sticking a knife into his own chest right in front of her. The tremble in her voice resonated with everyone around, sending shivers straight to the heart.

If he truly intended to repay those lives, how could he just perform such a dreadful act solely for her to witness?

Lana was momentarily at a loss for words. If he were really okay, this crowd wouldn't be lingering here in anticipation.

If a life could be trusted so easily, then there wouldn't be such a thing as life or death in this world.

But if Seth was truly in danger... A knot tightened in Lana's stomach. She glanced again at the peacefully sleeping Hugo and whispered, "Cicely, you haven't held Hugo today. You still have Hugo. Hold him."

Cicely turned to look at the sleeping child and bit her lip, shaking her head. "No."

Lana was taken aback.

"Hugo will blame me. If something happens to Seth, Hugo will definitely think I drove his father to this."

Her emotions, held back by a thread, suddenly unraveled. "What do I do? He can't be in trouble. Hugo will hate me. Why did it all turn out this way..." She could never have foreseen the situation

spiraling into the nightmare it had become.

Nearly ten hours passed. Finally, the operating room doors swung open, and two nurses emerged, supporting a surgeon between them.

"The surgery was a success, but he's not out of the woods yet. We're moving him to the ICU."

The exhausted doctor spoke with barely any strength left, sweat dripping from his scrub cap, his clothes soaked as if he had been baptized in his own perspiration. Just a few steps out, and the doctor collapsed from sheer exhaustion. The surgery had drained all of his energy.

Cicely's heart constricted. Seth really had been on death's doorstep.

Once the doctor was confirmed to have collapsed from nothing more serious than fatigue and over- concentration, everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief.

Nathan quipped, "Well, that's a relief. Saved me a fortune on graveyard real estate."

Kane added with a smirk, "Fantastic! No need to debate whether to inscribe 'Beloved Friend' or 'Deceased Spouse' on a tombstone.”

Nathan continued, "Great, no need to fuss over funeral arrangements."

Kane concluded, "Brilliant, the cost of cremation stays in my pocket."

...

Damon, standing tall with Chloe by his side, looked down at Cicely with an air of cold pride. "Looks like I've pulled off another success. As for what happens during his time in the ICU, and whether he wakes up or not, that's no longer my concern. But Cicely..."

Damon's pause silenced the entire hallway, all eyes turning to him. "If he wakes up, wouldn't it be unreasonable for you not to marry him?"

Everyone fell silent.

Damon’s serious demeanor had everyone expecting a bombshell of a statement. Classic Damon dramatics.

Hugo piped up, "Mommy, are you gonna be Daddy's bride? Can I give you guys the wedding rings?"

Everyone nodded emphatically, "Of course, that would be perfect."

Nathan raised his hand, "Then Anya should to be the flower girl."

Cicely, still in shock, managed, "Why are you the one bringing this up?"

Damon's tone turned frosty, "Because you two have seriously tarnished my good name, and you've disrupted the peaceful life I had with Chloe. You dragged me into your mess three years ago, and now you're doing it again. If today's events are partly my fault, then to clear my conscience and to ensure Seth stops pestering me for favors on your behalf, you must..."

Chloe interrupted, gently tugging at him, "Damon, let it go."

"I won't," Damon retorted, his voice carrying a hint of petulance. "They've made me out to be the villain for no reason. I've maintained a clean reputation until now, and they owe it to me to set things right."

Chloe was speechless. Was this even logical? Could it make sense?

Lana rubbed her temples, letting out a resigned sigh, "Have you all forgotten that he's still in the ICU and not out yet?"

What kind of brotherhood was this? They began by discussing burial plots, and now the one who seemed most sensible was essentially issuing a marriage ultimatum.

Everyone fell silent.