TAINTED HEARTS (ENGLISH)

TAINTED HEARTS 26

Chapter 26

My knees stumbled as soon as he put me down. He held my waist and helped me clean my naked body in the bathroom. After cleaning up, I fell asleep. I kept waking up because of his stares and embraces. I would just look away and fall asleep again.

I felt drained when I woke up. My sleep had been long because it was already bright and there was only a light drizzle when I woke. But my body still felt weak and aching. I had no appetite for lunch, so he wondered and touched my forehead.

“You’re hot. Are you not feeling well?”

I spat out what I was eating because I couldn’t taste it.

“Is there something hurting you?” he asked with worry and carried me from the dining chair to the sofa in the living room.

I wanted to roll my eyes at his question. Of course my whole body would ache because of what he did. Yes, I wanted it. But I never thought he would be that rough in bed. My body hurt even worse now compared to the first time we did it in his car.

“I don’t have a fever thermometer, but she’s hotter than her normal body temperature.”

He stood up. I heard him call the person on the line “Auntie,” so I realized he was talking to Mama. He was asking what to do because I was sick. When he came back, he was carrying a basin of water and a small towel.

I kept my eyes closed but I felt him wiping me. I let him do it, even if I felt like I was burning from the cold water he used. He hadn’t even finished wiping me when I fell asleep again. I only stirred when I heard knocking.

The first thing I saw was Lennox, sitting on the floor of the living room. His head was resting on the side of the sofa I was lying on. His red lips were slightly parted and he was softly snoring. I smiled and carefully stood up to open the door for whoever was knocking at the back.

My head didn’t hurt anymore and my temperature was back to normal. But my body was still aching.

“He’s good, right?”

I stepped back once when I opened the door and saw Addisson. The woman from the restaurant and the one he spoke with in the parking lot. Her eyes scanned the clothes I was wearing—Lennox’s. They were loose on me and the length reached halfway down my thighs. Her eyebrow rose when her eyes returned to mine.

“I asked, is he good in bed? Is he?”

I swallowed and didn’t know whether to close the door on her or wake Lennox. I wasn’t wrong. She really looked expensive and sophisticated. She was wearing expensive makeup, an elegant dress, and designer shoes. She was luxurious from head to toe.

“Don’t you wanna know why I asked? Guess what? I know he’s good in bed because he f****d me that way too!”

I glanced at Lennox who was still asleep on the sofa. I bit my lower lip hard. Whenever I thought about it, my chest tightened. But now that I was facing and hearing it directly from the woman he lived with, I shrank in front of her. She’s too good. She’s too perfect. I was right that . . . I was far different from her.

“You’ll regret it. Because the moment you step your filthy foot under this house . . . you’re already doomed.” She smirked at me, then showed me a flash drive in her hand.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Lennox’s angry voice boomed from behind.

He pulled me and hid me behind him.

“This is my house!” she shouted, gritting her teeth.

“This is my house! Not yours! I already warned you not to come here, Addi!” His cold voice made me gasp.

Like a child, I clutched the back of Lennox’s shirt. He looked back at me and held my hand before facing the woman again.

“We didn’t break up!” she shouted again.

“I ended it with you months ago! We don’t need to break up because we are not in a relationship to begin with!”

Lennox let go of me when the woman suddenly approached him. She hit his chest. I stepped back because she also wanted to reach me. I didn’t know why or if she really wanted to hurt me. Good thing Lennox was holding her and quickly pushed her away.

“I know everything about you! You’re mine, Lennox! Whether you like it or not, I know you’ll come back to me!”

Lennox’s jaw moved. “I said, leave!”

“No! I will never leave you alone! I know all your plans! We started it, so we will end it no matter what!” She smirked again, more evilly this time. “Aren’t you wondering why you couldn’t find what you hid in your room?”

The woman directed her gaze at me. She grinned and showed me again the flash drive in her hand.

“What’s that?” Lennox asked in confusion.

“This?” She smirked. She looked at me and then looked back at Lennox again. “This is the key to the success of your plan.”

Lennox turned to me. His serious eyes were dark and full of emotions.

“Get inside my room,” he ordered firmly.

I didn’t move. He glared at me. His lips pressed tight. His eyebrows furrowed and his jaw clenched with anger.

“Get inside! Now!”

I blinked and jumped at his shout. I stepped back. Even though confused, I walked toward the room.

“Where the f**k did you hide it?!”

I closed my eyes at his furious shout. That was the last thing I heard before I closed the door.

I sat on the edge of the bed. Moments later, Lennox entered, his whole face flushed with anger. He overturned everything on the shelves. Even the lamp shades, he knocked them over. He was looking for something inside them, and every time he didn’t find it, he angrily smashed them against the wall.

When he smashed the second lamp shade, its glass scattered. I screamed, my eyes wide as I just stared at him. He turned to me because of my scream. He stepped closer, making me step back.

He froze when he saw that I was scared at his approach. He ran his hands over his face. Then he let out a deep breath, as if calming himself.

“s**t!” he cursed and looked at me. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

I looked up at him when he came closer to hug me. His heartbeat was strong. Even as he hugged me, his eyes kept scanning the entire room.

“Damn it. Where did she hide it?” he whispered breathily.

His gaze dropped to me. When he lowered his head, his eyes softened and he kissed me on the forehead. Maybe he saw that there was still a trace of fear in my eyes.

“We have to leave now,” he later said gently. I nodded.

He had me change clothes in the living room. While I was there, I could still hear some banging sounds coming from the room.

His eyes were dark when he came out of the room. He was carrying the digital clock that was on the bedside table earlier.

He grabbed a knife from the kitchen and opened it. He shut his eyes tightly after pulling out a small object from inside.

When he opened his eyes, they were red. He looked at me. I felt sorry for him because he looked so troubled.

He stared at me as he walked closer. He pulled me in and locked me tightly in his arms.

“I’m sorry. I’m really sorry . . .”

I didn’t know what he was apologizing for, but I hugged him back to ease whatever he was feeling. Maybe it was because he shouted at me earlier. Or maybe because he scared me when he smashed things.

“After your exam, let’s go on vacation.”

I nodded.

“I have something to take care of. While I haven’t fixed it yet, we’ll stay on the island.”

“I need to attend graduation,” I whispered against his chest.

He heaved a sigh. “Well . . . then. We will be back before your graduation.”

“Okay.”

We left immediately. His unit was left in disarray. I didn’t know what he took. I only saw that he destroyed it and threw it in the trash.

He was silent and deep in thought as we headed to his house where my family was. He kept sighing. When we arrived, he locked himself in his room. Even during dinner, I didn’t see him come down.

I was worried but didn’t know how to lighten his mood. Everyone was asleep when I went to the kitchen. I cooked and prepared food on a tray to bring to him.

I took a deep breath before turning the doorknob of his room. It wasn’t locked. The lights were off. He was on the bed when I opened the door. I thought he was already asleep because the lights were out, but he was sitting on the bed with his laptop on his lap. He quickly closed it when he saw me coming in. He pulled out the flash drive connected to it.

“You haven’t eaten all day. Eat first,” I pointed at the food I had just placed on his bedside table.

He didn’t speak. He stared at me. His eyes were lighter now, the opposite of when we were at his unit.

“Come here.” He turned off the only lampshade that was giving light in the room and pulled me to his bed. Not to do anything, but just to hug me tightly.