Ch. 611..620

A Spoonful of Sugar: Don’t Beg for Love Chapter 611

"Mr. Duval, it’s nice to finally meet you. Please be nice to me." Riley winked at Rickard. If it was not for the gun in Riley's hand that was equipped with a silencer, others might actually suspect that there was a fling between the two of them.

Renfrew stared at Riley, who was standing in front of him, in surprise. Riley also noticed Renfrew’s gaze at this moment, stretched out his hand, and waved at him. "It’s been a long time, Ren. I didn’t expect you to remember me after only meeting me once. What a great honor."

The atmosphere in the ward was at a stalemate for a moment. Rickard’s men had already surrounded Riley and 013 from outside.

Both parties had guns, so Riley raised his eyebrows. "Oh my, Mr. Duval. You seem to be a very law-abiding man to me. I didn’t expect you to own guns… How courageous is this. I’ve always admired such men."

"Okay, enough with all this bullsh*t. The task on hand is our top priority." 013 interrupted Riley and then whispered from the side, "And something smells fishy."

‘I don’t see Benji here. This doesn’t feel right. After all, Benji is Rickard’s secretary and personal assistant; they’ve always been inseparable. So, why is Benji not here during such an important time when they’re trying to protect Renfrew? Then he most probably is at Hesper’s.’

The two parties were in a stalemate for a while. Riley also realized that they could not delay their plan any longer, so he took the lead to take a few steps forward and try to snatch Renfrew from Rickard’s hand, but he missed and got elbowed by Rickard instead.

"Aah… Mr. Duval, how can you hit a woman?"

As soon as Riley made a move, it seemed as if a switch had been flicked. 013 immediately led their men into a brawl with those of Rickard, while Rickard protected Renfrew in his arms and said coldly, "Can you even be considered a woman?"

"Hmm, why don’t I count?" Riley stuck his tongue out mischievously. "You've investigated me in advance, haven't you? From what I can see, it seems that you’ve been secretly in love with me for a long time. I’ll give you a chance to get me."

As he said so, Riley swept his leg across Rickard’s face, and Rickard barely sidestepped the kick. Riley did not give him a chance to catch his breath and punched him again, but Rickard grabbed him by his wrist.

"Riley Simms, a professor of the Department of Psychology at the University of Emperion. You used to be a well-known psychologist in Emperion and even had your own clinic. However, you got sued one day… It was because of a lawsuit that had something to do with suicide induction."

Riley’s expression dimmed, but there was still a smile on his face.

"Wow, the information that you have is quite detailed."

On the other side of the ward, 013 had gradually fallen into a disadvantage. Riley also saw that it was almost impossible for them to take Renfrew away, so he winked at 013, then turned around and opened the window of the ward.

They were on the seventh floor, but he jumped out of the window without any hesitation.

013 followed closely; their men took advantage of the chaos and fled the scene. And like roaches, they were so slippery that none of them got caught by Rickard’s men.

Rickard opened his mouth. "Stop."

He gently placed Renfrew back on the bed, met Renfrew’s worried and frightened gaze, and rubbed his head. "Don’t create more trouble. We’ll talk after the operation."

"Okay."

The ward was now temporarily safe, so Rickard took out his phone and sent Benji a message with a frown.

[Rickard: Did anything happen to Hesper?]

…

A minute passed after the message was sent, but there was no reply.

A Spoonful of Sugar: Don’t Beg for Love Chapter 612

A minute later, Rickard guessed that something must have gone wrong at Hesper’s apartment, but he could not let his guard down by Renfrew’s side.

"I’ll stay here to guard the ward."

Isaac and Renee had already heard the commotion and rushed over in a hurry. Seeing Rickard’s expression, they immediately guessed that something must have happened to Hesper, so they hurriedly reassured Rickard. "We’ll protect Young Master Renfrew."

Rickard did not doubt this; he was only worried about the things that Daybreak would do. However, the situation that they were in now did not allow him to hesitate, so he nodded instantly. "I’ll go and find Hesper… But there has been no reply for so long, so I don’t have high hopes."

Renee took a deep breath. "Mr. Duval, you should go now."

After handing Renfrew over to Isaac and Renee, Rickard led his men all the way to Hesper’s apartment.

"Is that Benji?"

As soon as they entered the apartment building, there was a faint smell of blood. Rickard frowned, and the people behind him suddenly pointed to the stairwell. Rickard turned his head and saw Benji lying on the door of the stairwell. His heart skipped a beat, and all of them hurried over.

Benji was stabbed in the waist, and he seemed to have lost too much blood and had passed out.

"Get him to the hospital now."

Benji’s condition meant that Hesper had been taken away by Daybreak. Rickard frowned, and his men followed him tacitly upstairs and walked into Hesper’s apartment through the broken door.

Judging from the degree of damage to the door lock, the people from Daybreak broke in and took Hesper away. When they found Renfrew at the ward, he had just replied to Hesper’s message.

‘So everything has been within Daybreak’s plan to look one way and row another, and their goal was never Renfrew but Hesper.’

Rickard frowned, confirming that Hesper had been taken away.

"Search the whole city, and intercept all vehicles leaving Genecity tonight." Rickard tried his best to calm down his tone, but in fact, he could not help but feel a little flustered deep down, which was an extremely rare emotion for him.

‘If something were to really happen to Hesper…’

"Professor Miles claimed that the procedure can start now, and they’ve already entered the operating theater."

Rickard nodded when he heard the report, as he could finally let go of one of the two worries that had been haunting him for days.

‘The operating theater isn’t that easy to break into, so Ren should be temporarily safe, which means I can go all out to find Hesper now.’

——

When Hesper opened her eyes again, she found herself lying on a big, soft bed.

The environment surrounding her was completely unfamiliar, and Hesper suddenly remembered that she seemed to have been taken away from the apartment by Nathaniel, and Benji got stabbed by Carter when he was trying to protect her.

‘I wonder how he’s doing now.’

The environment seemed very comfortable. Hesper sat up from the bed, looked around, and then keenly felt that she was no longer on land, for although the ground felt solid, there was a faint sense of the whole room rocking.

Hesper was very sensitive to this sensation and even felt a little nauseous.

"You’ve awake?"

Hearing Nathaniel’s voice, Hesper raised her head and glanced at the man in front of her. Her expression turned cold instantly. "Mr. Tucker, is this what you call doing things without hurting me, as you promised? We are at sea now, so where are you taking me?"

A Spoonful of Sugar: Don’t Beg for Love Chapter 613

"You’re unexpectedly sensitive." Nathaniel took a few steps closer, narrowed his eyes, and gave a smile. "There’s no need to push yourself. I know you must be feeling very uncomfortable right now. You don’t have to pretend when you’re with me."

Nathaniel’s words sounded very firm, but Hesper had never told anyone about her seasickness because she did not usually take a boat, so she was very sure that no one knew about it…

‘How did he find out about this?'

"Don’t think too much. We’re bringing you back to Fredonia. There are too many people searching for you in Halwanest. I just snatched a treasure from them, so how could I send you back?"

Seeing the hint of madness that stained Nathaniel’s usually calm and gentle gaze, Hesper took a few steps backward and sat back on the bed. "What are you hiding from me? Did we know each other before? If so, how long ago…? Was it when I was a little girl?"

"You’ve always been smart." Nathaniel took a few steps closer and reached out to caress Hesper’s forehead, but she dodged him again, as expected. However, Nathaniel did not withdraw his hand, continuing to rub Hesper’s hair.

Thinking about how Nathaniel was a fraud from the very beginning, Hesper sneered. "Mr. Tucker, please don’t tell me that you’re about to talk about the past with me. Like, something about me once saving you, but you having to use me later on for some random reason."

Hearing Hesper’s words, Nathaniel was stunned for split second. The gentleness that had always been in his gaze reappeared, and he even gave a faint smile.

"If I didn’t know that you’d forgotten everything, I’d think that you were teasing me on purpose."

Hesper was also taken aback for a moment.

‘I was just being sarcastic, trying to exasperate him, but from his reaction, I just hit something.’

Hesper scoffed. "Using me is using me. I don’t care about the reason behind your action. I’ll never forgive you… What’s more, if I really treated you very kindly when we were young, with all that you’ve done to me now, I have only one word for you—traitor."

The boat swayed all of a sudden, and Hesper’s face turned pale instantly, while Nathaniel stood still in place and digested her words. The corners of his lips curled upward into a smirk as if nothing had happened.

"You can say whatever you want. Everyone has been trying to persuade me to kill you, but I'm the one who can’t bear doing so." Nathaniel moved closer to her and leaned forward, forcing Hesper into shrinking backward, but the distance between the two was still rather ambiguous.

"Does Rickard approach you like this too?"

Hesper gazed at Nathaniel calmly, while he met her gaze. Then he stopped moving forward and lowered his voice as if muttering to himself. "You have no idea know how much I envy and hate him…"

‘Why is Rickard allowed to love you so blatantly and openly? And how dare he not cherish you after getting you.’

"Okay, take a good rest now. I know you feel sick whenever you’re onboard a ship, but in order to prevent you from causing any trouble while on our way back, I could only resort to this." Nathaniel stretched out his hand to tidy up Hesper’s baby hair. "Okay, now go to sleep if you’re feeling really sick. We'll arrive by then."

After saying so, Nathaniel straightened his posture and walked out of the room.

Hesper resisted the discomfort, stood up from the bed, and took a closer look at the surrounding environment.

‘The room is luxurious, but there are no sharp weapons, and although there are windows, jumping out of them would mean that I’ll end up in the ocean. I’m not so desperate that I’ll choose the sharks over Nathaniel in order to escape. And of course, there’s no communication equipment.’

Hesper looked around, but there was nothing she could use.

They were now at sea, so even if she pretended to be sick or went on a hunger strike, there was no way that she could stop the ship.

A Spoonful of Sugar: Don’t Beg for Love Chapter 614

Nathaniel had sure come up with a very good idea. Hesper really did not have much strength to do anything, no more than when she was drugged before.

"I'll just have to wait until we land before I can figure out a way to escape…" Hesper murmured to herself, then went back to her bed and tried her best to suppress her nauseousness. "I wonder how Renfrew is doing now."

In fact, Hesper could not tell what was wrong with her. She was invited to a banquet on a ferry once, and everything was normal at first, but the moment she stepped onto the deck, what followed was an oppressive feeling.

That experience had since engraved a subconscious thought in Hesper that boats were a very dangerous thing, and she also discovered that she could not take a boat. However, compared to the physical discomfort, Hesper seemed to emotionally hate boating from the bottom of her heart.

In any case, there was no way for her to contact anyone from the outside now, and there was no feasible way to escape the ship for the time being. Hence, Hesper closed her eyes, trying her best to ignore the slight rocking, and fell asleep.

‘If I continue to keep myself in this state, I might collapse even before we arrive on land.’

She tried her best and fell asleep eventually. The next time she opened her eyes, they had already arrived.

It was no longer possible to differentiate whether she was in a coma or asleep. Hesper was not sure how long she had been sleeping. She only knew that Nathaniel was holding her in his arms when she woke up. If not for the handgun at his waist, it would have been a rather intimate position.

"Great plan, I’ll give you that." Hesper gritted her teeth. "Put me down. I’m not at my best now, so I wouldn't be able to escape."

Hearing Hesper’s voice, Nathaniel lowered his head in surprise and smiled. "You’re awake. It’s fine; we’ll be home soon. You’ll definitely like it there."

Hesper was speechles. She gnashed her teeth at Nathaniel’s indifference, but she did not have the ability to fight back. She did not have men working for her in Fredonia. Rickard and Matthew, for a while, wouldn't think that she had been brought to Fredonia. She could only let Nathaniel control her for the time being.

"Big T, it’s time for you to stop this nonsense."

013 had come over at some point. Hesper turned her head and saw 013 frowning, completely ignoring her, and glancing straight at Nathaniel. "As soon as we lost our headquarters in Halwanest, we were no longer safe… If the Lanes and the Duvals track us back here, all that we’ve worked so hard to accumulate over the years will be flushed down the drain."

Nathaniel turned his head, glared at him, and then said with a half-smile, "I’m surprised that you still remember that I’m Big T of Daybreak."

"Nathaniel Tucker." 013 stretched out an arm and blocked Nathaniel’s way.

Hesper had initially thought that the position that she was in was very annoying, but now that it had become the best viewing angle, she was happy to watch the excitement from the VIP seat.

Nathaniel ignored 013, walking around him and then straight forward. 013 was left behind, yelling his name twice, but Nathaniel did not stop for him.

"You’ll regret this."

Hesper looked at Nathaniel’s jawline, which tightened all of a sudden, and felt her heart race.

‘If Nathaniel hands me over to 013 now, I’ll die in just a matter of minutes.’

But Nathaniel still did not stop or utter a single word.

…

Hesper had been locked away in a small manor since then.

The servants in the manor spoke a language that she had never heard of. Nathaniel was aware of all the languages Hesper knew how to speak, so Hesper could not even talk to anyone in the manor all this while.

A Spoonful of Sugar: Don’t Beg for Love Chapter 615

The inability to communicate with the servants meant that Hesper was unable to pick up any information from the outside and could only let herself be imprisoned in this cage that Nathaniel had meticulously prepared for her.

She could put up with the rest, but Hesper really wanted to know more about Renfrew’s condition. However, Nathaniel had not been there since the day he brought her there. Only 013 came by a few times in the past few days, but he was stopped outside the gate.

So in conclusion, Hesper had no way of asking anyone for any information.

Feeling somewhat irritated, she cut off the flowers in the yard along with their buds, and while doing so, Hesper suddenly thought of Stephen.

‘If he were to see me wasting all these flowers, he might jump into the air and punch me twice.’

The servant who had been in charge of Hesper’s diet and daily life during this period of time came over and looked sincerely at her with a pair of blue eyes as if she was hoping that Hesper would return to her room.

Hesper knew that these servants were all innocent. They only got paid by Nathaniel to keep her under house arrest. Hence, she would not make things difficult for them on purpose. Seeing this, she stood up and walked into the manor, ignoring the messy yard behind her.

The servant also knew that Hesper could not understand what she was saying, so she gestured and tried to tell Hesper what dishes were served that night. However, Hesper did not have much appetite, so naturally, she did not care much about it.

She only wanted to know how much longer Nathaniel would keep her there.

‘Will I be kept here for the rest of my life?’

The servants working in the manor were not allowed to leave the place either. Fresh ingredients would be brought in every day, and Hesper had figured out the regular pattern very early on.

Most of the people who came to deliver ingredients were Carter and the other members of Daybreak, so it was basically impossible for Hesper to leak her current location out through this medium.

Unable to think of a way, Hesper could only go back to her room and look out of the manor through the window of the room.

She had been observing the environment around the manor and realized that it was probably located in the east of a certain city, but it was nowhere near the said city. And although this was some vague and obscure information, it was the only information Hesper could get her hands on.

There were a few stalks of celery in the dishes for that night. Hesper picked them out in irritation.

Although she had thought about going on a hunger strike, this naïve plan would only exhaust her strength. She did not have any help in Fredonia at the moment, and the people from Daybreak were everywhere, so even if she were to escape this place by chance, she would definitely be caught again in less than a day.

Things would definitely get more difficult for her then.

After negating several possibilities, Hesper was a little irritable. The more she looked at the celery on the plate, the more unpleasant she found them. However, in the blink of an eye, Hesper remembered something and was stunned. The hand that was picking the celeries out froze in midair for a split second.

‘Ever since I found out that Ren is allergic to sweet potatoes, I retested myself and Ren for allergens out of caution and discovered that I’m allergic to peanuts. I’ve eaten peanuts before, so if it wasn’t for that examination, I wouldn’t have known that I’ve become allergic to them… That means even Nathaniel wouldn't know about this.’

——

When Carter came over at night, it was rare for him to actually run into Hesper.

"Ms. Rivera, is there anything that I can do for you?"

Carter was different from 013. He still had some respect for Hesper, not to mention Nathaniel’s intimate attitude toward her. No matter how he looked at it, Hesper was someone Nathaniel wanted to protect, so Carter felt that nothing could go wrong if he were to follow Nathaniel’s wish.

Hesper nodded. "I want to eat chestnuts."

"Chestnuts?" Carter reiterated what Hesper just said, frowned, and subconsciously felt that something was wrong.

A Spoonful of Sugar: Don’t Beg for Love Chapter 616

After thinking about it for a long time, Carter finally realized the root of the issue.

‘She’s been ignoring me all this while, so why would she suddenly care about what to eat? …And why would she suddenly want to eat chestnuts now?’

"I want Nathaniel to deshell them personally."

Carter’s eyes widened in an instant. The corners of Hesper’s lips twitched as she gave off a half-smile. "I want to see ten pounds tomorrow. Otherwise, I’ll suspect Nathaniel Tucker’s sincerity."

If not for the fact that it was Big T who was going to be tormented, Carter would have given Hesper a thumbs up.

"But what if Big T were to ask someone else to deshell them for you? You wouldn’t know that, would you?" Carter scratched his head, looking a little puzzled, but there was not even a hint of hilarity in Hesper’s eyes.

"Do you think he'll have someone else help him?"

Carter hesitated for a bit. "I don’t think so."

‘Big T has doted on Hesper to a degree so outrageous that he’s pissing everyone else off… In order to make Hesper happy, Big T would definitely agree to this unreasonable request.’

"Then please convey this request to Mr. Tucker."

Through the wrought iron gate, Hesper turned her head. "And do bring another message to him for me. Tell him that since he, Nathaniel Tucker, has the ability to lock me up here, why doesn’t he have the courage to come see me? I’ll wait here and see how much longer he can keep me at this place."

"…Okay."

Carter could not help but be speechless as he thought about how he was going to convey Hesper’s words accurately after returning to the headquarters.

Back at the base, Nathaniel listened quietly to what Carter had to say. He did not get angry. Instead, the corners of his lips curled up at the end of the conversation. "Did she really say that?"

‘Dude, how would I dare to make things up between you two f*ckers…?’ Carter thought to himself and curled his lips. "Ms. Rivera requested it. I’m only conveying the message here. I haven’t left out anything, not even a word."

"Okay then, you should go and buy some chestnuts."

"Got it."

Carter had guessed that Nathaniel would agree to the request, so he had asked someone to buy some chestnuts in advance. When he heard Nathaniel’s words, he immediately asked his men to bring the chestnuts in as if he was ready for a show.

"…Don’t be so ridiculous."

Seeing that Nathaniel’s behavior was becoming more and more absurd, 013 stepped forward and kicked over the basket containing all the chestnuts. "Nathaniel Tucker, I can seal the deal on your behalf if you can’t do it yourself. Do you know that Rickard Duval and Matthew Lane have already tracked us to Fredonia? Matthew Lane knows Hesper’s true identity, so he definitely won't let it go."

"So what?" Nathaniel set the basket back up. "When Matthew arrives in Fredonia, I’ll catch them all. None of them will escape me."

013 frowned. What Nathaniel said did not seem like a lie, but his hands were still deshelling the thorny chestnuts non-stop.

"How can you be so sure? Even if Fredonia is Daybreak’s territory, the power of the Lanes and the Duvals should not be underestimated." 013 grabbed Nathaniel’s arm, forcing him to lift his head and stop looking at the darn basket of chestnuts.

Nathaniel casually withdrew his arm.

"We’re currently holding onto their biggest weakness, so how difficult will it be for us to get Matthew and Rickard under control?"

Both Carter and 013 became silent.

013 hesitated for a moment. "Are you really willing to put Hesper out there as bait?"

Nathaniel lowered his head and carefully deshelled the chestnuts. Because he did not know what to do, he almost pricked his hand. He raised his head after a long while, and his gaze looked a little more dazed than usual.

"If I let her go, how would I be able to face my parents?"

A Spoonful of Sugar: Don’t Beg for Love Chapter 617

In the evening, Hesper received ten pounds of chestnuts from Carter.

"I can promise you Big T deshelled all of these one by one. Some of them have been caramelized with sugar, and some of them are still raw so that you can get the kitchen to cook them in whatever way you like." Carter was indescribably submissive, but Hesper did not care about these details at all.

‘I’ve been tossing Nathaniel around to rationalize my actions. I’ll ask for 10 pounds of chestnuts today then go for peanuts a few days later.’

Hesper received the nuts expressionlessly.

‘Although Nathaniel has gone along with my request obediently, I don’t believe for a second that he wouldn’t doubt my sudden request and my motives. That’s why I can’t ask for peanuts on the first go. Although Nathaniel has imprisoned me at this place at the moment, I can see that he has special feelings for me. Perhaps the personnel in Daybreak are currently at each other’s throats because of me, especially 013; he’s surely one of those who can’t wait for me to die. If that's the case, I must use these conditions to earn myself opportunities or windows. The more chaotic Daybreak becomes, the better it is for me.’

"Big T also said that he’ll send whatever you want your way."

Carter let off a sigh deep down.

‘If Nathaniel hadn’t made it clear earlier today that he’s planning to use Hesper as bait, I would’ve thought that he’d really give up everything in order to live peacefully with Hesper for the rest of his life.’

"Then get him to deshell some pumpkin seeds tomorrow."

Hesper was not so polite with her next request either. She turned around and entered the room immediately.

After a few days of going back and forth like this, Hesper had also guessed that the location she was in now should be relatively remote. Otherwise, it would be impossible for Matthew to still have not found her after so long.

‘As long as I can delay things a little longer, there might still be a chance.’

Hesper was not so naive as to think that Nathaniel would lock her up like this for the rest of her life. After all, Nathaniel was a complete egoist; he was proficient in psychology and good at manipulating people.

‘I’ve been fooled before, but I’ll never fall for it again.’

…

On the other end of the world, sure enough, Renfrew’s surgery was really successful, and everything went smoothly throughout his postoperative recovery. Of course, no one else had the knowledge and skill to take care of him now except Professor Miles.

"Why are you so sure that she’s in Fredonia?"

After a few days of fruitless searching, Matthew had become a little irritable. "Although Daybreak’s base is indeed located in Fredonia, they should know that we’ll go after them, shouldn’t they? So wouldn’t they move to another hideout?"

"No." Rickard lowered his head and crossed out the places that he had searched through earlier that day. "According to what you said, if Nathaniel has kidnapped Hesper for revenge, why didn’t he kill Hesper immediately?"

Matthew remained silent for a moment.

Naturally, he would not respond to the question with a stupid answer like love. It took him a moment before he reacted and then smacked himself in the forehead with some hesitation. "Nathaniel wants me dead too."

Since Matthew had already figured it out, Rickard did not bother to explain it further and showed Matthew the map of Fredonia.

"We’ve been to all these places. The only two places left that we haven’t been to are the bay area near the suburbs of Shermere and the mountainous regions near Saint-José." Rickard tapped on the two spots; both looked quite remote and closed in.

Compared to Halwanest, Fredonia was still a bit easier to search. After all, the land area was small. If you could confirm that Hesper was in Fredonia, one of these two places, you would definitely be able to find her.

"Are we going to each of the locations separately?"

Rickard shook his head. "I'm not their target, so if I happen to catch up to them, they’ll probably leave Fredonia right away… And if that happens, we’ll lose all trails and clues."

What he said made sense. Rickard continued, "Is there anything that Hesper is afraid of?"

A Spoonful of Sugar: Don’t Beg for Love Chapter 618

In fact, that was what confused Rickard the most.

‘Based on what I know about Hesper, she wouldn't lay back and do nothing throughout the whole journey. Even if she’s been imprisoned in Fredonia, there must have been some way for her to leave a trail behind while they were on their way there. But after all this time, we haven't found a trail of any kind. So there’s only one possibility, and it's that Hesper was extremely occupied with other things that she didn’t have the time or energy to leave us a life-saving message.’

Matthew shook his head first, but then suddenly remembered something. "Hesper hasn't told me anything about what she’s afraid of, but I've noticed that she hardly ever takes part in events that are held on a boat."

"Seasickness?"

Rickard frowned. They had checked various means of transportation, but they had not thought about a boat or ship, as it would take a long time and it would be extremely inconvenient for the kidnappers to do anything while they were at sea. If it had not been mentioned out of the blue, Rickard would have almost forgotten that there was such a kind of transportation.

Thinking about this, Rickard tapped on Shermere. "We’ll go here first."

"Okay." Matthew heaved a long sigh. "God, please… Please make sure to bring Hesper back safely."

On the other hemisphere of the Earth, Hesper was staring at the peanuts in front of her. She remained silent for quite some time before picking one up.

Half a month had gone by in the blink of an eye, and Hesper knew that she could no longer sit still. Although Nathaniel had not made a move after such a long time, Hesper was not dumb. On the contrary, she had been thinking of more possibilities during this period of time.

‘I’ve been locked up here all this while, so that makes me some kind of bait… As long as I’m still here, Matt and Rickard will continue to look for me no matter what. And if this continues, sooner or later, they’ll fall into the trap that Nathaniel has meticulously set up.’

Thinking of this, Hesper closed her eyes and swallowed the peanuts in her hand without any hesitation. However, worried that her body would not give off a strong enough allergic reaction if she ate too little, Hesper ended up eating half a plate of peanuts before her cheeks started to feel faintly warm.

Using the edge of the table to support her weight, Hesper staggered to the window, glanced at her reflection in the glass pane, took a few deep breaths, and then lost consciousness completely, falling to the floor.

…

"So this was your objective all along." Nathaniel looked at Hesper, who was lying on the bed, with a cold expression.

Hesper’s allergy to peanuts was far more serious than she had thought. She had eaten so many that she was almost in shock when a servant found her.

But no one could deny that Hesper’s goal was successfully achieved. The family doctor could not treat this level of allergy, so she had to be transferred to the hospital overnight.

After undergoing a lot of treatments all night, it was not until dawn that she finally got out of danger.

When Carter walked into the ward, he could not help but be speechless. Although they all knew that Hesper had always been smart and sly, they never thought that she would put her life on the line in order to secure a way out.

‘But what now? Rickard and Matthew haven’t found us yet. With her own ability alone, even though we’re currently downtown, she won't be able to escape us when she’s at her best, let alone when she’s so weak.’

"What did the doctor say?" Nathaniel threw the question out.

Hearing this, Carter turned around and answered honestly. "The doctor suggested staying back in the hospital for observation. After all, Ms. Rivera’s peanut intake is very high, so although she’s out of danger now, her condition is extremely unstable.”

Speaking of this, Carter suddenly realized.

‘Hesper didn’t do this in order to create a window for herself to escape. Instead, she’s gambling. She’s gambling to see if Nathaniel will let her stay in the hospital for treatment and observation or bring her back regardless of her well-being. And as long as she can stay in the hospital, she’ll have the opportunity to leak her location in any possible way eventually.’

If Carter could think of that, it was only natural for Nathaniel to be able to see through the thought behind Hesper’s plan. He turned to look at Hesper’s sleeping profile and felt a little helpless, not knowing whether Hesper was too confident or too arrogant.

A Spoonful of Sugar: Don’t Beg for Love Chapter 619

"We’ll stay in the hospital."

Not surprisingly, Hesper emerged as the winner of the bet. Carter agreed as he imagined what 013 would do when he found out about this.

‘He’ll come over and quarrel with Nathaniel again.’

Carter could not help but feel a little stressed as soon as he thought of the scene when Nathaniel and 013 saw each other after this.

But no matter what, Hesper’s goal had been achieved, and Carter’s admiration toward her just kept on growing.

‘This woman is making a fool out of the whole organization. And that includes Nathaniel, who’s always been known for his relentlessness.’

…

On the other side of the city, Rickard and Matthew naturally failed to find Hesper at the manor, but because Nathaniel had no time to deal with the servants and Carter was in the hospital with him, Rickard easily apprehended one of the servants.

"Was a woman imprisoned here before?"

Listening to the unfamiliar language, the servant waved her hand, trying to indicate that she did not understand. When she first saw a group of men barging in, she was flustered, but she could more or less guess that these people were here to look for Hesper.

Rickard frowned, turned on the translator on his phone, and asked the servant to input her response herself.

"It’s Hesper."

Seeing what the servant typed, Matthew raised his head in extreme agitation, while Rickard asked her some related questions more calmly. The servant answered him in a straightforward manner.

When he saw that Hesper had gone into a shock due to an allergic reaction, Matthew clenched his fists. "We were one day too late!"

Rickard asked for the location of the nearest hospital. Hesper’s condition must be very critical; as long as Nathaniel wanted to save Hesper’s life, he would not look far away.

"Let’s go to the hospital."

Matthew nodded, while Rickard stared at the address of the hospital on the map, took a deep breath, and prayed inwardly.

‘Hesper… Please be there.’

The journey to the hospital was reasonable, but it would still take about 20 minutes by car. Rickard looked extremely peaceful all the way, while Matthew tried to obtain more information from the servant and only felt relieved after learning that Hesper had not suffered any grievances.

‘It seems that what Rickard said was correct. Nathaniel wants me dead, and Hesper is the best bait to do so. In addition, he’s not as cold-blooded as rumored either. He had a thing for Hesper before… And although his identity has now changed, he still refuses to do anything to her. This is the best evidence.’

They rushed directly to the hospital, and Rickard spoke fluently to the nurse in Fredonian. As soon as they confirmed that Hesper was still in the hospital, both of them breathed a sigh of relief.

"It seems we’ve arrived just in time," Matthew said.

"Oh really?" Nathaniel’s voice suddenly came from behind him. His face looked a little pale, and his right arm seemed twisted and in a strange posture.

"Where’s Hesper?"

Rickard took a few steps forward and restrained Nathaniel but saw him chuckle twice instead. His right arm was completely useless at this point, so he could not even be bothered to struggle.

"If I were you, I’d chase after her as soon as possible." Nathaniel’s gaze dimmed. "013 just took Hesper away from the hospital. She isn’t capable of resisting. 013 isn’t like me; he won't show her any mercy."

A Spoonful of Sugar: Don’t Beg for Love Chapter 620

Nathaniel’s words caused Rickard and Matthew to frown at the same time.

"Isn’t 013 one of your underlings? So why would he take Hesper away?" Rickard did not leave immediately but questioned him instead. "You can’t even manage your own men?"

Knowing that Rickard would not trust him so easily, Nathaniel pressed the tip of his tongue against his teeth. "You don’t have to believe me, but Hesper doesn’t have much time left… 013 is a personality that was born from a series of psychological suggestions, and you expect him to be loyal?"

"Let’s go and save Hesper first."

Matthew grabbed Nathaniel from Rickard, and his expression became a little complicated, as this was his first time meeting him after knowing about Nathaniel’s true identity.

In his impression, Nathaniel had always been like a younger brother who needed to be taken care of, an all-knowing and omnipotent friend, and a gentle and courteous man. Matthew had never suspected that such a person would lie in ambush by his side for so long, just to give him a fatal blow someday.

"There’s no time for you to hesitate." A hint of urgency could be seen flashing across Nathaniel’s eyes. "013 has missed his target many times, so he won't chit-chat with Hesper this time. There’s a factory west of here. That's where he must’ve brought her."

Rickard nodded to Matthew then strode out of the hospital.

Before coming here, Rickard had already researched all the relatively remote buildings and facilities around the area. The chemical plant to the west was naturally within his scope of consideration, so he could accurately find the location of the factory without anyone’s guidance.

When he was on his way, Rickard’s mind was almost blank. He only knew that he had to rush to the factory as soon as possible. Otherwise, Hesper would die.

‘This is the closest Hesper ever has been to death, and this is also the closest I’ve ever been to saving her… So I mustn’t miss her.’

At this moment, every scene of the past came back to him. Rickard thought about the first time he saw Hesper back then. She was carrying a huge school bag on her back, which looked a little worn out; it contained all her belongings. And she stood behind his grandpa quietly, staring at him with her innocent and clear eyes.That was the first time Rickard felt that he was being watched attentively. This girl did not know that he was the Duvals’ future, nor did she know what kind of "genius" or "heir" he was.

Rickard had unconsciously stretched out his hand to her, promising that he would protect her in the future.

He was the one who laid out the terms first, but in the following years, he completely forgot about his oath and the decision that he had made back then. He also forgot that one glance he got from her when they first met.

As for her, she only watched him quietly from the side all this while, and this action of hers went on for ten years.

Rickard suddenly felt that his past guilt was nothing compared to this. He might never have realized that what he owed Hesper was not the love and special treatment that he did not show her throughout their marriage.

It was he who broke his promise to protect her at first. He actually witnessed from the side as Julie, Sophia, and even Juniper drove her into an abyss step by step.

Not only did he not stop them, but he turned into the last pair of hands that pushed her off the cliff.

…

When Hesper opened her eyes again, she keenly felt that she was not in a hospital.

‘Did I just lose the gamble?’

She still felt very unwell, so she supported herself to sit up from the couch and found herself in a car. The person driving in front was none other than 013, who had been trying to put her to death.

"How could it be you?"

Hesper was completely voiceless, while 013 glanced at her through the rearview mirror. He skipped all the nonsense and said, "Are you disappointed to see me? And don’t keep your hopes high. Nathaniel has been dealt with; he’s now badly injured. Rickard and Matthew haven’t found you yet either. Come next year and this day will mark your death anniversary."