The tingling sensation made Audrey hiss and her eyes became misty.
She bit her lower lip hard to brave the pain.
Although it wasn’t that painful, she badly wanted to burst into tears.
She raised her head a little and drew sharp breaths just to prevent her tears from falling.
She really wanted to ask Cornell whether he loved her.
However, she couldn’t bring herself to ask him that because she was scared of getting an unfavorable response. The truth, as the saying went, was bitter.
Cornell raised his head, only to see that blood was seeping out of Audrey’s lower Lip.
He pinched her chin and ordered, “Stop doing that. You are bleeding.”
Audrey’s ears turned red with embarrassment. She tried to hide her tears as she complained, “But it really hurts.”
Her voice was muffled because Cornell continued to pinch her chin.
Slowly, her nose turned red and a teardrop trickled down her cheek.
It was like dew slipping down a rose at dawn, so beautiful yet fragile.
Cornell’s heart fluttered at the sight of this.
The next second, he tightened his grip on her chin and kissed her hard.
His sudden move blocked Audrey’s sight.
The landing of his lips on hers came out of the blue. Her lips were numb for a second. When he began to kiss her roughly, they hurt more than before.
Audrey’s heart was beating fast. She hurriedly placed her hands on his chest and pushed hard.
She was still mad at him. Why was he kissing her now? Was it out of love or lust?
Questions flooded Audrey’s mind at this moment, leaving her head in a whole mess.
Oblivious to the torment going on inside her, Cornell continued to kiss her passionately. He had always been so domineering.
He grabbed her hands and pressed her against the sofa. He began to nibble on her lips. Every move was domineering, breaking Audrey’s resolve slowly. Audrey couldn’t think straight anymore.
Audrey had no choice but to cooperate with him without even thinking.
Cornell knew how to turn her on. His fingers remained on her chin as he sucked her lips gently. Her walls of resistance broke one after the other.
Just as she wrapped her arms around his neck, a phone buzzed.
Cornell’s phone kept vibrating on the table. He refused to spare it a glance. Instead, he cupped her face and kissed her more passionately.
Audrey was already moaning against his mouth. Her eyes were filled with lust. But when she saw the caller ID, she froze and her senses returned.
She pushed Cornell hard, but he kept at it.
When Cornell noticed that she was no longer kissing him back, he paused but still held on to her.
The phone kept vibrating. Audrey turned her face away.
After a moment of silence, Cornell stood up and went to the balcony to answer the call.
The door that led to the balcony was ajar. Audrey vaguely heard a woman’s soft sobs coming from the other end. Cornell said a few words in a low magnetic voice.
Although she couldn’t make out what they were talking about, she could tell from the tone that Cornell was trying to comfort that woman.
Audrey withdrew her eyes and then looked down at the bruises on her palm which were freshly cleaned. The pain in her hand was nowhere near the one in her heart.
More than ever before, Audrey knew she was heartbroken.
Cornell walked back. He bent over and picked up his car key from the table. He had buttoned up his shirt and his face was cold and noble now.
He looked at Audrey and parted his lips, but he closed them on second thought.
At last, he said, “Dinner is on the table. Eat it and then go to bed early.”
His lips were cold but plump from all the kissing.
“Don’t go, Cornell…”
As soon as Cornell spun around, Audrey jumped up and hugged him from behind. Her voice trembled.
She couldn’t look him in the eye for fear that she wouldn’t have the guts to air her feelings.
She wanted to tell him to stay with her instead of rushing over to Cecilia whenever Cecilia called.
But the words got stuck in her throat.
Despite knowing that she was throwing herself at him cheaply, Audrey was willing to have a try for the sake of her baby.
She was trying to stay afloat before the waves swept her away.
Audrey promised herself to ask him to stay just this once.
The silence that fell over them was so suffocating.
The clock ticked as they remained in that position.
Suddenly, Cornell’s phone vibrated again.
It annoyingly rang off the hook.
“Drop it, Audrey.”
Cornell finally broke the silence. Without looking at her, he broke off her grip bit by bit. Audrey’s heart shattered again.
“Cecilia is not doing well. I have to go check on her.”
With that, Cornell walked out the door.
It wasn’t until the door was shut that Audrey realized she was weeping now. Her face was wet with tears. No matter how she sniffed and wiped her eyes, tears just kept coming.
She cried and then began to laugh crazily.
It was as if God meant to make her suffer. When she was a child, people always teased and bullied her because she was an orphan. She couldn’t think of any mean thing that her peers didn’t do to her.
Was it throwing away her raincoat on a rainy day? Or hiding her shoes so she had to walk barefoot in the snow? Name it!
Despite all the suffering, Audrey held out hope that things would get better. She looked forward to starting her own family and giving her kids all the love she had.
She was an adult now. She had a family and the man she wanted to cherish.
But after Cornell walked out and shut the door in her face, Audrey realized that she was still the same old helpless orphan.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.