As time trickled away, the courage Ann Vaughn had accumulated thanks to the alcohol was almost entirely worn out. She slowly loosened her tight grip on Cyrus Hawthorne’s hands, her pearly teeth biting into her rosy lips, leaving a clear set of teeth marks. This man had tested drugs on himself for her, endured all the trials and torments, and even did ridiculous things like dressing up as a bear mascot to give her flowers to make her smile. He was Cyrus Hawthorne, the high and mighty emperor in everyone’s eyes, accustomed to comfort and luxury. Yet, for her, he did everything he could do for her. This Cyrus Hawthorne, she was so blinded that, in a moment of grievance, she actually said that he wasn’t worth waiting for these fifteen years... such excessive words... Ann Vaughn knew that Cyrus Hawthorne didn’t want her to stay for her own good, and because she knew, she didn’t want to let go even more. But she shouldn’t continue to make things difficult for him. It was enough to tell him the words she’d wanted to say for so long under the influence of alcohol. With that in mind, Ann Vaughn released her hold on Cyrus Hawthorne, placed her feet on the ground, and took a few steps back, intending to leave. Who knew that suddenly a strong arm tightened around her waist, pulling her heavily into an embrace. The faint cool scent lingering at the tip of her nose left Ann Vaughn slightly startled, her mind dazed, unable to recover for a while. Cyrus Hawthorne slightly lowered his head, cupping her small face in his hands, softly stroking her cheek with his long fingers, his voice low and husky, "I’ve long since given my heart to someone." Ann Vaughn stopped breathing, wanting to evade his touch. But Cyrus Hawthorne wouldn’t allow it, lightly chuckling beside her ear, "Let me be selfish for once." At least at this moment, he was unwilling to let her go. "The one who holds my heart is the little girl I promised to marry when we grew up, who smartly and bravely carried me out of the sea of fire with her frail back. Since then, I’ve had someone I wanted to protect." Cyrus Hawthorne’s slightly rough fingertip brushed over the silvery string of ambiguity that Ann Vaughn’s lips had drawn up, a faint smile in his narrow eyes, "When she unfortunately took a wrong turn and we almost missed each other, but fortunately, the heavens were kind to me and returned her to me." Ann Vaughn’s cheeks uncontrollably heated up, her heart racing more than after an 800-meter sprint. The most beautiful words of love in this world are none other than I’ve long since given my heart to someone, and that someone is you. Yet as he spoke each word, Ann Vaughn’s nose grew increasingly sore, her eyes filling with tears. "How are the heavens kind to you?" Her voice tinged with tears, "You’re almost out of time!" Cyrus Hawthorne’s thin lips lifted with a wisp of a smile, as refreshing as the wind and moon, mesmerizingly radiant. Discover more novels at novel•fire.net He spoke each word, "Because you are in my arms." Ann Vaughn wanted to both laugh and cry, the myriad emotions on her small face looking at Cyrus Hawthorne lifted his perpetually gloomy spirits for once. "Let me go first!" Ann Vaughn wasn’t someone to easily admit defeat, not to mention that Cyrus Hawthorne didn’t have much time, even if only a day remained, she wouldn’t let go of any sliver of hope! Although there were no cases of recovery from a third infection, but what if? Doing nothing and just giving up, she couldn’t do it! Cyrus Hawthorne’s narrow eyes focused on her anxious appearance, seeing through her thoughts in an instant, his thin lips brushing past her neck causing her to shiver. He softly asked, "Don’t want a kiss anymore?" Ann Vaughn: ??? Is this the time to talk about this? The light of the wall lamp flickered in her eyes, and Ann Vaughn barely managed to regain a sliver of sanity, pushing hard against Cyrus Hawthorne’s chest with her tiny hand. "No, no, wait until you survive and repay me in full!" Ann Vaughn tried hard not to become a foolish ruler overcome by beauty, leaping out of his embrace, turning around to pick up the phone. Watching Ann Vaughn busily making calls non-stop, Cyrus Hawthorne’s narrow eyes softened, the furrow in his brow gradually smoothing out. Even if the final result would disappoint her, having tried would at least alleviate some regret. Ann Vaughn spent most of the day researching, making several overseas calls to her mentor Rox for help. Although there were not many clues, it was still better than nothing. There must be a way! But Ann Vaughn didn’t know that the time left for Cyrus Hawthorne and herself was less than ten hours. Staring at the computer screen for too long, the strain made Ann Vaughn want to rub her eyes, but before she could, a pair of hands stopped her. "Don’t rub, take a break." Cyrus Hawthorne softly reassured her, "There’s no need to be so urgent." Ann Vaughn leaned back in his embrace, relaxing her shoulders that had grown uncomfortable from sitting too long, asking somewhat puzzled, "I just looked at the information the mentor sent, stating that someone with three infections can’t last more than a month, but when I calculated the time since your infection..." Tomorrow is the effective date of the share transfer agreement! Ann Vaughn’s bright eyes widened, suddenly sitting up straight, looking at Cyrus Hawthorne’s overly calm face, her voice incredibly tense, "Are you... is today the day?" In other words, today he would succumb to the third infection, which meant— There was no time, nowhere near as much time as she thought she had; if she couldn’t find a way to detoxify today, there’d be no second chance! She refused to accept this! The color drained from Ann Vaughn’s small face, her eyes brimming with fear and panic. Even just the thought of him forever leaving her was unbearable. "I don’t want you to die!" Ann Vaughn hurled herself heavily into Cyrus Hawthorne’s arms, clutching his waist with all her might, her body unable to stop trembling, "I will find the antidote, I swear I will!" Cyrus Hawthorne raised his hand to catch her trembling body, one hand gently patting her back, the other softly rubbing the nape of her neck, his deep voice full of comfort, "Staying by my side, that is the best remedy." The tears in Ann Vaughn’s eyes lost control, soaking Cyrus Hawthorne’s shirt. No, she couldn’t panic, there had to be a way... Forcing herself to calm down, Ann Vaughn somehow remembered something her grandfather had once said, that poison too fears poison, and that using poison to combat poison may not be the best strategy, but if used properly, it could save a life. Using poison against poison...