Ignored When Chasing: Why Cry After I Got Engaged-Chapter 29: Their Proposal

"Not yet." Damian Hawthorne stubbed out his cigarette, raising a noncommittal eyebrow. "Do you care that much about our relationship?"

"Just asking." Cecilia Nathan took a deep breath. "I’ll send you two a wedding gift when the time comes."

The corners of Damian Hawthorne’s lips tightened. He didn’t seem to want to hear that.

"Serena Hughes’s memory hasn’t returned yet. We’ll talk after I take her to the old estate."

Cecilia Nathan looked up and met Damian Hawthorne’s eyes, only to find him staring at her.

"You’ve never been to the old estate. You should visit sometime if you’re free."

Cecilia Nathan smiled without a word. "I’m not free."

After saying this, she told Damian Hawthorne, "Remember to come and sign the papers tomorrow."

This kind of procedure required the man’s signature, too.

Cecilia Nathan had thought she would need to ask someone to come sign, but unexpectedly, Damian Hawthorne offered to accompany her.

She didn’t need company, but she did need someone to go through the formalities.

Since Damian Hawthorne was willing to come, it was perfect.

「The next morning.」

At Korsyth Hospital, Cecilia Nathan was in front of the obstetrics and gynecology department, collecting her paperwork.

"Cecilia Nathan, you’ll be going into the operating room at ten a.m."

The doctor explained some pre-operative instructions and then left.

With only thirty minutes left until ten o’clock, Damian Hawthorne still hadn’t arrived.

Cecilia Nathan clenched her hands, her anxiety growing.

Just then, her good friend, Chloe Sutton, called.

"Cecilia, you have to see the video I sent you! The media is going crazy."

After hanging up, Cecilia Nathan opened the video Chloe Sutton had sent her.

In the video, Damian Hawthorne was holding a bouquet of flowers, standing with Serena Hughes.

They were standing in front of a European-style castle-like villa, looking like something out of a fairy tale.

A haze of pink mist filled the air, adding to the romantic atmosphere.

"Hawthorne Group’s CEO Falls for Innocent University Student, a Romantic Proposal That’s the Envy of All."

Cecilia Nathan watched them hold hands, then embrace.

Cecilia Nathan could tell that the castle was the Hawthorne Family’s old estate.

The minutes ticked by. With only twenty minutes until the surgery, Damian Hawthorne still hadn’t appeared. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

It took at least an hour to get from the old estate to Korsyth.

Damian Hawthorne wasn’t coming.

Or rather, he never intended to come at all.

Cecilia Nathan bit her lower lip hard, trying to suppress all the grief and sorrow welling up inside her.

"Miss Cecilia Nathan, has your family member arrived yet?"

A nurse came over to hurry her along.

Hospitals in Korsyth were strict; even a so-called "minor procedure" like this required a family member to be present.

"Not yet. I’m sorry, please just give me a moment."

As the seconds ticked by, Cecilia Nathan’s vision began to blur.

’I hadn’t wanted to get my hopes up. But Damian Hawthorne had said he would come. He would come to say goodbye to this little life. But he didn’t come. He was proposing to someone else.’

The thought that all her years of pouring her heart and soul out to Damian Hawthorne had led to this ending made her body feel as if it were bound tightly by a steel wire, unable to move, unable to breathe.

Suddenly, Cecilia Nathan burst out laughing.

’What on earth was I expecting? For him to become the person I wanted him to be?’

’Damian Hawthorne was, after all, Damian Hawthorne.’

’And she was no longer the person she used to be.’

Cecilia Nathan closed her eyes. Scene after scene from the past flashed before them, all turning to smoke.

"Cecilia..."

A familiar voice called out. Cecilia Nathan opened her eyes and saw, through her blurry vision, Hugo Grant looking at her with concern.

"I’m sorry, I only saw your message ten minutes ago. I’m not too late, am I?"

Just then, the doctor came over with a form. Hugo Grant stepped forward, took the paper and pen, and was about to sign when he turned to look at Cecilia Nathan. "Are you sure?"

Cecilia Nathan nodded wearily.

Hugo Grant smiled and quickly signed the form.

Cecilia Nathan felt as if all the air had been sucked out of her. She moved in a daze, following the doctor’s lead, not even realizing when she was wheeled into the operating room.

When she woke up again, her entire body was numb.

"The surgery was a success..." The doctor’s voice was tinged with a sigh. "Don’t worry, you’re still young. You’ll be able to have children in the future."

Hearing this, Cecilia Nathan could no longer hold back her tears, and they slid from the corners of her eyes.

’The baby was gone. And she and Damian Hawthorne were well and truly over.’

When she came out of the operating room, the first person Cecilia Nathan saw was Hugo Grant.

Hugo Grant held up a large bouquet of sunflowers, his voice low. "I heard flowers can cheer people up, so I just bought a bunch. I hope that from now on, you’ll always have a beautiful smile, just like these flowers."

Cecilia Nathan curved her lips into a small smile. "Thank you."

Hugo Grant chuckled, his ink-black eyes holding a trace of warmth. "No need to thank me. Don’t forget, we’re friends."

His words stirred a memory in Cecilia Nathan.

Back when she was pursuing Damian Hawthorne, she had also paid close attention to his friends. At the time, Hugo Grant was facing business troubles and had spent a whole night working on documents at the Hawthorne estate.

She had noticed that Hugo Grant hadn’t eaten for a long time and brought him a bowl of noodles.

Back then, Hugo Grant had spoken no more than five sentences to her.

She had placed the noodles in front of him and, under Hugo Grant’s cold gaze, said, "Don’t mention it, we’re friends."

In truth, even though Hugo Grant was experiencing his own Waterloo back then, he didn’t need her as a friend.

She had only wanted the people around Damian Hawthorne to have a good impression of her, so they might put in a good word for her with him.

But Hugo Grant never did.

From that day on, not only did Hugo Grant not try to set them up, but he actually began to persuade her to give up on Damian Hawthorne.

’He must have seen this ending coming long ago. He treated her as a friend, and that’s why he’d tried to warn her.’

"I called Damian," Hugo Grant said, then paused for a moment, as if searching for the right words. "Damian... had something urgent come up..."

"I know," Cecilia Nathan cut him off. "I saw the proposal video."

A video like that would spread throughout Veridia in no time.

Hugo Grant fell silent, his brows furrowing deeply.

He was usually aloof and rarely showed such an expression.

Clearly, he didn’t approve of Damian Hawthorne’s actions either.

"Damian wouldn’t be in such a rush to propose. Maybe there’s some kind of misunderstanding..."

"It doesn’t matter anymore." Lying in bed, Cecilia Nathan weakly lifted her hand. As she wiggled her fingers, the light filtering in from the window slipped through them.

’The link between me and Damian Hawthorne has been severed. There’s nothing left for me to care about.’

Seeing her like this, Hugo Grant seemed at a loss for comforting words and subconsciously picked up an apple and began to peel it.

...

「The Hawthorne Family’s Old Estate.」

The enormous European-style castle was well-maintained, not at all worn down by the rain into a decrepit old building.

A massive fountain in front of the entrance sent sprays of water rising and scattering through the air.

Damian Hawthorne stood before the fountain, his expression chillingly cold.

"Mr. H-Hawthorne... d-don’t you like the surprise I planned for you?"

Serena Hughes’s body trembled with nervousness.

It was the first time she had ever seen Damian Hawthorne so angry.

"You remember now?"

In an entire hour, this was the only thing Damian Hawthorne had said.

’Remember, remember... is the past the only thing that exists in his world?’

Serena Hughes’s eyes reddened with grievance. "Are past memories more important than the me who’s here right now?"