Chapter 7

As soon as the words were out of Caesar's mouth, Nadia strode forward and kneeled on the step covered in thumbtacks without hesitation. That startled him. He had intended to scare her. Anyone would back off in fear when they saw what was in store for them. He stared at her slender yet determined figure, seriously appraising her for the first time. It was hard to imagine how much she loved him to be able to push herself to this extent. He was about to pull her to her feet when his phone rang, interrupting his thoughts. He answered the call without hesitation when he saw it was from Josephine. "My head hurts, Caesar…" She sounded weak and on the verge of tears. Caesar immediately forgot about everything else and turned to get into the car. He sped off, heading toward the hospital. Meanwhile, Nadia continued kneeling up the stairs. The thumbtacks stabbed into her flesh, but she didn't seem to feel the pain. She forged ahead. The blood dyed her knees crimson and left marks on the steps. It took her the whole day to climb up all 3000 steps. She didn't have time to rest or tend to her wounds, though. She made her way to the hospital after finding out that was where Caesar and Josephine were. When she arrived, she peeped inside the hospital ward through the window on the door. She saw Caesar holding Josephine in his arms and coaxing her gently as he fed her her medication. Nadia had pursued him for ten years, but she'd never seen that look on his face. The numbness in her legs suddenly gave way to sensation, and pain spread through her. If Theodore were still alive, she would be cherished like a princess. He would never allow her to suffer such grievances, nor would he have abandoned her in such a wretched state. But now, she lowered her eyes to conceal her emotions. She opened the door and staggered into the hospital ward, choking up as she looked at Caesar tearfully. "I kneeled on all the steps, Caesar. Could you not call off our engagement? I can do anything as long as you don't cancel the wedding…" Only then did he realize he'd forgotten all about her. He was stunned to learn that she'd actually made her way up all those steps! He looked down at her knees, where the fabric was stained crimson with blood. He wavered but still had no intention of proceeding with the wedding. The engagement had only been born out of spite. Thanks to all the time he and Josephine had been spending together, their relationship was almost back to being like how it had been in the past. "I don't—" he started. He wanted to tell Nadia that he didn't have feelings for her. However, Josephine suddenly pushed him away. "You should care for her, seeing as she's so badly injured. Sebastian has already apologized to me for not protecting me, and I've forgiven him. He'll be here soon, so you guys should leave." Caesar was stunned. "What do you mean by that, Josephine? Are you still going to marry him?" He sounded incredulous, but Josephine looked matter-of-fact. She even gave him an odd look and said, "Of course. I had no choice but to ask you to care for me because he and I were fighting. "Besides, your girlfriend is the one who hired those thugs to sully me. It's only right for you to care for me for a few days, isn't it?" He trembled with rage, and his eyes turned bloodshot. "I thought we—" She cut him off. "What? Don't tell me you thought we would get back together. I said that whoever asked for a reconciliation first would be a loser, right?" Then, she pretended to be surprised as she asked, "Do you want to be a loser, Caesar?" That pissed him off. He forced through gritted teeth, "You're really something, Josephine." After simmering for a while, he grabbed Nadia's hand. "Our wedding will go on as planned." He turned back to look at Josephine with a sneer. "Don't regret this."