Flora tilted her head, sensing a subtle ache on her neck where the scar lingered. She grabbed her shoulder with one hand. “I don’t know. Maybe I’ve got a knack for rubbing people the wrong way.”
Her laughter was laced with sarcasm, a bitter pang swelling in her chest.
“You sure have ruffled a few feathers,” Dylan remarked as he drove. “So you opted to stay at La Comte?”
“Yeah, beats living on the streets.” Flora didn’t sugarcoat it; she just told it like it was.
“Who made it so you couldn’t land a job before Desire?”
Flora bowed her head, puzzled by the inquiry. “I’m not sure.” Back then, she hadn’t crossed paths with Dylan.
The car fell quiet once more. Dylan’s slender fingers suddenly laced with hers. The close contact made Flora uneasy, itching to yank her hand away.
The man half-pivoted his face, his narrow eyes brimming with a captivating charm. “I want you tonight.”
Flora’s eyes widened, suddenly feeling the car was too cramped, and the air between them thick with innuendo. “I’m good with my life as is.”
His response sidestepped the issue, but Dylan grasped her meaning.
“How about we strike another bargain?” he suddenly asked.
“What?”
“I’ll dig up who’s pulling the strings behind Desire for you.”
If it weren’t for Desire’s puppet master lurking in the shadows, Flora might not have caved so fast to Dylan. Thus, in all honesty, Dylan should be the one showing gratitude.
“No, thanks,” Flora shot down the proposal at once. “I don’t want to know.”
The car smoothly reached their destination. The rules of this game were crafted by Dylan himself. As the saying goes, rules are set in stone, but people are fluid. He could shatter them whenever he desired.
He yearned for Flora, and she was powerless to defy him.
Upon reaching the dining locale, the meal wasn’t yet fully laid out. Dylan poured some vino, his eyes locked on Flora through the crimson liquid in the glass.
His thin lips grazed the wine glass, and the corners of his mouth curled up ever so slightly. “I’ve got a question for you.”
“What?” Flora asked.
“Why don’t you react when we’re between the sheets?” Dylan blurt out.
Flora glanced around, finding themselves in such a swanky setting, with a classy face before her. Yet his words never failed to catch her off guard. “Didn’t I go along with it?”
As the dishes arrived, Dylan cradled his wine glass, gently swirling it, observing the wine painting the glass red while saying, “What I’m after is your passion.”
Flora lowered her gaze, taking in the sumptuous meal before her, eager to shift the conversation. Her keen nose suddenly detected a familiar fragrance, making her entire body tense.
As she looked up, she spotted a man’s back passing by.
His hands were tucked in his pockets, the Rolex on his wrist glinting under the light, causing a slight sting in her eyes. He had a well-built, slender frame and swiftly exited the restaurant.
Flora stared ahead, waiting until the figure vanished before she pushed her chair back and hastily followed.
Dylan’s expression darkened, his eyes brimming with menace. He knocked over his wine glass and trailed her closely.
The sky had turned inky and hushed at some point. Rain cascaded like fractured strands of pearls. Flora ignored the puddles, pursuing the man’s silhouette and shouting, “Justin, Justin!”
Not far away, the man glanced back, his brown eyes flickering hurriedly.
A person could alter everything, but never their eyes.
The rain struck Flora’s body, frigid and biting. Flora dashed toward the man, wondering if the miracle she had prayed for had really happened.
“Sir.” The underling holding an umbrella opened the car door for the guy.
Behind Flora, Dylan had caught up. The man spun around and climbed into the vehicle. The black sedan idled steadily in the rain. Flora, frantic, rushed forward and touched the car door with both hands.
“Sir?” The driver inquired, eyeing the rearview mirror.
The man’s hair stuck to his face from the rain, his determined chin angled to one side. Outside the car, Flora clung to the door handle with one hand and pounded on the window with the other, “Justin!”
Her anxious expression was obscured by the torrential downpour. She stood quivering in the rain, soaked and disarrayed. The man gazed at her face, mere inches away, before coldly turning his head. “Drive.”
“Yes.” The driver nodded, starting the engine.
Sensing these actions, Flora grew even more desperate. She clutched the handle, but the car door was locked.
The spinning wheels splattered mucky water onto Flora’s legs. Through the tinted glass, she could see the man’s silhouette inside.
“Justin!”
Seeing her refuse to let go, the driver hit the accelerator.
The sturdy car body grazed Flora, and she stumbled forward several paces.
The vehicle’s speed was so intense that her entire frame was hurled and rolled on the rough concrete.
The car disappeared into the distance, and Flora felt her body grow ice-cold. The rain persisted, pelting her head.
Her arm, propped up on the ground, was scraped and bleeding, the blood blending with the murky water. Flora seemed oblivious to the pain, her eyes locked on the horizon.
His face had changed, but those eyes—she wouldn’t mistake them. It was Justin!
The icy sensation crept into her body through her sleeves, and simultaneously, the heart-wrenching pain began to awaken. She clenched her fists and pounded them on the ground, sobbing, “Why, why?! Why won’t you talk to me?”
Tears streamed down her face, her raw voice nearing hoarseness. Her palms were already bloodied and bruised. Flora just hung her head, entirely absorbed in her own world.
A single glance from the man had effortlessly toppled the fortress she had built…
Across the street, through the tinted glass, Dylan coldly observed everything unfolding.
The car window was halfway down, and his right hand’s fingers, gripping a cigarette, flickered in the dim light. The car was parked behind a large tree, so those across the street wouldn’t notice.
“I never gave up, Justin. I miss you so much, more than words can say…” That yearning, Flora felt it more deeply than anyone else. Having memories was a double-edged sword, for they were also a potent poison without an antidote.
Gradually, through the cracks of time, it seeped into every inch of her skin, all the way to her heart!
Flora lifted her head, allowing the rain to pelt her face. “Are you trying to tell me to give up? Justin, am I losing my mind? You’re clearly gone, but I keep mistaking others for you. Just now, if that man had stopped, I would have really believed you were still alive. But he didn’t, he didn’t…”
Onlookers paused and looked at her.
“You’re gone… but what do I do when I miss you?” She kept yelling. “I’m your Flora, but why did you leave me behind without caring about me?”
“Justin—” A grief-stricken cry, filled with a sorrow that seeped into the core of her bones. The heavy rain blurred not only her eyes but also washed out the heart she had kept locked away until now.
Flora lay in the puddle, her head resting on her arm, and a pair of men’s leather shoes halted before her.
Dylan stood in the rain, utterly drenched. He squatted down and, without expression, helped Flora up, forcibly holding her in his arms. In truth, she had no energy left to resist at this point.
“He’s clearly not here anymore…” Flora sobbed.
Across the street, the man flicked the half-smoked cigarette out of the car window, watching as it was dampened by the rain and then told the driver, “Drive.”
