Estelle's eyes widened. The girl stared in disbelief at what she was seeing right now. Either Hector had just hit his head or lost his mind, because that bastard was now kneeling at her feet. His head was bowed, his knees pressing into the hotel room carpet.
Seeing the head of the Nightwood family, a man known for his commanding aura, now lowering his dignity in front of a girl was not something the twins were used to either. Sandro and Sandra exchanged glances. Neither of them said a word because neither knew what to say.
"From the deepest part of my heart, I apologize." Hector bowed even lower. "I almost made it so you could never become a mother."
Honestly, Estelle could not say a word seeing this side of Hector. Her jaw tightened, but her mind kept racing. That bastard was not the type to bow down from a single threat.
Everything about his strange behavior deserved suspicion.
After this, there would definitely be some insane move from Hector that would once again wreck Estelle's sanity. She felt that everything he was showing right now was nothing but an act.
"Tell me everything you've been secretly doing to me," Estelle challenged.
She knew it was all just Hector's tricks, but there was no harm in looking for a way to figure out what he was really up to with all this craziness. With how insanely possessive he had been, there was no way he did not have another goal.
Especially when he deliberately made her fertile all the time. If his goal was to have an heir, then it made perfect sense that he had been targeting her body all along.
The main problem was, why her? Why did it have to be Estelle?
"The only thing you don't know about is the fertility drug," Hector answered as he lifted his head. "That mistake also happened because a servant gave the wrong dosage."
Frowning, Estelle did not catch even the slightest trace of guilt in Hector's eyes. It felt like kneeling in front of her meant nothing to him. It was just a meaningless formality.
"Why me?"
The man fell silent, but his eyes looked at Estelle deeply.
"If I told you that I love you, would you believe me?"
"After everything you've done to me, you dare talk about love?" Estelle frowned. "You don't even have a heart!"
The man fell silent. His quiet sigh sounded as if he were frustrated with his own behavior. Even while handling business that morning, the only thing on his mind had been the girl's condition. The annoying part was that Sandro had completely kept quiet about Estelle's state.
The doctor chose to stay silent and chew on his pastry instead of answering Hector's questions. If he were not a trusted doctor, Hector might have thrown Sandro out of the hotel window.
Love? Of course Hector's logic rejected it. He only wanted to say something sweet to soften the girl. But of course, words like that would never work on Estelle. Somehow, Hector would have to figure out how to fix her mood later.
Hector was still staring at the girl's beautiful eyes. Even though hatred radiated from them, he still admired her beauty.
"Forget it," Estelle said. "Now that this crazy man is here, please tell me the details, Doctor Sandro. I don't want to be fooled by him again."
The doctor threw a surprised look and blinked several times. Meanwhile, his mind processed what he should say to the couple who argued and clashed almost every day. He glanced briefly at Hector, but the man gave no reaction at all.
In the end, he was the one who explained everything. Hector? As usual, he stayed out of it.
"Ah, since there are two poisons, the effects will be very clear. Things like pain and heavy bleeding during menstruation, as well as increased hormones that might affect you psychologically. So, I chose a middle approach to neutralize both poisons."
The girl nodded in understanding. No wonder she had been experiencing emotional surges lately. That night, she had even cried suddenly when Hector forced her to do something indecent. Even though she did not want to look weak in front of him.
"Wait, does that mean I don't need to take the antidote anymore?"
Sandro paused for a moment. "It will take quite a long time to fully neutralize it. So you still need to take the antidote regularly. However, I will adjust the composition so it can act as a neutralizer and also support your immune system."
"Are there any restrictions?"
"Of course." Sandro smiled. "You must abstain from sexual activity and from having children for several—"
"Don't worry, I won't do any of that with a man who is not legally my husband." Estelle glanced at Hector, her eyes filled with irritation.
Meanwhile, the twins could only smile awkwardly. Of course, they knew Estelle was throwing a jab at Hector. She was clearly drawing a line between them. As long as Hector did not make her status legal, the two of them would remain strangers.
Unexpectedly, there was no special reaction on Hector's face. The man stood up and glanced briefly at Estelle.
"If you're already well, today we'll continue the journey to Edward Wright's residence."
No one spoke as he turned and walked toward the door. But just as his hand touched the doorknob, Estelle's voice stopped him.
"Wait."
Hector's body paused for a moment. He turned and looked into the girl's eyes, which carried deep irritation.
"Next time, don't pick up someone else's phone carelessly," Estelle said.
Hearing the accusation, Hector smirked. "How could I pick up your phone when Sandro locked the door from the inside?"
At once, Estelle fell silent. Slowly, her gaze shifted to the doctor who was still standing awkwardly beside the bed. She looked at him briefly, then turned back to Hector.
"It wasn't you?"
"You should investigate things thoroughly before accusing someone," Hector replied as he opened the door. Without another word, he left the room.
"That call… I was the one who answered it," Sandro admitted. "It kept ringing over and over, so I thought it was important. Sorry if I overstepped."
Rubbing her forehead, Estelle did not know what to say anymore. Somehow, just hearing Hector's name made her emotions spike. Instinctively, she always suspected him whenever something bad happened.
"It's fine," Estelle replied, letting out a sigh.
After everything was cleared up, Sandro excused himself to meet Hector. Whatever they were going to talk about, Estelle did not care. As long as the man did not interrupt her peace again, she could endure it.
Still, for some reason, Hector's reaction felt strange. He would corner Estelle whenever he had the chance before. He would take revenge in any way just to make her submit.
Why was he so quiet today?
Suspicion was the only word in Estelle's mind. Hector's strange behavior only made her more alert. Hopefully, the man would not come up with an even more extreme move.
"Your master really is strange. Did he take the wrong medicine? Since when did he learn to hold his tongue?"
"Well…" Sandra paused, hesitant to continue. "Maybe Master is still in shock."
"Shock? A man like him can feel shock?"
"Earlier, we thought you had a miscarriage," Sandra said.
Estelle's eyes widened. What kind of lunatic would think she had a miscarriage? How could she have a miscarriage when she had never even slept with anyone?
"There was a lot of blood. And Sandro hadn't arrived yet, so the diagnosis couldn't be fully accurate."
That made sense. Still, Hector's behavior made even less sense. The man should have known she was still untouched. That night during the shooting was proof. Every night, she had never been out of his sight.
"Master thought you were pregnant with another man's child, and he was furious."
A sigh escaped. Estelle had not expected Hector to be that insane. The longer it went on, the more unreasonable his thinking became. Talking about his behavior only made her more dizzy.
"Stop. I don't want to hear it anymore," Estelle cut her off. "Let's focus on something more useful instead."
***
When Sandro opened the door to Hector's room, the atmosphere still looked normal. That meant the man's mood was still very good. The doctor had been worried that Hector's mood would drop and he would start wrecking everything in the room because of Estelle's earlier reaction.
Thankfully, that fear did not come true.
The doctor stepped forward, approaching the dark-haired man who was now adjusting the long black coat wrapped around his body. When he realized someone had entered, those blue eyes shifted and glanced toward the source of interruption.
"This is the first time I've seen you kneel in front of someone," Sandro said as he sat on the edge of the bed.
"Just kneeling. Not a big deal," Hector replied, now fixing his hair.
"I still have a bad feeling about this," Sandro muttered.
Hearing his subordinate's comment, Hector chuckled. What Sandro said was not just a feeling. There was definitely a plan for retaliation for his little girl.
"Yeah, more or less."
"I knew it," Sandro narrowed his eyes.
"When we return to Eden, she'll be the one kneeling in front of me."
The man turned his head and pointed at his own legs.
"Kneeling between my thighs, to be precise."
Sandro stopped talking, but he was cursing inside. Hector would definitely look for ways to get around all the rules so he could keep enjoying the girl. If it came to that, it would be better for him to pray that Estelle would have more patience. Because Hector's lewd obsession with her was not something he could cure.
***