Broken Memories, Intertwined Hearts

Chapter 149

Ever since learning about Hunter's illness, Ines seemed calm but was nervous. Silas's voice echoed in her mind from time to time.

Ethan knew what was eating at her.

In reality, she was just a tough cookie with a marshmallow center. Apart from comforting words, he couldn't do much else for her. She was in the thick of it, having experienced the pain firsthand. She had to come to terms with it on her own, no matter how much others might try to help.

"Ethan, do you think I'm heartless?" Ines suddenly asked Ethan, her eyes somewhat blank.

If a stranger had a disease like this, she would not hesitate to help if she could. But when faced with someone she shared blood with, her feelings were complicated, and she couldn't be entirely at peace.

"Izzy, don't get your knickers in a twist. Just do what you want to do and follow your heart," Ethan said with a faint smile at the corner of his mouth.

"If I go, I'm bound to argue with him. I can't guarantee that I can speak calmly to him," Ines said, looking down in the dumps.

Ethan couldn't help but chuckle, ruffling her hair, "Now I know where you got that temper from. It's in your genes, just like his." When he visited Hunter, it was the same story. A few offhand remarks and the man was up in arms.

"What do you mean I'm like him?" Ines retorted.

Ethan didn't continue to debate with her, saying, "Go, Izzy, don't leave yourself with regrets. After all, he's your biological father. Try to control your temper and have a proper chat with him."

Ines twirled her fingers in her lengthy hair, looking torn, "I don't know what to say to him. You don't understand. He's a man who values face. He doesn't want others to know that he's sick."

"You're not 'others.' Just go and give it a shot."

Ines mulled it over all morning, psyching herself up. She headed to the Galeana Group at lunchtime, dropped her name, and walked straight into the chairman's office.

As she approached the office door, she heard Hunter's booming voice. The door was ajar, and she saw the mess on the floor, papers scattered everywhere, even a smashed teacup. The person bearing the brunt of Hunter's rage was Silas.

Hunter flicked his wrist, sending the ashtray on the table flying towards Silas, hitting him square on the forehead, blood flowing immediately.

Ines felt a chill run down her spine, not understanding how Silas could still stand.

"Why did you go behind my back to find them? Don't you listen to me?" Hunter yelled at Silas angrily.

Silas didn't defend himself, or say a word, just stood there taking Hunter's wrath. He knew this was coming when he went to find Ines.

"Speak! Are you mute?" Hunter growled again, the veins on his forehead throbbing. He looked somewhat intimidating.

Silas finally lifted his head, saying calmly, "Chairman, I did it for your sake."

"If you cared about me, you would listen to me, not act on your own without my orders! I don't need anyone's pity, especially not that girl's!"Belongs to (N)ôvel/Drama.Org.

Hunter's voice was still loud. If it wasn't for Ethan confirming his illness, Ines might have thought this was all an act between him and Silas, a play to bait her. How could he be someone with a terminal illness?

Ines couldn't hold back and pushed the door open, saying sternly, "Are you sure you're not acting like this to get my sympathy?"

A glimmer of light flashed in Silas's eyes, and he looked at Ines with surprise. He knew Ines wouldn't be so heartless.

Hunter was taken aback, and then his eyes turned red with anger. Pointing to the door, "Who permitted you just to walk in? This is the Galeana Group, not a place you can just barge into, get out."

"No wonder you've got lung cancer with all this anger," Ines said with a stoic face, a hint of mockery in her eyes.

"Ines, is this how you talk to your father?" Hunter pointed at Ines, his face beet red, trembling, seemingly on the edge of exploding.

Looking closer, Ines realized he had lost weight in just a few days. His eyes were sunken, and he looked pale. Even that flushed face looked rather sickly. Her heart skipped a beat, not realizing his health had deteriorated so much. "I told you, the day you cut ties with me as your daughter, I ceased to be your daughter. How I speak is my business, you have no right to discipline me. It would be best if you reflected on yourself first. It's your failure to raise me properly in the first twenty years that resulted in my current personality," Ines retorted, not intimidated by Hunter at all, just with a slightly softer tone.

Silas looked worriedly at them, not knowing how to mediate, and could only plead with Ines with his eyes, signalling her not to provoke Hunter too much.

"Since you don't consider me your father, why are you here? Get out!" Hunter kicked her out again. "I don't want to be here in this hellhole, but don't act like you're at death's door. Are you hoping everyone knows you're dying? Knows you're sick? If you're sick, you should seek treatment, not deliberately let it drag on and annoy people." Originally, Ines wanted to talk well with him, but seeing him so stubborn, she got angry and couldn't control her emotions.

"I'm not sick." Hunter was adamant, his face alternating between red and white. He was hard as nails, and Ines could not back down. Neither side was willing to give in. "You know whether you're sick or not and whether you're making a spectacle of yourself by refusing treatment and looking so miserable to gain others' sympathy. Stand up properly in front of people if you're capable , don't make Silas worry. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him finding me. "

"Ines, have you said enough? If you're done, get out!" Hunter reached for the teacup on the table, but his hand was shaking so much he couldn't even lift it.