Tyler sneered. "I haven't even left for that long, and you're already taking his side?"He and Vicky fought even before he left, and even when he returned, the fight only resumed where they left it.Vicky did not want to continue fighting with him, so she simply said, "Tyler, let go of Lincoln."Tyler's hand, the one grabbing Lincoln's collar, subconsciously tightened, and it caused his knuckles to go white. "And what if I don't? Are you going to go to hell with him?""Tyler, can you please stop being so unreasonable?" asked Vicky in a tone that sounded like she was trying to suppress her anger."Oh, so I've become unreasonable after you had a little chat with Lincoln, huh?" Tyler's gaze turned steely. "Vicky, don't tell me you've fallen for this ugly piece of sh*t!""Tyler, can you please stop being so rude? Lincoln is not an ugly piece of sh*t. The hives are just from his allergic reaction, and they'll be gone soon enough.""And what if they don't?"Vicky's eyelids twitched o
Vicky had no love or expectations toward Lincoln, so she could easily forgive him. Nonetheless, she had made up her mind, even though she did not show it—she had to get out of the Hart family's house as soon as possible.Tyler was displeased by how Vicky treated Lincoln since he never got that kind of treatment from her, so he asked her, "Vicky, aren't you going to say something?""Like what?" retorted Vicky nonchalantly."He lied to you.""So? Can you let go of him?"Tyler's face tensed, and his entire demeanor turned menacing.At that moment, Valencia had just finished changing into something more comfortable and had come out of her room to look for Lincoln. Her eyes immediately widened in shock when she saw Tyler had a grip on Lincoln's collar."Tyler, what are you doing to Lincoln? Let him go this instant!" Valencia's voice pulled Tyler back to his senses. He glanced at Vicky and saw she was looking coldly at him, and it made him release his hold on Lincoln's collar.The ne
"What are you talking about?!" Vicky thought Tyler was talking nonsense.The anger in Tyler's eyes burned even brighter when he noticed how impatient Vicky visibly was. 'How can she be so testy with me when she's so gentle and patient with Lincoln? She didn't even blame Lincoln when she found out he was lying…' Tyler was no doubt jealous of how forgiving Vicky was to Lincoln.His gaze turned hostile as he ripped off Vicky's clothes. Then, he turned on the shower, cranked it to full blast, and washed every inch of her body, starting with her head. She was frightened by how cold and focused Tyler's eyes looked when he wiped down her body.Vicky shivered due to how cold the water was, and she was worried Tyler would get a perverted kick out of this.Since Tyler had a thing about cleanliness, he started to clean Vicky from the top again after he was done washing her for the first time.Vicky looked at Tyler's handsome face as he repeated the same motion, and it felt like she was with
Once Vicky's hair was dried, Tyler carried her to the bed. "Stay with me tonight?" he asked in a low voice.Still, Vicky did not say anything. It was as if she had not heard him. Tyler did not mind, though. He brushed her swollen lips with his fingers and, in a hoarse voice, said flirtatiously, "Why aren't you talking? Do you still feel cold?"Vicky knew very well what he meant. She immediately raised her head and glared at him. "Why ask when you don't intend to let me go back to my room?" Her voice was hoarse, too.As expected, Tyler said nothing, which made Vicky chuckle drily. Their conversation stopped at that point. 'He's not asking me out of respect. No…he's asking for the sake of asking. His true colors have been revealed after pretending to be a gentleman for so long,' thought Vicky.After turning off the lights, Tyler got into the bed and hugged her. He had not slept like that in a long time, and frankly, it was painful for him to sleep without her. However, what was the p
As he finally controlled his anger after a while, Tyler said in a deep voice, "The Hart family is more devious than you think. Staying here any longer will only put your life in danger. Do you understand?"Vicky scoffed. "And who's to blame for that?"She would not have ended up in the Hart family's place if Tyler did not hurt Lincoln. It was he who did not think of the consequences. It was not like they would do anything to Tyler since he was related to them by blood. She, however, was an outsider. If it were not for Old Mister Hart, whose position had not been determined, Tyler would have taken Vicky away a long time ago.Tyler fell silent as he did not know how to answer her, but after a while, he said, "The Yeagars would never call off the marriage, so you'll only make an enemy out of them if you're too close with Lincoln.""It's simple, then—I'll just have to stay away from Lincoln," replied Vicky indifferently. In other words, she had no intention to leave with Tyler, and thi
'That explains why his attitude has changed toward me recently. No wonder he wanted to try again with me. It's all because he knows the truth now.' At that moment, Vicky did not know what she felt. Him knowing the truth did not make her happy at all. Instead, her heart felt heavy.She shook her head and said, "It's all too late.""No, it isn't." He kissed her cheek, and his tone softened. "Vicky, leave this place with me. We can start again."His words sounded so tempting, but Vicky had lost all trust in him. Instead, the thought of him luring her out so that he could defile her again did cross her mind."We're over, Tyler."All the times Tyler had humbled himself tonight were rewarded by Vicky's outright refusal…and he reached the end of his patience."Vicky, are you or are you not going to leave with me?""No, I'm not.""Do you seriously think you can get away from me by staying here? Well, dream on!"His tone became harsh as it looked like taking the softer approach did not
"My mother will apologize to you in person later," Lincoln repeated with a smile."She… She'll come and apologize to me in person?""Yes."Vicky was in disbelief. 'The headstrong Valencia is willing to apologize to me?'Even though what happened was Valencia's fault, Vicky understood it would be impossible for an elder to apologize to someone younger than her. In fact, the best way to deal with the problem was to pretend it never existed. Even Tyler, in a bid to assuage the public, requested Vicky to apologize to Valencia.Sensing Vicky's disbelief, Lincoln added softly, "Vicky, I've talked to my mother, and she promised not to make life difficult for you anymore." Then, his tone became apologetic. "I'm so sorry. I was the one who asked you to stay here, yet I didn't manage to protect you… Instead, I let the person closest to me hurt you."Vicky felt a little embarrassed by how cold she treated him moments before after she heard what he said."It's not your fault; you don't have
Vicky knew Valencia's apology was hardly sincere; it was just a way to brush things aside. However, what confused her was how Lincoln convinced Valencia to even apologize.With this in mind, Vicky asked, "May I ask what Lincoln said to you that made you come and apologize to me?"Valencia glanced at her and softly replied, "You are quite astute to guess that Lincoln spoke on your behalf.""It must be more than just intercession. What did he do?"Valencia looked at Vicky for a moment, then suddenly smiled. "That's right. For your sake, Lincoln even defied his mother... It's the first time I've seen him go to such lengths for a woman." Despite her smile, her gaze was cold. "Lincoln was afraid that I'd hurt you again, so he insisted on moving to his grandfather's place to protect you. He said he'll bear your responsibility and be punished in your place. His gunshot wound hasn't fully healed, and the rash on his face hasn't subsided after all this time... He can't withstand this kind o