It had already been 11 days.
As long as Conrad and Lillian had been here, those people had been guarding the door. If this continued, someone would end up dead.
“Sir, should we go back?” Andrew came in, daring to ask for an answer.
Conrad held Lillian’s chin and looked at her limp, completely unsupported figure. “Go prepare two sets of clothes. Before we leave, you should at least say goodbye to the townsfolk.”
Lillian shut her eyes, ignoring the malice in his words.
“I don’t want to go back,” she said, still daring to provoke him despite the danger.
“Seems like you really want to die,” Conrad replied coldly. “But how you’ll die, that’s for you to guess.”
Other than being killed by him through excessive sex, she couldn’t imagine how Conrad would harm her.
Sometimes, she honestly thought that Conrad had tried to kill her in bed multiple times.
But in the end, he always gave up that thought and buried himself in her, entangling with her to the point of exhaustion.
“You’ve got no other tricks, huh?” Lillian said coldly, mocking him.
Conrad was used to her talking like that, so he narrowed his eyes and said, “Of course I do. If you go back now, you’ll get to see your friends, the ones I’ve cornered so badly, scrambling to find a way out.”
Lillian’s face changed, and she glared at him. “Conrad, are you crazy?!”
“Did you just realize that?” he asked, tone mocking.
Lillian got up abruptly, but her legs gave out, and she collapsed to the floor. Conrad swiftly pulled her up from behind.
He casually grabbed the clothes from the sofa-starting with the underwear-and slowly began dressing her.
“What do you want from me?” she asked, frustrated.
“You already know the answer.”
“Is this some kind of game to you?”
“Compared to you not being here, I think this works just fine.”
If there was no great love, and they couldn’t go back to the past, then hating him wasn’t impossible. After all, hatred, at least, would leave marks.
Conrad finished putting her shoes on and leaned down. “I don’t really like this rebellious side of you. So it’d be best if you cooperate a little. I’m starting to lose control of myself.”
“If you’re sick, go see a doctor.”
“I saw one. The result’s the same. What’s the point of seeing a doctor?” Conrad pulled her into his arms.
Maybe it had been too long since she’d seen daylight. As soon as they stepped outside, the blinding sunlight hit her, and she felt a strange sense of nostalgia, as if everything had changed.
Every muscle in her body felt like it had been overworked and deprived of food. Her expression was exhausted, sleep-deprived, yet the natural allure of her body made it impossible for anyone to ignore her languid charm.
In short-she looked content in a way that was hard to miss.
Conrad couldn’t resist showing her off to the right people. So, while holding Lillian, as they got out of the car, the Osborn family was in the middle of working on flower arrangements, preparing to pack the day’s orders.
When they saw Lillian, the family froze for a moment, almost not recognizing her.
Osborn still had tape on his face. But when he saw Lillian, he was the most visibly shocked.
With so many bodyguards in black standing behind them, the Osborn family didn’t dare make any sudden moves.
“Get me a bouquet of roses, the best you have.”
“Sure, yes!” Osborn’s mom was the first to snap out of it, quickly grabbing wrapping paper. “Is this color okay?”
Lillian looked at her carefully, unable to speak to her, and shifted her gaze. “I don’t need flowers.”
“I do,” Conrad interrupted her. “Black wrapping paper will be fine.”
“Got it.”
Once the roses were wrapped, Conrad handed them to Lillian. Seeing her hesitate, he was about to speak when she snatched them from him.
“I’m tired. I miss Nancy’s cooking. Let’s go.”
Conrad raised an eyebrow. “Feeling sorry for them?”
Faced with his malicious provocation, Lillian wanted nothing more than to slap his face with the roses.
But instead, she looked at him and said, “Don’t forget the promise you made in front of my grandmother.”
Conrad only gave a cold, humorless smile. “I remember. But how many times have you lied to me?”
A little liar, from start to finish, all she had done was deceive him.
However, perhaps because of her mentioning her grandmother, he seemed to calm down a bit. He allowed Lillian to take the flowers and get in the car.
Osborn had been holding back for a while. He tossed the scissors aside and tried to follow, but his mother stopped him firmly.
“You stupid kid, don’t drag the whole family into this. That’s not something we should be involved in!”
******
The bouquet of roses was casually placed aside by Lillian.
Her luggage consisted of just one bag. Her things were sent back to Conrad’s side.
As she watched the car drive on the highway, leaving the town behind, her mind went blank, unsure of what to think.
“I need to go to the bathroom.”
Conrad glanced at her sideways.
“What? You’re not even going to let me use the bathroom now?”
Conrad didn’t respond, and Andrew immediately told the driver to stop at a service area up ahead.
After all, the airport was still a half-hour away.
Lillian had managed to find this godforsaken place. Even the airport was smaller than the City N bus station.
When Lillian got out of the car, Conrad followed her.
“If I could run, I’d run for the rest of my life. Or are you planning to follow me around forever?”
Conrad gave a cold smile, tugging at his lip. “I’ve got plenty of time to waste on you. Go ahead, try it.”
She was broke-where could she run to?
Lillian wiped the emotion off her face and walked straight toward the service area.
Several bodyguards followed her.
The group had no sense of decency. They knocked on the door of the women’s restroom and waited until they scared everyone inside out before allowing Conrad to enter without any hesitation.
Lillian felt her scalp crawl.
“Are you a freak?”
“It’s all just a bathroom. If there’s no woman, it’s the men’s restroom, right? Are you going or not?” Conrad spoke as if it made perfect sense.
Lillian slammed the door open.
But she told herself not to panic. The bathroom only had a skylight above, and Conrad was right outside. It seemed like she wouldn’t be able to escape this time.
“Why aren’t you peeing?”
She hadn’t moved for a while, so he knocked on the door.
Lillian pressed her lips together and opened the door, stepping out. “I can’t pee with you here. Get out.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Conrad glared at her.
“I have basic decency. I don’t want to use the bathroom where you are. Is that so hard to understand?”
“We’ve been doing this for days now. You’re feeling shameful now?”
“Was that my choice? Or do you plan to chain me to your bed when you get married? Sorry, but I’m not into that kind of thing.”
Conrad raised an eyebrow and reached out to caress her face, then suddenly scoffed. “You really want me to lock you to the bed on my wedding night?”
Lillian slapped his hand away with a sharp motion. “You’re crazy.”
She tried to walk away, but Conrad yanked her back. “Not going to the bathroom anymore?”
“With you watching me, I can’t pee. How many times do I have to say it!? Can you act like a normal person for once? I get so annoyed when I look at you like this. Are you crazy?” Lillian shouted, furious.
“Alright,” Conrad said, seeing her erupt in anger, feeling it was better than her usual lifeless expression.