Chapter 314: Chapter 314: Caressing the Back of the Woman’s Hand

Evelyn Irving glanced at her son and simply said, "It’s just a title. Whether you can bring yourself to say it or not, she is your aunt."

Evelyn Irving knew from experience.

For so many years, Sean Harrison had been busy with work, and his company had only grown larger and larger.

With his status and position, he could have any woman he wanted.

But for the past few years, he had been completely devoted to his work, without even a single close female acquaintance by his side.

She had also heard a little about Rory Linden’s kidnapping.

Although the specific details were never revealed, she only knew that Sean Harrison had gone to the scene at the time.

Today was Charlotte Rhodes’s funeral.

Inside and out, besides the formally dressed bodyguards, there were also plainclothes officers.

For Rory Linden to have gotten in so smoothly, her relationship with Sean Harrison must be anything but ordinary.

By now, Rory Linden had already run into the cemetery.

A bodyguard was waiting there specifically to guide her.

This was one of the most luxurious cemeteries in Veridia. Unlike ordinary public graveyards, each plot in this cemetery was relatively private.

Shrubs, pines, cypresses, and other trees were planted along both sides of the path.

It seemed to have rained a little in the morning, making the whole area look somewhat disheveled. The clean white paving stones were covered in muddy footprints left by pedestrians.

Rory Linden walked faster and faster.

Until she reached a corner.

The man’s figure finally appeared before her eyes.

Everyone who had attended the funeral had already left. In this vast cemetery, he stood alone, dressed in a black suit.

Compared to the two massive, dark headstones in front of him, his figure seemed almost frail.

Rory Linden slowed her pace, walking forward step by step.

She only stopped when she was just over a meter away from him.

At that moment, Sean Harrison’s gaze was lowered, fixed on Charlotte Rhodes’s headstone in front of him. He only tilted his head slightly when he heard the sound.

When he first looked over, his brow furrowed unconsciously, and his dark eyes were as overcast as the sky.

Upon realizing it was Rory Linden, his brow finally relaxed.

"Sorry, my flight was delayed. I’m late."

Rory Linden took a step forward and apologized, standing at the man’s side.

"It’s fine. It must have been a long trip. Let’s go. You should go back and rest."

The man gently raised his hand and patted her lightly on the back, preparing to leave with her.

"Wait a moment."

Rory Linden walked around him, took a flower from a nearby bouquet, and placed it in front of Charlotte Rhodes’s headstone.

Then, she bowed deeply.

’Respect for the dead comes first.’

’No matter how unfit a mother Charlotte Rhodes had been, no matter what she had done in the past.’

’She was gone now. It was all in the past.’

Rory Linden slowly straightened up and looked toward the man.

Sean Harrison was standing to her right. When he saw her looking at him, he slightly raised his dangling left hand, palm up.

Seeing that she didn’t move at first, he remained silent for a moment before saying, "It just rained. The path is slippery."

This CEO, who could usually move mountains, now had an unconcealable nervousness in his eyes as he explained himself word by word.

It was as if he was afraid she would misunderstand, and also afraid she would refuse.

Rory Linden couldn’t help but chuckle softly before placing her hand in his. "Thank you."

The path in the cemetery was narrow.

The two of them walked one after the other all the way to the cemetery entrance.

The car was parked in an open area.

A bodyguard placed her luggage in the car’s trunk.

The man, in turn, opened the car door for her.

The car drove on, the atmosphere inside utterly quiet.

Just as Rory Linden was trying to figure out what to say, the phone in her pocket rang.

It was a call from the hospital.

The hospital had just admitted an emergency patient. A myxoma in the atrium had grown to over seven centimeters, and the heart wasn’t pumping enough blood, causing heart failure. The patient needed surgery as soon as possible.

The surgery was extremely difficult, and the doctors at the hospital capable of performing it were all currently occupied.

Left with no other choice, they had called Rory Linden after learning her flight had landed.

"I can go over now."

Rory Linden blurted it out almost instinctively.

As a doctor, saving lives was her first principle.

’Her first thought upon hearing the news wasn’t that she had just gotten back from a business trip.’

’Instead, she was just thankful she was already back.’

She only looked at Sean Harrison after hanging up the phone.

Before she could speak, he said, "We’ll go to the hospital first."

"I’m sorry. I’d requested time off from the hospital before coming back. I didn’t expect an emergency..."

At any other time, Rory Linden wouldn’t have made a point of apologizing.

As a doctor, saving lives was simply her job.

But with Charlotte Rhodes’s recent passing...

Although she had never been a proper mother—to Sean Harrison, she didn’t even deserve the title...

But unlike her own father, Gary Sinclair, who had been absent for long periods, Charlotte had always been nearby.

She had always lived in the same city as Sean Harrison.

They saw each other periodically.

From a certain perspective, she was indeed Sean Harrison’s last close relative in the world.

’Even if he didn’t show it, he needed company right now.’

"It’s fine. We’ll have plenty of time in the future," Sean Harrison said.

Rory Linden saw that as he spoke, the hand closer to her lifted slightly before falling again.

She reached out and took his hand.

The next second, the large hand she was holding squeezed back even tighter.

His well-defined fingers wrapped tightly around her small hand. After clenching instinctively, he seemed to fear he was hurting her and loosened his grip bit by bit.

Finally, he settled on a moderately firm pressure.

As the car moved, the two of them didn’t say a single word.

His fingers held hers, his thumb stroking the back of her hand.

Until the car pulled up and stopped at the hospital entrance.

"I’ll walk you in."

"Okay."

Rory Linden didn’t refuse.

But even as they got out of the car, the man didn’t let go of her hand.

They walked all the way to the entrance of the inpatient department. Rory Linden glanced at the security checkpoint at the door and said, "You should go back. I’ll come back to be with you as soon as I’m done."

The man looked down at their intertwined hands, hesitating for a moment before finally letting go.

-

It was past nine o’clock at night when Rory Linden came out of the operating room.

She didn’t dare to leave right away, staying with several other doctors to monitor the patient’s condition.

It wasn’t until after eleven, once they confirmed the patient was stable, that she changed her clothes and headed home.

As she walked out of the inpatient department, she realized the weather outside had completely changed.

Fierce winds were bending the trees on the hospital grounds.

Fallen leaves were being blown everywhere.

Since Rory Linden hadn’t been sure how things would go, she hadn’t asked Sean Harrison to come pick her up.

Fortunately, there were plenty of taxis waiting for fares at the hospital entrance.

She hailed one at random.

Back at the villa, the entire house was silent, save for the HOWL of the wind against the windows.

All the main lights on the first floor were off, with only two small nightlights left on.

’At this hour, everyone must be asleep.’

Rory Linden went upstairs quietly and first peeked into Leo Linden’s room.

The little boy was sound asleep.

A picture book lay beside his pillow.

Rory Linden put the picture book back on the shelf, then went to check the study door.

The study door was ajar, and the lights inside were off.

Rory Linden thought for a moment but decided not to go to his room.

’She had been away from Veridia for the past few days, but she could imagine how much he must have been running around for Charlotte Rhodes’s funeral. He was probably already resting.’

’It was better not to disturb him.’

Rory Linden returned to her room, washed up, and fell into a daze-like sleep after getting into bed.

She didn’t know how much time had passed.

A sudden clap of thunder jolted her awake.

She was still in a half-asleep state, but she could clearly hear the sound of rain lashing against the glass.

It was heavy and loud.

Before she could fall back asleep, a bolt of lightning tore across the night sky, illuminating the room through the window.

The next instant, a loud RUMBLE of thunder sounded again.

It was so loud it felt as if it were right next to her ear.

’Sean Harrison.’

’Rory Linden suddenly remembered that he used to be afraid of thunder.’

’So many years had passed; maybe it didn’t scare him anymore.’

The thunder continued to roll in her ears.

Rory Linden closed her eyes, but in the end, she decided to get out of bed.