Chapter 453 Nicole pivoted and made her way to Roscoe's door.

Finding it unlocked, Nicole swung it open without a second thought. "Roscoe, what..." she began, but the sight before her cut her words short.

Roscoe was perched on a stool, clumsily dressing wounds that marred his back. A deep laceration ran from his shoulder to his lower back.

Struggling to reach the injury, his efforts to apply medicine were ineffective, and the bleeding hadn't stopped.

Nicole's eyes stung with unshed tears at the sight.

As Roscoe noticed her gaze, he hastily covered up and tried to rise.

‘Stay seated, Nicole insisted, her voice thick with emotion.

She reached out, touching his shoulder gingerly. Roscoe sank back down, attempting to downplay his injuries. "It's nothing, really. It's just now that I've seen it..." Nicole, her tone laden with disbelief, pressed, "Do you take me for a fool?"

In the midst of a heavy silence, Nicole's voice trembled slightly. "Is this from the parking lot incident?" Her mind flashed back to the guards, their hands wielding sinister, blade-like weapons, which she had first mistaken for whips.

Those very weapons were intended for her, but Roscoe had intercepted the blow, taking the hit in her stead. When Nicole broached the subject, Roscoe dismissed it with a stoic front. "It's nothing. I've weathered worse." Nicole, driven by concern, unbuttoned his shirt, revealing the grim reality of his injuries. It confirmed Jarrod's words.

Roscoe's existence within the Watts dynasty was fraught with hardship.

As she reached out, Roscoe caught her hand in a tender grasp, stopping her. "Careful, you'll soil your hands," he cautioned.

Nicole bowed her head, noting the crimson that had already transferred to her skin.

With quiet care, Roscoe wiped her hand clean, ensuring

no trace of the ordeal remained on her.

her heart, and a peculiar sensation pricked at

ability to connect with others emotionally, assuming she had hardened herself into ‘someone unfeeling and callous under Jarrod's influence.

her. She feared the answer might

eyes,

a hushed tone, she whispered, "It's not worth it, Roscoe..." Roscoe's composure faltered. The once skilled surgeon was momentarily at a

Nicole mustered a smile and took charge. "Turn around. Let me see to those wounds,

"There's

Just turn around,” Nicole persisted, not willing to take no for an

now to her, Nicole set to work. She meticulously cleaned the lacerations

cause Roscoe to stiffen, a sign that such

Nicole finished with the bandage, Roscoe donned a white

the silence. "Roscoe, is it me that you want?" The interplay of light and shadow in the room highlighted the clean

barely above a whisper, carried an undeniable allure as she leaned

his sacrifice and selflessness. The thought of easing her conscience through such an exchange crossed her

trying to awaken him from what she ‘saw as a pointless pursuit with

enhancement from cosmetics, Nicole's eyes held their own power. Her appeal was undeniable, potent even, and for someone

foundation of Roscoe's actions. "Is this you've been striving for?" Roscoe's expression shifted into one of icy detachment, his demeanor

through her chest, pressed

with a condition. We end this afterward.” Gone was the naivety of youth from Roscoe's features.

an enigma, changed from the Roscoe she once knew. Despite the shift, Nicole maintained her poise, her hand curving around the nape of his neck, her facade unwavering. They found themselves locked in a tacit standoff, each waiting for the other to concede defeat first. Roscoe's stubbornness matched her own. His frustration was palpable.

held onto a sliver of certainty amid the tension. Roscoe, in spite of

not reveal her

unto themselves, held her gaze, his breath mingling

once easily flushed with embarrassment, had matured. His proximity sent a flutter through her lashes, a reflex she couldn't

halted. He redirected the moment's intensity into a soft caress on her cheek. His voice, barely above a whisper, carried a weight. "Nicole, this is a game to you. Enough." He released

outside, succumbing to exhaustion only in the deepest hours of

light crept across the horizon, Nicole's eyes

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