Love Me Or I Die

CHAPTER 17

She hugged her elbows, wishing she could leave. This kind of occasion definitely did not suit her.

She was in a man-made garden, with a decent-sized swimming pool. She vaguely heard voices belonging to a male and female. The man’s voice was familiar, making her heart skip a beat.

She subconsciously walked nearer and hid at the side.

“Dan, you haven’t looked for me for a long time.” The woman arms automatically wound around the man’s neck. The way she was rocking her hips and accentuating her breasts was extremely seductive.

“If you feel empty, you can go search for other men. Just don’t bring back any diseases.” His hands were always stuck in his pockets. His cold and hard voice never left a shred of dignity for others.

“Dan, you’re really heartless. Do you really want me to sleep in someone else’s bed? Won’t you feel jealous?” The woman smiled sweetly, pressing her soft chest against him. She even rubbed it relentlessly against his rock-hard chest. In the past, when Sophia was around, he only had eyes for her. Now that Sophia was not around, she could approach him like this, but why was it that he had stopped looking for her in just under a month?

The way he was acting made her feel insecure.

“Dan, have you forgotten how compatible we were in bed?” Yvette’s lips daringly pressed against his thin lips. Daniel just smiled indifferently, neither rejecting nor welcoming.

Yvette’s hands slid down and glided daringly towards his thigh.

Lucia promptly covered her own mouth, not believing what she was seeing. When she was being humiliated and left without a shred of dignity, her husband was here hugging and kissing another woman.

Ah! He was still cruel towards her. He could give his feelings to anyone, anyone but her.

Like the last time, she gripped her clothes tightly and walked out, her actions like that of a ghost.

But moments after she turned away, Daniel grabbed Yvettes’s arm and warned her, “Yvette, enough is enough.” His eyes held no signs of desire. No matter how much Yvette seduced him, he did not desire it, nor was he willing. Lucia had missed such a scene.

Yvette just smiled provocatively, “You must be wanting to look for your wife. You were always distracted, even when we were kissing. You must be thinking about her?”

“If you’re so worried about her, why did you make her wear such a dress? Are you really such a big-hearted husband, or are you doing it on purpose…”

Daniel’s grip on her arm tightened considerably before she finished her sentence.

“Yvette, you’re a smart woman. You should know that there are some things you should never say. Be careful of what trouble you might bring with your words.” Daniel’s eyes stared at her straight. If this woman was really so insolent, he would have no trouble making her understand the consequences of crossing him.

“Hmm, I was kidding. Why did you take it seriously? Don’t worry. I won’t let a single thing out.” Yvette’s face immediately changed. She retracted her hand. It seemed as if she had angered the man.

Daniel strode away while Yvette simply held her own hand, the one he had gripped hard earlier on. She could still feel the pain in her hand. That man was too scary and too cold-blooded. Regardless, she could not help but become attracted to his characteristics.

“Daniel, you may not know about this, but sometimes, there is love in hatred. One day, when you find yourself struggling between your pain and hurting her, it would mean you’ve fallen for her.”

She looked at his silhouette and mumbled something to herself. Her voice might have drifted far, but no one could hear her words. She gathered her long hair tidily, and made her way towards the event venue. Yes, she is a smart woman. Hence why she knew that her relationship with a man like him—who stood at the top of the world—would always remain as friends with benefits.

It was impossible for her to wait for him to come back. The man hardly takes the initiative to return to the same woman.

Otherwise, he would not be Daniel.

Daniel also made his way to the event venue and unconsciously began to search for the woman he had abandoned. His eyes swiped the place like a radar detecting landmines. But there was no sign of the woman.

He walked closer, his eyes growing darker.

Where had that woman gone?

He took no more than a few steps when he heard the conversation of a group of people who had coincidentally mentioned his name.

“Aren’t you worried that she will tell Daniel what had happened? No matter what, you were taking liberties with Daniel’s wife,” said a man. He then started laughing. He was teasing the other man standing beside him. It might have been mockery or intentional teasing.

“There’s nothing to worry about. The whole world has seen her pair of legs. With the dress she’s wearing, it was obvious that she was here to seduce men.”

“But you were rejected,” another man gloated.

“You had the same intention, right? To see how Daniel’s woman will feel like. We’re all resentful towards the way he poached our businesses away from us. What gave him the right to do that? With his woman, it would disgrace him. Isn’t it fun?”

The smile on one of the men widened. It was like a slap on Daniel’s face.

“Is that right? Do you seriously think like this? If I don’t poach all those businesses, I would be letting your expectations down.” A chilly voice came from amongst them. Then the expression on Daniel’s face turned ruthless in a matter of seconds. “You wanted to sleep with my wife. Let me see. Maybe I should arrange for someone to do the same to your wives.”

His threats had always been vicious. The faces of the men abruptly turned pale. They did not think he was joking or merely scaring them. Daniel always means what he says. This was common knowledge among everyone.

“Where did my wife go?” His voice had regained its calmness. However, the pressure of his presence remained. It was enough to cause a person to have difficulty breathing and making them shudder.

One of the men pointed him in a direction where he had come from.

Daniel suddenly pursed his lips tight and strode away. He took out his cellphone and issued a series of commands.

He was the only person allowed to hate her. Only him alone could humiliate her. Death is the only solution for anyone who had other ideas for her.

At that moment, he had obviously forgotten that it may be his initial intention. But when things started happening, he did not realize that he would lose control.

Zack and Chris right? Good. Very good. They will pay a high price for the things they had said.

Many things had a beginning, followed by a process. Once a process has been established, there will be an outcome. This may cause incidents beyond his imagination. It is also beyond his prediction. After all, he was only human—not a god.

He came back to the man-made garden where the woman’s scent seemed to linger. His eyes darkened. She had been here. Then she might have seen whatever had happened just now.

“s**t!” he suddenly cursed quietly as he ran his fingers through his hair. He had abandoned her here on purpose, but he never thought that anyone would dare harbor ideas about his woman. And now, that woman had performed a disappearing act. Was that her revenge or protest?

The hand on his short hair clenched tight again, then he walked out with long purposeful strides. He could convince himself to not care about her, but he could not control his own legs.

Once he got on the car, he kept peering out. Lucia, you stupid woman! Did she know what she was doing, running out without a word? She had cost him to lose several contracts that he almost signed and the monetary losses. Did she think that this was a normal cocktail party?

The car went slowly. As time grew longer, he began to develop an indescribable fear from within. What happened to her tolerance and endurance? Was she not aware of how dangerous it was to walk with that attire?

Wasn’t she afraid that she would possibly become a victim of r**e and kill? At that thought, he gripped the steering wheel tighter to the extent that his knuckles turned a ghastly white. His fingers and bones had been clearly defined but now, it looked hideous.

An occasional flicker from that gown fell into his sight as a beam of light shone ahead. The car came to a screeching stop. He stepped out and walked over with long strides. Every part of his body was shaking with uncontrollable anger. This woman… he is going to kill her. He will kill her!

The moment he saw her state, his anger vanished out of nowhere. All that was left was a strange feeling of crabbiness.

Lucia hugged her body tight and huddled on the long bench. Her legs were squeezed snuggly together. Under the streetlights, that woman’s face was pathetically pale. Her long eyelashes looked slightly moist.

“Lu…” Daniel raised his hand in mid-air. In the end, he simply squatted beside her as he put his hand on her face. It felt unnaturally warm to his touch.

“Stupid woman. You’re having a fever.” It did not come from hate. Instead, it was a sigh. Some would even say a helpless one.

He put his hand on her forehead and felt her temperature again. It really was a fever.

She’s having a fever.

“Lucia… Lucia…” he patted her face. It was so gentle that he did not know he had it in him. If it was in the past, he wouldn’t care whether she was dead or alive. But now, he just couldn’t bear to.

He was not done exacting his revenge. He finally began to have struggles deep down.

“Lucia. Wake up. If you don’t, I will feed you to the wolves.”

“There is no zoo in the vicinity…” Lucia merely fluttered her eyelashes. She might have heard him between consciousness, but her reply almost made him strangle her.

“I’ll throw you to the perverts.” His tone was slightly more aloof, whereas she simply closed her eyes. It appeared to make her eyelashes wetter. “You’ve already done that.”

She put her hands down weakly and it feebly fell. He was quite certain that she had not regained her consciousness. The last words ‘You’ve already done that’, made him feel an unforeseen ache.

“Lucia, wake up.” He was silent for half a minute before once again putting his hand on her forehead. Her temperature was getting higher.

His eyes were as dark as midnight—there was no light in them. He took his coat off and wrapped her in it. It was at that moment that he had realized she was so petite. He could wrap her up with just one piece of his clothing with room to spare.

A conflicted look flashed in his eyes as he straightened himself. He carried her easily in his arms. Of all the women he had carried, she was the lightest. She weighed next to nothing. However, he refused to admit that he was the reason behind her weight loss.

He placed her down with care, and in an unprecedented move, picked up a blanket and laid it over her. What little kindness he had, he gave everything to her.

His lips pursed tightly together the moment he started the car. Occasionally, he would look at the woman who was sitting beside him. The look in his eyes was as confused as ever.

He carried her again. When they arrived at their two-story villa, he rummaged in his pocket for his keys with one hand. It was pitch black after he had opened the door. The only woman who could light up the whole place was currently in his company.

He reached out to turn on the lights. The sudden brightness caused his eyes to experience a stinging pain.

He held the woman in his arms a bit tighter and carried her into their bedroom. After he placed her on the bed, only then he removed his tie. When he turned back, he discovered the woman on the bed had coiled her body so snuggly. Her hair flattened on the bed and bared her whole back before him. Whereas her gown had long fallen to her waist. He found her beautiful. She moved her slender legs from time to time as she let out a soft moan in discomfort.

“Water…” Her dry and slightly crusted lips moved. Daniel stood up, fetched a glass of water and then he lifted her up.

“Drink!” It was yet another command even though his gesture was unexpectedly gentle. A man may still split his mind from his body when he is in bed. For him, would he be able to act differently from his heart?

Lucia’s lips pressed together, but she kept repeating the same thing until the water touched her lips. She drank with an urgency. Before he could stop her, in her need to drink faster, she choked and coughed continuously.

She coughed and folded herself. Her throat was miserably dry.

“W-water… Water…” She wanted to drink more. She felt so hot as if she was in a desert. She only wanted a glass of water or maybe just a sip. If she doesn’t, she would die. Truly, she would die.

Daniel looked at her pitiful state. His eyes darkened as he took a drink from the same glass. He would not hold it against a sick person, and he wouldn’t let her die on his watch.

He lifted her up again. That mouth kept opening and closing like a fish, in desperate need to return to the water. He brought the glass over and shoved it into her mouth while she drank like a greedy child, constantly trying to drink with her mouth to moisturize her life. Sounds of coughing promptly followed.