Chapter 35
“You’re here?”
The moment Elisa stepped into the hospital lobby, Derek Grenville approached her as if he had been waiting all along.
He was dressed neatly in an elegant suit, discharge papers apparently already settled.
His arm was still wrapped in bandages, but the ones around his head were gone.
“Am I late?”
“No. You came right on time.” Derek’s lips curved into a gentle smile.
“If anything, arriving early would have been dangerous.”
“…Dangerous? What do you mean?”
Before Elisa could process his words, Derek’s secretary appeared, carrying a lavish bouquet.
It wasn’t just a congratulatory gift for his discharge—it was too elaborate for that.
And nestled among the crimson roses were yellow ones.
The instant she saw them, Elisa’s heartbeat stuttered violently.
No… it can’t be.
“Lying in that bed all day gave me far too much time to think,” Derek murmured, taking the bouquet from his secretary and pressing it into Elisa’s arms. The heavy fragrance of roses swept over her, making her head spin.
“And the person I thought of the most was you, Elisa.”
His gaze lingered on her, deep and intoxicating like the very scent of the flowers.
“The idea of closing my eyes without ever binding my life to yours… It tore at me so much, I thought I’d wander even through hell just to find you.”
No. Please… not those words.
A silent cry ripped through her chest.
Elisa clutched the bouquet so tightly it was as if she might crush it, her eyes darting around.
Already, a curious crowd had gathered, their faces alight with expectation as they watched.
“I know it’s laughable of me to say I’d wait until you were ready, only to turn around and do this now… but I simply couldn’t wait any longer.”
From his coat pocket, Derek drew out a small velvet box.
Even before it opened, Elisa felt her breath stop.
Then, before her, Derek lowered himself onto one knee.
The box snapped open, revealing a dazzling diamond that caught the light and blazed like fire.
“Please, marry me, Elisa.”
“Haa…”
The words she had dreaded finally fell, and Elisa exhaled a trembling breath she hadn’t realised she was holding.
Around them, the lobby erupted in cheers.
A man on bended knee with a glittering ring.
A woman standing before him, bouquet in hand.
A chorus of voices urging her on.
To any onlooker, it was the picture of romance.
But the woman at the centre of it—Elisa—looked as pale as a ghost.
“Say yes already!”
“Take it! Don’t keep him waiting!”
The crowd’s shouts of encouragement stabbed into her like needles.
What hurt her most, though, was Derek’s expression—the bright, expectant face of a man utterly certain she would accept.
“I—I can’t… not so suddenly…”
Her mouth was parched, words stumbling out in fragments.
Just as she struggled to continue, Derek tilted his lips in a half-smile and whispered so only she could hear:
“It would be wise to nod, Elisa. If you wish to keep it hidden—that the child is his.”
The subject was vague, but the meaning was unmistakable.
Elisa’s face drained of all colour.
It felt as if every drop of blood had left her body, leaving her cold and numb.
Her legs gave way, and she crumpled to the ground.
The bouquet slipped from her arms first, roses scattering across the polished floor.
Some onlookers gave her puzzled glances, but most assumed she was overcome with emotion.
Their cries only grew louder, urging her to accept the proposal.
But Elisa heard nothing.
It was as if the world itself had gone silent.
Her vision blurred, faces fading into obscurity—except for one.
Only Derek Grenville remained, sharp and unyielding.
How could he possibly know?
How on earth—?
“That’s not what matters right now, Elisa.”
Her lips parted soundlessly, but before she could form words, Derek had already read her thoughts.
He thrust a small velvet box before her.
A dazzling diamond ring filled her vision.
Any woman would have coveted such a proposal, yet to Elisa it looked like shackles—chains that would bind her freedom forever.
“Take it, Elisa.”
His voice was low, velvety, but it carried more force than a bellow.
The pressure of it smothered her chest.
Her breath faltered, her sight swam—until one thought broke through the haze.
Noah.
The promise she’d once made—that she would do anything, endure anything, if it meant protecting the child she loved.
The memory steadied her lungs, lent her strength.
For Noah.
The words carved themselves again into her heart, and her trembling body obeyed.
Slowly, shakily, Elisa reached out and took the ring box from his hand.
In that instant, thunderous applause erupted around them.
But to her ears, it was no ovation.
It was the demonic roar of hell itself.
***
“So, Derrick Grenville actually proposed to Elissa Leslie…”
Prince Howard groaned at the report, pressing two fingers against his throbbing temple.
He had known Derek was planning it—but to do it the moment he was discharged, in the middle of the hospital lobby?
That he hadn’t expected.
“At least it happened after Ethan left the capital. That’s some relief.”
If Ethan had been in the city when he heard, he would have refused outright to sail for the Moro Kingdom.
And Ethan defying a royal command?
That was no small crime.
But when it came to Elisa Leslie, Ethan would have gladly leapt into hellfire itself, law or no law.
“For now, we’ll keep it quiet until Ethan boards the ship to Moro. Once he’s at sea, there’ll be no turning back.”
Still, Howard frowned, unease settling in his chest.
“The woman already seems to have made her choice…”
Ethan was convinced Elisa still loved him.
But her actions told a different story.
The very fact that she had accepted Derek’s proposal spoke volumes.
“When Ethan comes back, there’ll be chaos.”
Chaos—and perhaps blood.
Ethan might actually try to kill Derek Grenville this time.
That could be concealed, buried if necessary. The greater problem was what came after.
Even if Ethan rid the world of his rival, would Elissa ever accept him again?
Or would she recoil from him in horror, unable to forgive the man who murdered her fiancé?
“Though… if you’ll allow me to say, Your Highness…”
Howard, tangled in a knot of grim possibilities, glanced at his aide, who spoke with cautious hesitation.
“To me, Lady Elisa Leslie looked as if she had no choice but to accept the proposal.”
“No choice?” Howard’s brows knit. “What do you mean by that?”
“During the proposal, Derek Grenville said something to her. I couldn’t hear what. But the moment the words left his mouth, Lady Leslie crumpled where she stood. After that, her hands shook as she took the ring.”
Howard’s eyes narrowed. “Couldn’t it just be overwhelming emotion? A grand declaration of eternal love?”
“I thought so too, but her face was bloodless. She looked terrified, not moved.”
“…I see.”
If his aide said so, then something about Elisa’s reaction must have been undeniably strange.
So she hadn’t freely accepted.
She had been forced.
Howard rubbed his chin slowly.
If her complexion had gone pale, if her body had given way, if her hands had trembled—then yes, the most likely explanation was not romance at all, but coercion.
Perhaps Derek’s proposal was not a proposal at all.
Perhaps it was a threat.
That possibility sharpened Howard’s curiosity.
Just what had transpired between Elisa Leslie and Derek Grenville?
“…I’ll have to look into this.”
Before leaving for Moro, Ethan had begged Howard to watch over Elisa—to make sure neither Count Leslie nor Derek Grenville tried anything in his absence.
He had also sworn him to stay out of it.
But after this? Howard could not sit idle.
He exhaled sharply, resolve taking root.
“For the sake of the woman who once saved my life, I’ll step in. Yes… There’s no other way.”
The order was given.
At last, Howard would act.
