Chapter 5

As the air in the room heated up, Henry felt a fire converging in his groin as he moved up, pinning Tina beneath him.

That was when she groaned, waking up from her nightmare.

After she opened her eyes, she stared blankly at the ceiling of her bedroom for a while—the pain in her nightmare was so overwhelming that she failed to recognize reality for a second.

Nonetheless, all her senses returned to her when she felt the breeziness over her chest.

It was only then that she realized that she was laying on her bed, and Henry was undressing her!

Glowering as her blood boiled, she did not hesitate to push him off, snapping, "Let go of me!"

However, Henry was just getting started.

If anything, he craved more instead of stopping.

He might not love Tina, but even he had to admit that he desired her body. Once he touched her, he would never be able to stop.

The look on Tina's face darkened further.

For five years and whenever he felt like tormenting her, Henry would pin her down in bed, doing anything he liked.

Though he never cared for her feelings, Tina simply took everything he dished out because she loved him too much and wanted a complete family for Sophie.

But now, Sophie was dead, and she had broken up with him.

What right did he have to take her against her consent?!

"Henry Barnes! I told you to let go of me, you hear?!" she bellowed as she struggled even harder and bit down viciously when he leaned in for another kiss.

Her teeth tore into him, drawing blood instantly.

As the taste left Henry taken aback, Tina seized the moment to push him away with all her strength, flipping out from beneath his vice-like grip.

It had been so long since she ate that moving a little left her panting and almost blacking out.

However, she was not letting her guard down.

As she pulled a blanket to cover herself and glared at Henry warily, she looked ready to die defending herself if he touched her again.

Still, her sudden fiery resistance killed Henry's mood anyway—he preferred it when she sucked up to him, even taking the lead in bed.

He got out of bed and was putting on his clothes when his phone slid out of his pocket and landed on the bed.

The screen lit up, showing over a dozen missed calls from Rory.

It was only then that Henry remembered promising to see Rory this morning, and he promptly straightened his clothes.

As he was once again dapper and lofty, he never glanced Tina's way as he strode out of the apartment.

When the front door finally shut, Tina's body went limp as she collapsed on her bed.

It took her a while to straighten her clothes, wobbling as she got out of bed and headed into the next room.

Holding the urn containing Sophie's ashes, tears welled up in her eyes…

-

Meanwhile, Henry drove to Rose Garden, where Linda and Rory lived.

Hearing the purr of his engine, Rory promptly ran out to greet him.

When Henry actually got out of the car, however, she turned away and snorted loudly.

Henry's cold demeanor faded as he went over and picked her up, smiling. "What's got you upset, princess?"

Rory hugged his neck, rearing her chin proudly. "Kiss me, and I'll forgive you."

Henry played along, giving her a peck on the cheek.

Rory was at once beaming and nuzzled his neck, a sweet girl in no time at all.

Henry gazed upon the little one with affection in turn. Rory was what daughters should be in his mind—adorable if a childish, but easy.

Linda had done well raising her, unlike Sophie, who had been spoiled by Tina.

She was just a child but played to her mother's tune to hide just because he missed out on her birthday once.

Linda appeared at the doorway, calling out to them as she took off her apron, "Come in, dinner's ready!"

As Henry approached, she smiled as if exasperated. "She overheard me calling you this morning and was waiting eagerly. But you never showed up, and I couldn't stop her from calling you… Are we being a bother?"

"Nothing. I was just delayed," Henry replied quietly as he carried Rory inside.

Under the bright lights overhead, Linda naturally noticed Henry's torn lip as her eyes were on him the whole time.

Her smile stiffened—he had clearly been bitten.

So, when Henry said he was delayed, did he mean that Tina had seduced him…?

-

Rory slept at half past eight every night, and after Linda helped her bathe, Henry picked up a storybook to read to her.

Rory immediately slid into his arms, hugging his neck while asking adorably, "Can you stay with us tonight, Daddy?"

Linda heard that as she stepped out of the bathroom and promptly put up a stern face to rebuke her daughter. "Stop it, Rory. Daddy's busy."

Rory promptly pouted, her tears falling audibly as she choked with tears. "No! I just want to sleep with Mommy and Daddy! My friends all do that, so why can't I?"

Seeing that, Linda's pain showed on her face, and she hurried over despite her clothes being soaked from helping Rory bathe.

As she arched her back to coax Rory, her shirt dangled loosely, affording Henry the perfect view.

Her figure was flawless too—curvaceous and voluptuous—and men could never resist that.

Linda seemed not to notice, as she seemed distracted by her crying daughter.

As Rory kept bawling no matter what, Linda said, "Be good, okay, Rory? Did you forget the doctor saying that you shouldn't get upset?"

Rory refused to listen, shaking her head repeatedly as she was insistent that Henry stayed.

Her little hand kept tugging on Henry's sleeve as she pleaded miserably, "Please, Daddy…"

But Henry was not immediately agreeing to Rory's demands, and Linda's gaze darkened.

Still, she suddenly pulled Rory firmly into her arms while flashing a clearly forced smile at Henry. "It's alright—she'll calm down after crying for a while. It's late anyway, and you should get some rest."

However, Rory bawled even harder when she was pulled away from Henry, as if she was being abandoned, all while pleading, "Please, just one night, Daddy! I'm begging you!"

She kept sniffling as she cried too, making her really pitiful.

And since she was just discharged and needed proper recovery, Henry ultimately nodded, agreeing to stay.

-

Early next morning, Tina got a call from Linda, who asked to meet at a cafe.

She did not refuse, even arriving punctually.

As soon as she stepped inside, Linda was beaming and waving at her as if it was only natural. "Over here, Tina."

It was as if Tina had not slapped her repeatedly at the hospital just days ago.

She was a pretender, through and through.

Tina calmly walked over nonetheless, but just as she sat, Linda promptly launched barbs at her. "I ordered you a cappuccino, since you'd really need something sweet. Since life is really hard on you now—"

"Out with it already," Tina snapped coolly, cutting her short.

She did not come to listen to Linda's crap.

Linda remained unaffected, even grinning as she placed a shopping bag on the table and showed Tina its contents. "Henry left his clothes at my place last night. Here, you can return them to him."