CHAPTER 388

As Caitlin knew that Lucian wouldn't believe whatever she said, she didn't have the intention to say a word to him before she could find out the truth.

She didn't bother uttering a word as she turned around and made to leave. However, Lucian blocked her path once again.

Lucian grabbed her wrist, his body taut with tension as he said, "I'll take you to the hospital."

After he had gotten his revenge on the Owen Family on behalf of his late father, Lucian thought that he could forget Caitlin and truly begin living as himself.

Unfortunately, it was easier said than done. In reality, Caitlin's figure had been long imprinted in his soul after spending more than 20 years closely, and no matter how hard he tried, he still couldn't get Caitlin out of his head.

Lucian knew that Caitlin had gone missing after both her parents died.

Thus, he hired a private detective to locate her whereabouts and discovered that she was out of the country.

After much digging, Lucian realized that Caitlin had gone to look for the person who had hiked the mountain with their fathers.

That person and his entire family immigrated abroad after Lucian's father died. Caitlin somehow managed to discover the person's address abroad and searched for him.

Lucian was confident that Caitlin must not have found the person because she went to another country shortly after her trip abroad.

And just like that, Caitlin's whereabouts had been erratic for nearly a year.

Lucian, on the other hand, was suffering from immense lovesickness.

Although he hated Raphael for killing his biological father, he didn't resent Caitlin at all.

Caitlin was very kind to him. When they were young, she regarded Lucian as her own biological big brother. Her face would be proud whenever she mentioned him in front of others. She liked him, depended on him, and would follow him around while calling his name so dearly. She would also think about him whenever she had something nice to share, be it toys, food, or anything.

Later, as they grew up, they realized that they weren't real siblings and not at all blood-related. Hence, they started to see each other differently. Soon, their affection started to bud, and they eventually fell in love with each other.

Unfortunately, it wasn't as smooth sailing for Lucian as it was for Caitlin. From the day he turned eighteen, he knew that Raphael was his biological father's murderer. He knew that one day, he would take everything away from the Owen Family and avenge his father.

For that reason, he knew very well in his heart that he shouldn't fall in love with Caitlin.

To him: falling in love with Caitlin was equivalent to him making his revenge difficult for himself. He figured that he would be in pain from tearing between love and hatred. And so, he warned himself not

to show any genuine affection toward Caitlin.

Yet, his situation wasn't exactly helpful in keeping him in check. Since he lived under the same roof as Caitlin, all he could see was her admirable charms, which included her beauty, cuteness, intelligence, strength, and how she loved him wholeheartedly.

Thus, he couldn't control the passionate feeling of love that burned in his heart like a blazing fire.

Even so, he had to and must avenge his father's death. Yet, Lucian never once thought about causing Caitlin's parents' death.

All he wanted was simply to take away everything from the Owen Family and make Raphael pay for causing his biological father's death.

Lucian didn't expect Raphael couldn't bear the brunt of his revenge and die of illness. What shocked him, even more, was that Natasha died unexpectedly due to a mishap.

Lucian knew very well that Natasha was a gentle and kind woman who treated him as her own.

He really never wanted to cause her any pain, least of all cause her to pass on so suddenly.

After Raphael and Natasha passed away, one after another, the sadness he suffered was no less than Caitlin's.

Yes, he did succeed in avenging his father. He thought he would be happy, but he was suffering.

The agony was still bearable during the day as he was preoccupied with work and had no time to think

about it. Nonetheless, things were completely different at night. His mind would be filled with past images when he closed his eyes to sleep.

Although he was just the adoptive son of the Owen Family, Raphael and Natasha gave him the same treatment as Caitlin. In fact, they would even side with Lucian whenever Caitlin threw a tantrum.

Never once did Raphael and Natasha mistreat Lucian on all his usual basic necessities, and they had been caring and considerate to him since he was young.

As a matter of fact, Lucian wouldn't even think of stealing Owen Holdings away from the Owen Family if his biological mother hadn't found him and cried, asking him to avenge his biological father.

Based on his mother's statement, none of this would've happened if his father was still alive. Their family's company wouldn't be divided up by his two uncles, and he wouldn't have to be the adoptive son of the Owen Family and depend on them for a living.

In Dusktown, many actually thought that adoptive children were nothing but taking up the roles of the biological children's bodyguards and slaves.

Although Raphael didn't change Lucian's last name and still let him take upon his father's family name when he adopted him, many still deemed him Caitlin's slave, especially her suitors.

Since Caitlin was a gorgeous young lady—the most beautiful girl in their social circles, she had many suitors.

Yet, Caitlin only fancied Lucian and no one else.

As a result, Caitlin's suitors would always say something awful to Lucian. They would tell him that he was just a servant to the Owen Family and only worthy of becoming Caitlin's butler instead of marrying her.

Even though Lucian retaliated fiercely afterward, those words had been carved deeply in his heart and eventually became his own personal nightmare. I'm not a slave of the Owen Family! If Caitlin's father didn't kill my father, I would be the dignified and imposing Young Master of the Wheeler Family! According to my mother, my father is more outstanding than Caitlin's father. His achievements would've been far more outstanding than Caitlin's father's if he were still alive. On the other hand, I will be the decent Young Master of the Wheeler Family. If that were the case, our families would have been of equal rank. I could also be a perfect couple with Caitlin instead of being seen as her servant by others. NôvelD(ram)a.ôrg owns this content.

Days passed, and Lucian found it harder and harder to dispel the hissing thoughts that wrapped around his head like a poisonous snake. Coupled with his biological mother's day-to-day cries and demagoguery, he finally couldn't control himself and started to plot against the Owen Family.

As he expected, Caitlin's family had never once been wary of him.

Hence, the process of taking everything away from the Owen Family and turning Owen Holdings into Wheeler Corporation became much more straightforward than he imagined.

Just like that, he successfully acquired Owen Holdings and all the company's property. Plus, with the property he earned through his own business, Lucian was far more powerful than Raphael in the past.

When his biological mother heard this, she nearly jumped in joy, utterly ecstatic. She kept praising Lucian and telling him that he was her and his late biological father's pride.

Lucian became the head of the Wheeler Family at a young age. Both wealth and power were in his grasp. He seemed triumphant, high-spirited, and had everything he wanted, but in reality, he had lost Caitlin.

Just like how he hated Raphael for killing his biological father, Caitlin, too, hated Lucian for murdering her parents.

After Raphael and Natasha passed away, he told Caitlin that their grievances had been written off and that they could start over.

Regardless, Caitlin merely looked at him with a sneer. Then, without saying a word, she bypassed him and left.

She neither uttered a word nor scolded him nor beat him up. Although it might look like it was a good sign in the eyes of others, for Lucian, who had known Caitlin for years, this was the worst-case scenario.

This simply indicated that Caitlin had given up on him.

She was utterly disheartened, so she didn't even want to waste a single breath on him.

Initially, Lucian thought that losing Caitlin in his life wasn't a big deal. There are plenty of brilliant women in this world. And as long as I try, I can forget about Caitlin and start from scratch.

Despite all that, reality gave him a cold hard slap as he soon realized that he couldn't forget about Caitlin at all.

After she left, he would dream of her almost every night. Sometimes, he would dream of them laughing and frolicking together. Sometimes, he dreamt of chasing after her and shouting her name loudly as she kept walking without looking back. But in that dream, no matter how hard he screamed her name, Caitlin refused to look back. No matter how fast he ran, he just couldn't catch up with her.

As a result, he would always wake up from his dream, panicked and sweating profusely. At that time, he didn't understand why his heart would ache so badly when it was all just a dream.

After he was constantly being tormented by nightmares, he finally understood that no matter how hard he tried, Caitlin was the calamity in his life that he couldn't escape from. He couldn't forget about her, and he would be better off dead if he lost her in his life.

Therefore, he hired more private detectives to search for her. Yet, there was nothing.

Lucian didn't expect that he would actually serendipitously encounter her here. But, since he had been searching for her high and low, how could he possibly let her leave just like this?