Chapter 6
738 Words
Alex remained with his back to me, his voice calm and clear. "My favors, Zoey, are not so easily taken advantage of."
I said nothing. My relationship with Alex had always been strained from the start. He pulled me out of desperate circumstances. Mrs. Thorne was a mountain, capable of crushing anyone with a single falling stone. And Alex was an even higher mountain. How could a tiny ant like me have the power to make such a giant help me? Any casual flick of a finger could squash me.
How dare I take advantage of Alex? It was just that so much time had passed, and I was consumed by fear. He could abandon me in a heartbeat. While he might not have cared for me, as long as he acknowledged me as being under his protection, others would think twice before crushing me.
It was a pathetic way to live, I knew that.
But once the arrow was loosed, there was no turning back. Having chosen this path, I had to see it through, no matter how many thorns lay ahead.
I remained silent. Alex spoke again. "So, either I'm overthinking, or seeing Lucas truly rattled you, and you were desperate to sleep with anyone to calm yourself down?"
This time, I couldn't stay silent. I gave a nervous laugh. "You really are overthinking, Alex. You know exactly what happened between Lucas and me. If I still held onto him, even Heaven itself wouldn't forgive me. My mother wouldn't rest in peace."
When I mentioned my mother, Alex knew I was serious. He said nothing more, just let out a cold laugh.
I sat on the edge of the bed for a long time, until Alex was truly asleep. Then I went to take a shower.
In junior high, I hated my mother. Why did she get involved with rich men in such an ambiguous way? Was money that important? Those men would never marry her; they just treated her as a plaything.
Later, I became even more shameless than she.
I went back to my room and lay down. In my dream, I saw Alex again. He smiled coldly, asking, "What do you have that makes you worth my help?"
That time Alex and Eleanor Thorne clashed, it was reportedly so bad that even Alex’s father got involved, personally mediating. Alex shut his father down with a single sentence: "Let's see who dares touch my woman."
For a fleeting moment, the name Zoey Vance held immense prestige, almost giving the senior Mr. Thorne a heart attack. Even Eleanor Thorne saw me as a serious threat, fearing I might truly enter their family. She wouldn’t have wanted me as a 'daughter-in-law' in a million years.
Thankfully, Alex was just talking. Eleanor eventually realized I was just a tool Alex used to embarrass her, but there was nothing she could do.
I slept poorly, waking up drenched in a cold sweat. The central air vent hummed, blowing cold air. I pulled the blankets tighter. It wasn't yet dawn, but sleep wouldn't come.
I was hungry. I hadn’t eaten dinner yesterday, just collapsed into bed. I got up and went to the kitchen to see what food was available. Just then, Alex came down for water.
He drank lemon water, always with ice. I quickly poured him a glass, trying to be helpful. "Are you hungry? Do you want anything to eat?"
The wall clock in the kitchen read 3 AM. Cooking at this hour was a bit strange, but since Alex nodded, I didn't dare let him go hungry.
I cooked two bowls of noodles, one with an egg, one without.
The bowl without the egg was for Alex. He didn't eat eggs, so I added extra greens, bright green and piled high on the noodles.
Alex ate two bites of noodles, then put down his chopsticks. Thinking he didn’t like it, I quickly asked, "Should I just call for takeout?"
"I’m sorry."
I froze. Alex Thorne apologizing to me? What was happening?
He seemed genuinely contrite. "Just remembered. Yesterday was your birthday."
"Oh…" I said. "I even forgot myself. It's fine. It's best not to celebrate birthdays after twenty-five, you know." In truth, I was completely overwhelmed. Alex remembered my birthday.
"Last year, you made a wish for your birthday. You said you hoped I could be with you for your birthday next year. I forgot."
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