Lillian was really amazed by his train of thought. How did he get so much out of a single photo?
“Lillian, you’re quite deep in thought.”
“Yeah, yeah, I have a crush on you, Mr. Conrad. I even planned my family’s bankruptcy just to get closer to you, happy now?”
“Hmm, out of all the women trying to get close to me, your excuse is the most unique. I’ll give you the chance to be my bedmate.”
Conrad suddenly rolled over and tried to pin Lillian down.
She had no intention of staying here with him. “Oh, come on, go wash up first. There’s been so many stinky men here boxing, I’m not staying.”
She tried to get up, but Conrad raised an eyebrow. “Lillian, can’t you think of anything else? I didn’t say I wanted to do something with you here. Pervert.”
After saying that, Conrad placed his hands behind his head, lying back, staring up at the photos on the ceiling.
For some reason, Lillian felt that this moment, with him lying there, was the most relaxed she had ever seen him.
Lillian silently sat down beside him.
Suddenly, Conrad reached out and took her hand.
His palm almost enveloped hers. “Stay here with me for a while.”
Lillian quietly settled back into his arms.
In that position, his strong, steady heartbeat echoed in her ear.
Thump, thump, thump…
Again and again, each beat striking her eardrums, and soon, her own heartbeat unconsciously synced with his.
After a while, Lillian realized the photo wall above them was changing.
It was replaced with another batch of photos.
These featured a slightly older Conrad, and there were fewer of them now, unlike before.
“Huh, that skinny little boy from earlier-was that Andrew?”
“You just figured it out?” Conrad teased.
Lillian widened her eyes. “Andrew followed you around when he was that young?”
“His dad was a driver for the Brown family. He wanted Andrew to follow me so he could have a better future, but I guess he didn’t expect that it would almost push his son into the fire. Life with me wasn’t exactly easy.”
“When Andrew first came, he was very thin and timid, barely daring to speak loudly. He even used to say that his teacher told him not to steal from others. Over there, if you took something, it was yours. Being a polite, good kid wouldn’t survive.”
Conrad scoffed.
Lillian was a bit stunned. “I really can’t tell.”
After all, Andrew was tall and built now, exuding an intimidating presence. She never would’ve guessed he was once that soft, cute little kid.
“Then who is this?” Lillian pointed to the man who had appeared beside Conrad in several photos.
The man looked much older than Conrad, already showing the maturity of an adult. He had a bright, sunny smile, and compared to the cold, fierce look Conrad had as a teenager, he seemed more like a friendly older brother.
And since Conrad didn’t mind him being around, their relationship must have been really good.
“Cheetah. We never called each other by our real names. We all had our own code names.”
Lillian thought for a moment. “Cheetah… What about Python? Is he the same?”
After all, that name didn’t sound like a real name either, more like a code name.
“You’re pretty sharp.”
“Did I guess right? Then what’s your code name?”
Conrad looked at the woman who didn’t know when to quit, and probably, only she would ask him that question with those clueless eyes.
“You’d better not know the answer to that.”
“Oh.” Lillian still felt something odd about his military background. “How did you end up there? Why didn’t they let you get an education back home?”
“Heh, maybe they wanted me to die out there,” Conrad said it so casually that Lillian suddenly felt that, even with Conrad’s wealth, having whatever he wanted wasn’t always possible.
“Python still keeps in touch with you. What about Cheetah? You two seemed to have a good relationship.”
“He’s dead.” Conrad’s cold statement made the hot, steamy air in the boxing room vanish completely.
“Did he die on a mission?” Lillian asked cautiously.
“The person who should’ve died was me. He took a bullet for me, straight through the forehead. He died on the spot. That year, I was 17, and Cheetah was 26. He was just a month away from becoming a father.”
Conrad said this in an emotionless tone, as though he were talking about someone completely unrelated to him.
Lillian turned her head to look at him. Conrad’s emotions remained calm throughout.
She had so many questions, but in the end, none of them left her lips.
If he didn’t want to talk, he wouldn’t, and besides, this wasn’t exactly a pleasant memory to relive.
The photos rotated to the next one, which was a graduation photo.
Conrad was holding Python, and behind them, there were several black-and-white frames.
45 people, with only two left.
Lillian felt uneasy. Just as she looked away, Conrad stood up and pulled her to her feet. “Where’s the food?”
Lillian almost bumped into him. She pointed to the side. “It’s probably cold.”
“It doesn’t matter.”Conrad took a bite and ate.
Lillian noticed the scars on his back and reached out to touch them.
He turned his head toward her. “What is it?”
“I want to know how many injuries you’ve had growing up.”
“Lillian, you’re not feeling sorry for me, are you?” He narrowed his eyes.
“I don’t need anyone’s pity.” He quickly finished the fried rice, stepped down from the boxing ring, and reached his hand out to her. “Come here.”
She stood on the boxing ring, while he stood below.
Lillian had rarely seen Conrad look at her from this angle.
He was usually the one standing downstairs, on the phone, excited about some new business deal or acquisition, and when he looked up to see her, his wild, possessive gaze would almost seem like he wanted to devour her whole.
But now, it was different. There was no threat in his eyes, only harmlessness.
Lillian walked over to his side. After spending three years together, she knew that Conrad was upset now.
“Mr. Conrad,” she said, her hand resting on his firm arm. “You’re not happy, are you?”
Conrad’s expression became even more indifferent. “Oh? Now it’s your turn to guess whether I’m happy or not?”
“Actually, if you’re not happy, just say it. When I’m upset, I hide away, watch funny videos, or zone out.”
“Lillian.” Conrad leaned in close, his lips barely brushing her ear as he spoke in a low voice, “When I’m not happy, someone has to die.”
Lillian couldn’t help but take a step back, but he held her by the neck, pulling her closer to him.
“Look into my eyes.”
Lillian met his deep gaze.
“Remember what I said. I know you’ve never wanted to stay with me, but after all this time of you and me getting tangled up, with us being out of contact for two months, I’m more certain about one thing.”
“What is it?” Lillian felt that this moment would be crucial for her.
“That is, whatever I want to hold onto, it won’t escape. Lillian, give up on leaving me. No matter what, I won’t let you go.”