It didn't seem like the right decision to go home alone. Abihirt was barely able to control the steering wheel properly after having to deal with the serious urges that were building up inside him the whole time. His entire chest and throat felt like they were on fire. He had already contacted Roger, sending him Barbara's home address so that he could catch up, or if things didn't go as planned, Roger would arrive first. Abihirt had searched for the fastest way home, the least traveled. But that, too, seemed to be a big mistake. Instead of the darkening skyline accompanying the faint sounds in the air, wild bikers were ungraciously making their presence known. One after another popped up. They were speeding. Then one of the bikers had an absolute collision. Abihirt made a steep slam-his foot pressed against the brake until it jerked violently forward, while the man with the head protector rolled several times onto the asphalt. The dragged motorcycle brutally sparks until it comes to
"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
Now Moreau's attention quickly fell on the surface of the soft mattress, where some sinister image of her mother and stepfather's romance continued here like something painfully incarnate. She never wanted to be caught between potentially painful things. Six months had not yet been completed, but Moreau was already overwhelmed—not by how Abihirt would be rough in bed; but rather... she felt; sort of bound by the urge not to share the man with anyone—not even her mother, though Barbara was the most entitled. This was very wrong. Moreau recognized that. Just couldn't control the forbidden ego when the survival instinct had taken over. She was afraid this would end up worse. More painful; like having to plunge into more violent feelings—then, there was no way out. "Are you going to stay there until sunrise or until your mother comes home?" Abihirt's deep, raspy voice almost sounded like something urgent—demanding Moreau to be dragged to the surface, so she had
Now Moreau was seized by the same tension as earlier. Her eyes moved restlessly, hardly knowing that she had a purpose here. Things were not in good order, though that was why they still needed a reason. "Chicao made me chase her all the way to my mother's room. That's all." Yes, that was it. She did not feel obliged to explain things to her stepfather. "It's not because you secretly did something to me?" Woefully, Moreau could not think straight. In the end she knew Abihirt would not hide the man's knowledge long term. There were no answers. None could be found. Moreau swallowed harshly again. Suddenly her tongue was very groggy. Afraid that Abihirt would ask her something that was still relevant. "Why aren't you sleeping?" Fortunately, no. This time Moreau was a bit adept at controlling something inside her that was so gray. "I was just watching. Wanted to go to my room, but Chicao wandered off with a bell around her neck," and replied almost
Moreau felt her entire pulse and heart forced to speed up. The loud voice in her chest was pounding. She gasped for a moment. Stunned. Almost too afraid at the thought of having just been caught doing something forbidden. Abihirt would probably be angry anyway, the man still seemed to be trying to understand the situation around him. Still learning things... where the inappropriate part was finding someone else here. Something like a new event. Moreau continued to watch every single thing Abihirt did. Staring nervously and swallowing quite hard; hoping not to hear a throaty sound like a big splutter. "What are you doing here, Moreau?" Abihirt's deep, raspy voice resembled a croak, as if the man had been completely immersed, so it took a while to recover a lost memoir. In fact, with the remnants of sleepiness still pervading, her stepfather would blink a few times, rubbing his rough face, then Moreau would find the man would not leave eye contact between them.
No idea what made such a distinction. She was sure there were many secrets inside Abihirt and wanted the man to let them out, but her stepfather chose not to try just once. Perhaps it wasn't as if Moreau knew that Abihirt was sick enough of Barbara's infidelity to decide to retaliate in a more devious way. Her position was on the line. Moreau understood how she had been used as an outlet. Just couldn't help herself when she started to like the man. Idiot. She smiled bitterly at the thought of buying foolishness. Abihirt would not try to fall for another, while only towards Barbara was the man so in love. It was, sort of, a thing; truly pathetic. Silently taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly. Moreau tentatively extended a fingertip to simply brush across her stepfather's upper arm. Feeling every touch there, was probably what Barbara did most often anyway. There was still no specific reaction where the man's hand remained flexed in a position forming the angle
The corner of Moreau's lips twitched faintly. No idea why this felt like something that seemed to give her leverage. Barbara really knew how to charm Abihirt, while she had never given the slightest thought to simply seeking the man's attention. It felt unnecessary—perhaps, and a little inappropriate. "It's nice to be petted by your master, doesn't it?" Still lightly stroking Chicao's soft fur. Moreau tilted her face slightly as she thought about things. She wasn't talking about the touch of Abihirt's hand on the man's pet—just something that came closest—when they started to want each other; venting everything they held back, even if it was a big mistake; as Chicao suddenly twisted her body. Almost simply making a circular pattern, following the tail that was also wagging. However, Moreau never expected Abihirt's dog to run away immediately. "Wait, Chicao. Where are you going?" The prospect of where Chicao was headed was terrifying. Moreau didn't want them t
There was not much to do after Barbara left home. It's worth pointing out that Moreau still took a disobedient course of action—deliberately deciding to watch until quite late with so little interest in climbing the steps, but she had to. She and her mother did not strike up much of a conversation after Barbara's last statement at the dinner table. Their complicated relationship could not be said to be entirely at fault, though it was. Moreau couldn't expect things to go well, while they knew Barbara always wanted what she thought was right—then never wanted to try to take the place of simply standing in someone's point of view; no matter if it was wrong or not. It would have been the worst decision if Moreau hadn't expressed all the disgust in her mind, because after all, they knew what finally made Barbara stop from wanting to see Abihirt's expensive watch in person. The man is sleeping .... There was something Moreau could not describe when thinking back
Dinner would not have been so awkward if the events of the previous afternoon had never happened. Moreau had just sat directly in front of Barbara who had said nothing, even though the woman knew they had resolved the conflict by hanging perhaps, but there was really nothing more to talk about. She didn't think owning expensive things was a mistake. Or perhaps Barbara was waiting for someone else. Moreau just realized Abihirt was nowhere to be seen. Normally, the man would have been at the dinner table earlier; keeping Barbara company. Strange. If she had to admit something; she was still interested in just taking a step back—about the man's pale face when he persuaded Barbara to leave her room. Perhaps the correlation between the two was quite plausible. Moreau silently exhaled air from her lips, a little accidentally noticing that Caroline had prepared a special dinner—a healthy meal for the man who was not present here. The woman hadn't even left yet. Had it not bee
There was something odd about her mother's statement. Moreau didn't think she had ever reflected anything to the woman, but the knowledge in Barbara's mind seemed to have gone beyond the point of simply taking the silent action of monitoring things. "Since when and how did you know my account balance?" asked Moreau to make sure her mother was really going to post a confession. It didn't matter if Barbara ended up snickering before the woman got started. "Ever since you started being a rebel, and I hope you haven't forgotten that I'm still your mother." There was certainly no justification for the status between them. Moreau understood that her mother was trying to appear in control. She just didn't like her exaggerating things. Exaggerating things where Barbara barely had the right to simply take the long view. "I'm adult enough, Mom. All the money in the account is my money. You have contributed nothing and you have even violated my privacy." Still in
"Looks like you're shopping in bulk, Moreau ...." There was no impressive information when Barbara suddenly appeared after opening the door to the room a little rudely, then stood proudly with her arms folded in front of her chest. Moreau would not deny it as she stared straight in her mother's face. There was no smile. Instead, there was a cynical tendency, as if it had been in place before Barbara had set foot here. Moreau silently snorted. It was quite surprising and strange to have her mother come unexpectedly. That woman shouldn't know anything, but perhaps it was just a habit; showing up; commenting; and saying inappropriate things. In any case, she was too lazy to deal with her mother. Knowing there would be more serious problems if they eventually crossed the line. It could end up as a bad prospect to say that all of this was bought by one person. Moreau had refused when Abihirt offered something more. She just didn't want to. Coincidence—indeed; th