“Ugh…”
She couldn’t escape.
He held her so tightly, as if he wanted to crush her into his bones and blood.
Until their mouths were filled with each other’s blood, the salty taste made him even more crazed.
“I really want to devour you, regardless of everything…”
Howard gave a bitter smile, slowly letting her go, silent tears streaming down his handsome and resolute face.
He said, “Leave! Go to a place where I can’t find you; Find someone better than me.”
Nora looked up in surprise, her lips still warm from his kiss, yet he was telling her to find another man.
“Howard, do you really want me to leave?”
In that intense kiss just now, she thought about a lot.
Is it just about social status?
She is no longer the pampered lady she once was, perfectly matched with his humble status.
Both have made mistakes in the past, neither is nobler than the other.
Howard thought about the prison time he was facing; he had been selfish once, how could he hinder her life further?
His fists clenched under his sleeves, his whitened knuckles revealing his true emotions.
“Yes, you should leave!”
“Under the bed, there is a safe, the password is the day I first met you, inside there are three million.”
“There are also some gold bars in the kitchen’s hanging basket, take those too.”
“I can’t give you happiness, this money… consider it my compensation.”
Nora knew this was all he had earned with his life, and now he was leaving it all to her.
The fool!
Her mother once told her-
“Where a man’s love is, there is his money.”
Howard spoke of sending her away, yet handed over all his wealth to her; if this wasn’t love, then what is?
Nora had never hated someone so much as she did now.
She hugged him from behind, burying her face in his broad back, tears flowing.
Her tears soaked through his thin T-shirt, her fists pounding on him, cursing him as a bastard.
Over and over!
“You bastard, bastard! Why, if you want to send me away, why then treat me so well?”
She knew, had Howard not taken her in that day, she might have been defiled by another man.
Although he saved her out of selfishness.
Without Howard…
A foolish girl like her in this ruthless village would probably end up with no remains.
She hated those traffickers, but couldn’t deny that Howard saved her.
“Hit me, if it makes you feel any better, I’ll take it.”
He might never be beaten by her again…
Thinking this, Howard even felt her punches were not hard enough!
Even if painful, as long as it’s from her, he accepted it all!
“If you were even a tiny bit unkind to me, someone vindictive like me might really be able to leave without any burden.”
But he did everything for her sake, which made Nora’s conscience blame her.
How could she leave him in his most difficult time with such ease?
“You go to jail, I’ll wait for you.”
That was her final decision, leaving Howard frozen on the spot, unable to recover for a long time.
“You, what did you say?”
He even doubted if he had heard wrong.
Nora lifted her fair chin looking at him, her voice firm.
“Didn’t hear clearly? Well then, I’ll say it again!”
“I said-this time, it’s my turn to wait for you!”
Before, it was always him waiting for her; he had already taken ninety-nine steps forward, just one step short of a perfect ending.
How could Nora bear to make him turn back now?
So, this last step, she decided to take it!
Howard could finally hear it clearly. Nora said she would wait for him to come back…
It was such a beautiful promise, yet all he wanted to do at the moment was to cry out loud.
“Does this, does this mean you have fallen for me, too?”
He dared not speak of love; liking each other was enough, even if it was just a little bit…
It would be enough to sustain him through the long years ahead.
Nora bit her lip and nodded in his tear-filled eyes.
“Yes, I think I’ve fallen for you. Do you still want to send me away now?”
“But I…”
It would take at least three years, maybe even longer… How could he bear to hold her back for so long?
What’s more, after getting out of prison, he would be a tainted man; he didn’t want Nora to be talked about by others because of him.
Once Nora made up her mind, she wouldn’t change it, a trait truly characteristic of the Lawrence family.
“I don’t care, since you’ve claimed me, you have to take responsibility.”
“Alright.”
Howard couldn’t help but cry anymore.
This was the third time in his memory that he cried so intensely, his tears falling in large drops onto Nora’s shoulder.
Wetting her shoulder.
She instinctively tightened her arms around his waist, offering him a tiny world of warmth with a woman’s unique gentleness and softness.
“I’ll wait for you, you can’t let me down.”
“Nora, I love you.”
Drip-drop, drip-drop…
Nora stood at the entrance of the village, watching Howard leave, the car getting further and further away… until it disappeared.
With the sound of the siren fading away, the once beautiful and bustling little mountain village was instantly half-empty.
Looking around, only the elderly and children were left.
Uncle Ronin looked much more haggard and older than before after this incident.
He had rarely used a walking stick before.
“Nora, Howard has left, aren’t you leaving?”
Hearing this, Nora turned around to support his arm.
Uncle Ronin had used his life-extension Magic to treat Howard’s poisoning.
In the end, although Howard was saved, Uncle Ronin was greatly weakened. If he didn’t take good care to replenish his vitality, he might suffer long-term consequences.
“I’m not leaving for now, Howard and I are still husband and wife. Uncle Ronin, you saved him, from now on Howard and I will take care of you as if you were our own father.”
“But you two didn’t get a marriage certificate, even if you leave, Howard won’t blame you.”
They didn’t have a marriage certificate, and Howard wouldn’t blame her.
But Nora couldn’t leave anymore.
Because she was already carrying Howard’s child, and soon she would become a mother.
This secret was what Cheche wanted to tell her.
Cheche also said… She would have both a son and a daughter with Howard.
No matter how Nora thought about it, it felt strange.
Who exactly is Cheche?
Why would she know these things?
After all, even she hadn’t noticed her own pregnancy.
The first three months of pregnancy are not suitable for long journeys, so she’s not planning to go back to Akloit with everyone else.
She’ll go to see Sean after three months.
On the other hand, Kelvin, who was seriously injured, finally made it through the surgery.
The first thing he said when he woke up was –
“I really miss Cheyenne, take me back to Akloit.”