To the Man Destined to Kill Me - Chapter 26
“I told you to be careful.”
Scarlett, grinding her teeth in frustration, spoke while panting.
“I warned you it was dangerous. Why didn’t you listen to me?”
She was now shaking badly. Filled with fear, she walked toward Isaac’s room.
“Carly. No.”
Susan blocked Scarlett’s way.
“You could catch it too.”
“Move.”
Scarlett’s glare was fierce. A dangerous heat rose from her dark, ash-gray eyes, as if she could explode at any moment.
“It’s dangerous.”
“Yes, it’s dangerous. I warned you so many times, but you ignored me. What will you do if the fever gets worse and something terrible happens?”
“Isaac will be fine. He’ll get up soon, so don’t worry.”
“If he gets up soon, does that mean the illness disappears? That the suffering didn’t happen? I have to see Isaac’s face. So move.”
“The house is under lockdown. You need to stay quietly at the villa until the illness passes.”
“Don’t order me around! You have no right.”
“Hans, take Scarlett out and put her in the carriage. Carly, don’t come back until I say you can.”
“What are you doing!”
Scarlett screamed desperately, but Susan stayed cold. She looked at her with icy eyes and spoke firmly.
“I clearly told you not to come back home. If you get sick, I can’t face our late mother. You need to rest. After what happened, forget about school and focus on recovering. Aaron has already contacted Iodes for you.”
“Susan!”
“Hans, hurry.”
At Susan’s nod, Hans, the huge bodyguard, started moving.
Scarlett’s face twisted in anger as she stepped back. Susan spoke to her.
“Don’t scream. What if Isaac wakes up?”
“Don’t you dare lay a hand on me.”
“If you don’t want that, walk out on your own.”
“At least let me see Isaac’s face before I go.”
“No. I’m more worried about you than Isaac.”
Scarlett’s face collapsed in despair. When Hans grabbed her arm, she struggled, whining.
“Let go. I said let go! How dare you touch me!”
Scarlett screamed all the way to the entrance of the mansion, and from there, she trembled with betrayal and humiliation as she was dragged away.
Shoved into the carriage, she threw a water bottle lying inside out the window.
“I’ll never forgive you!”
That’s how Scarlett returned to the villa. Even after arriving, her anger hadn’t cooled, and she said to Noah, who had come to greet her:
“Just how fragile do I look to you? You don’t really think I’ll catch the fever too, right?”
Of course, Noah did think that, but he hid his awkwardness with a gentle smile.
Scarlett, feeling parched, drank the entire water bottle Marie had given her in one go. Her normally pale cheeks were now flushed red with anger.
“Marie. Where’s Sophia Loren?”
“She should arrive tomorrow.”
“Send her straight to the mansion. Isaac caught the fever. I don’t care how much it costs, just make sure he gets completely better.”
Handing back the bottle, Scarlett looked seriously anxious. She truly cherished her young nephews like they were her own children.
She had never imagined having children in her life, so when she found someone to pass on the love she received from her siblings, it felt like a miracle.
Biting her lip hard, trying to swallow her worry, Scarlett was comforted by Noah.
“Scarlett. It’ll be okay.”
“I’m not okay.”
Scarlett sat deep in thought in the living room, where they had lit the fireplace a month earlier than usual.
What had changed, making Isaac sick instead of Abigail?
But there were too many variables. In the first place, the fact that she returned 200 days before her death, with the memory of her murder, was already a huge change.
Even a small shovel can change the flow of a river. So it was natural for a huge change to alter the future unpredictably.
“It’ll be fine…”
‘Yes. Abigail was just especially weak.’
Even so, she couldn’t stop worrying. Just imagining that small, delicate body burning with fever made her restless and unable to stay still.
She felt guilty, thinking Isaac’s illness was her fault for not changing the future more actively.
“It’ll be fine.”
Noah, sitting across from her, tried to comfort her.
To Noah’s eyes, Scarlett looked fragile, like a glass artwork that could shatter with one wrong touch. Knowing how delicate she was inside, Noah carefully chose his words.
“People are tougher than you think. Stronger than your worries. So don’t worry too much.”
“But children are weak. He’s just a child. You… you don’t know… how fragile a person can be…”
Her voice was full of fear and powerless. Scarlett was unusually shriveled, something rare for her.
Finding it strangely new, Noah looked deeply at her, as if she might burst into tears at any moment.
Scarlett sank deeper into despair. Before long, unable to endure the sadness and fear, tears welled up in her eyes.
Noah, panicked by her tears, quickly moved closer and knelt in front of her.
“What if something happens to Isaac?”
“It’s a useless worry. Isaac will get better so easily it’ll seem silly.”
“But children are the weakest beings in the world. When I was little, even a drizzle would make me cough and collapse.”
Her tears fell, wetting her skirt. Noah tried to wipe her tears, but he didn’t even have a handkerchief.
So he carefully pulled down his sleeve and gently wiped her face, as if handling the most delicate thing in the world.
‘Don’t cry. When you cry, it feels like the whole world cries with you.’
Her ash-gray eyes, heavy with tears, looked at Noah. But she wasn’t really seeing him. Her heart was full of worry and sadness. Still, Noah wanted to comfort her.
‘You’re the fragile one, Scarlett.’
He wanted to wrap her small, thin body like a feather, hoping to calm her fears.
Noah was overwhelmed by the urge to hug his poor sister, the one he loved too deeply and wrongly.
“Did Isaac often cough too?”
“…No. But Chris did. Isaac’s father.”
“But wasn’t it because of another illness?”
“Yes.”
“Then you don’t need to worry. Isaac will be fine.”
“What if the fever damages his eyes?”
“That’s very unlikely. And we called a magician. The magician will fix everything.”
“I hope so.”
Finally, Scarlett broke down in tears.
Drowned in pain like waves in a stormy night, she didn’t even notice Noah gently hugging her with one arm and patting her back.
She simply found comfort and peace in his warmth and steady hand, tearing down one more wall she had built around her heart toward Noah.
But Noah was the one who felt self-loathing.
Why did he feel like Scarlett’s sadness was a small blessing?
Noah blamed himself bitterly.
Would he ever have been able to comfort Scarlett without something like this happening?
No, it would have been impossible.
The fact that he and Scarlett were now this close was already a miracle.
A child born out of wedlock, rejected by the Wifland family, and a girl who lost both her parents and health because of that scandal.
Noah Ashford had rooted himself in her ruined life, and now he was planting seeds over her sadness.
‘I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Scarlett.’
Even with deep shame, the moment was too sweet to push away. No matter how much he blamed and crushed the immoral feelings he should not have had, they grew like weeds, just as they always had throughout Noah Ashford’s life.
Yes. That was Noah Ashford. Weeds suited him better than any other plant. Tough, stubborn, and fierce. And somehow, always managing to find a place to bloom.
“Isaac will be fine.”
“Can you promise that?”
“I promise. He will really be okay.”
“Even if I’m not there, can you save him? Can you protect him?”
Once again, she said something Noah could not understand. But he answered calmly.
“Yes. I swear.”
It was a promise born from the deep feelings that had grown as big as his sins. It was strong like the depth of his heart and pure like Scarlet’s tears.
It was pure, truly innocent, because it came from the simple desire to be seen well by the woman he loved.
“Thank you.”
Whenever Scarlet’s clear eyes met his, Noah wanted to smile at her.
He wanted to look good in her eyes and show her only the best parts of himself. He wanted to feel the softness of her red hair.
So in this moment, when Scarlet leaned into his arms saying thank you, Noah understood the moment when Scarlet once said she wanted to die.
It was overwhelming and painful, but still, it felt like his whole world was bursting with heat.
‘Scarlet…’
Scarlet.
The name he longed to call — Scarlet. His sister.
The one whose hand he wanted to hold — Scarlet. His half-sister.
The one he wanted to whisper love to — Scarlet. His half… sister.
The one he wanted to kiss — Scarlet. His… was she really his sister?
Noah looked down at Scarlet, who had fallen asleep in his arms.
He studied her round forehead, smooth nose, full lips, and graceful jawline.
It seemed like they resembled each other, but if he really thought about it, they didn’t look alike at all.
Noah carefully brushed the back of Scarlet’s hand. Her soft skin was nothing like his rough hands, calloused from years of harsh life at sea. Noah wanted to believe that even this difference was proof they weren’t truly siblings.
Suddenly, sadness filled him. Why did Scarlet have to be his sister? Why did the life he ruined have to be hers?
“Scarlet.”
He called her name as she slept.
Scarlet. Scarlet.
If only he had stolen the name White, and he and Scarlet were truly not blood-related… then he could have been the happiest man in the world.
Noah wiped the traces of tears left on Scarlet’s cheeks with his big thumb. Without realizing it, drawn in by his burning feelings, he pressed a soft kiss to the top of her head.
Maybe he was simply enchanted by her hair, shining like a spark from the fireplace. Enchanted by its heat, its warmth, and her very existence that felt like salvation.
“Ah…”
Noah finally came to his senses and covered his mouth in shock. But he couldn’t stop the sigh that escaped through his fingers. He jumped to his feet and stumbled back.
This was wrong. This was a sin. How could he love his sister?
Noah was afraid of his own feelings. He feared the fire inside him that refused to die out. So he ran without thinking.
He ran out of the living room, down the hallway, past the doors of the villa. Then he ran outside into the world covered in darkness — as if the darkness could hide his sins.
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