You Hit My Heart
Chapter 1705: Self-Proof

Chapter 1705: Self-Proof

At this moment, the butler of the Ballard family knocked on the doorand entered.

Following Christian's previous instructions, he brought a fine Rainbefore Dragon Well tea.

The butler placed the tea in front of Joyce and respectfully steppedback.

Just as Joyce was about to pick up the tea, Darrin suddenly stoppedhim, "General, please wait."

Before Joyce could speak, Darrin took a step forward, took out a thinneedle, and pierced it into the tea, testing it before saying, "General, it'ssafe.”

Christian narrowed his long phoenix eyes, revealing dissatisfaction,"Are you worried about being poisoned in my house? Joyce, do youconsider me an outsider?"

Before Joyce could respond, Darrin replied directly, "Mr. Ballard, it hasnothing to do with the General. It is my duty, please understand.”Now, he wouldn't trust anyone, even if Christian had no ill intentions, hecouldn't guarantee that someone among Christian's subordinateswouldn't cause trouble. Once bitten, twice shy, he couldn't allow himselfto make mistakes again.

Joyce glanced at Darrin and whispered, “You're being too nervous. Mr.Ballard has been kind to me."

Darrin nodded and stepped back behind Joyce.

Christian didn't mind any further and said to Joyce, “Well, havingsomeone so attentive by your side ensures your safety.”

Joyce shrugged, picked up the tea in front of her, and took a gentle sip."To get back on track, you mentioned earlier that your sister wasLuther's first love. They fell in love with each other, and then whathappened?”

Christian glanced at Joyce, who remained calm. Her expression didn'tchange, and she showed no reaction when the words "first love" werementioned.

He sat up straight and continued, "I, Luther, and Felix were goodfriends. Both of them often came to my house to play. During thesummer vacation, they even stayed at my seaside villa for a while. Itwas during that time that Luther met my sister. My sister is veryinnocent and kind. She is polite to everyone she meets and quite shy.She doesn't speak much and rarely smiles. In short, she is a pure andflawless girl."

When Christian mentioned the past, his expression became nostalgic,as if he was immersed in beautiful memories.

From his longing expression, Joyce sensed something unusual.

She exchanged a glance with Darrin, who also noticed that Christianseemed to have a different kind of affection for his sister. But since theyweren't blood-related, there was no ethical issue.

Joyce understood in her heart. To be honest, although Christian oftenspoke to her in a non-serious manner, half flirting and half ambiguous,she never felt that Christian had any feelings for her. She always feltthat Christian's heart had another place to nest.

Now, Christian's demeanor and tone, along with the conflict betweenChristian and Luther, confirmed her speculation.

Christian liked his sister.

"May I ask what your sister's name is?" Joyce asked softly.

"Her name is Athena. It's a beautiful name. Athena is the goddess ofMount Olympus in mythology, the daughter of the supreme god,"Christian explained.

Joyce nodded, understanding that their names were inspired bymythology. Christian was named after the archer Yi, who shot down thesun.

“I didn't pay much attention to it at first, but in the following years,whenever Luther came to my house, Athena would always be present.At first, I didn't notice anything unusual and thought it was just a normalmeeting. But one day, I found Luther's school jacket left in Athena'sroom," Christian said, and his brow twitched.

"If I had realized it earlier, I would have put an end to Luther'sinappropriate thoughts. Unfortunately, by the time I found out, Athenawas already deeply in love with him. I discovered Luther's jacket inAthena's room, and I got very angry. I threw away the jacket on thespot and questioned Athena if they had done anything inappropriate,after all, Athena was only sixteen at the time, she was still underage."When Joyce heard this, she paused with the tea in her hand. Ripplesformed in the bright green liquid in the porcelain tea bowl.

She didn't want to judge; she just wanted to hear the whole story."And then?" she asked. "Did you object?"

Christian nodded, "Of course, I objected. Athena promised me that shewould no longer see Luther. Over the next two years, Luther's visitsbecame less frequent, only once or twice a year. And I always foundways to keep Athena away from him, not letting her see him. Thatcontinued until Athena turned eighteen."

Joyce felt that the story was finally reaching its climax. She held herbreath and listened attentively.

Christian took a deep breath and continued, "Although I preventedthem from meeting, I could tell that Athena was unhappy. She oftencried alone. Sometimes in the morning, when I called her to get up, Icould see traces of tears in her eyes. She even attempted self-harm bycutting her wrists, but I discovered it in time and stopped her. I knewshe was deeply trapped, and I wanted to send her abroad to study.However, Athena begged me tearfully for one request before goingoverseas. She said she wanted to say a final goodbye to Luther. Icouldn't resist her, so I reluctantly agreed."

Pausing for a moment, Christian continued, "Coincidentally, that year,Luther and Felix planned a camping trip in the mountains, and I joinedthem. I agreed to take Athena along, meet Luther once, say goodbye,and then send her back. Little did I know that this wrong decision, amoment of weakness, would haunt me for the rest of my life. Luther, hewas simply... beyond despicable! He was worse than a beast!"

As he said this, Christian suddenly became agitated. He stood upabruptly and walked to the window, with his back turned to Joyce. Hischest rose and fell continuously, as if harboring immense anger. Bythen, the setting sun had fully descended, and the thick darknessenveloped the surroundings, obscuring everything.

“That day happened to be Athena's eighteenth birthday. That beastLuther, he violated her innocence forcefully in the camping tent. Notonly that, but he also refused to admit it. Poor Athena, played with,abandoned, heartbroken... and then..." Christian clenched his fiststightly and struck the window glass with a punch.

Joyce's nerves tensed along with Christian's outburst. As if unable tocontinue, Christian finally closed his eyes, took a deep breath, andsaid, "Athena accidentally fell off a cliff."

Joyce was taken aback by the revelation. She didn't expect such a turnof events.

She cautiously asked, “So, your sister... she died?"

Christian's silhouette stiffened, "Yes."

Indeed, everyone at the time believed that Athena had died.

After the accident, he went mad and mobilized numerous people tosearch for her. When she was finally found, she was barely alive. Bythe time the ambulance arrived at the hospital, her heartbeat hadalready stopped.

Everyone, including Luther and Felix, thought she was dead.