Thorns Grow After Betrayal (Celeste and Chester) novel Chapter 201

She let Celestine take the lead.

Together, they entered the fishing village.

Night had fully settled in by now.

The village was quiet—eerily so.

Celestine Selwyn knocked on the door of a small house where someone was cooking dinner.

For a long moment, there was only the faintest stir from inside.

“Who’s there?” a suspicious voice finally called out.

Celestine, steadying Gideon Prescott, explained why they’d come.

A long pause.

Worried she hadn’t been heard, Celestine repeated herself, just a bit louder.

Suddenly, the door swung open. A woman in a blue scarf, her expression less than welcoming, snapped, “Go, go on! This isn’t some charity hospital. Don’t block my door! People like you shouldn’t be here!”

Gideon arched a brow, defiant.

Celestine tugged him back, apologizing quickly. “I’m so sorry to bother you so late. My friend and I went out on the water and got caught in a current—he hurt his leg. Is there any way you could spare us some medicine? Or if you know someone who has some, we’ll pay, I promise. We won’t take your help for nothing.”

The woman’s face softened a little. She opened the door wider. “Come in, sit wherever you want. I’ll get you the first aid kit—you’re on your own after that.”

With a grateful nod, Celestine helped Gideon into the simple yard.

Under the moonlight, the house was plainly furnished—no fancy decorations, but everything was tidy and well cared for. The woman clearly loved her home.

Celestine settled Gideon on a wooden chair.

When Sandra—the woman—brought out the medicine, Celestine knelt to treat his injury.

She lifted the hem of his pants, revealing a deep gash above his ankle, almost to the bone, as if it had been caught by a wire.

Celestine gasped. “Why didn’t you say anything?!”

Gideon shrugged off her worry. “Didn’t really feel it. Looks worse than it is.”

She didn’t believe him, her brows knitting together in concern.

She dabbed antiseptic and ointment onto his wound with careful, gentle hands, terrified of hurting him.

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