Chapter 23
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But Luke acted like he didn’t understand what Eliana had said. He actually reached into the front basket of her scooter, grabbed her bag, and started rifling through her wallet.
Eliana’s face turned cold. She thought, ‘Does he still think I’m that girl who used to baby him all the time?‘
With a sharp smack, time seemed to freeze. She should’ve given that slap to him the day he dumped her.
Unlike Eliana, who looked like she finally got some satisfaction, Luke stood there, stunned and confused. She then took the chance to snatch her bag back.
But Luke lifted his hand and slowly opened his palm. At the same time, his eyes turned red–not clear whether from the sting or something else–and his voice had lost its usual boyishness. “What’s this?”
Eliana thought maybe she’d slapped him senseless. But when she looked closely, she saw what was lying in his hand–it was the pack of birth control pills she’d bought at the convenience store before work this morning.
Luke thought, ‘She already took one. That means she’s slept with someone else.’
“Give it back,” Eliana said, grabbing the pills and stuffing them back into her bag.
“Y–you…” Luke looked completely thrown off, unable to form a sentence.
“Is it that surprising? Just because we broke up, I’m not allowed to move on?” Eliana said calmly. It felt good for her to cut the past off clean.
Hearing that, Luke looked like all the strength had drained out of him. He could only stand there as she rode away.
After picking up groceries from the supermarket, Eliana returned to Russell Manor. She didn’t head to the kitchen right away. Instead, she went straight to Theodore’s room and asked, “Can you give me Dr. Wilson’s contact info?”
When Theodore heard what she said, his brows drew together slightly. He thought, ‘She comes back and the first thing she asks for is another man’s number? Since when is she on such close terms with Samuel?‘
“Hurry, I need to confirm something with him.” Anxious, Eliana leaned down and placed her hand on the armrest of his chair as she talked to him.
S p p p p p
The moment Theodore felt that she got close, an image from last night flashed in his mind.
q q q Q R V Y Z W W x X X X
For a few seconds last night, his vision had returned. And what he saw was her face streaked with tears. She’d looked delicate like a rose kissed by rain–soft, fragile, and impossibly tender.
He instinctively leaned back, forcing the thought away. After a pause, he pulled his phone from his pocket and handed it to her. “Make it quick. I’m hungry.”
Eliana’s mouth twitched as she thought, ‘Why do both he and Luke talk to me like that? Do I have some kind of built–in nanny label stuck on my forehead or what?‘
She looked down and swiped the lock screen. “What’s the password?”
Theodore hesitated for a beat. “1203.”
Eliana quickly entered it, pulled up the contact list, found Samuel’s number, and hit call.
A moment later, Samuel picked up. “Mr. Russell?”
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12:35 Wed, 11 Jun DO
Chapter 23
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“It’s me, Dr. Wilson.” Eliana glanced at Theodore, then tapped the speaker button on the phone. Only then did she ask, “Is there something wrong with the rose essential oil you gave me yesterday?”
Samuel let out a laugh as soon as he heard the question.
It took a while for him to stop, and even then, his voice still held amusement. “Mrs. Russell, if Mr. Russell was willing to let you use his phone, I’d say things between you two made quite the leap last night.”
The moment she heard that, Eliana understood everything. She turned to look at Theodore, only to see him sitting there calmly, his expression steady, showing not the slightest trace of guilt for having misunderstood her.
That made Eliana furious. She couldn’t help yelling at Samuel, “You totally screwed me over.”
Samuel just laughed, “Bear with it. I was only trying to help things along between you and Mr. Russell.”
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