My First Love Died, Now My Step Uncle Wants Me-Chapter 81: Caleb Rhodes, I Hate You

Nina’s face was so red she could barely look up, and her palms grew clammy.

She didn’t dare voice her new realization, but Caleb Rhodes’s actions now made her feel utterly ashamed. No matter how far he had gone before, it was always in private, and she could barely manage to convince herself to accept it then.

But now, in this large hospital room where doctors and nurses came and went, he was still so brazen and unrestrained. She was frantic and furious, but she didn’t dare to defy him. In just a moment, her anxiety was so great that sweat soaked the fine hairs on her forehead.

Her hand was pinned tightly by his. She struggled a few times but couldn’t break free. Terrified that someone might walk in, she could only bury her face in his shoulder and plead anxiously, "Someone... someone could come in. Please, don’t, Caleb..."

Caleb Rhodes saw she was genuinely distressed, her hand growing damp in his grasp, so he released her.

He hadn’t planned on doing anything here anyway. If anyone else saw her looking so delicate and delectable, he would gouge their eyes out.

He settled her back on the bed, then brushed the fine strands of hair clinging to her face behind her ear. The motion released the faint scent of roses from her hair.

Caleb Rhodes pressed a kiss to her hair, his voice still a little hoarse. "This shampoo is made from an extract of the white roses grown at home. Do you like it?"

At the mention of white roses, Nina’s body stiffened. She lowered her gaze, her thick, curled lashes trembling as she whispered, "Are there still white roses in winter?"

Caleb Rhodes gently squeezed her soft fingers. "I had a sunroom built," he said softly. "We can have them year-round. All that matters is that you like it."

Nina lifted her small face to him, her gaze unfocused. She sounded bewildered. "Caleb, you think I like white roses?"

Caleb Rhodes caressed her delicate cheek, his gaze softening. "I’ve seen you with white roses a few times before."

Nina finally remembered. Over the years, on the anniversary of her mother’s death, Mother’s Day, her mother’s birthday, and other important holidays, she would always buy a small bouquet of white roses. Sometimes she would take them to her mother’s grave, and other times she would place them on the windowsill in her room.

Had he seen all of that?

No wonder he thought she liked white roses.

She was silent for a long time before she spoke softly, "I like other flowers sometimes, too."

The pad of Caleb Rhodes’s thumb stroked her cheek, again and again, as if addicted. His voice was cool and detached. "Such as?"

Nina wanted to say sunflowers, but in the end, she just shook her head.

’We’ll never end up together anyway. This is just a short journey down a one-way road. Why should I care what flowers he plants?’

’After all, I don’t even know if I’ll be dead or alive when this road ends. Maybe white roses are my destiny.’

Seeing her silence, Caleb Rhodes stroked her hair and said in a deep voice, "You can have whatever you like."

Nina didn’t speak, simply leaning against his chest in a prolonged silence.

After a good while, Caleb Rhodes spoke. "Someone will be in later to take your statement about what happened last night. Can you handle that?"

Nina’s head snapped up. "No!"

Caleb Rhodes saw her strong resistance to the matter and couldn’t help but frown slightly. He wrapped his hand around hers and said in a low voice, "It’s alright. I’ll be right here with you the whole time."

Nina didn’t speak, but her chest rose and fell rapidly, a clear sign of her agitation.

Caleb Rhodes felt her palm starting to sweat again, so he softened his voice and said lightly, "The surveillance footage from yesterday has been reviewed. What happened to Haruko has nothing to do with you. They’re coming to take a statement; it’s just their job."

He paused before adding, "The statement has to be taken. If not today, then tomorrow."

Nina bit her lip tightly, fine beads of sweat forming on her forehead.

What she feared most was going to the station, giving this kind of statement. The last two times she had given a statement, one was for her mother’s death, and the other was for Evan Chapman’s death.

She had witnessed the deaths of the two most important people in her world, and both had died in the exact same way. It was already more than she could bear, yet she was being forced to recount their deaths again and again.

’I don’t want to remember those things!’

’Even less do I want my wounds reopened time and again, forcing me to narrate the deaths of the people I loved most like some kind of puppet.’

’That gut-wrenching, soul-crushing pain... I don’t want to relive it over and over.’

Thinking about what she might have to face, Nina fell into a long silence.

Caleb Rhodes remained silent as well, staying right by her side. He patted her back occasionally, even trying to coax her to sleep.

He was a man of few words to begin with; a cool, reserved demeanor had always been his trademark.

Given his background and the environment he’d grown up in, people had always catered to his every whim, fighting to deliver whatever he desired. Patiently staying with someone like this... it was a first for him.

And for him, it would be the only time.

Besides, in his eyes, simply being there for someone was the most precious thing in the world.

Despite Nina’s reluctance, Leo Morgan arrived that evening.

He was in uniform and accompanied by two colleagues. He sat in a chair in the lounge, his tone calm and serious, as if he had long been prepared for the reaction of the girl sitting opposite him.

Nina was silent for almost the entire time, only answering "yes" or "no" to the most critical questions.

He could tell that this girl was very resistant.

But he could understand. Anyone who had experienced such a scene twice—one of which involved their own mother—would be under enough psychological stress to develop psychogenic blindness. Of course she wouldn’t be willing to endure an interrogation like this.

But this was his job. He had no choice.

Halfway through, Nina began to have a severe adverse reaction.

She was sweating profusely, her face was terrifyingly pale, and she even started to dry heave.

Caleb Rhodes immediately called a halt.

He soothed Nina for a while until she gradually calmed down.

Caleb Rhodes picked her up and placed her on the sofa, saying softly, "Be good, Nina. Sit here for a bit. Director Morgan and I are going to step outside to have a word."

Nina grew tense again. Her fingers clutched at his clothes, her palm clammy, and her voice sounded anxious. "You’re leaving?"

Caleb Rhodes stroked her hair, comforting her, "We’ll just be right outside the door. If you need anything, just call out and I’ll hear you, okay?"

Nina was silent for a moment before nodding.

"Caleb, come back soon."

Caleb Rhodes soothed her with a few more words before stepping out with Leo Morgan.

Just then, the other two officers decided to take a break as well, stepping out onto the balcony to light up cigarettes.

The balcony was very close to where Nina was sitting, and the window wasn’t closed properly. The two officers’ very quiet conversation drifted in.

"The girl’s pretty, seems normal enough. How’d she end up with such severe psychological issues?"

"Yeah, I heard they brought in people from the most famous psychiatric hospital to do ’psychological reconstruction’ for her."

"President Rhodes also handed her bullying case over to Director Morgan, but it’s been too long. It’ll probably be hard to handle."

"I’ve seen parts of the video. It’s tragic. Being bullied by that many people... a normal person probably wouldn’t have made it."

"Yeah, more than ten years of being bullied. I can’t imagine how she survived it."

"But is she a member of the Rhodes Family? I’ve never heard of the Rhodes Family having a daughter."

"Not a member of the Rhodes Family. More like President Rhodes’s little mistress."

"Tsk, she looks like a high schooler and calls President Rhodes ’Uncle’. Rich people and their games..."

"But these cases are so old. Can they really be investigated?"

"We’ll do our best. What else can we do? But President Rhodes is probably just doing this to placate her. The cases are tricky and involve a lot of people. Most of the kids at her school were from powerful families, so he’s bound to step on some toes. So yeah, this is probably just to keep her happy."

"But speaking of which, the people in those videos are fucking animals. What they did was inhuman!"

"If anyone dared to touch my daughter like that, I’d fucking chop him to pieces!"

...

Though the two were speaking quietly, every single word still reached Nina’s ears.

Those unbearable memories, the ones she had deliberately forgotten, those moments of dog-like debasement she never wanted anyone to see... so Caleb Rhodes already knew. So many people knew.

’I didn’t want anyone to know, and especially not Caleb. I was already so humbled before him, ground into the dust. Now, I don’t even have my last, pitiful shred of dignity left.’

’I wanted revenge, but not like this! Not by having my hideous past flayed open for everyone to see! I don’t want this!’

Her face was terrifyingly pale, and a fine sweat poured out continuously, quickly soaking the hair on her forehead and even a small patch of her collar.

The voices from outside continued to drill into her ears.

"A few guys even tried to rape her. Luckily, someone saw and called the cops."

"They even tore her clothes off. Fucking animals!"

...

Nina shot to her feet, her chest heaving violently. "No! It’s not true!" she screamed.

With that, she staggered toward the door.

She couldn’t see anything, but she remembered there was a door nearby.

She didn’t want to stay in this oppressive space anymore, didn’t want to hear this gossip. Every time she heard it, she felt like she was back in that living Hell, and she just wanted to tear those people apart limb from limb.

Unfortunately, after just two steps, she bumped into something—probably a table—and everything on it was knocked to the ground.

After a loud CRASH, the door opened, and Caleb Rhodes appeared in the doorway.

He saw Nina collapsed in a pile of shattered tea service, her hands fumbling on the floor. She looked panicked, a complete and wretched mess.

His heart clenched as if struck by a whip. He rushed forward and scooped her into his arms. "What happened?"

Closer now, he saw that Nina’s face was as pale as paper, her forehead and temples were covered in sweat, and the collar of her clothes was damp, just like when she had her episode last night.

His expression turned cold, his sharp gaze sweeping over the two officers who had just come in from the balcony. His voice was terrifyingly sharp. "What did you do?"

The two officers were completely baffled. "We were just outside, having a smoke!"

Nina suddenly lost control, struggling desperately to get out of Caleb’s arms. "Let me go! You’re just like them! Just like them!"

"You’re monsters! All of you are monsters!"

Her voice was hoarse. With a strength that came from nowhere, she broke free from Caleb Rhodes’s grasp and turned to run.

But before she could take two steps, she was scooped back up by Caleb Rhodes. He encircled her and said in a low voice, "Be good, Nina. Listen to me. They’re not bad people."

Nina was extremely agitated, her hands flailing in the air, trying to break free from Caleb’s restraint. But this time his hands were like iron clamps; she couldn’t break free at all.

Violence and rage erupted from her in that instant. She shrieked hoarsely, "They are monsters! They all are! And you’re one of them! You’re one of them!"

"Let me go!"

"You monsters! All you do is bully people!"

"You don’t punish the real monsters! You just run around in your uniforms! Monsters! Monsters!"

Unable to break free, in her desperation, she grabbed Caleb Rhodes’s hand and bit down hard.

Soon, blood was drawn from the wrist she was biting.

But Caleb Rhodes refused to let go. His eyes were terrifyingly cold, his chest rising and falling slightly. It was clear he was exercising extreme restraint.

Seeing Nina out of control, the officers wanted to step forward to help, but Caleb Rhodes shot them a fierce glare. "Get back!"

The officers could only watch from the side.

One of them, blind, was trying to flee for her life. The other held on grimly, refusing to let go. The aura between them, woven from a thousand invisible threads, gave the distinct impression that they were fated to be entangled for a lifetime, with no room for anyone else to come between them.

Nina tasted the metallic tang of blood, but it didn’t bring her to her senses. Instead, she lost even more control.

She kicked and thrashed at Caleb, but he quickly pinned her arms behind her back and trapped her legs against the table.

His voice was low and hoarse. "Nina, don’t be afraid. I’m here. Calm down."

It would have been better if he hadn’t said that. Once he did, Nina seemed to lose even more control.

"Caleb Rhodes, you’re a monster, too! You are!"

"Caleb Rhodes! Your whole Rhodes Family, you’re all monsters! I hate you! I hate you!"

Caleb Rhodes’s expression changed instantly, his voice as cold as ice. "What did you say?"

At this point, Nina didn’t care if he was angry. Restrained as she was, in her desperation she actually started to slam her head against Caleb’s chest.

People who lose control have surprising strength. Caleb felt a pain in his chest, and for a moment, he couldn’t tell if it was from her words or from the impact.

Once wasn’t enough; she slammed her head against him again and again.

Caleb was furious. He gripped her hand tightly with one hand and seized her chin with the other, gritting his teeth. "Nina Wynn!"

Nina shook off his hand and bit down on his finger.

Her strength was incredible, her whole body trembling, as if she intended to bite his finger clean off.

Blood quickly flowed out, dripping to the floor, but Caleb Rhodes didn’t move an inch, letting her bite him.

Leo Morgan was startled by the sight. If this continued, it was very likely she would bite Caleb’s finger off.

He couldn’t help but step forward and pull at him. "President Rhodes, let her go! She’s highly aggressive right now. She’ll hurt you!"

With that pull, Nina shoved Caleb away with a sudden burst of strength and stumbled toward the door.

Although she couldn’t see, she had a good sense of direction and quickly reached the doorway.