I Fell for the Man Who Ruined Me, Then He Forgot He Ever Loved Me Back novel Chapter 16

Meanwhile, things at Wickham Manor were far from peaceful.

Arthur Wickham had spent the entire day in gloom, watching his foundation crumble before his very eyes. While his heart felt like dead ash, his son had not returned home for a day and a night.

It wasn't until late into the night that a staggering, terrified figure frantically stumbled through the front doors.

His pampered son had always been arrogant and reckless. Arthur had never seen Julian in such a state.

Finding his own throat dry and aching, Arthur opened his mouth to reprimand him, but Julian suddenly collapsed to the floor, violently grabbing his father's pant leg.

His voice was trembling and hoarse. "Dad... Dad... I messed up."

Arthur didn't take it seriously.

Messed up?

Did this golden boy ever go a single day out of the year without messing up?

Seeing his son's flushed face and smelling the heavy stench of alcohol rolling off him, Arthur assumed the boy was just drunk again. Getting into fights, harassing people, DUIs—he was used to it.

Arthur felt a profound sense of disappointment. "The family is facing a massive crisis. I've been running around all day looking for help and strategizing, without even time for a sip of water, and you had the nerve to go out partying? How did the Wickham family produce such a useless failure!"

Julian shook his head wildly, his knees dragging across the floor as he scrambled half a step closer to his father.

Covered in a cold sweat from head to toe, he stammered out the story of his impulsive actions that night.

Especially the part where, an hour later, he went back and found the car completely empty...

He expected his strict father to explode in a screaming fit, but instead, Arthur remained completely silent.

After a few moments of quiet, he finally asked a question.

"You're saying the body was gone?"

"I... I don't know! He wasn't moving before, so I-I just panicked and ran. Who knows what..."

Arthur was unnervingly calm. "And you're sure there were no cameras?"

"Yes, yes, it was a back road. I know the area well. The cameras have been broken for ages."

"Did he get a good look at you?"

Julian didn't know. He didn't know anything. All he knew was that after the deafening crash and the violent shudder of the car, every ounce of his drunkenness had evaporated.

He had scrambled out of the car in a blind panic. The moment he saw the man's closed eyes and the blood pouring from his forehead, his legs had turned to jelly.

As he was reliving the terror, Arthur leaned down and hauled him to his feet.

"Enough. Go take a shower and throw those clothes away. Give me the location. I'll handle this mess and the car for you."

"Remember this—Julian Wickham drank until he blacked out tonight. Whether Jorrod Vaughn was saved or not, if anyone brings up a car crash, you deny everything."

-

Sienna slept horribly.

In all her life, she had never spent a full night sleeping on a sofa.

The living room wasn't huge, but it was much emptier than her bedroom, leaving her with an unspeakable sense of hollow discomfort.

The thought of a strange man sleeping in her room made her toss and turn restlessly.

It felt like she had barely closed her eyes when her alarm went off—the six-hour timer she had set to reapply the medicine.

Motivated entirely by the prospect of a hundred-and-fifty-thousand-dollar bed, she dragged her exhausted body up, grabbed the ointment from the coffee table, and headed for the bedroom.

Knock, knock.

Hearing no response, Sienna simply pushed the door open.

It wasn't even six in the morning yet, and the early light was still dim.

The faint glow filtering through the window allowed her to barely make out the man on the bed, so she didn't bother turning on the lights.

She sat on the edge of the mattress, resting her head in her hands to shake off the sleepiness.

Jorrod was still sound asleep.

His narrow eyes were shut tight, revealing a tiny mole near the corner of his eye. His long, thick lashes cast shadows over his cheeks, softening his entire demeanor.

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