Chapter 67
“Calvin?” Audrey called out twice, but there was no response.
She walked to the door and glanced outside. The car was gone. Calvin must have left.
“He could’ve at least said something,” she muttered, carrying the sobering–up pills back to the living room.
Yann had already undone two buttons on his shirt. The top button revealed a glimpse of his collarbone; while the missing middle button offered a teasing view of the faint lines of his toned abs.
Yann leaned back against the sofa. His slightly furrowed brows gave him an air of fragile, almost heartbreaking beauty.
Audrey quickly averted her gaze and nudged his shoulder. “Hey, Yann, take sobering–up pills.”
Yann opened his eyes. His eyes, deep as bottomless wells, locked onto her face, making her heart skip a beat.
At that moment, his gaze reflected Audrey’s delicate and refined features, leaving her momentarily flustered. His Adam’s apple moved as he swallowed.
Audrey pushed the glass closer to him. “Drink it, and I’ll help you upstairs.”
Yann’s reactions were slow. It took him two or three seconds after she spoke to reach out, take the glass, and down it in one go.
Yann was tall. His weight bore down on Audrey as she tried to help him up, almost pinning her to the sofa. She managed to brace herself against the sofa’s backrest just in time, barely keeping her balance.
“Careful. Watch your step,” she said.
At first, Audrey clung to Yann’s arm, but when she couldn’t hold on anymore, she slung his arm over her shoulder, using all her strength to support him.
After what felt like forever, they finally stumbled into Yann’s room. With a grunt, Audrey shoved him onto the bed, where he collapsed in a heap.
Audrey shook out her sore arms and grumbled, “You’re so heavy.”
Yann lay sprawled across the bed. Audrey tried to adjust his position but quickly gave up when she realized it was pointless. Instead, she grabbed a
blanket and tossed it over him.
shere vertra
“Fine, just sleep like this,” she muttered. As she turned to leave, a sudden tug on her wrist stopped her in her tracks.
Startled, Audrey leaned closer to Yann, only to hear him murmur softly, “Don’t go.”
“Yann?” she called out gently. “It’s Audrey.”
She remembered how, when they first met, Yann had asked her name. Knowing she’d been forced to take her mother’s surname and not wanting to upset her, Yann never mentioned it anymore.
When Yann heard that, his eyelids fluttered slightly before he slowly opened his eyes.
Audrey froze, startled by the complex emotions swirling in his gaze. Before she could process what was happening, a cool sensation brushed against her lips.
Yanın kissed her. Audrey’s mind went blank, and her body reacted instinctively–her hand shot up, ready to slap him awake.
But before her hand could land, Yann gave her a satisfied, almost mischievous smile.
The next second, his eyes closed, and his head lolled to the side as he drifted back into unconsciousness.
Audrey stood there, her hand frozen mid–air, as a tangle of emotions churned in her chest. It was suffocating.
1/3
Chapter 67
After giving him a couple of half–hearted shoves to confirm he was truly out cold, she huffed and stomped out of the room.
Just as she reached the door, she paused, spun around, and marched back. With a sharp tug, she yanked the blanket off him. “Fine, freeze for all I care,” she muttered before stomping out.
That night, Audrey lay in bed, wide awake, her mind replaying the kiss over and over again.
“How could this be possible? How could he kiss me? How am I supposed to face him now?‘ she wondered.
She tossed and turned in bed, only managing to fall asleep as dawn broke.
In her dream, Yann kissed her again–not a fleeting brush of lips, but a deep, breath–stealing kiss that left her gasping for air.
“No.” Audrey jolted awake, the morning light already flooding her room. The dream had left her shaken, her heart pounding wildly in her chest.
She pulled the blanket over her head, but the suffocating memory of that kiss came rushing back, forcing her to yank it off and gulp for air.
The sudden sound of her phone startled Audrey, making her flinch.
She fumbled for her phone, still rattled, and answered in a rush, “Hello?”
“Ms. Henderson, why haven’t you come for my lesson yet?” said Ivan.
Audrey glanced at the time–8:30 AM. “I’m so sorry. I overslept. I’ll head over right now.”
After quickly freshening up, she grabbed her bag and headed out. As she passed Yann’s room, she hesitated, wondering if he was awake. She prayed he wasn’t. She wasn’t ready to face him–not after last night. Running into him now would be unbearably awkward.
She tiptoed downstairs, her steps light, and noticed breakfast laid out on the dining table.
Her emotions were hard to describe, confused, unsettled, maybe even a little strange.
Lifting the lid, she saw her favorite pie and a cup of milk. The pie had gone cold, but Audrey didn’t mind. She quickly finished her breakfast and headed out the door.
Audrey managed to reach Greendie House in twenty minutes since she had a car today.
“Are you okay?” Ivan asked, staring at her.
“I’m fine.” Audrey slipped into her house slippers, then realized what he meant. “Wait? Do you think I was late because I was upset about the divorce talk yesterday?”
“Isn’t it?” Ivan asked.
“Of course not.” Audrey chuckled. “My friend got drunk last night, and I stayed up taking care of him. That’s why I overslept.”
Ivan gave a doubtful nod but didn’t press further, following her into the room.
Audrey had prepared a set of exercises tailored to Ivan’s weak points. Of course, Ivan had plenty of weak points, but Audrey focused on concepts he could grasp quickly.
In truth, Ivan was quite smart. His poor grades seemed more like a rebellious act, deliberately refusing to study. But when he chose to learn, he could even extrapolate from the methods Audrey taught him.
“You’ve explained the type of question to me before,” Ivan said proudly, showing her his work. Then he noticed she was zoning out. “Ms. Henderson?”
“Huh? What is it?” Audrey shook off her thoughts and refocused. “Where are you stuck?”
This question. Can you check if I solved it correctly?” Ivan handed her his answer sheet.
2/3
20:53 Sat, 31 May
Chapter 67
以完 27%盒
Audrey reviewed it. “The result is correct, but I’m not sure how your teacher grades. Does the process need to be detailed? You should ask your teacher. If they require detailed steps, you can’t simplify too much. If not, then your approach works.”
“Get it.” Ivan returned to his exercises and occasionally glanced at Audrey, noticing she was zoning out again.
During the break, Ivan decided to head downstairs to the gym area for some activity.
Brooke wanted to stop him, but Ivan had already shut the door behind him.
In the gym area, Ivan pulled out his phone and made a call. “It’s Ivan.”
“Stuck on a question?” Jessica asked, her attention still on the movie she was watching.
“No. You’ve been to Ms. Henderson’s house, right? Send me the address,” said Ivan.
Jessica hesitated for a moment, then moved to a quieter spot to continue the call. “What exactly are you planning to do?”
“I want to confront that jerk.” Ivan’s voice was low, and his clenched fists betrayed his anger.
“Did he cause trouble for Ms. Henderson?” Jessica asked.
“Don’t worry about it. Just send me the address,” Ivan said.
“The place I visited with Elise was Ms. Henderson’s own home. I don’t know where the jerk lives, but I do know his law firm’s address,” Jessica explained.
Ivan shoved his phone into his pocket and jogged out of the neighborhood.
Clayton started his morning by visiting Samson, but once again, he was turned away. This time, the reason was that Samson had been invited out early.
Just then, a client arrived at the firm to consult on a case, so Clayton had no choice but to head back.
Blackthorn Legal was located in the Sunshine Office Building. The security guard at the entrance recognized Clayton and greeted him warmly. “Working weekends again, Mr. Patel?”
“Got a case, no time to rest,” Clayton replied with a faint smile.
As Clayton entered the elevator, the security guard teased, “Haven’t seen Mrs. Patel bringing you lunch lately.”
“She’s on a business trip,” Clayton said, his hand pausing briefly on the elevator button.
Just as the elevator doors were about to close, a lunchbox suddenly wedged its way in, forcing them open. A teenager wearing a baseball cap quickly stepped inside.
3/3
AD
Comment
