Their words of praise fell on Derek's ears like a series of slaps across his face, mocking his own ignorance.
Even after the great Harold Whitman had personally acknowledged Serena's extraordinary talent, it was nothing compared to the shock of witnessing her astounding medical skills with his own eyes, time and again.
Serena's expression was cold. Seeing Derek's almost crazed and twisted face, a flicker of mockery crossed her eyes.
She lowered her gaze, returning her focus to her phone screen.
She had no intention of acknowledging him.
"Serena!" Accustomed to Serena's past devotion, her current indifference made the threads of Derek's sanity begin to snap, one by one.
His eyes were bloodshot, and a hysterical accusation tore from his throat. "Say something! If you had such incredible medical skills, why didn't you ever say anything when you were with the Wynn family? If I didn't believe you the first time, you could have told me a second time! If I didn't believe you twice, you could have told me a third! You kept it hidden, watching me show off my trivial accomplishments in front of you like an idiot, watching me doubt you like a fool. You must have been so proud of yourself, right?!"
Derek had always been proud.
And Serena was someone he had never taken seriously, a country girl he'd never given a second thought.
But now, the medical expertise he took so much pride in had been utterly crushed by Serena, leaving nothing but dust.
How could he possibly accept that?!
"Mr. Wynn, do you have any right to question me?" Serena sneered, lifting her eyes.
Her gaze was devoid of any emotion, except for a hint of biting sarcasm.
Her cold stare made Derek's heart tremble, and the towering rage that had consumed him moments ago suddenly deflated.
When he spoke again, his voice carried a note of grievance and accusation he himself didn't recognize. "It was you... you didn't say anything! If you had told me sooner, if you had shown me your true abilities, you wouldn't have had such a... such a... hard time at the Wynn family all these years..."
He wanted to say that Serena wouldn't have had such a miserable life with the Wynns.
But the word "miserable" caught in his throat.
His expression grew even more complicated as he looked at her.
That's right...
Serena's life with the Wynn family for the past four years could only be described as miserable.
Only now, looking back, did he realize just how cruel his coldness and disdain toward her had been.
Before Hailey, before anyone knew Serena wasn't of Wynn blood, she should have been his biological sister.
Why couldn't he have given her a chance to get close to him?
When Serena was first brought back from the countryside, she had been so cautious, so full of earnest emotion, wanting to connect with him wanting to earn her older
emotion was tin cameroide
brother's attention.
Why... why did he have to speak to such a young girl with such harsh, humiliating
words, forcing her to stay away?
And then he just stood by and
watched as she endured constantet
psychological manipulation and torment in that house
Now, seeing the indifferent look in her eyes, and comparing it to
way she used to look at him hét
so
cautiously always smiling with such warmth and enthusiasm...
The stark contrast left Derek's chest aching with a suffocating pain.
A tide of guilt threatened to drown him, making it hard to breathe.