Read Novel Full Chapter 475:Childhood Memories-1
Chapter 475: Chapter 475:Childhood Memories-1
She fled into a forest she did not know, branches scraping her skin, thorns tearing at her clothes, until she was completely lost.
By cruel luck, she wandered near a drug dealer’s hideout. Just as she was about to retreat, she saw a boy.
A boy with black hair and deep, watchful eyes, scanning his surroundings like a cornered animal searching for a weapon.
That boy was Silas.
He was ten years old at the time. Ivy, who had never celebrated her birthday, remained seven, leaving a three-year gap between them.
When Silas noticed her, surprise flickered across his face, but he quickly masked it and subtly formed an SOS signal with his hand.
By then, Ivy had learned enough to understand.
She followed his gaze to the men nearby and immediately knew she could not defeat them. So she hid.
An entire day passed. Ivy did not dare move, her body pressed against the cold earth, her breath shallow.
Despite her size, she remained vigilant, moving without sound, a skill ingrained into her by the Ravencroft family’s ruthless training.
Ivy had always known how to survive on the edge.
Meanwhile, the men continuously contacted Silas’s family, demanding ransom.
Silas, having gone without food for a day, felt his strength fading. He knew that if he did nothing, he would die before ever seeing his father again.
He looked toward Ivy repeatedly, blinking in desperation, unsure whether she was too frightened or simply unwilling to help.
As hours passed and she remained silent, his hope began to crumble.
Another day went by. Silas was beaten every five hours, his body bruised and broken until he could barely stand.
By nightfall, even his voice had vanished.
’So this is it,’ he thought faintly.
Then, as the guards finally fell asleep, the forest sinking into uneasy silence, Ivy saw her chance.
She rose slowly from her hiding place and walked toward Silas, her small steps soundless against the ground.
Silas, on the other hand, froze in disbelief the moment he saw Ivy.
The last thing he remembered was being beaten until darkness swallowed his vision.
In that fading moment, he had truly believed that Ivy had left.
’She ran away... just like everyone else,’ he had thought back then.
Who could have imagined that she had stayed hidden all this time?
Who could have believed that a child so small had endured the same terror, silently watching, waiting, surviving?
When Ivy appeared beside him, her movements were swift yet careful.
Her tiny fingers trembled as they worked on the restraints binding him.
Each second felt unbearably loud, his heart pounding so hard he feared it would wake the sleeping men nearby.
"It’s okay," she whispered, her voice barely louder than the wind brushing through the leaves. "Don’t make a sound."
The restraints finally fell away. Before Silas could even process what was happening, Ivy slipped an arm around him.
With her small legs planted firmly into the damp earth, she lifted him with everything she had.
Her body shook under his weight, her breath coming out in short, controlled bursts, but she did not stop.
She began walking out of the forest.
Silas drifted in and out of consciousness, his vision blurred, but even in that haze, he could see her clearly.
Her pink hair caught faint moonlight, glowing softly against the darkness, and her pink eyes shone with unwavering determination.
Even if he could not see her face completely, he knew it was her.
And there was the small mole on her right shoulder, visible when her sleeve slipped down as she adjusted her grip.
That single detail etched itself into his mind forever.
’So it was you,’ his fading consciousness whispered. ’You stayed.’
That day, her image was engraved deeply into his mind, carved there as clearly as the bruises on his body.
Back then, Silas could not call it love. It was not love. It was curiosity... sharp, restless, impossible to ignore. ’Who was that girl?’
Eventually, exhaustion dragged him into unconsciousness.
When he woke up, the sharp smell of disinfectant filled his nose, and white light stung his eyes.
A girl stood in front of him, arms crossed, chin lifted confidently.
"I’m the one who saved you," she declared.
He stared at her, confusion flickering through his still-hazy mind.
She had straight black hair, neatly combed, and her name, as he later learned, was Isla.
He knew of her reputation well enough. She was famous throughout the military compound, known for flirting with many of the boys.
Even at just seven years old, she already claimed three boyfriends.
This kind of behavior was something Silas’s family would never tolerate. Because of that, they had warned him repeatedly, ’Stay away from Isla.’
As he studied her face, something felt off. His brows knit together instinctively. "You’re not the one," he said flatly. "You didn’t save me."
Isla’s eyes widened for just a moment before she smoothed her expression.
In a calm, almost rehearsed tone, she replied, "If you doubt it, you can verify it. I can retell everything." Her confidence was unwavering, as though she had prepared herself for this confrontation.
The investigation did not take long. The result was clear. It was not Isla. It was Ivy.
After that, more girls appeared.
One by one, they came to him, cheeks flushed, voices trembling, each claiming, "It was me."
Each hoping to steal credit, to claim a connection.
Silas never fell for a single lie. He exposed them mercilessly every time they tried to deceive him, his cold gaze making them retreat in shame.
Time passed. The investigation continued quietly in the background until, at last, the truth surfaced completely. The girl who had saved him was Ivy.
When he learned that Ivy was Isla’s sister, everything finally made sense. That was why Isla knew so many details about the rescue.
Curiosity gnawed at him. Wanting to see her reaction, he approached Ivy quietly one day when no one else was around.
The moment Ivy saw Silas, she blinked in surprise. "How are you?" she asked simply.