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He Only Wanted Me as His Caretaker, I Build My Great Future

NovelShort new Completed

Billionaire Romance HotDevil HusbandSecondChance

Chapters (4)

第1章

I received a documentary from eighteen years in the future after Leo was injured. Watching it, I saw myself giving up my career as a violinist to care for him for eighteen years. For the forty-ninth time, until I was grey and old, asked for a marriage, Leo, lying on his sickbed, still refused to give me a status before passing away. With no legal status, I could only watch his burial from afar. However, Riley, my best friend who had taken over my position as principal violinist years ago, led the funeral as his widow. Only then did I learn the truth; Leo hadn’t been struck by the collapsing practice room ceiling while tuning my violin. but he had been injured and lost his absolute pitch while having a secret date with Riley. In an instant, he had gone from being a conductor leading an orchestra to a patient tormented by splitting headaches whenever he heard loud noises. Believing myself to be the culprit responsible for his accident, I had served as his unpaid caregiver and bedmate for eighteen years without legal status or title, unaware that he had already married someone else. At the end of the documentary, I gripped my chest and cried pitifully at the sight of that frail, elderly figure being shut out and rejected. Since I had served as a stepping stone for eighteen years, this time, I would not let myself be trampled and used again by those heartless demons. *** I gasped for air and suppressed the shock surging within me. I looked around my surroundings and found that I was near the practice room where Leo was tuning Riley’s volin. I dashed to the practice room where the accident had occurred and saw Riley’s violin lay amidst the rubble, its body smashed to pieces. Near them were the strings called Pirastro ‘Green Beauties,’ a token of love I had given Leo. It was the prize I had won at my first international competition when I was eighteen, but now, he had fitted them onto Riley’s violin. Seeing this, I was boiled. I went to the security room and asked the guard for the surveillance footage from the day of the accident. In the video, Leo was in the practice room, head bowed, installing the strings for Riley. Although I couldn’t see the expression on his face, his subtle movements revealed his deep focus and dedication. I had been struggling to find my touch due to a ganglion cyst for the previous six months, and it was torture for a violinist like me. Leo possessed absolute pitch; the instruments he tuned always produced the most perfect sound. For that, I had begged him for help several times. But whenever I asked, he would say he was either busy or too tired. Turned out he wasn’t lacking time or energy; simply, I wasn’t the person worth his spending an afternoon tuning strings for. In the video, Leo repeatedly adjusted the tuning pegs. He ensured every string was tightened to perfection, neither too loose nor too taut. Once the violin was tuned, Riley took it from him. She squealed and happily nestled into his arms, then looked up and whispered something close to his face. Hearing that, Leo’s lips curled into a smile, his eyes filled with an unfathomable tenderness. I was shocked seeing that doting affection since it was so unfamiliar to me. After having her violin tuned, Riley began to play. She played the very piece I had chosen for my upcoming competition. On the side, Leo stood by, patiently guiding her fingering and rhythm. He had revealed the piece I selected to Riley and was giving her private, intensive coaching on it. Cold air blew down from overhead, shrouding my vision in a white mist. I felt both chilled and lost. After eighteen years, only now did I know that my life was a lie. Suddenly, a massive crack split the ceiling of the practice room. It collapsed downward with terrifying speed. Seeing this, Leo dashed and threw himself over Riley, shielding her in his arms and sacrificed his body in the name of love. Once Riley regained her senses, she didn’t spare a single glance at him or the violin. She simply turned and fled in a panic. Ten minutes later, the sound of sirens echoed. Firefighters arrived and pulled Leo out from the rubble. There was so much blood, on his head, on his body; his features were unrecognizable. I remembered seeing him in the hospital, wrapped in bandages, looking helpless. I had been so terrified I felt as though my soul had left my body. Guilt and remorse consumed me. Because Leo had said he was going to the practice room to tune my violin, I had blamed myself endlessly. If not for me, he wouldn’t have suffered a temporal lobe injury that damaged his auditory cortex. If not for me, he wouldn’t have lost his innate perfect pitch and become a patient tormented by splitting headaches whenever he heard loud noises. Just then, I heard footsteps and was woken up from my reverie. Leo was standing right behind me and asked, “What brings you here?” Hearing that, I turned to look at him, recalling that documentary from eighteen years in the future and seethed in anger. I thought of the version of myself who was ignorant of the truth and had cared for him for eighteen years out of a sense of atonement. I thought of the version of myself who had served as a stepping stone for them, only to be met with betrayal and deceit in the end and suffered for the rest of my life. “Why were my violin strings on Riley’s instrument?” I asked calmly, trying to mask my fuming. Leo’s eyes flickered hearing this. He replied calmly, “I didn’t notice at the time; I mixed them up.” I nodded and remained silent for a long moment. Behind us, workers began tearing down the remaining half-wall of the practice room. The electric drill roared to life. Hearing this, Leo’s face suddenly went pale; he jerked his hands up to cover his ears and crouched down in agony. His whole body shook uncontrollably, gasping for air, as if he were drowning.

第2章

Seeing this, I kind of felt guilty and took Leo to the hospital. He lay in the hospital bed, his eyes half-closed. He whispered, “I want to retire.” Hearing this, I didn’t move and just watched him quietly. He continued, “You should retire, too.” He reached out and placed his hand over mine. “Riley can take over your spot in the orchestra; there’s no need to worry. My condition means I can’t handle tuning anymore. It’ll just be the two of us living at home from now on.” I gently pulled my hand away, showing no emotion on my face. In that parallel timeline, the version of me who had been used as disposable labor for eighteen years had accepted Leo’s proposal out of guilt. I had let Riley take my place as first violinist. I had become an unpaid live-in caregiver, living a life of suffering and mediocrity. I had sacrificed the glory and the life that should have been mine. Seeing my silence, Leo assumed I had agreed. After all, when I first learned he had been injured because of me, I had wept until I nearly fainted. He knew exactly how to exploit that guilt. “I’m going to the orchestra office,” I said with no emotion. He smiled with satisfaction when he heard this. As I left the hospital room, my gaze sharpened. I pushed open the door to the orchestra office, and Sam looked up at me. “Regarding your company-sponsored assignment,"” he said, “Mr. Dawn said you’d be staying home to look after him and couldn’t go. He asked to have the spot given to Riley instead.” Sure enough, everything in the documentary had a trail leading back to this. I looked Sam in the eyes and said, “I can go.” Sam was taken aback and asked, “He said you two had already discussed it.” I took the documents I’d prepared out of my bag. A thick stack of them. They were all my award certificates, letters of recommendation from professors, and records of my original compositions from the past few years. “He can’t speak for me; I can go,” I said firmly, looking straight at Sam. Sam fell silent for a few seconds, then closed the folder. “Then the spot remains yours. Just make sure you sort things out with Mr. Dawn and Riley.” I nodded and added one more thing, “Sam, could you please hold off on announcing the list for a few days?” Sam nodded and said, “Sure.” When I got home, I saw Leo’s and Riley’s shoes in the entryway. “You’re back.” He walked out and pointed toward the music room. “Riley is going on the sponsored tour in a week. Her lease is up, so she’s staying here for a few days before she leaves.” I saw Riley walk out, holding my violin. She blinked, looking entirely entitled. “Layla, my violin is broken. I’m borrowing yours to practice. You don’t mind, do you?” Before I could even speak, Leo made the decision for me. “She doesn’t need it anymore. Go ahead and use it.” I turned to look at the living room table, where the sheet music for the variations I’d spent three years composing lay spread out. I raised my eyebrows and asked out loud, “You took my sheet music?” Leo didn’t look at me; his voice was calm and unhurried. “You won’t be needing it anymore, so I thought Riley might as well take it for the competition.” Riley smiled, wearing the look of a victor. “Layla, you have to stay home and look after Leo, but the orchestra can’t be without a soloist. I have no choice but to step in for you.” I walked over and gathered up all the sheet music. Then I walked up to Riley and took the violin from her hands. Leo’s brows furrowed immediately, and his eyes darkened. “Layla, what are you doing?” I didn’t want to reveal my plan too soon. I planned to make them be proud first then trampled on their expectations. I let a look of concern appear on my face at just the right moment and softened my tone. “Your condition requires quiet and rest; there can be no violin music in the house. I’ll give it to Riley when she’s ready to go abroad.” The furrow in Leo’s brow smoothed out, and he rubbed his palm against my shoulder. “Alright. This place is in a busy downtown area; I don’t like it either. We’ll sell the house in a while and move to a detached house in the suburbs, somewhere quiet.” I remembered the documentary; how, when I had prepared to sell the house and leave, I discovered that Leo had already transferred the title of the house’s holder to Riley’s name. Not only had I lost my job, but I had also failed to hold onto the property my parents left me. I looked up at the man before me. Eighteen years in agony and suffering, I wouldn’t let that time repeat itself again. I answered softly, “Okay.”

第3章

In the days that followed, Leo suffered frequent episodes. The sound of a spatula clinking against a pan while I cooked would make him lie on the sofa, complaining of a headache. The sound of a courier ringing the doorbell would cause him to smash a water glass in irritation. Even the faint sound of a car horn on the street would agitate him so much he couldn’t sleep. And every time, he would call only my name. “Layla, help me massage my temples.” “Layla, pour me a glass of water.” “Layla, make them be quiet!” I tried asking Riley to look after Leo, but he always waved the idea away. “Riley needs rest for her violin practice; don’t disturb her.” Everytime she heard this, Riley would seize the opportunity to decline as well. “Layla, Leo is your boyfriend; it wouldn’t be appropriate for me to take care of him.” Watching the two of them in such perfect sync, I found it laughable. They were intent on saddling me and me alone, with the responsibility of caring for Leo. A day later, I listed the house on a real estate website. A few days later, I received a message from the agent: [The buyer is ready to sign the contract; you can move out in the next few days.] I replied: [Okay.] I also booked a flight to Norfolk City for the following week. After receiving the ticket confirmation, my phone suddenly started buzzing incessantly. A flood of videos appeared on social media. [A genius struck down! All to tune his lover’s instrument strings] [Who destroyed the country’s youngest conductor?] [Injured for love: who bears the blame for his loss of musical ability?] The video spliced together clips of Leo’s past performances with footage of his injury. It accused me of being the jinx who caused a genius to lose his gift overnight, effectively ‘killing off’ his talent. The worst of all was that it claimed that my famous original compositions weren’t actually written by me. They were supposedly composed by Leo, then credited to me to pave the way for my career. Not only had I become the bad omen who caused the genius conductor’s injury, I was now branded a fraud who had built a reputation on lies. Leo’s parents sought me out. We sat around a table in a private dining room. Leo had brought Riley along as well. “Layla,” Sandy began, casting a resentful glance my way. “Leo can no longer stand at the conductor’s podium; you have to take responsibility.” “Exactly,” Ralph added, staring at me. “His rehabilitation will be a long process. You need to look after him until he fully recovers.” Riley watched me with an air of leisurely amusement, as if enjoying a show. “Layla, Uncle and Auntie make a valid point. Leo’s career is at a standstill right now; you really shouldn’t be so selfish.” “Selfish?” I raised an eyebrow at her. “Then why aren’t you taking care of him?” Hearing this, her hand paused on her teacup, then she smiled innocently. “Me? Why would I? I wasn’t the one who caused Leo’s injury. Besides, you’re his girlfriend.” Leo moved his hand from the tabletop to clasp Riley’s hand, hidden beneath the tablecloth. A dark look flashed in his eyes as he gazed at me with displeasure. “Isn’t that marriage certificate what you want?” he said. “Once I recover, I’ll marry you.” Hearing that, I lowered my head and let out a faint, barely perceptible chuckle. I had already checked his marital status. He was married. The spouse was listed as [Riley]. Yet here he was, in front of his parents and his wife, promising to marry me. In another life, I would have believed him. But this time, I wouldn’t wait for that hollow promise. “Alright.” I traced the rim of the teacup in front of me. “Leo was injured because of me; naturally, I have to take responsibility.” The expressions of those present softened slightly at my words. “The current house is in a bustling downtown area; it’s not suitable for his recovery. I plan to buy a detached house in the suburbs, but I don’t have enough cash on hand. I need three million. Can you do that?” Sandy frowned. “You caused my son’s injury, and yet you’re asking us for money?” I shook my head. “You put up the three million to secure the villa first. Once I sell my current house, I’ll pay off the remaining balance immediately. To make it up to Leo, the house will be registered solely in his name.” Leo looked at me, his slender fingers tapping twice against the table. I knew exactly how much wealth he had. He wouldn’t lose out on this bet. Three million in exchange for a villa worth ten million on the market was a good deal. It was bait, enough to bleed him dry, just as I had been in my past life. “Fine,” he said.

第4章

On the way home, Leo was in high spirits and insisted on driving. I sat in the passenger seat, while Riley sat in the back. “It’s chilly out, and your skirt is too short.” Leo took a blanket from the glove compartment and handed it back to Riley. I looked down at my own thin top but said nothing. A sharp blast of a car horn erupted from the left. Hearing this, Leo’s shoulders went rigid. A muffled groan escaped his throat as he jerked the steering wheel hard to the right. The front of the car slammed into a tree by the roadside. With a loud crash, my vision went black, followed by the sensation of warm liquid trickling down from my head. The windshield shattered completely. Riley began to sob intermittently in the back seat. I glanced down at my hand. The back of my right hand had split open from the impact, and blood was gushing out. A police patrol car pulled up beside us. The motorcycle officer ran over. “Are you okay?” Leo looked up; there was no blood on his face, only a shallow scrape. His pupils contracted the moment he saw me. Then, his gaze shifted to the back seat; his brows furrowed, his eyes filled with worry. “Save her first!” The officer glanced at me. “This lady is more seriously injured; both her head and hand are hurt.” “Save the person in the back seat first!” Leo shouted again, his voice frantic. “She’s a violinist; she can’t afford to be injured.” After saying that, he looked at me in the front seat. “She’s just a caregiver; her hands aren’t that precious.” Hearing that, I froze for a moment. A wave of pain, laced with a biting chill, washed over my entire body. Even though I had long known how that web of deceit would end, hearing Leo speak his true feelings aloud in that moment, I still couldn’t suppress the heart-wrenching agony rising in my chest. The officer hesitated for two seconds before pulling Leo and Riley out first. Leo looked down at me, his voice tinged with a mix of guilt and an attempt at reassurance. “Hang in there, the ambulance will be here soon. Riley can’t wait. I’m taking her to the hospital first.” With that, Leo cradled Riley and straddled the motorcycle. I sat on the crushed, deformed seat. I tried to curl my fingers, but I couldn’t move them. As the air in my lungs ran out, I lost consciousness completely. *** An hour later, I woke up in a hospital bed. Thick bandages wrapped my head and right hand. They throbbed painfully with the slightest movement. My phone buzzed beside me. A bank notification said that the payment for the house had arrived. The buyer had paid the full amount in advance. Then came a message from the real estate agent: [Miss, the buyer wants the place cleared out by 5 PM tomorrow.] I picked up the phone with my left hand and sent a letter of authorization to the agent, mandating the move-out. Then, I rescheduled my flight for the next day. Early the next morning, I removed my IV and left the hospital. There was no one home when I arrived. Leo was likely still at the hospital, keeping watch over Riley. My phone rang. “Layla, are you at the hospital?” I paused for a moment. “Mm-hmm.” Leo, on the other end of the line, seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. “I’ll come see you later; Riley needs someone with her right now. I took a look at that villa you recommended; the location and layout are both great. I’ve signed the purchase contract and paid the three-million deposit. You need to hurry up with the remaining balance.” Leo was moving fast. It seemed he didn’t want to spend another day in his current home. “Okay.” After hanging up, I sent a message to Sam at the orchestra: [The list for the state-sponsored study abroad program can be made public now.] Then, I uploaded the surveillance footage from the practice room to social media. I set it to publish at a scheduled time. I shouldered my instrument case and gathered all my sheet music. I hailed a ride-share car and headed straight for the airport. That afternoon, Leo returned home with Riley, who had a few minor scrapes. He saw a real estate agent standing at the doorway, directing the moving crew. “Move everything out; the original owner has entrusted us with disposing of this furniture.” Seeing this, Leo hurriedly took out her phone, intending to ask me about the rest of the payment for the villa. But then, a piercing scream from Riley rang in her ears. “How did Layla end up on the list for the state-sponsored program?!”