Chapter 131
Meanwhile, insido a five–star hotel, Ashton glanced down at Harper, sprawled out half naked on the bed, after listening to Theodore’s pole mureta Then without a second thought, he kicked Ashei aside like a piece of trash
Ouchi Harper, help me.” It was hard to believe that Asher, once so handsome, had been beaten beyond recognition.
Seeing this, Harper shot Ashton a teasing look and said playfully, “If you mess him up, who’s going to keep me company?”
Harper’s tone was gentle, but her eyes held a hint of challenge. Immediately, Ashton snorted and demanded, “So you actually went behind my back and found yourself this loser?”
“Yeah,” Harper said, then slapped him hard across the face. “I’m not some pet you can lock away and control however you want. You neglected me, so! had to find my own fun.”
Ashton ran his tongue over his stinging cheek, his eyes narrowing. In a low, dangerous voice, he said, “Harper, you’re really pushing your luck.”
Meanwhile, at the budget hotel, Eliana immediately texted her close high school girlfriends to set up a hot spring trip for tomorrow. But just as she hit send, her phone was yanked from her hands, making her shoot a glare at Theodore.
“You–need to rest now,” Theodore said curtly.
Not just her, but his eyes were bloodshot too. Ever since what happened to Alice, everyone had been running on empty. Pouting, Eliana said, “I’ll go to sleep right away once you leave.”
Theodore figured that with Brad keeping an eye on the budget hotel’s entrance, she wouldn’t be able to slip away. So, he gave in. “Alright. I’ll hold onto your phone for now.”
Eliana snapped, “This is my stuff. What right do you have to take it?”
“Not unless you promise me you’ll never contact Harper again,” he said firmly.
Theodore thought, ‘All it took was one night out drinking with Harper, and Eliana had the nerve to toss her wedding ring and say she didn’t want me anymore. Who knows what kind of crap Harper had been feeding her?‘
Eliana shot back defiantly, “Mind your own business. I just love being friends with someone as real as Harper.”
Theodore narrowed his eyes and sneered, “What’s there to like about a woman like that? Why are you so obsessed with someone so shady?”
Eliana’s eyes widened in shock. She never expected him to speak so harshly of a woman. She defended Harper, “She’s your friend’s lover. How could you say that about her? So you’ve always looked down on Harper, huh?”
Infuriated by her staunch defense of a woman she barely knew, Theodore spat out even more venomous words. “You’re damn right about that. If she dares corrupt you, she’ll get it from me.”
Eliana snapped, “To me, Harper’s so much better than those two–faced snakes who act all sweet on the surface but are rotten underneath. All you ever do is bring up her past as a hostess, as if it were some grand argument.
“Honestly, I look down on you. You’re blind, so I’m not surprised that you couldn’t see through Alice’s act.”
Theodore’s voice dropped. His eyes were bloodshot now, and he looked like he could snap. “What did you just say?”
Only then did Eliana realize what she’d blurted out in the heat of the moment, and how deep it must’ve hit him. But there was no way she’d apologize now. Instead, she shoved him toward the door and snapped, “Get out. I need to rest.”
Just then, faint rustling came from outside the door. Moments later, several tiny cards were slipped through the gap, immediately drawing Theodore’s
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and Eliana “attention.
The two looked closely and saw cards featuring scantily clad women Eliana casually picked one up and hipped it over in read the bold prim. 124T- service Guaranteed satisfaction.)
There was even a contact number listed at the bottom of the card. Theodore scowled in disgust. “Look, What kind of dump aid you pick t
hana bit her lip, unable to argue back. She’d picked this budget hotel just to save a few bucks, and now she was paying the price.
Not only was the elevator ancient and barely working, but they were even slipping escort service flyers under the door in the middle of the night.
But there was more. Suddenly, some unmistakably suggestive noises drifted from the room to their left. They’d barely finished handing out the cards when next door, people were already getting down to business.
In a place that couldn’t even afford to fix its elevator, one can bet the walls were paper–thin. Within moments, vivid images started flooding Eliana’s mind,
Seeing her cheeks flush bright red, Theodore said firmly, “I’ll stay. You take my room.”
He thought, ‘She’s way too innocent for this kind of filth. If she’s ever going to learn about these things, it should be from me
“…” Eliana barely got a word out before he grabbed her and hauled her out the door. The next moment, the door slammed shut behind her. She thought, ‘Seriously?‘
Eliana scratched the wall in frustration, then suddenly remembered those cards were still in the room. A wave of anxiety hit her as she thought, “What if he got ideas from the noises next door and called one of them?‘
Just as her thoughts spiraled out of control, the door burst open again, revealing Theodore standing in the doorway. Eliana shot a quick glance at the floor, and to her relief, every last one of those cards had already been cleared away.
He noticed her gaze and felt a flicker of amusement, thinking, ‘So, she does care.‘ Then, his eyes lit up with a bit of joy as he handed her the phone back. “Here.”
Eliana had nearly forgotten about it, but in a flash, she snatched it back.
Theodore said matter–of–factly, “Oh, and by the way, I’ve already deleted Harper’s phone number from your contacts.”
That rendered Eliana speechless.
In the dead of night, Theodore took the room card out of his pocket and tapped the door open to Eliana’s room. She had left without asking him for the card, which gave him the perfect opportunity to sneak back here.
Darkness enveloped everything in sight. But thanks to his past experience with blindness, Theodore was quite comfortable in the dark. So when he -made his way to Eliana’s bedside, he didn’t bump into a single thing.
With the dim glow from the window, Theodore could just make out Eliana’s silhouette. Seeing her left hand resting gently against her cheek, he softly took it in his own and slipped the wedding ring she had discarded back onto her finger.
“You’ll always be mine.” With those quiet, possessive words, he leaned down and kissed her knuckle.
The next morning. Eliana woke with a strange feeling on her hand. She looked down and froze when she noticed that the wedding ring was back on her finger. She didn’t need to guess who did it.
‘I’m in no mood to be Mrs. Russell right now, she thought, slipping off her wedding ring and tucking it into her purse.
She picked up her phone to find that all her messages from last night had been answered. Her close high school girlfriends were all in Covenhill, and
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everyone was free to meet up.
And so, Eliana throw off the covers, got out of bed, and quickly freshened up.
Her suitcase was still with Theodore, but she didn’t care. Phone in hand, she headed to a boutique and bought herself a new outfit as a New Year’s gif
After that, she grabbed breakfast from a street vendor and hopped in a ride to the hot spring resort where she was meeting her girlfriends.
Right now, she desperately needed to fill her mind with other things–anything to keep those ugly thoughts about Alice at bay.
Unbeknownst to her, back at the budget hotel, Theodore’s face darkened with panic the moment he realized she was gone.
He didn’t even bother to wash his face or comb his hair; he bolted out of the place looking like hell in his slippers.
