Chapter 114: Unwelcome Bedfellows
“How disgusting!” Ellis was reacting to the first part of the butler’s sentence, not the latter. The image of being disgracefully kicked out by the “scumbag,” along with her inherent disgust for the marital home tainted by the scumbag’s filthy liaison with Victoria, made accepting anything from that place revolting. Under the butler’s confused gaze, she declared, “Throw away everything you brought; I want new stuff now!”
“Very well, Mrs. Hudson. Please give me a moment,” the butler responded, ready to arrange everything immediately since Ellis couldn’t wait until tomorrow.
After closing the door, Ellis returned to lying on the bed. Not knowing how long it would take the butler to get the new clothes, she decided to take a bath first.
Contacting top brands for delivery was a basic duty for the butler since Ellis, leveraging her status as Easton’s wife over the past three years, had become a VIP to these brands. Upon his call, brand representatives hurriedly set out in the dead of night, delivering items to Dynasty Estate.
The unusual bustle caught Easton’s attention. Glancing at the brand representatives who treated the place like a marketplace, he frowned and inquired, “What’s going on?”
“Sir, I’m following Mrs. Hudson’s orders to have her favorite new clothes delivered by various brands,” the butler reported truthfully.
Easton fell silent. Once again, Ellis had found a way to spend money like water—true to form! Shopping enthusiastically in the middle of the night—is confinement having no effect on her?
Curious and skeptical, Easton made his way to the third floor. Noticing his arrival, the bodyguards stationed outside Ellis’s room flashed professional smiles, then watched as brand representatives went in and out of her room. Their job was to keep an eye on Ellis, but Easton hadn’t specified what she could do inside her room.
At the doorway, he saw multiple brand representatives showing Ellis their products, and she was thoroughly enjoying picking and choosing. Easton’s gaze swept over her with a measuring look.
When faced with too many choices, it’s easy to get overwhelmed, and that’s exactly where Ellis was. So engrossed was she that she didn’t notice an extra person at the door.
“Does spending money cure all your ills?”
The chilly, sarcastic male voice made her turn reflexively. This scumbag!
Setting down the garment she was examining, Ellis crossed her arms and met the scumbag’s condescending gaze. “Why don’t you try being poor once, and then you’ll know if money can cure all ills?”
“Not going to bed earlier? Just asking for trouble.” Easton still remembered her violent vomiting. “Don’t make me take you to the hospital tomorrow.”
“My life or death is none of your business! Butt out!” Ellis waved her hand, signaling the brand representatives to leave the clothes she had just selected and take everything else out.
Brand representatives provided selections, thinking initially he’d just find someone to buy them randomly. With a gesture, the representatives quickly withdrew in an orderly fashion. Suddenly, the room contained only her and the scumbag.
The scumbag looked around, finally focusing his gaze on her, his lips parting slightly. “You’re not…”
“You’ve locked me up here; you’re not about to say I should pay for my own expenses, are you?” Ellis scoffed, her face full of derision. “What a miser!”
“Forget it, I won’t stoop to your level.” Easton had no intention of making Ellis responsible for the expenses; it was just hard to see her without a hint of remorse, looking totally at ease.
“I’m not stooping to your level, haf.”
As her words fell, sure enough, the scumbag gave her a cold glance and then left. Ellis pouted her lips and returned to lying on the bed.
Having washed up and undisturbed, and although in a strange house, her body reached its limit of fatigue. She closed her eyes and almost instantly fell asleep.
As she slept, the dim moonlight filtering through the window seemed to be blocked by a large figure, and a vague sense of being watched stirred between dream and reality. She half-opened her eyes and thought she saw a tall shadow on the floor.
Her brain too foggy to think, she drifted back to sleep. But soon, the space on her bed diminished, and a strong arm encircled her waist.
Jolted awake by the abnormality, Ellis fully opened her eyes and, by the moonlight, made out the face hidden in the shadows. It was Easton!
He lay on the other side of the bed, shamelessly sidling up and pulling her into his embrace.
Her anger ignited, she snapped on the bedside lamp.
“Easton!” she exclaimed, sitting up abruptly, “What are you doing in my room in the middle of the night, climbing into my bed? Are you seriously sick?”