Chapter 73

Carroll hugged me tightly in his arms and promised to take me home in a decisive tone.  For the first time, I felt the true meaning of home. For the first time, I was so eager to go home that belongs to us. With my cheek against Carroll's broad chest, I, dizzy, listened to Carroll's steady heartbeat greedily.  This was the only sound that could pacify me in this world. I felt cold. Wrapped in a blanket, I couldn't feel any warmth. That coldness came from inside the bone, making me tremble and stiff. Carroll felt my forehead with his large hand and then said with a frown, "Kelly, you have a fever." "Cold. Cold." I lost my consciousness gradually.  Soon, I fell asleep. When I woke up, my head was as heavy as a stone. I opened my eyes and found myself in my bedroom with an IV pole by my bed.  There was a needle beneath the skin of my hand.  "Madam, you finally woke up!" Rose was haggard. She took the towel off my forehead and then felt it with her hand.  "So hot." Rose's facial features gathered together. "Madam, your uncle is cruel to throw you into the lake. Given his crime, I don't think you need such a family." I forced a smile. "On the lake, not in the lake. I would have died if he threw me into the lake." "Whatever. He went too far. I will invite Mr. Carroll over." I was speechless. Rose was right. I didn't need that kind of family. However, why was David so hostile to me? Did I offend him? Soon, Rose brought Carroll into my bedroom.  Carroll wore a silver silk robe, and the hair on his forehead was still wet. He lay beside me and took me into his arms. "I would call Doctor Lina over if you slept on." "Have I slept for a long time?" I moved closer to Carroll. After a shower, his body was ice-cold. He was like a cube of ice in my arms, and I felt good.  "Twenty-six hours and forty-two minutes." Fortunately, Carroll didn't make it to second; otherwise, I didn't know what to say.  Aggrievance got me soon. I couldn't hold back my tears anymore. "I don't understand. Why did David do this to me? Did I offend him? Does he have one share of the inheritance?" Carroll sneered. "Because he's a pervert." I was speechless. Later, I found out the reason. When David and Joson grew up, it was my mother who took good care of them. Therefore, they considered my mother a goddess in their hearts. My mother was the perfect model of a wife in their eyes.  When my mother was pregnant, she was old. She had a hermorrahge when she gave birth to me. After I was born, my mother died. Therefore, Joson and David thought it was me who took away the light in their lives. They blamed me for the death of my mother and thought that I shouldn't exist in this world. Leaning on Carroll, I tilted my head. "David said he didn't like me. I know the reason now." "The Brown family share the same shortcoming. They love to blame others to excuse their incompetence." Carroll didn't forget to feel my neck when tucking me in.  "So, do you think I am innocent?" I asked. "Back then, you were just a baby. How can they blame you?" I could feel that Carroll became stiff for a moment when he said so. Without hesitation, Carroll patted off my hand that was drawing circles on his body. Grim, he looked at me seriously. "Kelly, you should remember one thing." "What's it?" I rubbed my hands and pouted discontentedly. "I am a man, and you are an adult woman. If you don't want s*x now, you'd better keep a distance from me." Carroll deliberately kept a certain distance from me. His ice-cold body gradually became hot. "No!" I embraced Carroll with both hands and legs, like a koala. "You are my husband, my family, my only family. I will never leave you." "You won't yield till you see the coffin, will you?" Carroll's breathing became rapid, and I felt his suppressed desire and hot body. Carroll lifted my chin and said coldly, "You'll burn yourself sooner or later." "When I first came here, I saw your coffin. I didn't cry, did I?" Then, I kissed Carroll.  I realized my love for Carroll when it occurred to me that I might die on the lake. In my heart, Carroll was the only soul, who could be considered as my family. I would never leave him.  In the next few days, Carroll had a tail.  Still sick, I followed Carroll wherever he went.  I followed him to the company and the business gatherings.  In short, I became very clingy. Then, an earthquake happened in the showbiz. The names of both Amy and Maria were removed from the documentary about embroidery. The audition about the embroidery I had once worked on didn't happen as scheduled.  Out of boredom, I searched for information about Amy's teacher.  That teacher was called Jessica Anderson. She was well-known all over the world, and her most famous technique was double-sided embroidery. I checked the photos of her works and found most of them consistent with the patterns of Granny Luisa. The colors were the only difference. The patterns were the same.  Had Granny Luisa shown her sketches to others? I was in a fog. Since I could remember, this mad woman had lived in Phoenix Village. Nobody knew where she came from. People said that Granny Luisa met some bad people and became a lunatic after the stimulus. I turned off the computer with sadness. If Granny Luisa had found a good husband like Carroll, would her life be different from now? Would her achievement be better than Jessica's? Harris brought me with a lot of desserts and snacks. "Hey, Kelly, you scared me to death! If you died in the lake, I would live the rest of my life with guilt!" "Not your bad. My uncle is too bad." I took the half-cooked cheese from Harris and felt great. During my sickness, Carroll made me a strict diet. Therefore, I hadn't tasted snacks for a long time.  "You are quite optimistic. Without your phonefinder, you would have been a mummy the next morning." Harris ate dessert with me. "It is a blessing in disguise. I won't trust family love anymore." I didn't know how to describe my feelings when I said so. Sad? Disappointed? Neither. I had never longed for family love from a stranger.  Now, I just hoped that the Smith family wouldn't hurt me again.