Enthralled and Entangled

Chapter 14

As soon as I came out of Braydan’s office, my cough worsened and my head hurt like hell. I was not sure if it was because I had not fully recovered from the cold I caught or because I was still in shock. At any rate, I held out until I got off work.

Work ended a little late today, so by the time I came out of the office building, there were only very few cabs passing by. I tried to hail a cab for half an hour but to no avail.

I looked up and into the distance, then decided to walk a bit further to a more crowded area.

The cold wind tonight hit my face like frozen needles, piercing into my skin. I buried my face in my collar as I walked along the street.

After walking for a while, there was still no cab in sight. I was getting really uncomfortable, so I sat down on a bench on the side of the road and took a short rest.

Although it was a very windy night, the sky was clear. The crescent moon and stars could be seen shining in the cloudless sky.

I leaned against the bench and looked up at the sky as I thought back on everything that had happened today.

Eddie was Braydan’s first cousin. Dorr was Braydan’s nephew and Sofia’s friend. We were all linked together by a magic known as fate.

I felt very worried and uneasy. These connections terrified me.

If I had made just one mistake today, Braydan would have discovered the secret I had been hiding.

It was a good thing Dorr believed me. Otherwise, I had no idea what he would have said.

I rested against the backrest of the bench as I sorted out my feelings. Staring at the sky, I was soon lost in my thoughts. Not long after that, Eddie’s handsome face suddenly appeared in front of me.

I jolted at the sight of him. I was already unlucky enough to run into him at work today, I did not expect to run into him again after work. He was really the last person I wanted to see right now.

I quickly stood up and prepared to leave. Before I could take two steps, my wrist was grabbed by him.

I turned toward him and yelled, “Let go of me!”

“Ria, you were a lot more docile in front of Braydan than you are now. Are you that afraid of him?” Eddie sneered at my reaction.

“Braydan is my boss, so of course he’s different from you,” I said impatiently, not wanting to be around him for even a second longer.

“Different? I’d like to see how we’re different,” Eddie said glumly, then suddenly lifted me up in his arms like a bride.

He was as tall as Braydan, and had a muscular body too. I tried to struggle free from his arms but to no avail, so I could only beat on his chest while shouting, “Eddie, put me down!”

Eddie ignored my shouts of demand, and merely shoved me into the passenger side of his car that was parked at the side of the road, then buckled the seat belt for me.

I was livid. I stared at him, my eyes full of anger, and said, “Let me out!”

Eddie got in the driver’s seat, then slammed the door shut and warned me, “Stay still.”

I ignored his warning and reached for the door handle, only to find that I could not open it. It seemed that Eddie had locked it.

My face contorted in anger. “Eddie, let me out of the car! I refuse to be in the same car with you!”

He started the car while looking at me emotionlessly. I did not even want to look at him anymore and said in a cold voice, “Stop the car, do you hear me?”

Eddie ignored my words. He took out a small tub of cream out of his pocket and dropped it on my lap.

I picked it up and looked at it. It was an antiseptic cream for wounds. “What’s this for?” I asked him suspiciously.

“Cream to treat open wounds. I saw you have a wound on your neck, so I specially bought this for you.”

His belated concern did not move me much.

I did not want his cream and threw it back to him. “Thanks for your kindness, I don’t need it.”

Eddie narrowed his eyes and looked at my slightly swollen lips out of the corner of his eye. “Why are your lips swollen? Did Braydan kiss you?”

The tip of my ears immediately turned red when I remembered how Braydan kissed me today. I quickly covered my lips and turned my head to the side. “Eddie, I’ll repeat this again. Let me out of the car!”

He suddenly stepped on the gas and said, “If you really want to get out that badly, then feel free to jump.”

“Have you lost your mind, Eddie?! I’m going to die if I jump out at this speed! We’ve got nothing to do with each other now so can you stop constantly giving me a hard time?”

I just wanted to break all ties with him now. If Braydan found out about this, I had no idea what he would do to me again.

Eddie smiled and said, “We’re not strangers. We used to be close lovers, Ria. Have you really forgotten our past?”

Yes, we did love each other in the past. He would often hold me in his arms and whispered all the sweet nothings in my ear. I used to believe that we would grow old together like that.

Unfortunately, he ruined everything. He betrayed my trust.

I was mad, but now I was even madder after being reminded of our past. “I remember. Of course I remember. I remember exactly how you betrayed me back then.”

The moment I finished saying that, Eddie suddenly took my hand in his and squeezed it. “I saw you and Dorr talking together at work today. Don’t tell me you’re trying to seduce him too?” he asked flatly.

I pulled my hand back and scolded him, “What are you talking about? Dorr is just a kid!”

Eddie retorted, “Well, he’ll be a man in a decade so…”

At this point, he was being completely unreasonable. I was convinced that he was deliberately antagonizing me.

I turned away in anger, not wanting to talk to him any more.

“What were you guys talking about? I thought I heard him mentioning something about someone’s mother from a distance.

I felt a squeeze in my heart and quickly said, “You’ve misheard it. He said I look like his mother.”

Eddie chuckled in amusement. “You look nothing like her. Dorr is really being funny.”

His attitude toward me slowly turned better. He softened his tone and offered, “Give me your address, I’ll take you home.”

Eddie came to my house and looked for me once before, I could not let him do it again or he would surely discover Sofia.

“You can just drop me off up ahead,” I replied.

Eddie slowed the car down. He gave me another sidelong glance and said, “No. You’re already in my car, so you have to let me drive you home.”

I was silent for a moment, then gave him a fake address.

Whatever. I just wanted to get out of his car as quickly as possible.

The car stopped at the address I gave. I removed the seat belt, opened the door and quickly got out of the car. This time, the door easily opened. I did not even have to guess to know that it was Eddie who had unlocked it.

After I got out of the car, I stood at the sidewalk and was about to wait for Eddie to leave. To my dismay, Eddie got out of the car too.

He took off his jacket while striding toward me. “Ria, wait.”

I stopped and turned to look at him.

He draped the jacket he removed over me. My bare shoulders were covered with warmth that was mixed with the familiar scent on Eddie.

I was repulsed and quickly refused it. “Get your jacket off me, I don’t need it.”

Eddie pressed his hands on my shoulders and said in a deep voice, “Keep it on. It’s a cold night.”

I glared at him. “No, take it away with you.”

I grabbed the jacket and was prepared to take it off. But before I could do that, Eddie had returned to his car and sped off into the darkness.

He was really acting weird. He came all the way just to take me home and gave me his jacket?

There should be a limit to this hypocrisy. He should realize that his pursuit was useless. I did not need his care.

As I walked home, I thought about what to do with his jacket.

In the end, I decided to give it away to a homeless man. I had no desire to keep anything that belonged to Eddie.

I walked up to a homeless man sleeping on the side of the road, then handed over the jacket to him.

After doing all that, I hailed a cab and returned to my real home.

When I got home, Sofia was already waiting for me in the living room. She trotted over to me as soon as she saw me. “Mommy, you’re back!”

I picked her up and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “My baby! Did you miss me at home today?” I asked her with a smile.

Sofia nodded and planted a kiss on my cheek as well.

Mrs. Steve then came up and said, “Ria, do you want Sofia to stay at my place permanently from now on?”

I thought for a moment. For Sofia’s safety, this seemed to be the best solution for the time being.

I failed to resign today. Arthur had warned me that it would not be easy to get out of Braydan’s sight. I must come up with a better plan and leave this place for good.

I nodded. “Thanks, Mrs. Steve.”

I put Sofia down and went up to give Mrs. Steve a hug as well.

It was at that moment, I suddenly received a call on my phone. It was Eddie.

I immediately hung up on him.

Shortly after that, he called again. I did not want him to show up here so I answered his call.

“What is it now?” I asked impatiently.

“Ria, when are you planning to return my jacket?” he asked.

I froze for a moment and quickly said, “I threw your jacket away.”

There was a brief pause before Eddie spoke again. “Ria, that jacket costs ten thousand dollars. If you don’t want to owe me money, you better return me that jacket.”

Ten thousand dollars? He must be blackmailing me!

“Sorry. If you want your jacket back, maybe you should go straight to the junkyard!” I said angrily, then hung up on him.

Sofia was listening to me quietly. She suddenly tugged at the hem of my blouse and asked, “Mommy, did you see Dorr today?”

Her question took me by surprise. How did she know I saw Dorr at the office today?

“Why do you ask, Sofia?” I asked instead of answering her question.

Sofia smiled and said, “Dorr called me just now and told me that he saw someone who really looked like you, Mommy.”

I was so nervous that I almost lost my grip on my phone. I crouched down and placed my hands on Sofia’s shoulders. “No, I haven’t seen him today,” I told her earnestly.

A look of disappointment appeared on Sofia’s face. “Oh, I guess he really made a mistake.”

I took her hands and told her seriously, “Sofia. Don’t hang out with Dorr again in the future.”