To the Man Destined to Kill Me - Chapter 89

Noah, who was limping back to the hotel, suddenly stopped walking.

Just once, just one time — he thought — he wanted to see her face before he left. He only wanted to check if her beautiful face showed any signs of illness.

He couldn’t leave like this.

It had been six years. A whole six years.

During that long time, the existence of Scarlet had been stuck in his heart, neither pulled out nor completely buried, constantly tormenting him.

‘I thought you were dead.’

Before she “died,” she had said goodbye. Who could understand Scarlet’s changeable heart? But Noah had wanted to respect her wish.

Whether it was revenge or something else, how could he refuse the request of someone about to die?

In the end, he left for Natalia in despair. But now they said she was alive.

‘It can’t be.’

Rather than asking how, his first thought was thankfulness that she was alive.

Could she even imagine how overwhelming it was to know she had survived?

‘Just once… Just to see her face…’

Clenching his fist tightly, Noah turned around.

He would only see her from afar. Just enough to check if she was healthy and how she was doing.

With that decision, his steps back toward the White mansion felt much lighter.

‘Why did she lie?’

Why didn’t she correct the obituary saying she was dead? Was it to push him away?

If he said he felt no betrayal, it would be a lie.

Scarlet knew very well how much Noah had loved her. Yet just the fact that she was alive was enough for him to forgive everything.

More than anything.

“How could I ever hate you…”

Noah rushed back to the White mansion. Night had deepened, and thick darkness had settled, but he didn’t care.

He climbed the wall skillfully. He didn’t even have to think about where to go to find her again. He found her immediately in a corner of the garden beyond the wall.

‘Scarlet!’

His heart pounded loudly in his ears. His face flushed and excitement filled him.

Just a little closer. He would only get a little closer and look at her. That was his plan. But just then, a large shadow appeared next to Scarlet.

“You didn’t have to come today.”

“I missed you so much I couldn’t stand it. Have you been well?”

It was a familiar man’s voice. But before Noah could identify the voice, the conversation he heard made all the blood drain from his body. The man continued.

“Nothing happened, right?”

“No, nothing. But are you working while eating? Your face looks so thin.”

Scarlet’s white hand gently caressed the man’s cheek.

Noah gritted his teeth to stop himself from rushing out. His clenched fists trembled.

What was this…? He couldn’t understand.

Scarlet, who he thought was dead, was alive. And next to her was another man?

“Haha. I just look thinner because it’s nighttime.”

“Is that so.”

“Oh, right. You said you had something to tell me in the letter.”

“Oh, that. I don’t want to say it here.”

“Is it something serious? What is it?”

“Um… Bill.”

At her careful call, Noah felt fury surge up inside him.

Bill. That man was Bill. Yes, the owner of that familiar voice — Wilhelm Hoffman.

Scarlet’s voice calling him was endlessly affectionate.

Ha. What a joke. Scarlet, affectionate toward someone else? Scarlet, shy and careful?

He had thought those were sides of her only he had seen. He believed she had shown a face to him that she showed no one else.

Seeing her touch another man’s cheek and hand so naturally scratched at Noah’s insides.

He was suffocating with betrayal. Hot anger boiled up inside him. He wanted to run out and punch Wilhelm immediately.

And he wanted to ask Scarlet — what the hell she thought she was doing.

‘What are you thinking… Scarlet, please don’t do this.’

Noah, pale like the moon, trembled as he listened quietly to their conversation. Scarlet spoke.

“The engagement. I want to move it up.”

Gasp.

He reflexively swallowed his breath. Hearing the sound, Scarlet and Wilhelm looked around. Noah quickly hid in the bushes.

“Maybe it’s just the wind.”

“Or maybe it’s a guest. But even if it gets known, it doesn’t matter. Everyone will find out soon that you and I are getting married. Carly, who would’ve thought the day would come when you would show yourself to the press?”

“Right. I didn’t think it would happen either.”

“Why are you trembling? Are you cold?”

“No. It’s not that.”

Wilhelm gently hugged the trembling Scarlet. His long arms wrapped around her body. Scarlet leaned her face against his chest naturally.

And Noah, watching the two, bit his lips so hard he crushed them.

‘You abandoned me.’

It wasn’t just a farewell. It was abandonment.

She had abandoned him. She had chosen revenge, and left him behind to start a new love.

Noah covered his mouth and collapsed to the ground. Holding back the sobs with his palm, he felt Scarlet’s voice growing distant.

If he had known this, he wouldn’t have come back to the White mansion.

If realizing this ugly truth was all he would get, it would have been better to stay lost in the sweet dream that she was alive.

He wanted to grab her shoulders and shake her right now. He wanted to pour out all the countless questions swirling inside him.

‘Engagement. She said engagement.’

While he had lived trapped in the nightmare of her memory, she had been dreaming new dreams.

It must have been a very sweet love. She had chosen revenge and built feelings with a man she had liked for a long time.

And above all, Wilhelm wasn’t Noah Ashford.

There was no bad history with her family, no original sin weighing on her.

It must be a clean love.

Realizing that twisted Noah’s lips bitterly. His breathing grew rough. The feeling that overwhelmed him — whether it was betrayal or jealousy — he couldn’t tell anymore.

He wanted to be angry with her. He wondered if spewing all this emotion onto her would make him feel better.

But, but…

‘How could I ever hurt you?’

His feelings toward Scarlet were as deep as his hatred toward the White brothers.

The burning betrayal felt like it would tear his whole body apart. His head felt like it could explode.

Yet still, he couldn’t turn these arrows at Scarlet.

‘How could I destroy you. How could I ever hurt you…’

Scarlet was the one who had suffered all her life. How could he, of all people, hurt her?

‘In the end, you’ll be the only one left. Scarlet, you alone… you alone will remain fine.’

If he couldn’t touch her, he would ruin what surrounded her. He had already decided to destroy everything, so he would just crush Scarlet’s brothers even more perfectly.

A terrifying firestorm, like it could burn away even his soul, raged inside him. His chest shook violently, and his breathing was uneven, but somehow he managed to calm himself.

When he returned to the hotel, Noah gave orders to Peter, who had been waiting for him.

“Gather every bit of information about John White and Aaron White. I’m going to destroy them too.”

“Did something happen?”

Peter cautiously asked, reading Noah’s expression. Noah answered with silence.

“And find everything about Wilhelm Hoffman. His past activities, even what he ate this morning — everything.”

His purple eyes, giving the orders, were chillingly cold. There wasn’t a trace of warmth left in them.

It was the color of pure rage.

“Oh, Wilhelm. You’re here.”

Aaron greeted Wilhelm warmly, just as always.

Scarlet had gone to bed early, saying she was tired. Wilhelm had stayed, watching over his sleeping fiancée, before finally coming out into the hallway.

“Will you have a drink?”

“Yes, I’d like that.”

“Haha. That’s rare. You usually don’t enjoy drinking.”

“Sometimes I miss it too.”

Wilhelm, smiling good-naturedly, accepted the glass Aaron offered. He looked at the brandy filling the glass. Reflected in the strong alcohol was his own worried face.

Wilhelm emptied the glass in one go. Aaron watched him with concern. Reading Aaron’s look, Wilhelm gave a bitter smile.

“It’s nothing serious.”

“Nothing? You should never run a business. You’re terrible at lying.”

“Is that so. Haha…”

“Is it because of Noah Ashford?”

“No, it’s not because of him.”

“When you lie, you need to look the other person in the eye. Mix lies into the truth — it makes them more believable.”

Aaron refilled Wilhelm’s glass. Wilhelm pressed his fingers to his eyes and let out a short sigh.

Except for Scott, Scarlet’s other brothers didn’t know how close Scarlet and Noah once were. Only Scott and Wilhelm knew that Teddy was their son.

So the other brothers thought Scarlet and Noah had simply drifted apart like siblings.

Because of that, Wilhelm couldn’t say that Scarlet wanted to move the engagement forward because she still cared about Noah.

“To be honest… I’m worried whether I can be a good father.”

“You’re already like a father. Teddy follows you more than us.”

“Even so, when he reaches adolescence… no matter how well I treat him, I can never be his real father.”

Soon, Teddy would start asking who he resembled. As Wilhelm’s feelings for Scarlet grew deeper, this worry grew too.

Because he didn’t think of Teddy just as his fiancée’s child, the engagement felt heavier.

“Also, it bothers me that he was born before marriage and carries the stigma of being illegitimate. Sometimes I wonder if moving abroad would be better for him… I keep thinking about many things.”

“Hmm… You’re truly a good man. Scarlet must have incredible luck to meet someone like you.”

“No, I’m not…”

But the urgent worry was still Noah’s existence. Wilhelm feared Noah might find out about Teddy.

Yet part of him thought Noah deserved to know he had a son.

Still, the hardest part was not knowing what the best choice was for Teddy and Scarlet.

“You’re as good as his real father. Didn’t I say it before? Teddy’s smiling face looks just like yours.”

“Really?”

“Yes, just like you when you smile. Honestly, I have no idea who he takes after.”

If anything, Teddy resembled Scarlet more than Noah. He didn’t show the purple eyes, the symbol of royalty.

But even then, it wasn’t an exact match to Scarlet either. Checking the portraits of the White family’s ancestors, it was clear Scarlet resembled them — but Teddy didn’t.

Wilhelm had once visited Hiberk’s family estate and seen a portrait of Natalia’s emperor from two generations ago, kept in the castle basement.

At that time, Wilhelm had felt like he couldn’t breathe.

Teddy’s face resembled the royal family of Natalia.

‘As he grows, the resemblance to his ancestors will show even more.’

If that happens, will he be able to protect Teddy from the storms of the world?

Wilhelm answered with a faint smile filled with worry.

“Teddy will become like his father. Just like he has the same smiling face.”

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