“Are you really looking for a ring?” he asks.
“Of course, I am. What else would I be doing here? Do you really think I want to get away from you and all of this?”
“Well, do you want to get away?”
“Of course, I don’t,” she assures him. Pretending to suddenly recall something she says, “Do you think I’ll still have time to go to the physical examination this afternoon?”
“Of course,” Waylen says suspiciously, “Is there a problem?”
“I have nothing to hide,” Leilani says, “The medical facts speak louder than my words ever can. If you don’t believe me, I’m eager to go to the hospital.”
Waylen stares into Leilani’s face. Her face is so beautiful in the sun, and her rosy lips attract him in a way he can’t describe. Michelle is confused by their interaction.
“It seems that Mr. Bamford is unconcerned about the stealthy,” she thinks, “But there’s something very strange going on between them. He’s looking at her as if she’s betrayed him with another man, but surely that couldn’t happen to Mr. Bamford. It’s one thing for him to cheat on Leilani, but impossible for Leilani to cheat on him.”
Their atmosphere is tense.
“Mr. Bamford, the hotel staff told me that when they walked into the bathroom, they found that Mrs. Bamford had opened the window and was preparing to climb out,” Michelle says.
Waylen looks gloomy and unpredictable. He says nothing but looks at Leilani with raised eyebrows, waiting for her explanation.
“I just didn’t want people to follow me. I hate feeling like a prisoner everywhere I go. Sometimes I just want some privacy,” she says.
She knows her explanation is implausible, but she musters her courage.
“If you don’t believe me, I have nothing left to say,” Leilani says, “Whatever you decide to do, please hurry up. I want to look for my ring.”
Waylen decides to believe her. He places his palm on the side of her neck and curls his fingers. Bluish blood vessels are visible below the fair skin of her neck. The elegant delicate neck looks so weak and fragile. With just a little effort, he could crush her.
“Do you think I wouldn’t dare?” he asks.
Leilani knows he’s capable of doing it. She bravely grits her teeth and closes her eyes tightly. She waits for the pain, but it never comes. Waylen’s rough hand caresses her neck instead.
He leans down and whispers in her ear, “You never surrender to me, even when I threaten your life. I admire that, and I’m very excited to hear the result of this examination.”
Waylen takes his hand off her neck and gestures to Robert and his staff, “Find her ring.”
Leilani smiles painfully. Instead of killing her, Waylen has decided to make her suffer more slowly. She doesn’t want to think about what will happen if the test results show that Charles Meyer made a mistake. It would be a disaster for everyone involved.
Robert quickly takes the phone from Michelle’s hands and wipes it again and again with his handkerchief. Once he’s erased all smudges and fingerprints, he carefully hands the phone to Waylen.
“Did you take photos of me?” Waylen asks as he starts to slide the unlock button on the phone.
Leilani snatches the phone from him. Waylen raises his eyebrows unhappily. No woman has ever dared to grab something from his hands.
“No, I didn’t get a shot,” Leilani replies calmly, “But Michelle Cindy accused me of taking stealthiest, shouldn’t she apologize to me?”
Michelle is surprised and horrified.
“No shot? It’s impossible,” she thinks, “If Leilani didn’t take a photo, why did she admit it earlier?”
“You’re lying. You already admitted it and you told me that Mr. Bamford asked you to do it,” Michelle says aloud.
“I did say that, but you didn’t believe it.”
The wind blows, and a few strands of Leilani’s hair fall from her ponytail. Waylen watches the hair distractedly and starts to play with it, wrapping it around his fingers.
“You don’t like Michelle?” he asks Leilani.
Leilani ignores his question, “The ring is so hard to find.”
She pulls her head away from him, and one of the strands tangled around his fingers is pulled out of her scalp.
“Why did she split her legs like that?” Waylen asks Leilani.
“You should ask her yourself,” Leilani replies.
Waylen turns around and looks at Michelle who is lying on the green lawn.
“I—I—” Michelle stutters and looks at the ground in fear.
Impatient with Michelle’s sudden inability to speak, Waylen points art one of the waiters, “You tell me what happened.”
The waiter looks down nervously, but responds quickly, “When Manager Cindy heard that Mrs. Bamford was out here in the garden, she quickly came to stop her. Mrs. Bamford wanted to leave, and Manager Cindy told her that if she wanted to go, she’d have to crawl through her legs.”
Michelle is horrified and upset and she buries her face in the lawn as she speaks, “Mr. Bamford, I never thought that she would actually go through my legs. I just wanted to make difficulties for her to keep her from escaping.”
Michelle speaks quickly and tremblingly through her tears. Leilani looks coldly at her former classmate still trying to manipulate the situation. Leilani refuses to engage with her any longer.
Waylen walks toward Michelle step by step, and his strong and tall shadow gradually covers her. Recalling the bodyguards’ bloody punishment, Michelle shakes with fear. She doesn’t dare to look up at Waylen; she keeps her face pressed into the lawn.
A sudden scream breaks the silence.
“Did you want Mrs. Bamford to be near your crotch?” Waylen asks.
Michelle is in a great deal of pain, and she tries to lift her face from the ground, but Waylen is stepping heavily on her hands.
“No,” Michelle sobs.
Her face is distorted with pain. She recalls what Leilani said to her. Although everyone knows that Waylen doesn’t love her or care for her, she’s still his wife. He won’t allow just anyone to hurt her.
“I was wrong, Mr. Bamford, I’m sorry,” she says, “No matter what Leilani did, I shouldn’t have asked her to do something humiliating and s.e.x.u.a.l like that.
Waylen Bamford sees Robert remove his gun from its holster on his waist, and he hands it to Waylen. Waylen c.o.c.ks the gun and points the silver barrel at the woman’s head.
“Forgive me, Mr. Bamford, please. I can do anything for you,” Michelle begs.
Tears streaked her heavy makeup. Black eyeshadow and mascara running down her cheeks, giving her an eerie appearance. The waiters don’t dare to look at her or even help her. The waiters know that they need to protect themselves; Waylen may see them as accomplices and blame them for what happened. Leilani is upset and annoyed by the screaming and crying.
“Will you do anything?” Leilani suddenly asks Michelle.
“Yes, yes, I will. Leilani, we were classmates,” Michelle begs, “Please help me, save me.”
Leilani does not like to use guns or fists to solve problems, she finds it distasteful and barbaric.
“Can you let her go?” she asks Waylen, “She did indeed do something wrong, but she shouldn’t die.”
“Are you pleading for her life?” Waylen asks, his cold eyes narrowing.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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