The Hidden Empress Stripping Her Secrets After Divorce novel Chapter 401

Lydia waved her hands frantically.

"No, no need, I can go to the infirmary myself. I wasn't looking where I was going, I'm sorry..."

She tried to scramble up, but her knees hurt too much, leaving her with no strength.

Tears finally slipped out, a single drop rolling down her cheek.

She hurriedly wiped it away, keeping her head down, too afraid to look at him.

The Duke looked at her, his brow furrowing slightly.

He reached out, seeming as though he wanted to help her up, but paused mid-air.

That pause was light, brief.

But Lydia saw it.

It was a sign of restraint.

A kind of careful hesitation.

As if he were afraid of startling something precious.

Then he reached out anyway and scooped her up into his arms.

Lydia froze.

"Sir..."

"Don't move," his tone brooked no argument.

Held against his chest, Lydia went completely rigid.

She looked up at his profile.

His face was authoritative and stern, but right now it held a barely perceptible softness.

She remembered what that person had told her.

"Look at him with adoration."

Her gaze softened, filling with a timid sort of gratitude.

The Duke glanced down at her.

He met those eyes directly.

Clear, innocent, and glimmering with unshed tears.

His footsteps faltered.

Just for a second.

Then he kept walking.

At the hospital.

Lydia sat on a bed in the emergency room, her injured knees now cleaned and wrapped in white gauze.

She kept her head down, looking slightly uneasy.

The Duke sat in a chair nearby, ignoring his phone and simply watching her.

His gaze was restrained, gentle, and carried an indescribable complexity.

"Are you a student here?" he asked.

Lydia nodded.

"Why didn't you attend the celebration?"

Lydia hesitated, then whispered, "I work at the library. The celebration has plenty of volunteers, they don't need me."

The Duke watched her.

"Work?"

Lydia nodded, her voice dropping even lower. "It's hard enough for my family to pay for my tuition, so it's good that I can earn some of my own living expenses."

As she spoke, she kept her head bowed, her eyelashes fluttering delicately.

She looked so well-behaved, so sensible, that it made one's heart ache.

The Duke's gaze softened even more.

"What's your name?"

"Anna."

"Chinese?"

Lydia nodded.

"How long have you been in France?"

"A little over a month."

The Duke nodded, asking nothing more.

A moment later, his assistant opened the door and stepped inside.

"Your Grace, the meeting is about to begin. The car is ready."

The Duke stood up and walked over to the bed.

He looked at Lydia, seemingly wanting to say something, but only let out a soft sigh.