"What are you doing here, Moreau?" Abihirt's question was like a lump of meat that made Moreau's throat tighten. She didn't know how to answer, when it seemed like there was something her stepather was trying to hold back in front of so many people. And perhaps, because Moreau was still silent for a long time. Juan's voice soon chimed in. "I brought Moreau to this place, Mr. Lincoln. Please don't scold her." "I'm not talking to you." The gray eyes glared unusually sharply. Moreau instinctively pushed against Juan's chest to make the man beside her back away. She realized they had become a spectacle. This was no longer about a wild race, but how Abihirt barely cared about the people around him. Moreau didn't want anything to go wrong. Struggling to force her groaning tongue to speak. "I-I, just got here. Juan said there's a racing show, so we'll just be spectators. That's all. You... why are you in this place too?" However, the relationship between them was something Moreau
They reached the courtyard faster than Moreau could have imagined after doubting Abihirt's ability to drive most of the way. A man who was not well, but insisted on driving. Moreau still had that half-knowledge in the top of her head as she watched Abihirt walk almost in a huff towards a man who seemed to have been waiting for a long time. They only spoke briefly, but Moreau witnessed Abihirt's hurried steps to reach the living room. She trailed behind and swallowed harshly as her stepfather roughly flopped down on the sofa, while the other man was pulling something out of a leather briefcase. "What are you doing?" Moreau understood that the man she had been observing from the start was a doctor. She just wanted to know what specifically was being done-she mean, in what kind of order or illness that Abihirt seemed to have an urgency that needed to be dealt with immediately. "No need to worry, Miss Riveri. I am Roger, Abi's personal physician.
[Darling, I'm staying at Ferarra's house. We're having a drinking party. I won't be able to drive later. No need to wait for me and I don't want you to pick me up either. You can go to bed first. I love you. Love, Barbara]. That was last night's message. Abihirt exhaled roughly and put the handheld cell phone back on the glass table. Roger had given him medicine, but it felt like he was really going to catch a fever. His entire body was incredibly crushed, stiff, and the bones between his hands and feet were aching. Abihirt winced as he tried to get up. Slowly resting his back on the back of the sofa. There was no one in the living room. The memory of Roger that same night, telling him that the man had said goodbye, had given him a long rant. It would have been better if he wasn't here. The fact that Roger could make the top of his head throb was something Abihirt could not shake off. He tentatively reached out to grab the cell phone b
The repeated knocking on the door demanded Moreau to leave the bed. She needed to know who was out there, and what business it was to look for her at this time of day. Perhaps Barbara? Moreau let out a rough breath knowing it was too improbable. Barbara was definitely not at home. There was only one person left. However, Moreau could not ignore what she felt was important here. Slowly... after the door opened, Moreau held her breath even though she had guessed exactly who was looming in front of the room. Abihirt was dressed in a long, thin garment that traced the abdominal muscles hiding there. Moreau did not know if she could offer any tolerance to Abihirt's overly sturdy and perfect appearance. Really, it felt like that unexpected night never tried to leave her mind, no matter how much she tried. Moreau almost unconsciously swallowed harshly. Still waiting for when Abihirt would say something. The man looked down slightly, while she was looking up
Moreau spent all the time she had left in the room after the misunderstanding she couldn't even explain, whether to tell Abihirt the thick soup on her palm wasn't something the man should respond to, or to issue a warning that they were better off keeping their distance. Moreau didn't want another night of mistakes, almost desperate to think of something that felt truly horrible. It was too dangerous for them to be in such close quarters, for Moreau herself could not deny the attraction of her stepfather which was like offering a magnet, but she tried not to cling. Fortunately Abihirt was completely silent, and most importantly the man was no longer looking for her. A bit of relief. However, Moreau's throat felt parched. She wanted a drink. Trying hard to guess. Perhaps Abihirt was in the room, dealing with a feverish condition; who knew what now. Moreau grunted, then got out of bed. Hadn't Barbara returned home? She was sure the woman would be taking
Moreau had almost fallen asleep, but the faint sound of a knock on the door pulled her back to the surface. She lifted half of her body just to take in the dim situation in the room. It was already too late, wondering who... wouldn't stop knocking until Moreau made up her mind to make sure. She knew her mother did not have this kind of habit in the middle of the night. Strange. Moreau blinked rapidly and began to wonder... could it be Abihirt who was outside? She wasn't sure considering the man had left the house some time ago, but would confirm for herself by pulling back the thick blanket, then taking tentative steps towards the door of the room. It was dim enough to leave an eerie impression. Moreau stared for a moment at the copper algae, while taking a deep breath. She first grasped the whole of it, applied a little pressure, then pulled the door frame inward. The towering figure of a man. After an early detection that turned out to be correct, Moreau still faced a process
"Then don't tell your mother." Abihirt spoke so calmly, even the gray eyes that stared between the faint illumination gave Moreau a bad influence. She clenched her fists involuntarily after saving the best sentence to say. "Not about the matter of... my mother knowing or not. But you're not supposed to be here." Not knowing how many times Moreau had to remind him. Suddenly Abihirt was already towering over her, precisely positioning them to face each other with the bed as a barrier. The atmosphere between them immediately changed. Fear, dangerous sensations, even subconscious alarms began to scatter. Moreau squeezed the edge of the cloth on her body to calm herself down. She knew Abihirt would say something and she chose to listen quietly. "I'm only hitchhiking for one night." That made no sense at all. Morea chuckled, feeling that Abihirt's decision was too impossible. She would still refuse if that was what
"Moreau, are you still sleeping?" The faint sound of a knock on the door tentatively dragged Moreau to the surface. She winced at the state of the roaring room, but finally realized that her face was so close to the chest of a person, which moved slowly and .... Moreau was immediately surprised to find something that felt so close at the top of her head. She wondered how this happened? Why was the position so exact-her hands were hugging so close. "Moreau!" The same voice. What a surprise that Barbara was waiting out there... Moreau looked back. The door was still shut tight and she had to be reminded of last night's key. There was only one person with full access, Abihirt, the man who was in the room alone with her. Moreau gave Abihirt a sharp look. Damn it! The man didn't seem to care, in fact he seemed to be too uninterested in Barbara's voice, instead busy playing with the cell phone in hand. "Give me the key to the room, Abi," Moreau said, at least it was able to draw
Moreau continued to watch her stepfather. The unpredictable handsome man was now at least trying not to be incensed at any form of resistance from Froy. "You know that throwing something small into the lake will make it difficult for you to find, so why do you keep doing it? You keep throwing Moreau's necklace for no reason." Abihirt's question was simple enough, but it more than made Froy almost faint. The man's eyes moved restlessly. It took a few moments of pause to actually find an answer. "I was out of line, Uncle. I was angry at the attitude you gave Lewi and the way you gave the necklace to Moreau instead!" That was like a huge protest. Froy's voice boomed loudly. The man was lucky, because it seemed like Abihirt had paid with money to make people leave the park, which Moreau only realized when she looked around. Not a surprise. She should be used to it. "What's wrong with that? Didn't I replace Lewi's necklace with a new one?" Abihirt's
Moreau thought that Gabriel's involvement in the trip to Sierre De Guadarrama National Park was something that made it an unfair prospect. However, it turned out that she was wrong to include such a notion, as Abihirt's wishes were more understandable when asking her to move to Gabriel's car, while the man walked into the building—quite a flashy place there. Moreau had been to this place before; it was where Froy got married and she ended up asking for permission to leave early. It was a little odd to think that Abihirt had actually come to the man's nephew for some sort of accountability. Now she found her stepfather forcing Froy to walk. Although it seemed forced, Froy would have no choice. The man's body had disappeared in the car. Only a tendrils of shadow remained, then she also had to watch Abihirt's body get into the driver's seat. The car engine started and that's when Gabriel understood to bring them up behind. "Abi wants to ask his nephew to dive
Moreau shook her head for a while. In the end, she decided to lift her face. She was almost surprised—of course, because this was not what she wanted to find; the smallest hint of disappointment on her stepfather's handsome face, no matter how much Abihirt tried to keep every detail of the reaction between them brief. The necklace left to her was indeed a lasting memory and Moreau was sure it was very-very precious. "I apologize." She still could not take it for granted that Abihirt did not want to prosecute anything at the moment. There was an impact where her heart felt like it was being crushed. Staring at the man made her eyes sting and heat up. To the time that kept crawling forward... would soon be accompanied by seepage of water and Moreau would not be able to hold back. Perhaps Abihirt understood how worry controlled the fear in her mind, so the man hugged instead of saying angry. Hugging after letting her tremble as if this was an unexpected outburst of trouble. "N
There was only one step left, so Moreau should have been able to finish this sooner. She swallowed harshly. A moment of staring at the doorknob with great fear before finally being overwhelmed by the determined action of pressing and pushing inside. Perhaps she did so in such a hurry, that the sound that broke the surface immediately attracted someone there. Who would have thought that Abihirt would be towering in front of the translucent glass, while the man's gray eyes were assaulted by the view from outside. There was something Moreau couldn't quite put her finger on. She felt—then—Abihirt was daydreaming, because after all... detecting the man's response; little could be expressed in the odd way that Abihirt acted oddly upon realizing her presence. There were no words. No sentence was even close to being uttered. Silence. And yet, in those moments of near—closeness, Moreau felt how her heart rumbled loudly. Like it didn't want to stop. It was still hammering and sh
"Why don't you come with me, Juan? I'm afraid to go in alone." Everything was supposed to be fine—no; actually—a little fine, until Juan's shocking confession almost made the whole stability of Moreau's mind and how she had desperately fought for, now suddenly fall apart. Juan's decision seemed so absolute, though Moreau still hoped the man would suddenly change his mind and then they could settle this whole matter quickly. Unfortunately, the faint shaking response was something so real. It had such an impact that Moreau almost forgot how to breathe properly. She turned her face out the window, glancing around the place. Not ready to go down yet. Almost desperate at the thought of being so close to Abihirt. What was the man currently doing in there? Busy with some important business? "Just accompany me for a moment." Once again Moreau tried to persuade. This time really craving how Juan would agree. She looked up at the man, but was always met with the
Technically, the necklace was hers. Yet, no matter how cynical Moreau's voice had become, Froy still showed no intention of correcting his wrongdoing. Instead, he chuckled, as if there was no need for corrective behavior for an intentional mistake. "Who do you think you are to tell me what to do?" Now that one question almost made Moreau thin her lips faintly. She simply restrained herself, then made sure the tips of her fingernails dug deep into the surface of Froy's arm like she often did to Abihirt, though this was clearly a different concept; not pure insistence; she wanted Froy to agree immediately or at least until the man jumped into the water. "It doesn't matter who I am. Make sure you return the necklace to my hands. I don't care which way you do it either, but one thing's for sure... I won't hesitate to tell Abi everything you've done." It wasn't just a threat. Froy should have understood. Alas, the man did not care. "You're his favorite gir
"Juan, we should go home," Moreau said, really not wanting to look at Froy's annoying face. She pulled the ends of the cloth over Juan's body. The man understood easily. They should walk, in any direction, to leave this place as soon as possible. However, only one step was taken. The next, a touch on Moreau's hand was tight. "I'm not done yet." The man hissed almost too close. How insolent, as if Froy had deliberately left the pain until Moreau winced faintly. "I have nothing to talk to you about. Let go!" A slight rebellion from Moreau. Struggling hard to brush off Froy's pathetic behavior, but it was useless. Even the actions of Lewi and Juan left no good prospects. Froy would really go crazy, if it continued like this. "I don't know what you're trying to talk about, but this necklace was given to me at your uncle's wish and also with my mother's consent. My mother herself isn't angry, so why are you bothering with a matter that you obviously don't k
Chuckling, it was at this moment that Moreau realized she was going to argue. A little unreceptive about the man's comment on the freedom she had. "The attitude I'm currently displaying is something natural. At least I'm not as pretentious as you. Besides, we're having a good time together. It has nothing to do with you. I told you that I didn't mean it. Lewi, are you alright?" It would be fairer if Moreau spoke directly to Lewi. Fuck if Froy still disapproved when she reached out to touch Lewi's shoulder. The pregnant woman herself showed no objection. Froy was overreacting! "No need to be so nice!" And so it was that the man finally snapped back. Grasping Moreau's shoulder tightly to get rid of her. "Don't be an ass, damn it!" Now Moreau could feel how Juan tugged on her arm to get her to take a step backward. Taking instinctive action to get to the front after what Froy had done. Little more than a shove to get the shameless bastard out of the w
"No, Juan. Stop chasing me!" Moreau's one mistake was to smear her melted ice cream on the tip of Juan's nose. Now, she desperately needed to avoid anything and everything Juan might do. That guy really wasn't going to stop until he got his hands on her. Damn, how they were almost too close, that there was almost nothing Moreau could do to prevent Juan—just a little—from grabbing any of the good prospects between them. The man could have grabbed her flying hair, but he didn't. Juan would never be that rude, choosing to be more patient, like when Moreau looked back but was engulfed in a straight-forward step and suddenly... she accidentally bumped into someone else's body. Everything seemed to stop in an instant. Moreau was shocked to find Lewi about to fall. However, Froy's nimble little instincts, at least, would not lead them to dive in the middle of a big problem. It was inconceivable that something would happen when Lewi fell and she might harm th