Chapter 182

I shook my head quickly. I don’t know whether it was the sadness in my heart or the discomfort in my body, but my tears flowed uncontrollably. He caressed my face, wiping away the tears with his thumb. Miraculously, wherever he touched, there was a refreshing, indescribably comfortable sensation. I rubbed my face against his hand, sobbing, and struggled to speak, “He wasn’t my boyfriend, I had no relationship with him, Reynaldo, believe me.”

“But you thought he was a good person, didn’t you?”

Reynaldo grabbed my collar, lifted me, and threw me onto the sofa. He approached menacingly, standing on either side of me, staring fiercely. His eyes were filled with extreme disappointment. “In your eyes, everyone in this world is good, and I’m the only bad person, right? You always do this; you never understand the wickedness of human nature. You think someone who treats you well has ulterior motives, but you believe someone with ulterior motives is sincere. Esmeralda, sometimes I really wished I could kill you!” He almost gritted his teeth on that last sentence, the sofa armrest nearly deformed by his anger.

But I couldn’t care less about his anger. I felt extremely uncomfortable, a gnawing pain driving me crazy. I hugged him tightly, rubbing against his chest uncomfortably.

“Reynaldo…”

At that moment, the soup Aunt gave me exerted its utmost medicinal effect. My mind was almost blank, with only longing left. But I clearly recognized the man before me: Reynaldo, the Reynaldo I liked. It’s ironic, to say the least. Three years ago, I looked down on him, bullied him, humiliated him. Three years later, he hated me, detested me, humiliated me in various ways. Yet, with him around, I felt at ease. However, the sadness was that I gave all my trust and security to a man who didn’t like me. He could erase my trust and sense of security at any time. Afraid he would leave, I held him tightly and clumsily kissed his chest through his shirt.

The discomfort didn't alleviate; it intensified, becoming increasingly hot. I was almost going crazy. I pulled at his shirt buttons haphazardly, crying incoherently, “It hurts, Reynaldo… I feel so miserable…”

Reynaldo pushed me away, frowning. “You…”

“They… they gave me something to drink. I… I feel really uncomfortable…”

Reynaldo took a deep breath, suppressing his anger. He shouted, “If they offer you a drink, will you just drink it?! What if it’s poison, will you still drink it? Why are you always like this, having no guard against anyone? Esmeralda, really, it’s your own fault that you died outside!” He yelled fiercely, his anger palpable. I cried and shook my head, pulling at his shirt buttons and tugging at his belt. I didn’t want to hear anything anymore. I just wanted not to feel so miserable.

Chapter 192

He stared intently, “Didn’t you say you never wanted a relationship with me again? If Winston, Anton, or Jonathan were to come tonight, would you beg them to help you, right?”

I shook my head desperately, “No! No!”

Even with the great discomfort, I still had my sanity. I don’t want anyone except him, Reynaldo. I only wanted him, just him. But his gaze was cold, so cold. His tightly furrowed brows showed obvious anger and hostility. So, he didn’t want to help me, right? He disliked me so much; he even said that even if I stripped naked, he wouldn’t be interested. So, he wouldn’t help me, right? Since that’s the case, why should I shamelessly beg him?

I desperately tried to hold back my wavering sanity, pulling my hand back, curling up my knees, hugging myself tightly. “You… you go.”

“Esmeralda!”

“Go!” I cried, shouting, “You go, I don’t want your pity, and I don’t want you to see me like this, you go!”

Reynaldo took a slight breath.