There was a thunderous slap.The bodyguard was slapped once again. He stumbled backward, nearly falling.The other side of his face swelled up. The red fingerprints matched the one on his right.Bryce's face was twisted in fury. He roared, "I told you to protect Holly, and this is how you do it? And, when something happened, you lied to me instead of telling me the truth! Shameless garbage, all of you!"He hadn't lost his temper like that in a very long time. The anger seemed to be seeping through his skin. His presence was terrifying.The entire room was silent. No one even dared to breathe too loudly.When the bodyguard came back to his senses, he immediately began smacking himself on the face.Those smacks were all that could be heard.As he slapped himself, he cried out, "I was wrong, Mr. Gabelman. I shouldn't have gone downstairs to buy those cigarettes. She was taken advantage of in those few minutes that I was gone. I shouldn't have lied because I was afraid of being pun
"Go to sleep. You need to wake up early today," she said.Bryce lifted her chin and stared into her eyes. "Are you not angry anymore?"Holly responded with a light murmur.How could she not be angry anymore? He'd accused her in front of so many people. He had shredded her pride into pieces.It wasn't just her, either. Bryce had directed those words at Abelin, too.Everyone else could humiliate her, but he was the only one who shouldn't have.He was the one whom she loved most. He was different.Holly turned to leave, but Bryce slid an arm around her waist.He pinched her sides and said sadly, "You still haven't forgiven me."Holly wanted to sleep. Seeing that Bryce didn't want to let go, she stood on tiptoe and pecked him on the chin. "Fine. I've forgiven you now."Bryce finally let her go.Holly washed her hands, took off her clothes, and went to bed.Bryce went to the washroom to freshen up.When he went on business trips, he stayed in five-star hotels and presidential s
Holly's heart seemed to have softened a little.Bryce had come here all the way from the city just to see her because he was worried about her.The anger she felt from being misunderstood dissipated greatly.She leaned against him and said softly, "When he came in and tore at my clothes, I was so disgusted. All I thought was that if he raped me, I would kill him, then kill myself."Bryce's heart felt hollowed out. Then, it ached in anger. It felt like it was being ripped apart by a monster. It hurt so badly that it took him a while to regain his senses.He held Holly tightly, pressing her close to him. "Don't say such silly things."They'd been married for three years. He didn't want to hear things like this.Holly was quiet for a while. "Thank God that Abe…"She cut herself off. She wanted to say it was a good thing that Abelin had come here in the nick of time. However, she remembered that Bryce didn't like her being too friendly with Abelin. That was why she trailed off.Sh
When Holly accompanied Bryce to the car, she bumped into Annie downstairs.Annie had been unable to sleep last night. She'd taken two sleeping pills to knock herself out, and she'd had a deep sleep.She had no idea about what had happened to Holly last night.When she saw Bryce, she greeted him warmly, "Hello, handsome. Why are you here, too?"Bryce looked at her coldly, his eyes like sharp knives.His face was as dark as a storm during winter.He walked away, saying nothing. His presence was terrifying.He thought it was all Annie's fault that Holly was here. On top of that, Annie neglected to care for her properly. She didn't even show up last night when something terrible happened to Holly.Annie was treated coldly in response to her warm greeting. She was bewildered.She pulled Holly aside and asked, "What's wrong with him? He looked like he was about to murder me."Holly was in a hurry to send Bryce off. She brushed it off. "He's just like that. You'll get used to it."
Holly noted the old man's dazed and sorrowful look.She softly asked, "Who did you say that, sir?"The old man only came back to his senses then. He was stunned for a moment before he lightly shook his head.Holly no longer pressed on when she saw that he was reluctant to answer. She looked similar to Samantha. It wouldn't be surprising to her if she looked like someone he knew.Barry saw what happened and walked over.He introduced the old man to Holly and said, "This is Trevor Habel, the leading figure in the field of ceramic restoration in our country."Holly had heard of Trevor. His reputation preceded his name—no less than Winston's—in the cultural relics restoration field.She greeted him respectfully, "Hello, Mr. Habel.""Hello," Trevor replied with reddening eyes as he nodded.Barry then said, "This is Holly Sinclair, Winston's granddaughter. She's a gifted restorer."Trevor's eyes lit up with interest as he looked at Holly.Barry continued, "She was the one who did
Trevor wanted to take in a mentee like Holly, who was not only talented but could also withstand loneliness. She could surely devote herself to this line of work.When she became famous in the field of ceramic restoration in the future, everyone would know that she was Trevor's mentee.Of course, all these were secondary thoughts. Most importantly, she looked so much like his daughter when she was younger—even her calm and gentle temperament were similar.…Holly went back into her room. The silk painting had already been cleaned, and she now had to repair the tears on it.She was free for the night as the materials she had requested from Annie hadn't arrived yet. After dinner, she called Bryce and got into bed early.Holly slept until around 9:00 pm before she was woken up by the nightmare from 13 years ago. She couldn't fall back to sleep after that.She lay on the bed, tossing and turning. Suddenly, she heard the sound of a flute playing from outside of her window.Holly was
Holly thought she was dreaming when she heard them say that Bryce was here. He had just left this morning, surely he wouldn't come over again tonight?She turned back to look at Bryce. His tall and slender figure was revealed under the moonlight. His features were strikingly handsome, yet there was a hint of loneliness cast on his face.Holly was shocked. It really was Bryce. He was walking over to her.He was still looking spirited by the time he left this morning, but now he seemed a little exhausted.Holly couldn't believe her eyes. She stood staring at him motionlessly.Then, her bodyguard said, "It really is Mr. Gabelman, Mrs. Gabelman. He came to look for you."Only then did Holly snap out of her reverie.Her heart was beating fast as she asked subconsciously, "Why are you here?"Bryce didn't answer her. He only looked at her wordlessly. Traces of disappointment and loneliness were evident in his gaze.Holly had never seen such conflicting emotions from him. She felt as
Bryce only slowed down when they could no longer see Abelin.He asked breathlessly, "Does your leg still hurt?"Holly had an arm around his neck as she said, "It doesn't hurt anymore. You should let me down now."Bryce said, "It doesn't matter. We'll be back soon."Holly relented as she couldn't argue against him.She sorted her thoughts and explained, "The materials Annie asked someone to get haven't arrived. I had nothing to do so I went to bed early. I woke up later and couldn't fall back asleep."Then, I heard someone playing the flute, and the tune was quite beautiful. Curious, I went out to have a look. I didn't know that it was Abelin. I wouldn't have gone if I had known."Bryce hummed lowly. There wasn't any expression on his face. Holly wasn't sure if he believed her or not.After giving it some thought, she reached out to caress his worn-out face.She then chided, "Why did you come now when you've just left this morning? You don't have to always visit me since you'