Shawn gripped Zoey’s arm tightly and stared at her icily. “Did we really not know each other?”His grip was much stronger than an average man’s. Zoey felt like her arm would be crushed soon. The pain caused her to frown. “I didn’t know you before. How do you not know that?” She thought that he would probably never regain his memories of their childhood. Perhaps that was for the best. Zoey looked down, her long lashes casting a shadow on her face. She pursed her red lips. “I really never met you before high school.”Shawn looked at Zoey closely, observing her expression. Even though he couldn't notice any signs of her lying, he knew that she wasn't telling the truth. Zoey’s mother had just woken up, so she couldn’t have been lying.Shawn was very curious about Laurence’s past with her.“Are you very disappointed, Mr. Zuckman?” Zoey tried to agitate him so that he would let her go.“No. I’m just curious.”Shawn slowly let go of her, and Zoey immediately stepped back from him. She wanted
After breaking the news to her, Zoey anxiously waited for her mother to respond.During the silence, she came up with a bunch of lies about what a loving couple she and Laurence were, hoping to convince her mother that they'd gotten married because they loved each other and that she was living a happy life with him.Janet sighed after a few more seconds. She looked at her daughter’s frantic expression and gently asked, “So you’re married?”“Yes.”“Does he treat you well?” Janet wasn't interested in anything else. All she wanted to know was whether her daughter was being cared for.Zoey lowered her gaze and nodded. “He treats me very well.”It wasn’t a complete lie; though he was mainly violent toward her, there were also times when he was nice to her.Zoey thought back to when she and Laurence had just gotten married. They'd lived in relative harmony, perhaps because they hadn't interacted much with each other back then.She'd kept within her boundaries, and he'd also been courteous to
Zoey didn’t understand him. Nothing she said pleased him, and, like a child, he never made an effort to hide his annoyance. It was as if he was worried that Zoey wouldn’t know that he was upset.She was already trying her best to say the things that he wanted to hear, but he was never satisfied.Laurence looked at her, and the corners of his mouth were slightly curled up. She stubbornly kept her gaze lowered and stared at his shadow on the ground instead of looking at him.Seeing this, his eyebrows furrowed in displeasure.Laurence’s grip was strong as he pinched her chin with his icy fingers to raise her face. “Are you ignoring me?”After all this time, Zoey had learned how to lie to him naturally. She blinked innocently and said, “No.”Laurence stared into her eyes, trying to figure out what she was thinking. After a while, he said, “I was the one wrongfully accused of doing things I didn’t do, so why do you look like the one who was wronged instead?”Before Zoey could answer,
Zoey thought she'd misheard him asking her to get lost because Laurence very rarely used such rough language with her. She was nonplussed before getting her senses back, and she nodded. She turned around to leave without saying anything. She hadn't wanted to come, and she wouldn't have known that he was sick if Matthew hadn't told her. She couldn't be bothered to give him any opportunity to insult or humiliate her. Zoey went out the door and thoughtfully closed it for him before leaving. She walked down the stairs, and just as she reached the living room, he grabbed her wrist from behind. His grasp was hot, and he was gripping her wrist so tightly as if he were afraid she would disappear in the next second. Zoey stood where she was stiffly, already knowing who was gripping her hand without turning around. Laurence still had a high fever, but he'd fought against the discomfort and chased after her down the stairs. He shouldn't have chased after her and just let her leave. Howe
Their kissing turned into chaos. Zoey nearly fell off the couch a few times, and she was wearing a dress, which made it easier for him. Sunlight shone in through the floor-to-ceiling windows, and Zoey felt so ashamed that she couldn't open her eyes. Their clothes were still immaculate, but the couch was a mess. She used all her strength to grip his hand and called out in a pleading tone for him to stop. But how could he possibly listen to her? He patted her back in consolation insincerely and said, "Nobody can see us, and nobody will know."Zoey felt hot all over, and she could no longer take it. They finally finished after a long time, and she needed a moment to catch her breath. Her pale face was now flushed, and she fought against the soreness to sit up and smooth out her dress. As she got up, Laurence asked her where she was going."I'm going to take a bath." Laurence nodded, but he was still worried that she would leave. "Go to the master bedroom," he said. Zoey felt slig
Zoey was lost in her thoughts for a long time. Laurence was drawing her in again. His words were like the apple from the fairy tale—she wouldn't know it was poisoned until she ate it. She looked down at her feet, wishing she could escape this place. If he had said those words to her a long time ago, she would've been ecstatic and eager to reciprocate. However, she no longer seemed to love him as much as before. One couldn't mend a broken mirror as if it had never broken before. It would no longer be flawless. Could she really forget everything that had happened? She couldn't. She really couldn't. Perhaps she wasn't so wise yet that she could let everything go when she pleased. Sometimes, she couldn't stop herself from remembering those painful memories. A heartless lawyer, ruthless terms, the icy operation table, and the pain she'd suffered were all carved into her memory. He'd abandoned her without a second thought. She wished fervently to forget those images, but she couldn
Zoey had no idea what was going on in Laurence’s mind. She couldn’t quite stand him while he was sick; he was far more clingy than she'd imagined. During the daytime, he would hug her while he was resting, and when night came, he still wouldn’t sleep alone. No, he had to wriggle close to her with his boiling body. She was exasperated by this situation, so she told him, “Knock it off a little now that you’re sick.”Still, Laurence refused to comply as he gripped her wrist tightly and somewhat violently kissed her eyelids. He then gently nibbled at her lip. He didn’t speak; he only kissed her.Unable to stand it, Zoey burrowed under the covers and turned her back to him, ignoring him. Laurence wasn’t lethargic at all; he felt a lot better after taking some medicine for his fever.Zoey only managed to get some peaceful sleep during the later half of the night. When she woke in the morning, she realized that Laurence had gotten up earlier. She lay in bed for a long time before she f
Zoey continued to play dumb with Laurence. “I have no idea what you’re babbling about.”Laurence wasn’t angry at all as he smiled and pulled her into his arms so he could cuddle her, pressing her close to his body. “Was I babbling?”Zoey’s lashes fluttered. Worried that he would be furious, she insincerely answered, “Maybe it’s because you haven’t fully recovered yet. The fever must've damaged your brain.”Laurence was still surprisingly patient with her. “Zoey, why didn’t I realize that you have such a sharp tongue?”Zoey was annoyed. She shouldn’t be acting this way in front of him, for it seemed to have piqued his interest. She then averted her gaze. “No, I don’t have a sharp tongue. I’m not like that,” she retorted, her answer rebellious despite the sweet look on her face. She spoke with such a gentle voice, and with her accent, she sounded adorable.Laurence didn’t continue to linger on this trivial thought. Instead, he harshly bit down on those soft lips he'd been fantasiz