My Only Love: The Targeted Heiress

No one knew for how long Cathy cried before finally, she started to feel calm, and only a small sob was left. A hand wiping her tears with soft fingers made her realize she was crying in front of someone else. After a long time since she moved to Red Rosemary, she ended up crying in front of other people. And that person was Vincent.

For some reason, everything she did for the first time was always done with that man. It seemed that the man had his own charisma that made her unable to deny his existence by her side.

"Sorry. Your clothes got dirty because of me," stated Cathy guiltily.

"It doesn't matter as long as you feel better," Vincent replied, stroking her cheek with the same gentleness as before.

Catherine swallowed with a sentiment. She had never been treated warmly by someone like this in her entire life. She did not get the attention and understanding that Vincent did to her. The tears streamed from her eyes once again as she realized this reality.

"What's the matter? Why are you crying again? Are you sick?"

Cathy shook her head quickly. Why... why are you so nice to me? Asked her inside her mind.

"My sisters..." but she did not dare to ask directly and just divert their conversation.

"I told them to go home. It's late at night, and they have to get up early for school. Anna still wanted to be here, but I managed to force her to go home."

"Thank you." Cathy was relieved that someone took her place to take care of her sisters. Her heart would be filled with feelings of guilt if her siblings fell ill just because she was there.

"What did the doctor say about my body? I can't possibly pass out from exhaustion. At least I'm pretty sure of it."

Vincent sighed and sometimes hoped that the girl he loves was not too smart.

"Did you remember anything before you passed out? Like smelled bad or ate something you never ate before? Or maybe... someone injected something in you?"

Cathy tried to recall what happened this afternoon. She remembered ordering four ice cream cones at a booth, then... the ice cream vendor said something that made her uncomfortable. Then... then... she couldn't remember. Cathy didn't remember anything after she received the fourth ice cream cone.

"I don't know. I just bought ice cream and... I can't remember after that. So what's going on?"

Vincent sighed heavily. If he could, he didn't want to tell Cathy the truth. But... hiding the truth was also not the solution.

"Someone put hallucination drugs on you. Either you can see it through a dream or when you wake up. However, your body is not compatible with the dosage so that you fainted, and maybe... you saw those hallucinations through your dream."

Cathy's expression was filled with intense fear when she heard his explanation.

"Don't worry. The doctor will make sure nothing bad happens to you. They are still looking for ways to get rid of the delusions, so be patient. You just have to remember, whatever you see is not real. Think of it as a nightmare that you can forget it." said Vincent as he held her hand convincingly.

Vincent did not reveal the terrible effects of the drugs on purpose. If Cathy couldn't survive when she was hallucinating, she could experience heart failure, which leads to death. He didn't want Cathy to feel terrified any more than this.

"So I still can't go home?"

Vincent smiled sadly as he answered, "Don't worry, I'll accompany you here." once again, Vincent gently stroked her head down to her rosy cheek with the affection he had.

Miraculously, with only words from Vincent, Cathy was not afraid anymore. She felt safe and at peace, as if she was in the safest place in the world. Again, for the first time, she was relying on someone. And that person was none other than Vincent.

"Vincent..."

"Hm?" Vincent's hand was still on her cheek with gentle strokes.

"Why would someone give me hallucination drugs?"

Vincent did not answer immediately and lowered his hand from her cheek. Initially, Cathy felt lost when her cheeks did not feel the man's hand's warmth. However, her heart trembled as the man's hand grasped hers. Not the shudder of dread like when she had a nightmare, but the joyous vibe that made her cheeks blush.

Fortunately, she just cried so hard that her eyes, nose, and cheeks were red. Vincent would not be able to see the difference in her pink hue.

"I don't know... but I'll make sure something like this won't happen again."

The usual Cathy would laugh amusedly because of that nonsense talk. How could a Vincent who wasn't in the police force ensure she wouldn't be exposed to strange drugs again?

But now when she heard that man full of confidence made her heart feel warm. Instead, she felt safe protected by the man's words.

Cathy wondered what was going on in that man's brain? What did Vincent do to make her unable to reject his presence both in her heart and mind?

"You better go back to sleep."

"I'm not sleepy." lied Cathy. She didn't want to sleep and see scary hallucinations again.

"You don't need to be afraid of your nightmare. I will accompany you here. And if you see another nightmare, I will wake you up. Okay?"

Cathy seemed to think for a moment before finally obliging. She laid back down and felt her hand still being held by the young man making her feel safe.

'Your hand is so warm.' thought Cathy, who soon fell asleep soundlessly.

Cathy had absolutely no idea that she had spoken her mind making Vincent's heart beat fast.

Vincent raised the hand Cathy was holding and brought it towards his lips. Vincent kissed the back of the little hand gently.

After making sure the girl had fallen asleep, Vincent slowly let go of his grip to turn off the light and only left the small light on to leave a little shine.

Then he returned to sit in his place earlier, holding Cathy's hand before finally fell asleep too.

Vincent did not plan to sleep to make sure Cathy's heart continued beating normally. But someone released a gas filling the room without knowing it.

Sleeping gas.

The balcony door opened, and a man entered steadily over to Catherine's bed.