He Called Me Fragile, Then I Ripped the Doorframe Apart Barehanded Chapter 10

He Called Me Fragile, Then I Ripped the Doorframe Apart Barehanded Chapter 10

After the charity gala, Adrian really did stop showing up.

He sent no more gifts, stopped following me, and made no attempt to contact me through any

channel.

It was as though he had vanished from my life entirely.

Claire occasionally came across news about him online.

Mercer Holdings posted record quarterly earnings, and Adrian Mercer attended one industry

forum or another.

In every photo, he wore an immaculate suit and the same unreadable expression he had always

had.

He looked as cold and remote as ever, the kind of man no one dared approach.

It was as though nothing had ever happened.

Three months later, my life had completely returned to normal.

I slept in until I woke on my own, drank the homemade chicken broth Claire made to soothe my cough, and occasionally stopped by Langford Group to help my father with some paperwork.

My days were so quiet they barely seemed to move

One afternoon, I went to the hospital for a routine checkup.

After leaving the allergy and immunology clinic, I passed through a corridor in the inpatient wing.

I caught a fleeting glimpse of a familiar figure in the crowd and stopped short.

It was Victoria, but she was nothing like the haughty, overbearing woman I remembered.

She wore a hospital gown and sat in a wheelchair with her left leg in a cast. A patient care aide

walked beside her.

We came face-to-face in the corridor.

She paused in surprise when she saw me, then looked away.

She said nothing, and the hostility that had once filled her eyes was gone.

It was as though all her sharp edges had been worn smooth.

I intended to pretend I had not seen her and keep walking.

Then the aide behind her sighed and whispered to a coworker.

“That’s Ms. Hale. I heard the Mercer heir personally sent her overseas. She injured her leg in an

accident at a training camp there.”

“Wasn’t her father a shareholder in Mercer Holdings? Why hasn’t anyone stepped in to help her?”

“His shares had already been bought out. I heard the Mercer heir personally arranged the entire buyout and made sure her father did not retain a single share.”

“That’s rough.”

I stood around the corner and listened until they finished.

Then I turned and walked away.

I felt no satisfaction and no sense of vindication.

It simply had nothing to do with me anymore.

The sun was shining when I stepped outside the hospital.

Claire was waiting beside the car. The moment she saw me, she waved excitedly.

“Ms. Langford, your test results are back, and everything looks normal! The doctor said you’ve

been doing exceptionally well lately!”

“Of course I have.” I smiled as I walked toward her.

“At home, the house actually stays warm, and I can have hot soup whenever I want. Who wouldn’t

feel better?”

Claire opened the car door for me.

As I bent to climb inside, I caught sight of something across the street.

A black car sat quietly beneath the trees.

The windows remained closed, but I knew who was inside.

I looked away and pulled the door shut.

“Claire, let’s go.”

“You got it! Where are we going?”

“Take me home.”

The car pulled away and merged into traffic.

I leaned back against the seat and closed my eyes

In the rearview mirror, the black car across the street grew smaller and smaller until it became a

dark speck and vanished from sight.

I did not look back.

I never did, not even once.

Later, two stories began circulating through New York high society.

The first was that Adrian Mercer never dated again. At thirty, he was one of the city’s fastest-rising

business leaders, yet he remained completely alone. Some people claimed they had seen him drinking alone at a bar late at night, repeatedly pulling up the contact information for someone

who had blocked him.

The second was that although the Langford heiress had a voice sweet enough to make your teeth

ache, no one should ever provoke her.

When she got angry, she could snap an oak board in half with her bare hands.

As for me, Natalie Langford, I still spoke every day in my naturally soft, breathy voice, always

sounding slightly tearful.

I still ended up at the hospital for IV treatment more often than I would have liked.

But I knew that no one would ever dare mistreat me again.