Bound by Fate

Chapter 6: Heartache

Lily Thompson couldn’t listen anymore. She stormed out, her footsteps heavy, as if she had a grudge against the floor. Her eyes blazed with anger as she glared at the group of women in front of her, shouting, “The master is a good person! You’re the ones who are bad!”

The women were momentarily stunned before they began to laugh mockingly. “Oh, our little rabbit is angry! Defending the master so fiercely, does that mean you’ve fallen for him too? But the master doesn’t like you. You’d better pack your things and get out!”

“Why should I pack my things?” Lily asked, her face full of confusion. She was angry, but she still needed to understand what was going on.

“Ha... You don’t know yet? The master is firing all the maids.”

Firing all the maids? Lily’s eyes filled with tears. Did that mean she wouldn’t see the master anymore, or David and Big White either?

“Your master is getting rid of you. Is he still a good person?”

The women snickered as they left to pack their belongings. They didn’t want to be thrown out without their things.

When David West returned, he found Lily standing in the hall, looking pitiful as if she was trying hard not to cry. His heart sank—had those women bullied her again?

“Lily…”

“Wah... David... The master is a good person!”

“Alright, alright! The master is a good person! Don’t cry,” David said helplessly as he wiped her tears. Although he said it, even he didn’t believe it. He couldn’t understand how this girl could be so convinced that the master was a good person.

“Sniff, sniff…” Lily’s nose was red, and tears still clung to her eyelashes. She asked, sniffling, “David, will you come see me?”

“Huh?” David was confused by her question. What did she mean by that?

She continued to ask, “Will you miss me if I leave?”

“Leave? Where do you want to go?”

She sniffled again, looking forlorn. “I don’t know. David, can you take me in?”

David frowned, looking at her pitiful expression. “Do you want to leave here?”

Lily shook her head, tears welling up in her eyes. “No, but the master is going to kick me out, isn’t he?”

“Kicking you out?” Finally understanding, David chuckled and pinched her red nose. “Don’t worry. The master isn’t kicking you out!”

“Huh?” Lily stared at him, her tears halting. “Really?”

“Really!”

“Hehe...” Her eyelashes were still wet with tears, but her smile was radiant. David shook his head in amusement. “Go wash your face. You look like a little panda!”

“Oh, okay!”

Looking at her tear-streaked reflection in the mirror, Lily muttered sympathetically, “The master is so pitiful. All those bad women bully him!”

Since the master was so pitiful, she decided she had to be nicer to him. She couldn’t let him do something rash. She had just watched someone on TV jump off a building because they were upset. Forgetting to wash her face, she hurried upstairs. She had to keep an eye on the master and make sure he didn’t do anything foolish!

“Bang!” The door slammed against the wall with a loud crash. Ethan Blackwood looked up from his laptop screen and saw Lily standing in the doorway with her tear-streaked face, his eyes filled with displeasure.

“Uh…” Lily nervously tugged at her hair before walking over to the sofa and sitting down. “Master, you keep working. I’ll just sit here.”

Ethan squinted at her. Just sit there? Wasn’t she the one who always ran away from him like a frightened mouse? Why was she here now?

He frowned but didn’t tell her to leave. Instead, he simply resumed his work, ignoring her.

Lily sat quietly on the sofa, not disturbing him. She just stared at him with her big, watery eyes, afraid that if she looked away, Ethan might go and jump off a building.

That kind of gaze was hard to ignore. Ethan looked up, irritated, intending to tell her to leave, but when he saw the look of sympathy and concern on her face, he paused.

Ethan felt a strange sensation in his chest—sympathy? No one had ever looked at him like that before. Frowning, he wondered what was going on with this little rabbit. Did he look pitiful? He pressed his lips together in irritation, swallowing the words he had been about to say, and went back to his work.

Lily remained steadfast, staring at him all day. Ethan raised an eyebrow, growing curious about what this little rabbit was trying to do. But he had more important matters to attend to, so he ignored her.

After finishing his work and making a few phone calls, Ethan finally closed his laptop and headed for the bathroom to take a shower. But…

He suddenly turned back to look at the little rabbit and asked coldly, “What are you trying to do?”

Lily jumped, taking two steps back, tugging at her hair as if unsure whether she should speak.

“Go on!” he said, sitting back on the bed and picking up the coffee cup from the bedside table. He frowned—it had gone cold. But he took a sip anyway.

Lily looked at him seriously and said, “Master, I know you’re a good person.”

“Pfft…” Ethan spat out the coffee—something he had never done before.

“Master, are you okay?” Lily quickly grabbed some tissues to wipe his face and patted his back.

“What did you say?”

“Huh? What?”

Seeing her confused expression, Ethan asked again, “What did you just say?”

“You’re a good person!”

Ethan narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing her. Her face was serious, her big eyes clear and sincere. She wasn’t lying—she truly believed he was a good person!

Ethan almost wanted to laugh. Someone actually called him a good person? “Do you know what a good person is?” He was starting to doubt this little rabbit’s judgment.

Lily replied matter-of-factly, “Someone who’s good to me!”

“And a bad person?”

Lily gave him a sidelong glance. “You’re so dumb! A bad person is someone who isn’t good to me, obviously!”

Dumb? Ethan’s eyes narrowed dangerously. This little rabbit dared to call him dumb? When did she get so bold? But he learned one thing—this little rabbit’s way of thinking was a bit... unusual.

As Ethan stood up, Lily nervously followed him. He turned and grabbed her chin, his lips curling into a wicked smile. “Little rabbit, I’m going to take a shower. Care to join me?”

Lily was stunned for a moment, then nodded vigorously. Ethan was taken aback, withdrawing his hand in disgust. Was she just like the other women? The thought annoyed him, and he coldly ordered, “Get out!”

In the past, Lily would have obediently run away as far as possible upon hearing those words. But now, she just stood there, refusing to leave. Seeing his growing anger, she nervously tugged at her hair and said, “I know you don’t like me.”

Ethan’s cold gaze remained fixed on her—at least she was aware of that.

“But... but I have to stay with you!”