Chapter 5

“Because you were wrong from start to finish!” Leana Frost’s voice was filled with anger and disappointment. The gloom in her eyes seemed about to overflow. “During the whole year I was away, couldn’t you use your brain a little more and become more mature?”

Hudson Riley felt as though her heart was being tightly squeezed, causing her to struggle to breathe. She looked at the man before her—familiar yet strange at the same time. Her eyes filled with tears, and her voice trembled uncontrollably. “So, you didn’t reach out to me because you were busy with schoolwork. The truth is, you simply didn’t want to talk to me, right?”

Leana Frost remained silent.

No denial, no excuses. This silence is the cruelest of answers.

Hudson Riley weakly released his arm. His throat felt like it was on fire—dry and painful. His voice was hoarse beyond recognition. “I understand. I’ll leave tomorrow. I’ll sleep in the guest room tonight. I’m sorry for the inconvenience.”

His awkward and polite words were like needles that pierced Leana Frost’s last remnants of sanity. He angrily threw aside the blanket and pillow in his hands, then shoved Hudson Riley onto the bed with force. His tall frame pressed down on him, his eyes filled with uncontrollable anger and desire.

“Disturbing me?” He sneered, his grip so tight it almost tore Hudson Riley’s pajamas to shreds. “If you dared to come here, you should know what the consequences will be.”

A rough force was applied to her body. Hudson Riley trembled in pain. A sense of shame and fear overtook her instantly. She struggled desperately, but Leana Frost had tied her wrists tightly with her broken pajamas. Her legs were also firmly held down by her captor. All her resistance was futile. All that remained was helpless crying.

But the tears didn’t extinguish Leana Frost’s anger at all; instead, they only fueled it further. He reached out and roughly wiped the tears from her face, his tone icy and cruel: “Now you know how to cry, huh? Hudson Riley, you brought this upon yourself. If you don’t know how to cherish yourself, don’t blame me for being ruthless.”

In desperation, Hudson Riley, like a trapped animal with no way out, opened his mouth wide and bit Liana Frost’s arm as hard as he could. The taste of blood filled his mouth instantly, causing him to panic. His teeth tightened involuntarily, tearing at her skin even more.

Leana Frost let out a low “hisst” but didn’t push her away. Until the wound on her arm grew deeper, blood flowed from it. Mixed with Hudson Riley’s tears, it dripped onto her lips. The salty-sweet taste snapped Hudson Riley out of her daze, and she instinctively pulled her mouth away.

Leana Frost also stopped what she was doing and looked down at her.

Hudson Riley stared blankly at the horrible wound on his arm, then at his gloomy face. Suddenly, her tears stopped. She realized that, to Liana Frost right now, her tears were nothing more than a trivial joke.

A person who doesn’t even care about your tears, how could they possibly care about you as a person?

She closed her eyes, with lingering red marks on her cheeks. Her exposed body trembled slightly, resembling a rose damaged by wind and rain. The purple and blue marks on her body made Liana Frost’s pupils contract sharply.

She is afraid of him.

The thought was like a bucket of cold water, instantly extinguishing all of Leana Frost’s desires and anger. A sense of unease overcame him. He carefully reached out to touch her cheek, but as soon as his fingertips touched her skin, he felt her trembling violently.

Leana Frost felt as though a needle had pierced her heart. In a panic, she grabbed the blanket from the bed and wrapped it around Hudson Riley. Then, as if fleeing for her life, she rushed out of the room, her steps frantic and disordered.

Silence finally returned to the room. Hudson Riley carefully opened her eyes. Her face was covered in tears, and the bruises on her chin were particularly noticeable. She looked utterly disheveled. She got up, wrapped herself tightly in the blanket, and made her way to the bathroom, step by step.

The warm water enveloped her body, and all her grievances, loneliness, and anxiety erupted in that moment. Tears fell silently into the water, along with her last hope, sinking to the bottom. She raised her hand and touched the amethyst bracelet on her left wrist—that was a relic from Leana Frost’s mother. Her father had put it on her before leaving for abroad, promising to marry her when he returned with his studies completed.

Hudson Riley gritted his teeth and forcefully took off the bracelet.

It’s time to return things to their rightful owners.

She remembered the few times they had been in touch over the past year or so. The last time they spoke was half a year ago. In truth, she should have expected this outcome. But she couldn’t bring herself to accept it. So, she came here in person, to give herself a reason to give up completely.

A year ago, when she learned that Leana Frost was going abroad, she cried non-stop. She knew it was a rare opportunity, but still couldn’t overcome her fear of separation. Back then, Leana Frost gently hugged her, put the bracelet on her wrist, and said softly, “Hudson, when I come back, we’ll get married.”

But the vows of the past have long since changed beyond recognition.

Hudson Riley dried herself off, got dressed, and rearranged her luggage. Bathed in the moonlight streaming through the window, she touched the bracelet that had been with her for over a year. Without any trace of reluctance, she placed it on the dresser beside Leana Frost’s bed, then turned and entered the guest room.

Lying in bed, a faint scent of roses lingered around her nostrils. It was barely detectable, yet it made her heart tighten inexplicably. This scent was certainly not something Leana Frost would like.

Meanwhile, in the library, Leana Frost sat by the window, with an edition of “Introduction to Economics” laid open in front of her. Yet, she hadn’t flipped a single page. Frustrated, she scratched her hair, her mind filled with images of Hudson Riley crying.

Is she still crying? Does she hate him deeply? Have I gone too far?

Countless questions swirled in his mind, like a tangled mess. It wasn’t that he didn’t love her—he just couldn’t love her. Over the past year, he’d worked tirelessly, squeezing every moment to finish his studies and return home, so he could give her a stable future. But he never expected that Hudson Riley would suddenly appear and ruin all his plans.

Leana Frost closed the book, tucked it under her arm, and hurried out of the library. She hailed a taxi and headed straight for her apartment. She had to go back and explain everything to her.