Madeline’s vision slowly blurred as she stared at the peaceful expression on the man’s face.“Do you know why the color of my hair and irises have changed?” Jeremy asked with a smile. “It does have something to do with the slow-acting poison Lana gave me, but there’s more to it.”As he spoke, his handsome brows suddenly furrowed. “It has more to do with how I tried all sorts of unknown medication just so that I could live longer. That woman just now was the doctor who invented the medication that would prevent the spread of the slow-acting poison. I spent half a year struggling in despair as I tried to survive.“She told me that there was no way to completely dispel the poison from my body and I would only have two more years at most. That was why when I returned to you and the kids, I found myself in a very conflicting position.” Jeremy chuckled despondently.“I wanted to be with you and reciprocate your love with everything I had, yet I was afraid of being too passionate. I
After reading the contents of the message, Jeremy looked up to glance at Madeline. Afraid to disturb her sleep, he lifted the covers lightly and got off the bed. Just as Jeremy slipped on his slippers to leave, he heard Madeline murmuring his name, “Jeremy.” Jeremy halted and turned around guiltily. When he realized that Madeline was only sleep talking, he let out a sigh of relief. However, guilt bubbled in his chest. ‘Linnie. ‘I’m sorry. ‘I’ll come back to you once I deal with this.’Jeremy promised silently before pulling on his wind blazer. With light steps, he left the suite. The hotel’s terrace was empty and silent now that the party had already come to an end. Jeremy walked inside to see a woman sitting by the bar. Under the faint yellow street lamps, the woman could be seen holding a glass of wine and casually sipping on it. Her purple curls were splayed over her smooth shoulders, and her curvy figure looked more alluring under the lights.Even so, Jerem
She swirled the liquid in her glass and scoffed indignantly.“There’s no way I’ll lose to you, Adam. Did you think you’d really be able to save Jeremy? Hmph. There’s no way I’ll let you stick your hand in my experiment subject!” Jeremy ran from the terrace all the way back to the hotel’s entrance but he suddenly lost sight of Madeline. He was worried that Madeline would get the wrong idea after what she heard from their conversation. Not to mention that it was midnight and Madeline was in a strange setting. Jeremy was scared that Madeline would get lost.He quickly returned to the suite. Seeing the empty bed, Jeremy felt his heart sink deeper.He took out his phone to search for Madeline’s location. Just as he was about to walk to the entrance, he heard the sound of water running coming from the bathroom.Jeremy’s footsteps came to a sudden halt as he looked up to see Madeline squinting blearily while walking out of the bathroom. Dressed in a loose sleeping gown, it did not l
Jeremy had not expected Linnie to walk over as well and he secretly glanced at the situation through the peephole from the corner of his eye before replying plainly, “I’m not. I was just about to open the door.” He smiled softly before opening the door. When the door was opened, Madeline was met with an alluring young lady standing right outside their room. The lights may have been dim last night, but Madeline would remember such ethereal features. Shirley watched Madeline give herself a good look and was reminded of how Madeline found out about her late-night talk with Jeremy. She smiled unconcernedly and was about to speak when Madeline suddenly walked up to her with a friendly smile. “Hello. I’m Eveline, Jeremy’s wife. Jeremy already told me about how you helped him when he wasn’t doing well during that half a year. Thank you for letting my husband come back to me.” “...” A confused look flashed through Shirley’s eyes. She suspected if Madeline was mocking her, but the
“For me?” Madeline took the gift confusedly and realized that there was a note on it.On the note wrote: [I was in a rush and didn’t have time to find you a better meeting gift. I hope you’ll like this.] It was signed by Shirley. Was this a meeting gift from Shirley? Madeline was surprised. “Do you have Shirley’s contact information, Jeremy? I’d like to thank her.”“No,” Jeremy replied curtly, “Let’s go, Linnie. We can leave this at the front desk.” “Wouldn’t it be impolite to just do that when someone has given me a gift?” Madeline gave it some thought and finally decided to bring it back to the room. Jeremy did not say much and returned to the room with Madeline.On the way back, Madeline opened the box to find an aromatherapy kit inside.The bottle’s shape was unusual as it was in the shape of a snake. Madeline herself was sensitive to scents and coupled with her profession as a perfumer, she gave it an intrigued sniff. However, except for a few usual aromatizers, sh
Madeline ran out of the bathroom and saw Jeremy lying on the floor next to the bed.“Jeremy!” She frantically ran over and knelt by the man. The man’s sharp brows were knitted as if he was enduring severe agony. Madeline’s heart raced in panic.“What happened, Jeremy? Is the poison acting up again?”Madeline pulled Jeremy by his shoulders so that he could lean against her chest.She wanted to carry him to the bed if she could but she was not strong enough.“What happened? Adam himself said that the lapse between each attack would become longer and longer. Why is this happening now?”Madeline was anxious as her tears began to fall without restraint, falling onto Jeremy’s face.“Don’t worry, Linnie,” Jeremy spoke through the pain and reached out to caress Madeline’s cheek. “I’m already used to the pain. It won’t be for very long. I’ll be fine soon.” He comforted her as his seductive lips were pulled into a small smile to placate her worry.However, the more he was considerate
Madeline quickly took the elevator upstairs. Just as she stepped out, she saw a familiar figure in the corridor.“Shirley?” Madeline called out hesitantly.The woman walking a small distance away halted her steps and turned around. “It’s me, Mrs. Whitman,” Shirley smiled and explained, “I left something in the room so I came back to take it.”Madeline then ran toward Shirley. The woman was no different than a lifesaver to her at that moment.“The poison in Jeremy’s body has suddenly relapsed, Shirley. You treated him once before, right? So that means you can help him again! Please, he’s in a lot of pain!”At that, Shirley’s expression morphed into one of worry. “Where’s Jeremy now?” “In the room!” “Bring me there now!” Shirley quickly followed after Madeline.Entering the room, Madeline saw that Jeremy had already managed to sit up and was leaning against the bed. She immediately ran toward him. “You’ll be alright, Jeremy. Shirley coincidentally came back to the hotel to get
Madeline was stunned for a moment as she glanced at the bathroom where the glass door was tightly shut.“It’ll be over soon, Jeremy. Just hold on a little longer.“You can unleash the pain just like you used to before.“I’m your doctor but I’m also your friend. I can help you, ah…”Madeline heard Shirley’s voice sound non-stop from the bathroom until her last amorous whisper. Then, the bathroom turned silent.The staff glanced at the bathroom weirdly before turning to Madeline to speak.“I’ve already brought all the ice to the bathroom, Mrs. Whitman. I’ll be leaving then if there isn’t anything else you need.”Madeline snapped back to reality. “Thank you.”“You’re welcome.” The staff gave a small smile and left.Madeline dragged Shirley’s luggage over to the bathroom and reached out to open the door only to realize that the glass door was locked from the inside.“I brought your luggage over, Shirley. How’s Jeremy doing?” Madeline asked while facing the bathroom door but recei