Chapter 4
In that instant, a completely out–of–place thought struck Cordelia–Declan must have worked out regularly.
Why else would he have such toned abs?
But the thought vanished immediately, replaced by overwhelming awkwardness.
She clutched the edge of the blanket and buried her head deep, cursing herself inwardly for being so foolish.
Why couldn’t she have just pretended to be asleep? Why did she have to hog the blanket?
Now look at the trouble she’d gotten herself into.
What if…
What if Declan’s desire got the better of him? Then she’d be left in a helpless, vulnerable position.
The room was utterly quiet, their soft breathing almost deafening.
Feeling Cordelia’s warm, soft body in his arms, Declan stiffened instinctively.
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Her heart was beating so fast.
So was his.
At that moment, Declan was overwhelmed by mixed feelings.
Since their marriage, they had gradually pushed their lives into chaos, ruining what they once had.
He had never actually experienced such nervous moments with her before.
To make matters worse, his desire–long suppressed–was now stirring, threatening to break through his control.
Cordelia cleared her throat, hoping to break the awkward silence. “I…”
But before she could finish, Declan sprang up from behind her like a released spring.
“I’m going to take a shower,” he said.
Then he walked into the bathroom once more under her bewildered gaze.
A wave of frustration washed over Cordelia as she watched him turn away so decisively.
Was she really that repulsive?
They had only been in contact for a second, yet he seemed so disgusted that he had to rush off to shower again?
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Chapter 4
Fuming, she switched on the light, sat down at the dresser, and studied her reflection carefully.
Time hadn’t been particularly kind to her, but her beauty was still undeniable.
How dare he find her disgusting!
After calming down, she gave some serious thought to her relationship with Declan.
They were sworn enemies, yet they ended up married–even having three children together.
She remembered back in their student days, Declan had always seemed to get along better with another girl.
He would stroll with her under the trees, chatting and laughing happily.
But with Cordelia, it was always lecturing or tattling.
He was
…
practically acting like a second father to her in this regard.
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All of a sudden, a bold guess popped into her mind.
Could it be… Declan had been forced by her in the past? Was that why they had three children?
She was astonished by her own suspicion.
What a twisted love story between two sworn enemies.
Declan stayed in the bathroom for over half an hour. It took three cold showers before he finally calmed down.
After drying off, he stepped back into the bedroom, only to find Cordelia sitting motionless in front of the dresser, lost in thought.
He had no idea what was going through her mind.
Just as Cordelia was zoning out, a tall figure suddenly loomed over her.
She looked up and saw Declan, freshly showered after thirty long minutes.
She snapped, “What?”
“Your eyes are crossed,” he remarked flatly.
Furious, she rolled her eyes so hard her eyelids nearly twitched.
“Shut up!
“Just the sight of you annoys me!”
After venting, she instantly felt better.
But then, Darrell–still locked in his room–came to her mind, and she sighed heavily.
While Declan was in the shower, she had scrolled through her messages with Susanne.
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Most of them were Susanne’s complaints–Darrell had kicked his deskmate into the pool again, or torn up some straight–A student’s papers….
Each incident seemed worse than the last.
She didn’t get it. How could a fifteen–year–old be so difficult?
“Hey, do you think I can still get Darry back on track?” she asked Declan.
She blinked, her eyes full of hope, waiting for some small word of encouragement.
To her disappointment, he replied without hesitation, “No.”
Furious, she snatched a pillow and hurled it at him.
“You’re sleeping on the floor tonight!”
Declan picked up the pillow, walked to the corner sofa, and lay down without a word of protest.
After switching off the light, Cordelia found herself unable to sleep.
As she stared at Declan’s sleeping face, it seemed to overlap with that rigid one from her memories.
Once again, she recalled how he had always gone against her when they were young, getting her scolded by her fami- ly.
And now, he actually cheated on her, leaving her with all the problems at home alone.
Damn!
The more she thought about it, the angrier she grew.
Slipping quietly out of bed, she picked up her eyeliner from the dresser, tiptoed over to Declan, and crouched beside
him.
Carefully, she drew a dunce cap on his forehead.
That was for being such a jerk!
Declan valued his pride above all else. When he woke up in the morning and saw this, he would definitely be furious.
Covering her mouth, Cordelia giggled.
Then she crept back into bed and finally drifted off to sleep, thoroughly pleased with herself.
Darrell, locked in his room, wasn’t sleepy at all.
Smoking and playing video games were indeed his favorite hobbies.
But now that they’d become a forced assignment, they felt like torture.
Trapped and restless, he had no appetite and couldn’t sleep.
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Frustrated, he pressed his face against the door, peering out through the narrow gap.
Just then, Conrad walked past carrying a book.
Darrell’s eyes instantly lit up with hope. “Conrad! Conrad, help me!”
But Conrad remained completely absorbed in his book, eyes glazed over, as though he hadn’t heard a thing.
It seemed he didn’t care about Darrell at all.
Helpless, Darrell could only watch as Conrad wandered past like a sleepwalker.
He slammed his fist against the door in frustration, cursing under his breath, “Damn it!”
He refused to admit defeat like this.
Instead, he made up his mind to get out as soon as possible.
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He wanted to climb out of the window, yet as he looked down, he saw the man sent by Declan still stationed below, even in the dead of night.
Crouching in the corner, Darrell ran his hands irritably through his red hair.
“Fuck me!”
Just then, his phone rang.
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It was his buddy, Marvin Melton.
“Darry, where are you? Hurry up! Jordan and his crew are waiting for you at the dock. He said if you don’t show an hour, he’s gonna tell the whole school you’re a coward!”
Being reminded, Darrell remembered he had plans with Marvin to teach Jordan Blake a lesson.
But now he was trapped…
As he scrambled for a way out, his eyes landed on the cigarettes scattered all over the room.
“You said I could smoke as much as I wanted, right? As you wish!”
He grabbed the lighter, a wicked grin spreading across his face.
In seconds, the room was filled with thick smoke.
He had lit every single cigarette Declan had given him.
“Yeah, that’s right! Burn!”
up in
Down below, the man on watch was almost dozing off when he noticed dense smoke billowing from Darrell’s win- dow.
He panicked, and the cigarette fell from his lips.
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Immediately, he bolted upstairs.
Nothing could happen to Darrell!
He fumbled for the key and unlocked the door as quickly as he could.
In the very next second, he saw the words–slashed across the wall in huge, bold marker.
“Bye, suckers!”
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