Chapter 5: Learn to resist

Rosalynn's POV.

“Are you okay?!” I grabbed Nolan's biceps in an almost screaming tone.

But right after that, the whispers around me and the attention directed here made me suddenly shrink back. Tilting my head to look at the wine stains soaking his vest, I was about to get a towel to wipe him off when he grabbed my wrist tightly.

I stammered and asked with a confused face, “Mister?”

Nolan seemed emotionless about what just happened. His face still looked like a cold block of ice. He shoved a glass of wine into my hand, then lowered his lips to my ear and whispered calmly, “Now it's your turn.”

"What?" I backed away in shock as soon as I discovered the distance between us was too close for any misunderstanding to arise.

My gaze shifted to Celine. Her face was pale, her eyes widened in emptiness as well as her shoulders trembling, betraying the tough words she uttered immediately, "Mr. Kingston, I deeply apologize. However, I didn't mean to target you, I just intended to deal with this girl..."

“Girl, take this glass of wine and throw it at her, dare you?” He suddenly grabbed my chin, turned my face to face him, and then spoke decisively, interrupting Celine's words.

Dare I? An electric current ran down my spine, making me shiver.

It wasn't just me who was surprised, Celine was also so stunned that her whole body leaned back slightly, her mouth continuously stammering, "Mr. Kingston, I... what do you... mean by that? I will compensate…”

"Shut up!" Nolan coldly ordered.

The entire hall suddenly fell silent. The guests around who were previously lively in discussion now just exchanged glances and shrugged. But because of this, all the attention was now focused on me. I hesitantly glanced at the fingers pointing at me and then met Nolan's sharp, icy gaze.

"Do it!" He repeated.

His steady breathing was circling me like powerful attacks into the depths of my heart. I quickly tilted my head to the side, the fear of facing him squarely overwhelming me, making my mind spin in confusion.

“I… I don't…” My hands trembled as I picked up the glass of wine and returned it to Nolan, “I won't do that. Thank you, Mister."

After saying that, I quickly ran out of the hall. The bustling sounds were quickly left behind the door. It wasn't until I went outside the main gate that I realized I had just run a very long way.

"Get in the car!" A cold male voice ordered me.

At this time, I discovered a familiar black car stopping in front of me. Nolan's face appeared after the car window was rolled down, and momentarily petrified me.

“Need me to carry you into the car?” He impatiently asked.

My trembling hand gripped the car door handle, and I instinctively looked around to confirm that there was no one nearby before daring to get in. The car quickly left the restaurant and merged into the busy traffic of the city.

An oddly quiet atmosphere made my heart feel extremely sore. Glancing at Nolan's slight movement, I was startled and leaned closer to the car door as if afraid he was about to vent his anger on me.

It was understandable because I blatantly disobeyed him in the middle of the crowd, even though no one knew our relationship yet.

The corner of Nolan's mouth slightly curled up into an indifferent curve, "Afraid of me?"

“You've misunderstood. I… I didn't mean to…” I pretended to adjust my hair to fix the embarrassing situation that had just happened.

However, before I could finish speaking, Nolan reached out and pulled me close to his body. The smell of sandalwood entered my nostrils, making me look into his amber eyes in bewilderment. My lips parted but they finally were unable to speak out.

“If you're not afraid, come here. If I didn't want you alive, you wouldn't have a chance to stand in front of me right now. Take off!"

Take off what? My heart felt a strong rejection. My eyes couldn't hide their confusion as his large hand slid along my calf. My whole body trembled as if I was about to freeze to death in the cold winter air. What was he planning to do inside the car? In front of the driver?

I knew I was just a doll for him to play with, but what he planned to do was really...

“Nolan… Can we wait until we get home?” I muttered his name and then tugged on one corner of his vest to stop his actions.

Nolan frowned clearly showing impatience, "Why wait?" Having said that, he took off my high heels and placed my lower legs on his lap.

“Ah! What are you doing?” I leaned back and was about to retract my legs, but Nolan held it firmly.

"Why not follow my orders?"

The light in the car was too dark for me to clearly see the expression on Nolan's face, but his voice remained icy, making me highly alert. His long fingers were massaging my swollen ankle, and the warmth transmitted to my whole heart.

Even I did not realize my ankle was being injured by high heels. Maybe I was just focusing on running away from that place, no matter how disheveled my body was and how awkward my gait was, I didn't want to stay even for a second.

I pulled back a bit, speaking weakly like a child who had just made a big mistake, "Anyway, it was my fault first... I bumped into Celine."

“If I hadn't shown up, that whole glass of wine would have splashed on you. At that time, would you still blame yourself then?" He retorted.

"Celine is so haughty; continuing to argue with her would only harm me. Besides, I can't..." My voice trailed off, "I can't throw wine back at her."

Celine was the daughter of the president of the powerful FNJ Group, and also my classmate at university. I accidentally made her lose face at her family's party, how could I agree to Nolan's unreasonable request? Unless I was crazy like him.

“Hah…” Nolan's indifferent laughter sounded near my ear.

In the dim space, he reached out and squeezed my chin, "Next time, be a little smarter. With me backing you up, don't you learn how to resist and take advantage of me?"

Learn to resist? Take advantage? Rely on him?

My face hardened. From childhood to adulthood, it seemed like no one had ever said such words to me. Throughout my time in the orphanage and living with foster parents, I always obediently followed orders because I was afraid I might be abandoned at any moment.

“Nolan, if we keep retaliating back and forth like that, who knows when the hatred will end? I just want to live peacefully..."

But the little bit of reason left in me was laughing at my daydreaming self. My fate had destined me to be an unwanted child, so with just a few words from this man, I was going to trust him?

The magnificent villa, brightly lit with lights, appeared in front. Nolan got out of the car, leaving me still bewildered. Following his straight silhouette, my beautiful eyes felt a mist surrounding me, making me lose my direction.

“Just think about how hypocritical you are? Tolerating someone who doesn't deserve it is just foolishness!" Nolan scoffed.

[...]

At the University.

I had just entered the classroom when a petite figure rushed over to hug me with a joyful voice, "Rosa, long time no see."

“Katherine, are you back?” My eyes lit up.

“That's right, I bought you a gift. The cuisine in France is truly wonderful, I wish you could enjoy it with me. Too bad I can't bring it back to you.”

Katherine pulled me to her desk, then she pulled out a bunch of souvenirs from her trip to France. While she was happily telling me a story, Celine boldly kicked the door into the classroom and glared at me.

“Celine, are you crazy?” Katherine angrily stood up and glared back at Celine.

Katherine was the daughter of a wealthy family in this city. Her grandfather used to be the mayor, so everyone in the class looked up to Celine except Katherine.

I grabbed Katherine's hand and shook my head slightly, then looked at Celine slowly walking towards us.

She threw her bag on the table and turned to look at us with a challenging smile. I squinted my eyes slightly, suddenly feeling uneasy because this action was completely different from Celine's personality.

If Katherine had not returned to school today, I would have mentally prepared myself to be bullied by Celine at any moment.

“Why did she go crazy so early in the morning? When I was away, did she bully you?" Katherine pouted, then sat back down gently, asking me with concern.

I felt extremely warm and could only smile, “No. You're always so nice to me, Katherine.”

“You fool, because you are too gentle and weak, that's why those people have the chance to bully you. You have me by your side, why don't you try to resist them once?"

'Resist' again? Nolan's hoarse voice from yesterday suddenly echoed in my mind.

“Rosa! Rosa! What's wrong with you?" Katherine waved her hand in front of me, pulling me out of my chaotic thoughts.

I shook my head slightly, "I'm fine... It's just that I have been lacking sleep lately..."

While I still hadn't finished my sentence, my phone rang. At the same time, two people appeared in front of the classroom in a hurry. They called out my name loudly, “Rosalynn, is Rosalynn here?”

“Bella, May, what’d happened?” I also stood up in surprise, ran towards them, and asked.

Bella continuously patted her chest to steady her breathing, panting and responding, "It's not okay! Our club's concert scheduled for this weekend was suddenly canceled. The president is looking for you!”

“Looking for me?!” Why? I was surprised.

My face immediately turned white. I instinctively turned around to search for Celine's figure and encountered her triumphant smile.

“Rosalynn, I feel like your apology yesterday was not sincere enough. So I still want more, should you continue to do something to express your sincerity? I am not over it yet.”

Celine crossed her arms over her chest and stood up. She leaned against the edge of the table, raised her face, and looked at me imperiously.

Katherine did not understand what was going on, but she quickly stood in front of me to confront Celine, "Hey, Celine, why are you bullying Rosa? Don't forget I am back!”

“Do you think I'm afraid of you? That damn girl dares to anger me, so she must pay the price!”

My eye sockets were red with tears. All the self-pity was welling up inside me but I didn't want to let my tears fall. If I kept crying, I would not be able to save the club concert. Everyone would be implicated because of me for a stupid and meaningless reason. I pursed my lips and stared at Celine.

“Just wait. I will not give in to you.” This was the first challenge to my resistance.

I left the classroom with Bella and May. Now I was paying the price for my foolishness... just like Nolan said, right?