Chapter 19

Hannah sneered at the man before her.His erratic behavior was an utter joke for her. Her role as a wife was nothing but a public display. “Oh yes,” Hannah answered indifferently, “I do see the reason.” Calvin felt much annoyed by her attitude. Cindy, who was sitting across the table, was feeling upset and dug her nails into her palm while hearing their conversation. She couldn’t stand the humiliation of being the third wheel. Meanwhile, Hannah pulled Jay closer by his arm. Although she was not as arrogant as Calvin, she boldly confronted, “I was having a meal with someone too, which is why I haven’t gone back home.” Hannah knew Calvin was a manipulative and obsessive person, yet she did not want to embarrass herself in front of them. At the same time, she and Cindy both knew that their friendship wouldn’t be the same now. When two ladies love the same man, they would become each other’s enemies. “Seems like you’re not aware of your role as a wife. Someone could’ve thought that you are an unfaithful one,” Calvin instead responded calmly and swiped the screen of his phone. Jay then got a message notification immediately after. Hannah’s face turned pale in an instant. She quickly snatched Jay’s phone as he unlocked his phone and said in a trembling voice, “I’m going to the washroom for a while.” Jay scratched his head in confusion and pointed out, “But you’re holding my phone.” Before he could finish, Hannah had already dashed into the women’s restroom. She sat on a toilet seat and looked through Jay’s phone. She clicked on the message he’d received and as expected, it was that video. Panicked, she pressed the delete button and checked thoroughly to ensure it was deleted permanently. She sighed in relief as cold sweat dripped from her forehead. Before she knew it, her resentment toward Calvin grew. “You’re pretty quick.” Calvin laughed as he walked in, “I had planned to enjoy Jay’s reaction but I didn’t expect you to find out.” She stood up with tears building up in her eyes.

She stubbornly held her tears back and asked, “Do you have no shame?” Calvin backed her against the wall and locked the door of the washroom, “You’re the one who has no shame,” He angrily growled and Hannah’s ears turned red as she felt his breath against it. Hannah avoided his gaze and mumbled, “Why would you take such cruel means simply because I’m having a meal with Jay?” “Well, this is nothing compared to you.” Calvin grabbed onto her chin and forced her to meet his burning gaze.

“Hannah? Are you there?” Suddenly, Jay’s worried voice was heard from outside. “Ah!” She quickly screamed, causing Jay to be more concerned. He clearly saw Calvin walking in as well, but now that the door’s locked from the inside, he could only yell back in response, “What happened? Are you alright?” Calvin smirked upon her actions and asked, “Mrs. Fullerton, you’re overreacting. Are you perhaps feeling a sense of shame?” He then unlocked the door and strode out. He walked past Jay.

The difference in their aura had been like day and night. One had a tough personality, whereas the other had a gentler personality. That night, their friendship was completely shattered apart. Jay felt slightly relieved after seeing Calvin walking out. He hurriedly checked on Hannah and consoled her, “I’ll wait for you outside.” She nodded as a response and quickly rinsed her face briefly. She felt goosebumps as her conversation with Calvin repeatedly played in her mind. She quickly gathered herself up before leaving the restroom. By the time she returned to the dining hall, Calvin and Cindy had already gone. As she went to pick up her purse, she noticed a napkin being torn apart on Cindy’s seat. She felt a chill down her spine upon seeing this. “What happened?” Jay also noticed Calvin’s table and asked, “He came here simply to watch us have a meal?” Hannah shook her head and sighed, “Who knows?” She also returned Jay’s phone, but didn’t speak of what happened in the restroom. Jay also caught on and decided to not push about it. “Jay,” Hannah mumbled out. “Hmm?” Jay hummed.

She then said, “Let’s visit the orphanage one day.” “Sure.” Jay agreed as they left the restaurant. By the time Hannah reached home, it was quite late, but Calvin, who was a workaholic, was sitting on the couch in the living room, waiting for her. He tapped his slender fingers on his knees and stopped Hannah who was going upstairs after changing her shoes, “Come back down and eat with me.”

Hannah turned around and saw Calvin waiting at the dining table, while Mrs. Wright was setting up the dishes. She stopped and started to walk toward the dining hall. “Ms. Parker! Mr. Fullerton had ordered me to cook your favorite dishes,” Mrs. Wright cheerfully explained, “I told him you would not return home tonight, but Mr. Fullerton insisted on waiting for you for dinner.” “You…” Hannah looked in disbelief at Calvin. So he came to the restaurant because of me? She looked down in fear as she thought of the torn napkin back at the restaurant. “Don’t think about it,” Calvin muttered, “I brought her there to see you make a joke out of yourself.” However, Hannah knew Cindy would feel despised by her. He indeed planned to make her suffer. Liam had just died, yet she was wandering around with another man. “Speaking of which,” He placed his fork down gently and said, “Finish up the remaining by tomorrow. It’s a shame to see Mrs. Wright’s dishes go to waste.” Mrs. Wright shook her head and chuckled, “Sir, it’s alright. Ms Parker needn’t do that.” “Let her finish it. As long as she doesn’t finish it, no meals for her.” He wiped his mouth as he ordered and threw the napkin away, “Let Ms Parker do the chores too, seeing that she has free time for herself.” Mrs. Wright nodded back awkwardly. Didn’t he care about her? He even waited for Ms Parker to come home! Mrs. Wright sighed as she thought, Is this how youngsters are? I’ll just follow his orders for now. Since their family would usually throw out the remaining dishes, it took Mrs. Wright and Hannah a while to figure out how to store them. As she passed by Calvin’s room upstairs, the door suddenly opened. “Tonight, you shall wash yourself thrice and use the disinfectant on your body for once,” He said. A doctor had once provided them with a disinfectant used for body wash. Calvin had spent much for researchers and doctors to come up with this disinfectant, specifically for the Fullerton family. “Disinfectant?” Hannah felt lost. He pointed at her elbow and said, “He touched this place.” Of course, he’s still mad about Jay!