Chapter 164
Chapter 164
Celestine was completely oblivious to the teasing in his voice.
She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, her cheeks a little pink. “Mr. Prescott, you’re too kind.”
Gideon raised an eyebrow. “Really? You don’t see it at all, do you, Miss Selwyn?”
She blinked, confused, catching none of his sarcasm.
Gideon’s smile was ambiguous, somewhere between amused and exasperated. “I can’t figure it out, you know. Maybe you could show me?”
“Of course,” Celestine replied without hesitation.
She explained the process step by step, but Gideon made no move to follow along. He just sat there, watching her, his gaze growing increasingly plaintive.
Celestine assumed he must not have understood. “Let me see your phone for a second,” she offered.
He nodded toward the device resting beside him. “It’s right there.”
She reached for it. “What’s your passcode?”
“031111.”
Celestine didn’t question it, and quickly unlocked the phone using the numbers he’d given.
Gideon watched her intently, searching for a reaction as he recited those digits. But even after she entered the code, her expression didn’t shift at all.
She’s forgotten everything.
His fingers, which had been idly drumming on the armrest, stilled.
“Miss Selwyn,” he said quietly.
“Yes?”
“Do you remember saving a dog when you were four
years old?”
She was startled, pausing with his phone in her hand. Celestine had always been sensitive to animal fur and had never kept a pet growing up. As far as she could recall, she’d never even been close to a puppy.
She shook her head, uncertain. “No… Why do you ask?”
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Gideon didn’t answer, his eyes fixed on her hands instead. “Are you done?
“Just a second.” Celestine finished adjusting the last setting and handed his phone back. “All set.”
As she looked up, she caught, perhaps only in her imagination, a wounded look flicker across his face.
“Thank you,” Gideon said, his tone flat, eyes half–lidded.
Celestine felt a strange sense of unease.
Her own phone buzzed just then–a bank notification. One million dollars had landed in her account.
Right on its heels, a message from Chester popped up.
[Chester]: Sent you a million to start.
[Celestine]: ?
[Chester]: The rest will be transferred to you annually by a trust.
[Chester]: If you keep too much on hand, you’ll only get swindled.
Celestine turned off her phone. This must be the art commission money she’d discussed earlier. Chester’s way of handling things was exactly as she expected–always a little aggravating.
But money itself had never done anything wrong.
And this sum was just enough to schedule that hand reconstruction surgery for Mr. Shield.
Chester, sitting nearby, caught sight of Celestine staring at her phone in a daze. The smile on his lips faded.
Then, out of nowhere, she looked up with a bright grin and announced, “Mr. Prescott, I have the money now. I can take you to get your hand fixed.”
Gideon went still for a moment, following her gaze to his own palm. He let out a low, cynical laugh. “Funny+this is the one thing you remember clearly, Miss Selwyn.”
He opened his hand. Long fingers, two calluses at the tips, and a thin scar running along the knuckle. Somehow, it all came together in an unexpectedly graceful way: “What’s wrong? Is my hand ugly?” he asked, half–joking, half–defensive.
Celestine studied his hand. If she was honest, it wasn’t ugly at all.
But without the scar, it would be flawless.
She shook her head.
Gideon shot her a curious glance. “Then why are you always so eager to fix it?”
Her mind went momentarily blank. That question… there was something oddly intimate about it.
He was smiling, but she could tell he was angry. The feeling was unmistakable. She bit her lip, unsure how to respond. She just didn’t want to owe him anything.
When she stayed silent for too long, Gideon’s eyes clouded with a frustration he didn’t bother to hide.
He’d gone too far. After all these years, it was only natural she wouldn’t remember the past.
Celestine mumbled, “It’s not that… I just want to make it better.”
Gideon leaned back, tilting his head as he sighed. “I see.”
She just wants to keep her distance, he thought.
Little liar.
The rest of the car ride was excruciatingly awkward for Celestine.
At last, they pulled up to the mall entrance.
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