I Hated Him, Now I Cherish Him

Chapter 8

Delilah didn't even pause to clean up the shattered glass. She shot to her feet, ready to bolt after Gavin.

But the moment she stepped out of the café, the family butler came rushing toward her, gasping for breath, sweat plastering his forehead, his voice trembling with panic.

"Madam Delilah, there's trouble! Mr. Vance has been thrown into the holding room by the Chairman!"

"How could this happen?" Delilah's heart plummeted, a cold wave of dread washing over her.

The butler hastily explained, "The head of the border division was personally trained by Mr. Vance. Now that division has completely collapsed, and the Chairman is pinning all the blame on Mr. Vance."

Utter madness!

Delilah couldn't fathom her father sinking to such a level of foolishness.

Gritting her teeth, she ordered the butler, "Get the car. We're heading to headquarters!"

They arrived at the towering corporate building.

The Chairman must have anticipated her arrival, because he had the office door bolted shut, refusing to even see her face. Dark storm clouds churned overhead, heavy with the promise of a downpour.

Delilah stared at the locked door of the Chairman's office, then dropped straight down onto the icy marble floor, her knees hitting with a sharp thud.

"Dad! Please, let Gavin go!"

The heavens opened without warning, unleashing a torrent of rain. Freezing water lashed at her body, each drop stinging like an icy needle, making her shiver uncontrollably.

The storm raged on through the entire night.

And Delilah remained kneeling there, battling through each agonizing hour.

Her face turned ghostly pale, her limbs jelly-weak. She teetered on the edge of passing out, but a stubborn, desperate will kept her rooted to the spot.

It wasn't until the first light of dawn that the wind and rain finally relented.

Only then did the heavy doors of the Chairman's office creak slowly open.

The Chairman strode out, his face a mask of thunderous displeasure. He loomed over her, his voice heavy with disapproval.

"Delilah, when did you become so unreasonable and reckless?"

"Dad..." Delilah's heart swelled with a sorrow so deep it choked her. She knocked her forehead heavily against the floor. "Right now, our overseas partners are launching a massive assault. In this entire corporation, only Gavin can stabilize the border situation. Instead of punishing him now, why not let him lead a team to secure the division first? After the crisis is averted, you can still hold him accountable!"

The Chairman's expression flickered. After a moment's thought, he coldly flung his arm in a dismissive wave.

"Someone, relay the order! Gavin will lead a team to the border the day after tomorrow to handle the crisis. The blame for the branch's collapse, we'll settle that after the conflict is over!"

A lump swelled in Delilah's throat. She squeezed her eyes shut and bowed deeply once more. "Thank you, Father, for being reasonable..."

The words barely left her lips before darkness swallowed her vision, and she collapsed into unconsciousness.

When Delilah's eyes fluttered open again, she found herself in the master bedroom of her own villa.

The instant her lids lifted, she croaked out a frantic question to the maid at her bedside. "Where is Gavin?"

"Madame, please don't fret! Mr. Vance just got released from the holding cell. He's on his way back here right now," the maid hurriedly assured her.

Only then did the knot in Delilah's chest loosen a fraction.

Realizing Gavin would soon set off for the distant border, she pondered for a moment, then summoned the butler. "Go down to the basement storeroom. Liquidate all my dowry. Turn everything into cash, then get cashier's checks."

The butler's brow furrowed in confusion, but he nodded obediently. "Very well, miss."

Once the butler departed, Delilah couldn't bear to lie still. She forced down her medicinal tonic, threw a light trench coat over her shoulders, and shuffled to the living room, determined to greet Gavin the moment he walked through the door.

But her exhausted, fragile body barely held on as she waited... and waited... only to receive the maid's hesitant report.

"Madame, Mr. Vance... as soon as he left the holding cell, he drove straight to that private villa on the outskirts of town."

'So he was in such a desperate hurry to see Sierra?'

A jagged blade seemed to ram through her ribcage, her heart bleeding out in a slow, agonizing gush.

A violent coughing fit seized Delilah, racking her body without mercy.

"Miss!" The maid cried out, her heart aching at the sight of her mistress's suffering.

"I'm... fine," she rasped, forcing a wan, bitter smile, and remained seated, waiting.

And so she waited, from dusk until the pale light of dawn.

When Gavin finally stepped into the living room, his eyes landed on Delilah huddled on the sofa.

His brow furrowed on reflex. "Why are you up so early?"

The maid's eyes brimmed with tears. She blurted out, "Mr. Vance, Madame Delilah sat here all night waiting for you!"

"You may go now," Delilah cut in, her voice a hoarse whisper.

The living room had emptied, leaving just the two of them trapped in a suffocating, awkward silence.

It was Delilah who finally broke the silence. "Have you eaten breakfast? I'll have the kitchen fix you something."

"No need." Gavin's gaze landed on her pale, frail face, and a surge of inexplicable irritation churned in his chest.

The explanation on the tip of his tongue was swallowed back after a moment's hesitation.

His voice came out cool and clipped. "So, what was so urgent that you waited all night?"

The coldness in his tone made Delilah's nose sting with the threat of tears.

She blinked hard, forcing down the bitter ache in her throat, and held out a flat box of checks, the very ones she'd had the butler convert from her dowry the day before.

"Take this with you when you leave for the border. If something unexpected happens on the road, it'll keep you afloat."

"What's the meaning of this?" Gavin's brows knitted together, and he made no move to accept it.

Delilah coughed twice, then explained in a low murmur, "In case the supply lines at the border can't keep up, this money can at least cover a few days of emergency expenses—"

Before she could finish, a cold, dismissive laugh cut her off. "You're way too naive. The group's field teams have all their supplies and funds allocated directly by headquarters. Keep these checks for yourself. Go buy some jewelry or skincare."

Delilah knew perfectly well that her million-dollar dowry was a drop in the bucket compared to the entire border division's needs. But she only wanted to help, even if it was just a little.

"But—"

She opened her mouth to say more, but Gavin had already pushed the box of checks aside.

"If there's nothing else, I'm going upstairs to pack. You're not well, so don't bother coming to see me off tomorrow."

Delilah stared at his retreating as he turned without a second thought, a bitter smile twisting her lips.

The next day, the group's field team assembled, ready to head for the border.

Even though Gavin had told her not to come, Delilah dragged herself there anyway, burning up with a high fever, because in her past life, this parting had been the very last time she ever saw him.

Watching Gavin in his crisp, sharp work uniform, his presence radiated a sharp, intimidating authority, and she remembered that day the chairman had finalized their arranged marriage. The first time she'd laid eyes on him, he'd been just as blindingly brilliant as he was now.

Gavin was a rare business prodigy. Even the shackles of a marriage alliance forced upon him by her father couldn't dim his extraordinary talent and razor-sharp mind.

A storm of thoughts swirled in Delilah's mind. She broke into another fit of coughing, her frail body swaying precariously in the cold wind, as if she might collapse at any moment.

Gavin watched her frail, swaying form, and a knot of irritation tightened in his chest.

His face hardened. "I've already told you, you're burning with fever. There's no need to drag yourself here like this."

Bitterness flooded Delilah's heart. She clutched the canvas bag in her hands, so tightly her knuckles went white.

"I just... wanted to bring you protective gear."

Gavin paused, a flicker of surprise crossing his eyes.

After a brief silence, he murmured, "Thank you."

Then, without another word, he handed the bag straight to the assistant beside him, who stowed it unceremoniously into the supply crate.

Seeing the bag stowed in the crate, Delilah let out a tiny, shaky breath of relief.

But before she could even say goodbye, a soft, quavering voice rose from behind her.

"Gavin!" Sierra came huffing toward them, her round belly leading the way.

Tears glistened in her eyes as she held out a hand-embroidered handkerchief. "Gavin, I embroidered this safe-passage handkerchief for you with my own hands. I wish you every success, and... come back soon."

"You've gone through so much trouble," Gavin said, accepting the handkerchief.

Delilah had assumed he would treat it the same way he'd treated her protective gear, tossing it to the assistant without a second glance.

But in the very next heartbeat, she watched with crystal clarity as Gavin, with the utmost care, folded the handkerchief and tucked it into the inner pocket of his coat, right against his chest.