My First Love Died, Now My Step Uncle Wants Me-Chapter 149: Slept While Watching Over It

Nina Wynn had just reached the restrooms on the second floor when she heard the sound of footsteps behind her.

As if she had a premonition, she whipped around.

She saw Caleb Rhodes’s bodyguards running toward her. Caleb himself stood by the elevators, his gaze dark and heavy as he watched her.

Even from a distance, the chilling aura he exuded sent a shiver down her spine.

She clutched the carrier tightly as waves of despair washed over her.

’This cat is all I have left. Why can’t he just leave me alone?’

’Why won’t he grant me even this tiny bit of room to breathe?’

’Why do these people always have to back me into a corner?’

She watched Caleb Rhodes stride toward her, retreating as she clutched the carrier for dear life.

The mall was large, but it didn’t take long for Caleb Rhodes to close the distance.

Nina Wynn’s back hit the wall. She stared at Caleb Rhodes for several seconds, her palms slick with sweat.

Just as Caleb Rhodes closed in, she spun around and yanked open the only window leading outside.

’I can’t let Roy die here!’

Without a moment’s hesitation, she scrambled onto the waist-high windowsill and lifted the carrier over her head.

Seeing her on the windowsill, Caleb Rhodes realized what she intended to do. His pupils shrank, and his heart nearly leaped out of his chest as he lunged forward.

"Nina!"

Without looking back, Nina Wynn leaped from the second-story window.

It wasn’t that high, and a thick layer of snow cushioned her fall. But because she was still holding the carrier, the force of the impact was so strong she thought she’d broken her leg.

The next second, the carrier fell from her grasp and hit the ground.

The kitten tumbled inside the carrier, letting out a pained MEOW MEOW MEOW.

Ignoring the searing pain in her leg, Nina Wynn scrambled forward and scooped up the carrier.

Caleb Rhodes witnessed the entire scene from the window above.

For a split second, he felt his heart stop.

When he saw Nina Wynn rush to the carrier, he motioned behind him. "One of you, get down there. Keep an eye on her!"

His bodyguards were highly trained. One stepped forward and vaulted out the window with expert precision.

Caleb Rhodes spun around and strode toward the stairs.

He hadn’t taken two steps before he heard Nina Wynn’s panicked cry from outside. "Roy!"

"Caleb Rhodes, I was wrong! Please, save Roy!"

...

Caleb’s heart clenched as if someone were trying to rip it from his chest. He squeezed his eyes shut and quickened his pace.

Moments later, he was outside, standing beneath the window she had jumped from.

He saw Nina Wynn kneeling in the snow, clutching the carrier, her face streaked with tears.

When she saw him, she stumbled toward him. "Caleb Rhodes, I was wrong!"

"Nothing happened with Finn Prescott! I was just watching over Roy while he slept."

"I begged him to help Roy. We just ran into each other by chance. Really, nothing happened!"

Fat tears streamed down her face, her eyes wide with panic. "Please, save him! His stitches opened up again! I don’t want him to die! I don’t want him to die!"

...

She was only wearing a thin white sweater. Her skin was already red from the cold, but she seemed numb to it, caring only whether the little kitten lived or died.

Caleb Rhodes took off his coat, wrapped it around Nina Wynn, and lifted her into his arms, heading back toward the veterinary hospital.

Nina Wynn clutched the carrier, its lid now broken, and rested her head on his shoulder. Her warm tears quickly soaked through the fabric of his shirt.

The damp patch on his shoulder stung his skin like a needle.

A sudden wave of regret hit him. He shouldn’t have pushed her this far.

He knew how much this cat meant to her. He never should have used it to hurt her.

He held her tighter, his voice hoarse. "He’s going to be okay. Nina, it’s alright. Stop crying. Roy is going to be fine."

Soon, the kitten was once again rushed into surgery.

Nina Wynn stood at the entrance to the operating room, her face pressed against the glass door as she watched what was happening inside.

She watched as Roy’s tiny body was cut open and then stitched closed again.

Roy, under anesthesia, made no sound, but Nina’s heart was breaking as she watched from the hallway.

’I shouldn’t have jumped. I shouldn’t have run while holding him!’

’If I hadn’t been so stubborn, if I had just said one pleading word to Caleb Rhodes, Roy wouldn’t have had to endure so much pain!’

’This was all my fault!’

Caleb Rhodes stayed by her side for as long as she remained pressed against the door, watching.

He stayed there until Roy’s surgery was finished.

Caleb Rhodes lifted her into his arms and carried her toward a private lounge. She let her head rest limply against his chest and asked in a small voice, "Is Roy going to die?"

Caleb’s voice was low. "No. We’ll head back to Aethelburg soon. I’ve already flown in the best veterinary specialists from Elysian City. They’ve been waiting in Aethelburg for us all night."

Nina Wynn seemed to let out a breath she’d been holding and said no more.

Caleb Rhodes set her down on a sofa and draped a small blanket over her shoulders.

He sat beside her, pulling her into his arms for a moment. His voice was raspy. "Don’t run off like that again. It’s a lot of work finding you."

Nina Wynn didn’t answer, her head bowed as she was lost in thought.

After a long moment, she asked softly, "Is Rosalind Lowell alright?"

Caleb replied in a low voice, "Back then, Roy jumped off the cabinet and tried to scratch her. It probably startled her. She’s allergic to cats, so she might have overreacted a bit."

Nina Wynn’s gaze dropped, her hands clenching into tight fists. "I don’t like her. If Roy dies, I will never forgive her!"

Caleb tightened his embrace, his large hand covering hers. "Roy isn’t going to die. I’ll make sure he’s healed."

Nina Wynn pulled her hand free. "But he’ll be scarred forever," she said quietly. "And his wounds will take a long, long time to heal."

She paused, then added, "You’ll forgive Rosalind Lowell for anything she does, won’t you?"

Caleb didn’t answer. He slowly tucked a stray wisp of hair from her cheek behind her ear.

After a long pause, he finally said, "Anyone who hurts you is unforgivable."

But to Nina Wynn, his words sounded as laughable as a lie.

She kept her head down and said nothing.

The small room fell silent. An unspoken tension filled the air, as if the high wall between them had suddenly grown even taller, becoming an unbridgeable chasm.

At noon, Caleb Rhodes took Nina Wynn and Roy back to Aethelburg.

Two specialists were already waiting for them at a nearby veterinary hospital. After a thorough examination and treatment, they confirmed that Roy would survive, though he would require extremely meticulous care from now on.

Only then was Nina Wynn able to truly relax.

Back at the hotel, looking at the luxurious living room, she felt a bit dazed.

In the course of a single day, it felt as though everything had changed, and yet nothing had changed at all.

She was still being kept in a gilded cage, and the man beside her was still the same domineering, terrifying Valorian Crown Prince.

But she knew that she no longer trusted him. She no longer believed a single word he said.

The distance that already existed between them had only grown wider.

All she could do now was bide her time.

Seeing the dispirited look on her face, Caleb Rhodes’s eyes darkened. He lifted her into his arms and carried her toward the bathroom.