Winifred trembled as she entered the bathroom, leaning on the sink and staring at herself in the mirror. “What is this?” she wondered.
She stood there for a while before turning on the faucet. She dampened a tissue and tried to clean herself. The white shirt Leland had prepared for her was stained with oil, creating a large, conspicuous blotch.
But using tissues couldn’t clean it properly. Winifred had a cleanliness obsession; she couldn’t stand any dirt on her body and would change clothes immediately if they got dirty.
Back when she was still with the Dawson family, there were many servants to wash her clothes. Leland had even washed her clothes several times.
Leland was meticulous and thorough in everything he did. He personally handled washing Winifred’s clothes, except for her intimate garments. Whether dry cleaning or washing, he made sure they were spotless and even scented them because he knew Winifred liked her clothes to smell nice.
Every time Winifred changed out of her clothes, they would be neatly hung on the hanger the next day. This habit continued for eight years until she came here. Many things felt uncomfortable without Leland around.
Winifred despised him but couldn’t completely remove him from her life. Sometimes habits could be terrifying.
Besides her physical cleanliness obsession, Winifred also had an emotional one. After Leland touched her, she loathed him but hated herself even more. She locked herself in a small dark room of self-loathing, a room without a lock that she chose not to leave.
Winifred wiped herself with the tissue repeatedly, head down, looking somewhat obedient.
Her face was cold, and the tissue couldn’t withstand much force. Once wet, it quickly turned into shreds that stuck to her clothes, making them look even dirtier.
Lost in thought, Winifred didn’t notice the footsteps outside until the door opened with a sound. She instinctively looked up but didn’t see clearly before a force wrapped around her waist, pulling her into Leland’s arms.
His familiar scent enveloped her as she fell into a stormy kiss. She tried to retreat, but Leland held her head firmly, making it hard for her to breathe.
Like a fish stranded on land gasping for air, opening her mouth wide only made it easier for Leland to invade.
Winifred fought back; knowing she couldn’t push him away, she scratched his neck instead.
Even well-trimmed nails could cause pain when scratching someone. Feeling a slight sting on his neck, Leland released Winifred and punched the wall behind her with such force that it cracked the tiles and his bones made a sound.
Winifred froze in fear. No one wasn’t afraid of pain; even self-harming Winifred feared it. Seeing the crack in the wall tiles made her realize that punch could have killed her if it landed on her body.
She stopped breathing heavily and tightly closed her mouth, chest heaving violently.
Leland still didn’t let go of Winifred, trapping her in the small space. He released his fist and rubbed her lips with his thumb, asking hoarsely, “Do you really like Garrison that much?”
Winifred hated his touch and turned her head away from his hand.
Her action displeased Leland. He grabbed her chin and forced her to face him again, staring at her with dark eyes as he continued, “Do you really like Garrison that much? Just one word from him can mess up your emotions and make you drop your bowl?”
When did she ever drop a bowl because of Garrison? It was because of his hand moving under the table! Winifred looked up and said, “Haven’t you always known? You know I like Garrison; I even used you as his substitute. How could I not like him? If it weren’t for your similar face to his back then, I wouldn’t have picked you up at all. It’s just a pity about that red mole I put on your left eye; it was the most similar part but you removed it. I regretted it for so long back then. But now that Garrison is back, it doesn’t matter if you’re similar or not.”
At this moment, Winifred was like a fully armed hedgehog wanting to hurt the person in front of her deeply. When Leland took out the ring at the hotel earlier today, she knew he liked her.
Thinking of this made Winifred smile: “Leland, you’re so despicable.”
The grip on her chin tightened slightly as Winifred groaned in pain but held back: “You know I’ve always seen you as a substitute yet still love me? Aren’t you despicable? Falling for someone who never cared about you makes you deserve being treated like a dog by me! Do you think trapping me by your side will make me love you? Let me tell you something-I will never love you! If it weren’t for your sudden appearance yesterday ruining everything between Garrison and me-had I known this would happen-I should have let you die in prison after killing your father!”
A strange glint flashed through Leland’s eyes too quickly to catch as his trembling hand gripped Winifred tighter while his gaze swept over her features before settling on those moving lips of hers.
How could such beautiful lips utter such cruel words? What Winifred said was true-he indeed was despicable-falling for someone who indirectly caused harm to his mother; treating him like dirt; playing with his feelings-all these old grudges should have prevented him from loving Winifred…
Yet he did-like being possessed-addicted-poisoned-with no cure or way out…
Bringing Winifred here was driven by selfish desires-to prove himself better than Garrison-but despite defeating many others over this past year-he couldn’t surpass Garrison-the one thing he wanted more than money or power was Winifred-but she loved Garrison instead…
He thought possessing Winifred physically would break free from being seen as merely “a substitute”-but it didn’t…
Thinking back to how Garrison’s gaze clung onto Winifred earlier today at the table-how he called out “Winifred”-how she reacted towards him-and how she defended Garrison even if it meant hurting herself-all these thoughts tormented him…
She said he ruined things between them yesterday-that she would have been with Garrison otherwise-and wished him dead…
Leland thought himself invincible-but one sentence from Winifred tore at his heart…
The shadow over him remained-when would Winifred ever see him?
“You want to be with Garrison? Did The Reeves family agree? You defend them so much but don’t forget who personally sent you to my hotel yesterday! Winifred-you call me despicable-but you’re just as bad! We’re perfect for each other.”