NOVPUB
Chapter 68 - 68- gave up
Cynthia let out a light laugh, as if she had heard the biggest joke.
"No need to trouble you, I'll just take a cab home. You can take Monica back instead."
Let him come pick her up? What kind of person did she think he was? Vice President Wilson, and she thought she could boss him around? Besides, she didn't want anything to do with him.
Jim moved forward, lifting the heavily intoxicated Monica in his arms, gritting his teeth in frustration. If she were a man, he would've beaten her senseless by now. What kind of woman drinks like this? It was utterly tasteless.
So she was heartbroken? Was that reason enough to act like her life was over? Who couldn't live without someone else? Especially when the other party was a married old man! Her choice was an insult to all of them, the young and successful elites!
He cursed inwardly as he carried her toward the car. She was wearing a flowing, loose ethnic-style dress, and as she gestured around, the strap had slipped off her shoulder, exposing her fair skin.
He accidentally looked down, and suddenly felt a rush of heat flood his head. A certain part of him swelled uncomfortably. Damn it, he was reacting to this vixen!
No! No! No! It had to be because she had been teasing him so much lately, leaving him unsatisfied every time! He shook his head violently, striding forward, throwing open the car door, and roughly tossing her into the back seat with no regard for her delicacy.
Monica, in pain, climbed back into her seat, blinking her big, innocent eyes, staring at him with grievance. He slammed the car door shut and got in from the other side, stepping on the gas, speeding toward her home. His mind was focused on one thing only: getting rid of this vixen as soon as possible.
But she wasn't giving up. Struggling to move her drunken body, she leaned forward, resting her head on the seat behind him, giggling.
"JC, Cynthia said the most effective way to forget someone is to get married and completely cut off all thoughts of that person!"
Her breath on his neck made his thoughts waver. Jim gritted his teeth and spat out two words. 𝓃ℴ𝓋𝓹𝓊𝓫.𝒸𝓸𝓂
"Absurd."
She, however, seemed unfazed and leaned closer, her red lips brushing against his earlobe, almost imperceptibly.
"JC, how about... you marry me?"
"Screech—"
With a sharp screech of brakes, Monica was thrown into the back seat, her face pale with shock. Jim turned back and shouted at her:
"Monica, are you out of your mind?!"
Just because she wanted to forget that man, she would casually marry anyone? Was she taking responsibility for her life? Was she taking responsibility for the life of the person she was about to marry?
For some reason, when he saw her like this, so self-destructive, he really wanted to... strangle her.
Monica, startled by his fierce expression, had sobered up a little. It took her a while to recover, and she pouted, clearly irritated.
"Why are you so angry? I was just saying it, not actually asking you to marry me! Don't think I don't know, you've got a woman you like, haven't you!"
She'd seen him acting like a sex-starved stallion every night, always engaged in some business whenever she called him, and the voice of the woman these last few nights had been the same. It was clearly his new lover.
What was his reaction to her joke? Was it really that bad that she mentioned marrying him? Even if he didn't like her, he didn't have to hurt her pride this way. Didn't he know she was emotionally vulnerable, being heartbroken right now?
"A woman like you, who doesn't even love herself, no wonder that man left you."
Jim coldly threw these words at her before turning back to the wheel, starting the car again.
She sat in the back seat in a daze, her face instantly going pale. His words almost made her faint from the pain.
Meanwhile, Cynthia had taken a taxi home alone. After tidying up, it was already late at night. She lay in bed, thinking about what Monica had said to her earlier. If it were true, and he had helped because he felt guilty, wouldn't that be nice?
After tossing and turning for a long time, she finally took out her phone and sent him a message: *Thank you!* No matter his reasons, he had helped Wendy, and out of both gratitude and decency, she should say thank you.
His phone rang the next second. It was just a simple "thank you," wasn't it? He could've just replied with "you're welcome," or even ignored the message completely—why call?
After hesitating for a while, she finally answered the call. His voice carried a hint of amusement.
"It's not easy to hear you say thank you! But sending a text, don't you think that's a bit lacking in sincerity?"
How boring! She cursed him silently in her mind but still responded politely.
"Mr. Wilson, thank you for helping my brother-in-law today! If there's nothing else, then I'll hang up. Good night!"
"Since you've spared Maureen Lancaster, I'll have to take that punishment from you."
His words came through just before she was about to hang up, still in his playful tone. She couldn't tell if he was serious about punishing her or if he was just trying to scare her.
But it dawned on her that, in the eyes of outsiders, she was also considered a daughter of the Lancaster family. If he wanted to target the Lancasters, he wouldn't spare her either.
But what did she have left to fear? Gripping the phone, she said calmly,
"Fine, bring it on if you have the ability!"
And then she hung up the call.
At that moment, she felt she had nothing left to lose. Her heart was already given to Vincent, her body taken by him. What was there left for her to fear?
Much later, she heard from that woman in his heart that by taking her body, stealing her heart, wasting four years of her youth, and then trampling all over it, that was the best punishment for her.
Life continued on, uneventful. She had been cautious at first, but seeing that he didn't take any action, she gave up her vigilance.
Since that day, he had never appeared in her world again, and there had been no further contact between them.
The days passed, each one busy, bringing the year to a close. School had already let out. She was married now and couldn't return to the Lancaster family for the New Year, though she didn't want to. She didn't want to see Doreen Lancaster's face anyway.
Exiled abroad for more than half a year, her arrogance seemed unchanged. It was all due to the Lancaster family's booming success—wealth, power, and influence.
Bonnie had called and invited her to her house, but with the Laurence family's complicated background, she didn't want to go. So, she opted for solitude. Every day, aside from going to the orphanage, she stayed at home reading and browsing the internet. Once or twice a week, she taught dance classes to some kids at a training center, earning a little money for living expenses and tuition.
That day, she woke up late and hurriedly rushed to her class. It wasn't until after class that she realized she had forgotten her phone. Thinking no one would need to contact her, she wasn't too concerned. Instead, she went to the supermarket and bought a ton of food before slowly heading back home.
After making herself a delicious meal and eating her fill, she picked up her phone and was surprised to see multiple missed calls, all from him!
Was he looking for her for something?
She furrowed her brows, trying to think of why he might be trying to reach her, but she couldn't come up with anything. Eventually, she decided to return the call, only to hear that the phone was off. She tried a few more times, but the same message came up—turned off. She gave up.
It was probably for the best that his phone was off. If he was calling, it probably wasn't for anything good!
