But how much could he say he liked her? Finn couldn’t pinpoint the extent of his feelings for Aoife.
To put it plainly, he was absolutely in love with Aoife’s body, unable to go a day without longing for it.
Finn had been a bachelor for 30 years, and due to his past experiences, he never expected love.
Love would only become a hindrance to his career, especially since he had seen many tragic deaths for love, from his mother to Elisa, and even the still living Hamish.
But he never expected to be so enamored with Aoife’s body, as if he couldn’t find anyone whose rhythm matched his own like she did.
Aoife seemed plain and unremarkable, tasteless even, but one touch revealed how addicting she truly was.
Just a few words of “regret” from Aoife seemed to ignite a fuse within him. Despite his calm exterior, inside, he was restless and manic.
“What good does it do for you to regret now?” he harshly grabbed Aoife’s hair, forcing her to look up at him, and whispered menacingly in her ear, “Do you know what I thought about the most during the days you were gone? If you want to escape, you better not let me find you. If I do… you will regret everything even more.” Pitiful now, even more pitiful later.
An ambiguous laugh carried more weight than any threat spoken out loud.
As if remembering something, Finn suddenly asked, “By the way, do you know what happened to the doctor who helped you?”
This time, Aoife finally reacted visibly, her pupils shrinking as she stared at him in shock.
With a wicked smile, Finn said, “She’s in prison.”
“Did… you do it?” Aoife didn’t know how she managed to ask that, her voice trembling in her ears.
“I didn’t do it, but it’s related to you,” Finn tsked, patting her face mockingly. “Aoife, do you know how many people you’ve harmed all by yourself? From Hattie to Ethan, even the whole Jiang family suffered losses because of you. If Ethan still dares to approach you, how should I remind him this time?”
Looking at Aoife’s pale face, she feared him, which he should be pleased about. But the thought that her fear was because of Ethan made Finn’s smile even colder.
“You are so foolish. If you hadn’t done something stupid to save someone, I wouldn’t have found you so easily. Being kind is not wrong, but being blindly kind without considering consequences is foolish. Your kindness saved one person but harmed countless others. Can you bear the consequences of that?”
Aoife didn’t know how unpredictable life could be, how unfathomable people’s intentions could be, and how her small actions could harm so many others.
Throughout her life, the most common saying she heard was that good and evil will be repaid, that there are consequences to one’s actions, and that one should live conscientiously. Despite never having been treated kindly herself, she still believed in those words.
With no expression on her face, Aoife didn’t know how to face Finn.
She was a survivor, born against strict family planning regulations. Her mother had wanted to suffocate her at birth when she discovered she was a girl, but her grandmother saved her by begging for money from everyone she knew, making sacrifices to protect her.
Born with a huge debt on her shoulders, Aoife endured her parents’ abuse and her brother’s bullying in silence. She had learned to endure in a world where she had no say, no standing.
Many things required endurance. When her brother hit her, she couldn’t hit back. When her parents belittled her, she couldn’t talk back.
Growing up being bullied, she became increasingly weak in that environment, a pushover for others to manipulate. She had no room for temper, no room for any thoughts, because she was born wrong, relegated to watching life pass her by.
As the car continued to drive, Aoife watched Finn’s moving mouth and listened to his words.
Ethan had said that kindness was not wrong.
She believed him, holding onto his words as a brief faith, but now Finn was shattering that belief piece by piece.
In saving one person, she had harmed many others.
As Aoife trembled, releasing the pent-up emotions within her, the last trace of light in her soul vanished.
Aoife tried to console herself, telling herself that life must go on, that there would be another day after today.
Before her grandmother passed away, she had held Aoife’s hand and told her that everyone’s fate had been predetermined, that one must not fight against fate, and that as long as one lived with a clear conscience, that was enough, to live in kindness.
She heeded her grandmother’s advice, living as an honest and modest person, only to end up in such a situation.
Finn did not see the fading light in Aoife’s eyes, his most cutting words delving deep into her tender heart. “Do you know what you are? A sanctimonious bitch, unable to take care of yourself yet interfering in the lives of others. Don’t you think you brought this upon yourself?”
The more saintly she appeared, the tighter Finn’s grip on her heart, making the once caring individual into just another link in Finn’s chain of control. As long as he pulled, no matter how far she crawled, she would always end up back at his side.
“Aoife, have you witnessed my methods first-hand? Do you want Ethan to become the next Elisa? Injected with all sorts of drugs, fingerless, acid thrown on him?”
Aoife’s blood ran cold, her body felt numb, and in the midst of her anxiety, the child in her womb seemed to sense her fear, moving inside her.
Despite the lack of feeling in her entire being, Aoife managed to ask, “Where is he?”
“Are you questioning me, Aoife?”
Gritting her teeth, Finn was not one to speak without action. With Hattie imprisoned and now Ethan in trouble, Aoife didn’t dare take any risks.
“What… what do I have to do… for you to spare them?”
“Unless you become a plaything under me.”
“A plaything?” It was the first time Aoife had heard such a demeaning term.
To erode someone’s pride and dignity, one must submit themselves to the whims of another.
Aoife no longer cared about the incriminating video; if that was the case, he would have to find something more enticing to bind her.
Whether she wanted to or not, she would only ever be a plaything under him, unable to escape.
“Aoife, accept your role. Remember, you are the one asking me now. If you want something, you need to show sincerity. You can’t rely on me as you did before, using me for your own gains.” With one hand rubbing Aoife’s soft, rosy lips and the other pulling out his phone from his pocket, he waved it in front of her.
“I will give you a chance to prove yourself. Perform well, and I will immediately give you news about Ethan.”
Aoife didn’t know what constituted sincerity. She knelt on the car seat, her chin almost touching Finn’s knee, looking dazed as she reached forward to undo Finn’s belt and zipper…
She sat on his lap…
In the past, when she engaged in such acts with Finn, she had been coerced. But now, she was willingly selling her body to please a man, to ensure Ethan’s safety.