With the soft 'clack' of a stone piece, the result of the chess game was clear.
"Jackson, you've lost."
The man who spoke in a low and gravelly voice with a hint of pride was Braxton Campbe, the head of the three conglomerates in Sherfield.
At this time, his tall body sat on a pearwood stool with a pair of deep and unreadable dark eyes, nicely curved, eyelashes, as well as flawlessly handsome face, exuding an aura of indifference. If he hadn't been in the presence of his elder brother, Jackson Campbell, the alienating aura would have been even more intense.
This was a simple black and white room filled with the smell of disinfectant. On the white bed in the room sat Jackson. If that horrible incident hadn't happened, Jackson was no less handsome than Braxton.
Different from Braxton who had smooth and slender hands, Jackson had hands which were badly scarred and even a little deformed—his left hand was completely crippled. There was no way for him to hold anything with it or even stretch it; only his right hand could make some simple movements.
Trailing up his stiff hand, one could see a face that had been burned beyond recognition. Jackson's previously handsome face had completely disappeared for the fire. His facial features were slightly twisted, full of mottled scars that people could not bear to look at. However, in Braxton's eyes, there was no other face that was more handsome and loving than Jackson's.
Jackson looked at his brother, feeling that he was as competitive as a child. He forced a smile on his face with twisted facial features, "Braxton, your chess skills are getting better and better."
His vocal cords had been severely damaged by the fire, causing his words to come out unclear, but Braxton knew what he was talking about nonetheless.
With a light huff, Braxton said, "So...you should take your medicine obediently. And you've promised me to go to Northwich to treat yourself. Have you thought it through?"
He snapped his fingers, and the butler, who had been waiting outside the door, brought the medicine in. "This is the medicine, Young Master." Then, the butler respectfully handed the medicine to him and left.
As soon as Jackson saw the medicine, the light in his eyes went out. "Braxton, it's useless. No matter how much medicine I take, there's no use. With this sick and disabled body, I'll be happy if I manage to live until you establish your career and start a family."
"That's why I asked you to go to Northwich for treatment! Why are you so unwilling?" Braxton's voice suddenly grew louder with an undertone of desperation.
He didn't know how he could persuade his brother, even though he knew in his heart that his brother's injuries could not be healed.
For the past three months, the memories of that night had plagued him non-stop.
There had been flames lashing out, and the endless sound of glass panes shattering. The remaining three had almost suffocated with the acrid smell of burning wood, plastic, electric cables, and human corpses. In order to escape, one person would have to stay behind to open the escape gate.
"Hurry up and leave! If we delay any longer, all three of us will die here! Did you hear me?!"
"Ben, drag Braxton away!"
"Braxton, I'll be happier if you could live instead of me."
That scene where they faced death together three months ago seemed to happen yesterday.
By now, Braxton was already the head of the three conglomerates in Sherfield, controlling half of the economic lifelines of Sherfield. Even though he had so much, he could not exchange it for the previously healthy and handsome Jackson.
He slowly closed his eyes, trying to suppress the hatred in his eyes. He didn't want his brother to worry about him—he would bear this terrible nightmare alone!
Silently, Jackson took the medicine from Braxton's hands and swallowed it with warm water. It took him a moment before he said, "Our companies have seen great development. So you've established your career. If you can get a family, I promise that I'll go to Northwich for treatment."
"Jackson, are you threatening me?" Braxton turned a cold expression, exuding a frightening aura.
In response, Jackson moved to lie down, coughing a little in the process. He seemed to be suffering. Braxton's eyebrows raised in concern as he wanted to help his brother, but he held himself back in the end; he couldn't coddle Jackson and let Jackson ruin the body like this.
Once he had caught his breath, Jackson looked at Braxton and said, "No matter what you think, it's up to you whether you want to follow my requirements."
Jackson did so to get his brother out of hatred—that thing was still stuck with him. If it hadn't been for that person, his family would not have ended up like this. If Braxton could get a family, would he think twice before doing anything?
After some thought, Braxton fixed his gaze on Jackson's pale jaw with his hands clenched, "Alright, then I'll promise you that. But once I marry a woman, you must go and get treated. You can't go back on your word!" he said.
Jackson replied, "I won't."
"However, I have a condition. I won't use my own name for the marriage, but yours instead." Braxton curved his mouth.
Jackson felt he had fallen into Braxton's tricks "It is well known that I am disabled and ugly now. It is not fair to put forward such a condition. What's more, I've already promised Eve that she's the only one for me."
"Jackson, you want me to marry because you wish me to be happy. But if I marry a woman who only cares for vanity, I will not be happy. This is just a condition to test her." After saying that, Braxton stood up and looked at Jackson with an enigmatic smile.
Jackson thought about it and then even agreed with Braxton's explanation, "Okay, then you can use my name. But if a girl agrees, you will register your marriage with her."
Braxton knew that his brother was extremely smart and would never suffer losses, 'Forget it—as long as he agreed to receive treatment, I will do anything. It doesn't matter to have one more woman in my life!' Braxton thought, so he nodded to show his agreement.
There came the news that the older brother of the chairman of Aurarts Limited was seeking for a wife. If the word 'the older brother' missed from that news, every girl in Sherfield would struggle to grab the chance. But it was Jackson who was looking for a spouse, and all the socialites were afraid of him, so they used all kinds of reasons to persuade their fathers not to wed them.
Frankly speaking, when it came to a marriage alliance, the best choice for the Campbells was actually the Knoxs.
This was because once in the past, the head of the Campbells had helped out the Knoxs. The head of the Knox Family, Timothy Knox, had made a promise out of gratitude: one of the three daughters of the Knox Family would be betrothed to the eldest son of the Campbell Family! Now was the time when he should fulfil his promise.
Three young ladies were born to the Knoxs: Vivian Knox, Amiyah Knox, and Crystal Knox. Jackson looked at the photos of these three girls, but he did not feel anything. Instead, his eyes fell on Timothy's niece, Irene Ryan. This girl looked innocent with a pair of clear eyes. Not long after that, Jackson had his butler pick someone up from the Knoxs. However, no one knew who would be sent to marry Jackson; it was all up to fate.
With the people from the Campbells waiting outside the Knoxs' front door, the inside of the Knoxs' study room was noisy. The three women were all resolute, saying that they would not marry such a cripple.
The eldest daughter, Vivian, was the first to speak, "Dad, I'm telling you that I already have a child with my current boyfriend. If I marry the eldest son of the Campbells, I can't guarantee what will happen if they find out."
The second daughter, Amiyah, followed up quickly. "Dad, if you insist on forcing me to marry that cripple, without even waiting until tomorrow, you can see my corpse at the main gates."
And the third daughter, Crystal, didn't have to worry about that at all as she was the youngest, "I am underage, so I won't marry."
"Are you all rebelling against me? I, Timothy, painstakingly raised you, and yet all of you are so disobedient to me! The Campbells are a great benefactor to our family. Without the help of the head of the Campbells back then, any of you won't here right now! I'm about to make good on the promise I made back then, but are you trying to make me an untrustworthy person?" At their words, Timothy was so angry that he swept the exquisite and expensive tea set to the ground.
Frightened by the sound of fine porcelain shattering, the three young ladies did not dare say another word.
Just then, someone carefully stepped over the broken porcelain and threw a newspaper in front of Timothy, "Tim, don't be angry. You should see what Jackson has become first before scolding our daughters. Jackson's been badly burned to such a state, after all; if it were me, I would have nightmares whenever I see him." The beautiful woman who entered was Timothy's wife, Sienna Knox.
Upon seeing the picture on the front page of the newspaper, the three women screamed and scrambled away from the desk with horror on their faces, "What the hell is this?!"
Timothy frowned. His ears were hurt by their screams, but he also found himself stunned when he saw the newspaper, "Jackson is burned to this extent?" he asked, and then let out a sigh, "He really provoked someone he shouldn't have."
Realizing that Timothy was showing signs of concession, Vivian quickly suppressed her disgust and went forward to say, "Dad, that Jackson is clearly burned to the point where he can't take care of himself. And now, this freak is even forcing you to fulfill your promise, so I think he's deliberately trying to make things difficult for both you and us!"
Sienna let out a huff, "That's right. Tim, since Jackson is hurt like this now, I think it's clear that he wants a hardworking nanny to take care of him."
"No, no, no. These kinds of people are usually the most terrifying. Since he's going through hard times, he doesn't want others to be happy. This man's heart is already twisted—who knows, maybe he wants to marry a woman so he can torture her!" Amiyah said in a low voice.
The entire study suddenly fell into a deathly silence, which was finally broken by a clear voice. Its owner pushed open the door and entered the room.
"Uncle, the Campbells have been waiting in the hall for a long time. Do you want to go down?" Irene walked in, neither not understanding what happened, nor knowing if they had finished their discussions.
When Sienna saw Irene, her eyes lit up. She walked over to Irene, held Irene's hand and said with a smile, "Tim, Reney can be considered to be a half-daughter from our family. If she marries that man, she could enjoy life instead of suffering with us. Don't you think so?"
As soon as Irene heard this, her heart sank. She slowly pulled her hand out of Sienna's and retorted indifferently, "I am willing to give such a good opportunity to my sisters." 'If it is really a good thing, why don't they let their daughters marry that man?' Irene thought.
Vivian had always disliked Irene, 'She has done nothing but leech off our home for so many years. But she is unwilling to repay the favor now! How could she do that?'
"Irene, you are such an ingrate! Have we ever mistreated you for so many years?" Amiyah chimed in angrily.
However, Irene did not care about what they thought of her. The only thing she wanted to know was her own uncle's thoughts on the matter. Her uncle had been close to her mother before her mother's death, so he definitely would not agree with such a decision.
But she had never expected that benefits were the most important in this world.
