Chapter 201
Madelyn would have preferred to stay in school, but the school holidays were going to start
next week.
On the ground floor of the Grand Court, Madelyn saw Rosario and Jadie waiting for her. When the car stopped, Rosario hurriedly went forward to open the rear passenger door.
As soon as Madelyn got out of the car, Rosario grabbed Madelyn’s injured hand.
She fussed over her, “Let me see. You poor child, how did you get injured again?!”
“I’m fine. It isn’t painful at all. It’s just a small bruise. It’ll heal in a few days.”
Jadie approached her and said, “Madelyn, your room is ready, but we’ll be sharing a room. I don’t know if you’ll like how I decorated it…” She warmly held Madelyn’s wrist.
“Okay,” Madelyn emotionlessly responded. Growing up, she had always lived alone in a room. She had never shared a room with anyone.
When they arrived at the apartment, Jadie told her the door lock code. Upon entering Jadie’s room, Madelyn saw there was an extra bed.
The bedding was all pinkish in color, and Rosario had bought it according to Madelyn’s preferences. There was also a pink Nikki bear on the bed, which was the birthday gift Madelyn wanted, and Jadie had an identical one placed in the same spot.
As a guest, Madelyn did not have the right to say she did not like the room.
“Thank you. I really like it.”
Jadie happily said, “It’s great that you like it. Rosario and I were worried that you might not. You’re still recovering. You should get some rest now. Rosario and I will help you unpack the luggage.
Madelyn faintly smiled, “I’m fine. I can unpack my luggage myself.”
“Let me help you!”
Madelyn nodded. It would be impolite to reject Jadie’s help.
After unpacking, Madelyn’s clothes occupied most of the wardrobe, leaving almost no room left for her books.
Madelyn apologetically said, “I brought a little too many things. I’ll put the rest on the floor!”
“That’s okay! I’ll ask Zach to buy a bookshelf,” Jadie said.
“Don’t trouble him.” Madelyn politely responded.
“It’s no trouble. You don’t understand. I always wanted to have a younger sister so that we could share nice things, watch movies together, and share interesting books…”
After spending over two hours unpacking the luggage, Madelyn wasted no time and immediately started studying. She had not had the time to do the workbook Albert gave her.
Jadie sat beside her and started doing her homework too. When they faced something that they did not understand, they would ask each other.
Rosario was cooking. When she walked into the room and saw the two girls studying hard, she felt so happy as if they were her daughters.
“Madelyn, it’s time to eat.”
Madelyn raised her head to glance at the time. It was not even six in the evening yet, but it was already dark outside.
She said, “Okay. You both go ahead and eat! I’ll join after I’m done with this question.”
Jadie glanced at Madelyn. She then turned around and faintly smiled at Rosario, “We’ll join you in a while.”
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Seeing them studying so diligently, Rosario did not disturb them.
At six-thirty in the evening, Jadie finally put her pen down and closed her book. She said, Madelyn, Is… Mr. Jent pressuring you? Your family is well-off. You don’t really need to work
this hard.”
Madelyn’s thoughts were interrupted. She stopped writing, “It’s got nothing to do with my father. I set high standards for myself and try to work harder.”
She did not want to stop studying, wanting to avoid becoming ignorant and resorting to buying her qualifications with money like in her past life. She aimed to be independent like Cecilia so she would be able to support herself even after leaving the Jent family.
“I see! That’s true. It’s very stressful to be in Class One. Just remember not to push yourself too hard. I’ll go and eat now. Don’t stay here too long doing homework.”
Madelyn nodded.
Not long after Jadie left the room, Madelyn finished the remaining half of the workbook and
went out.
Most of the dishes that Rosario made were Madelyn’s favorite. Madelyn preferred mild food while Jadie and Zach liked spicy food. There was a plate of Buffalo wings and a plate of pulled pork.
When Madelyn saw the two dishes, she immediately decided not to eat them and went for the carne frita instead. It tasted just like she remembered.
It was relatively quiet at the dining table. Madelyn knew not to talk while eating since Hayson had set it as a rule.
Jadie did not have to follow any rules here. She could do whatever she wanted.
“Rosario, sit down and eat with us!” Jadie said.
“It’s all right. You two eat.” Rosario replied.
Madelyn ate the food slowly as she said, “Come on Rosario, let’s eat together. We don’t have to follow so many rules here, unlike at home.”
Rosario chuckled, “I made chicken soup. Just a moment…”
There was a hint of indescribable emotion in her eyes. She thought, ‘I haven’t been at home for the past few days. Madelyn seems to look gloomier. She doesn’t smile as much as before. Rosario was upset seeing Madelyn like this.
Madelyn nodded.
She ate more than usual. After the meal, Jadie helped Rosario clean the table and do the dishes. Madelyn felt like an outsider here, and did not know what she could help with, so she started sweeping the floor. She still felt it was not clean enough, so she mopped the entire living room, and even went to the front door and neatly arranged the shoes. She was a germophobe and could not stand things being dirty.
It was almost eight at night. Madelyn felt like she had to try and help out around the house, since she was staying in someone else’s place.
Rosario walked into the bathroom and took the mop from Madelyn. She said, “How can you do all this? Let me do the chores from now on.”
Madelyn said, “It’s fine. I can’t just stay here and do nothing.”
“What are you talking about? Mr. Jardin treats you like his sister. You’re just staying here for a while. You don’t need to do anything.”
Madelyn remained silent.
She thought, ‘Really? But… I’ve never seen him as my family. All I’ve ever known is that, if someone does something for me, I’ll have to return the favor one day. An eye for an eye.’
Madelyn then went to the bathroom and showered, then dried her hair with a towel. The door’s room was half closed. She could hear a familiar voice coming from the living room. Zach was back.
Madelyn walked to the door and closed it. She then grabbed the hairdryer and walked into the bathroom to dry her hair….
Kevin was supporting Zach, who was drunk and barely conscious. Jadie hurriedly went to assist Kevin and helped Zach to the couch. Rosario was cooking some soup to help with the hangover.
Kevin said, “Please take care of Mr. Jardin.”
Jadie replied, “Sure. I’ll take good care of him. Be careful on your way back.”
Kevin nodded and quickly left the apartment.
Zach was lying on the sofa, reeking of alcohol. Being this drunk was a norm for him, and Jadie. had long gotten used to taking care of him.
“Zach, are you okay?” Jadie asked as she massaged his forehead.
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Zach, “I’m fine.”
“Don’t drink so much next time. You know your stomach isn’t in the best condition.”
Rosario finished cooking the hangover soup and quickly brought it over.
“Jadie, quickly feed it to Mr. Jardin.”
Madelyn just ignored what was happening outside of her room. She put on her headphones and listened to the Etlinish words while memorizing them.
It was nine-thirty at night before Jadie finally returned to her room, exhausted. She then looked at Madelyn’s phone that was charging on the bedside table. It had been ringing for a while.
She said to Madelyn, “Madelyn, your phone’s ringing.”
Madelyn did not react.
“Madelyn?”
Jadie then walked over and looked at the incoming caller number on the screen. It consisted of repeated digits eight. Her eyes became gloomier. She then unplugged the phone from the charger and handed it to Madelyn.
Madelyn took off her headphones. Jadie said, “Your phone.”
“Thank you.” Madelyn stared at the incoming call. Shortly after, the call disconnected automatically, and Madelyn locked her phone without any hesitation.
Jadie asked, “Are you not going to call back?”
Madelyn calmly responded, “They probably dialed the wrong number.”
Jadie thoughtfully nodded and remained silent. She then went to the bathroom to change her clothes.
As Madelyn heard the door closing, she looked at her phone again and saw dozens of unread
messages.
She suppressed her emotions and immediately switched off her phone.
It was almost eleven at night, so she went to bed.
Jadie was still worried about Zach, so she went to his room to continue taking care of him.
After some time, Madelyn was woken up by the sound of someone talking. She was a light sleeper who would wake up from even minor disturbances, so she groggily got up before trying to go back to sleep. She only managed to fall asleep after Jadie came back into the room.
The next morning, the alarm rang at six o’clock.
Madelyn woke up and got out of bed carefully before freshening up and tying her hair into a ponytail with a hair band before quietly grabbing her backpack and leaving the room. She did not want to disturb Jadie, who was still sleeping.
Class One had a morning self-study session at seven o’clock. After finishing her morning routine, she would arrive at school just in time by bus. The apartment was not far away from the school.
Rosario was still preparing breakfast. When she saw Madelyn walk out, she was surprised, ” Why did you wake up so early? Doesn’t your class start at nine?”
“I transferred to Class One. We have a morning self-study session at seven.”
Madelyn was wearing her shoes at the door.
Rosario told her, “At least have breakfast before you go!”
“It’s fine. I’ll miss the bus if I leave late.”
Rosario quickly took out a lunch box from the fridge, “Take this with you. Why’d you switch to another class? It makes no difference, and now you can’t even have your breakfast. You’re in such a rush. Why don’t you wait for Jadie and let Mr. Jardin take you to school?”
“I woke up early. I don’t want to disturb her.”
Madelyn took the lunch box and put it in her backpack before leaving in a hurry.
After a while, Rosario remembered the driver was not available and quickly went out, but
Madelyn was already gone.
There was a bus stop right in front of the apartment building entrance, which was very convenient. Luckily, Madelyn managed to catch the earliest bus. At this early hour, she was the only one on it.
Just as bus doors were about to close, they opened again. Madelyn saw someone with a backpack on one shoulder. He had a strong rebellious aura and was wearing a black headband and white earphones. After he paid his fare and turned around, Madelyn finally got a clear look
at his face…
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Forrest ignored her and sat down near the door with his legs crossed. He was holding his phone and chatting with someone.
Madelyn then remembered what Alex had told her that day. Until now, she still found it hard to believe that he was the person who had risked his own life to save her.
At that time, it had been raining heavily, with turbulent waves. She had fallen unconscious after jumping into the sea, and all she remembered was seeing a blurry face. She had thought that person was Zach…
She had assumed that it was Zach who had saved her, because she was more useful to Zach alive. She had not even considered anyone else.
After all, who would risk their life for someone unimportant to them?
If she ended up dead, Zach would not be able to face Hayson.
There were only four stops before arriving at the school. Soon, the bus was full of people, most of whom were white-collar workers rushing to work.
Madelyn saw an old lady get onto the bus. All the seats were already occupied. Surprisingly, Forrest stood up and gave his seat to the lady.
Madelyn thought, ‘He actually showed consideration for someone? With that devilishly innocent smile, people would think that he was a model student.”
Suddenly, Forrest looked at her. He raised his eyebrow slightly, as if he had caught her doing something wrong. It made Madelyn feel embarrassed.
At the last stop, Madelyn got off the bus.
She walked slowly. There were not many people who usually arrived at Ventrocloud High
School so early.
Across the road, she could hear students from Ventropolis High School’s morning self-study session reading.
Madelyn suddenly recalled, ‘The last time Forrest approached me with his books asking me to tutor him, I coldly refused him. I still remember what he said after that. He said I was heartless, and he was indeed right. Back then, when Forrest looked at me, he just had a cold expression. Now, when he looks at me, it’s like he’s calling me heartless too on top of that.’
Madelyn saw Forrest enter the school and wanted to catch up with him, but he seemed to sense what she was doing and intentionally walked quicker to prevent her from catching up. Soon, he entered his classroom. Madelyn wanted to stop him, but he was immediately swarmed by a group of his classmates. All she could do was give up and wait for another opportunity.
1/2
The last class of the morning was physical education. It was a session that Madelyn’s class teacher had made a special effort to arrange.
Madelyn thought, ‘If I’m not mistaken, this session coincides with Class Six’s. This is chance.’
my
Actually, Madelyn could have just called Forrest on the phone, but she did not have his phone number. Besides, she had already left the Class Six group chat.
In the ladies changing room, Yvonne said to Madelyn, “What are you daydreaming about? Change your clothes!”
Madelyn quickly snapped back to her senses. She then took out her sportswear from the locker, walked into a changing cubicle and changed into a white sports outfit.
During the session, the teacher only made them run a few laps for warm-ups before leaving them free to do whatever they wanted. Students from Class One had heavy academic pressure, so they only had physical education sessions once a month, and Madelyn just so happened to encounter it this time.
The boys from Class One and Class Three were playing basketball, and Forrest was among them. As Madelyn watched, he made a beautiful three-point shot.
Madelyn thought the girls from Class One were only focused on their studies, but to her surprise, many of them were actually into handsome boys. Most of the girls crowding near the basketball court were there for Forrest. He was quite popular in school, and he changed girlfriends often.
After Jadie came out of the equipment room with Serena, she greeted Madelyn and exchanged
a few words with her before she left. However, Yvonne completely ignored Jadie.
“Stay away from him from now on!” Yvonne said to Madelyn.
“Stay away from who?” Madelyn asked.
“Forrest!” snapped Yvonne.
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Madelyn asked, “Why? Did he offend you too?”
Yvonne responded, “He offended my whole family. You don’t need to know the reason. Just remember what I said.”
Madelyn mumbled, “We’ll see.”
Yvonne then changed the topic, “By the way, I almost forgot. How’d you meet my brother? He usually never talks to me, but he went out of his way to do so….to talk about you.”
Madelyn remained quiet.
Yvonne nudged Madelyn and asked, “He even asked me to bring you out to have a meal with. him when we’re free. Come on, tell me, is there something going on between you and him?”
Madelyn was nervous, “You misunderstood. We’re just friends. There’s nothing going on between us, you’re overthinking it! My family doesn’t allow me to be in a relationship at this age. They want me to focus on my studies.”
Yvonne smiled as she put her hand on Madelyn’s shoulder, “Oh, come on! Do you know how popular my brother is in Ventropolis? So many women want to sleep with him. Everyone close to me wants to get close to my brother through me. You’re the first person who wants to distance yourself from him!
“By the way, you’re not that young actually. I remember my mother got engaged to her ex- husband, who was my brother’s biological father, when she was sixteen. So my brother and I are half-siblings. They then got married at eighteen, but with no formal marriage certificate at that time, just verbal agreement between the families. Things are different now… When my mom was your age, she was already married. You’re not too young. You should be in a relationship! And you’re so beautiful, I’m sure there are many guys pursuing you!
“Tell me,
do you have
anyone you like? Or… What type of guys are you into? I won’t tell anyone, I swear!” Yvonne said, crossing her fingers.
Once she brought up this topic, Madelyn realized that Yvonne was trying to find out Madelyn’s inner thoughts. Madelyn pondered, ‘Did Ethan ask her to go to the hall? Why’d he do something so demeaning?’
Despite Yvonne’s polite tone, Madelyn could see the contempt in Yvonne’s eyes, but she knew Yvonne was trying to hide it to get closer to Zach. On the other hand, Madelyn herself was trying to associate herself with the Arnold family.
Madelyn calmly said, “I don’t have romantic feelings for anyone right now. I just want to focus on my studies.”
Yvonne saw the seriousness in Madelyn’s gaze and believed her.
After the physical education session ended, Yvonne left on her own. Madelyn thought, ‘Ethan definitely asked Yvonne to stay with me and monitor me. And now, Yvonne is using me to mediate her relationship with Ethan.’
Madelyn went to the cafeteria alone. On the way, she ran into Forrest who was walking with two of his friends while dribbling a basketball. Madelyn mustered up her courage and walked
toward him.
Timothy was surprised when he saw Madelyn approach them, “What’s wrong with you? Get out of the way, bitch.”
Adrian lowered his head and chuckled.
Forrest spun the basketball on his finger and grinned maliciously. He mocked, “What’s the matter, gone mute?”
Madelyn ignored his unfriendly tone. She looked serious and said to Forrest, “I’ll accept your tutoring request.”
Adrian and Timothy were left speechless.
Forrest was distracted, and accidentally let the ball roll into the bushes nearby.
Madelyn continued, “Outside school hours, I’m only free during the evening self-study
sessions. I’ll wait for you in the library at seven-thirty at night, and I’ll only wait for half an
hour. If you don’t show up… I’ll take it as a rejection, and I’ll just leave.”
After saying that, Madelyn turned and walked toward the cafeteria.
“Damn… What’s happening?!”
“Did you confess to her?”
Chapter 206
The library closed at ten every night.
Madelyn arrived at the library at seven o’clock in the evening, and there were still a few people
inside.
She sat in her usual spot near the window and opened her workbook.
Eventually, the lights in the library went off one by one. The librarian approached her and said, “Hey, the library’s closing now.”
Madelyn was not surprised that Forrest did not come.
Only after leaving the school did she remember that her home was under renovation. Her maids and driver were all not at home and the last bus had already left.
So, Madelyn could only take a taxi back to the apartment.
She only arrived at the apartment close to eleven at night.
When she raised her head to look, the lights on the twelfth floor were all switched off. She thought all of them were probably sleeping.
Madelyn then took the elevator. When she entered the door lock code, it showed it was incorrect. She tried three times, and it was still wrong.
She thought, ‘Why is it incorrect?
‘It was just one to six in sequence.
‘Did they change it?’
Madelyn took her phone out. But then she remembered Rosario did not have a phone. And she did not know Zach’s apartment landline number. Madelyn did not want to call Jadie. She then stared at the last few digits that she keyed in…
After not moving for a few seconds, the motion-activated lights in the corridor went off.
There was only the light emitting from her phone. Madelyn hesitated for a while before deciding not to disturb them.
She thought, ‘It’s eleven now.
‘I should just stay in a hotel for tonight.’
Madelyn then turned around and left. She stood at the elevator and pressed the button to go downstairs. When the elevator was about to arrive, the phone in her pocket suddenly vibrated.
She took it out and saw the caller’s name, hesitating to answer the call, but did so anyway.
She heard a harsh voice from the phone, “Where are you?”
Madelyn took a deep breath and said, “I’m at the door…”
After a short while, she heard the door open.
Madelyn hesitated before walking back and going inside. As she entered the living room, she saw Zach in dark-colored striped sleepwear standing in front of the refrigerator pouring. himself a glass of water.
She wanted to walk right past him to her room.
An unhappy voice came from behind her, “You came back so late. Where did you go?”
Madelyn could sense the unfriendly aura behind her. She responded, “I don’t have to explain anything to you.”
She walked into her room and turned on a desk lamp. Jadie heard the movement and woke up, asking groggily, “Why’d you come back so late?”
“I had something to do at school.”
“Okay…” Jadie then turned to the other side and fell back asleep, hugging her pink toy bear.
Madelyn put down her backpack. She saw two cups of milk on the table, one still full, the other half-empty.
She then went to the bathroom and took a quick shower before going to bed.
When her alarm went off the next morning, Madelyn felt like she had not slept a wink. She felt light-headed and her nose was stuffy, with heavy dark circles under her eyes too, as she had
not rested well last night.
Rosario knew Madelyn had to get up early to go for the morning self-study session, so she woke up at four-thirty in the morning to make breakfast.
When she saw Madelyn walk out of her room, she was shocked. “You poor child, what happened to you? What time did you come back last night?”
Madelyn squinted as she opened the fridge, “Around eleven at night. Rosario, is there any milk left?”
Rosario responded, “Just sit down. The pancakes are almost ready. Mr. Jardin went for a morning jog. He’ll be back soon.
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Madelyn drank some iced water, “I’m not eating breakfast today. I’m in a hurry.”
Rosario said, “Why won’t you listen? I woke up at four-thirty to make breakfast for you. Be a good girl… You’re still growing. You can’t skip breakfast.”
Madelyn replied, “Don’t trouble yourself in the future. I can just eat anything.”
Rosario, “What are you saying?! I’ve watched you grow up. I know you very well.”
Madelyn walked to Rosario and hugged her from behind. She rested her chin on her shoulder,
I know. You treat me the best…”
”
The door was opened. Madelyn thought it was probably Zach who came back from his morning jog.
She quickly let go of Rosario.
Rosario brought the pancakes to the dining table, “Sit down and eat.”
“Okay.”
Although Madelyn did not want to face Zach, she did not want to waste Rosario’s efforts either.
After Madelyn sat down at the dining table, Rosario brought over a few sets of cutlery and plates. She then took some pancakes from the main plate and put them onto two smaller plates.
After Zach showered and changed, he walked out of his room.
Rosario asked him, “Should I wake Jadie up to eat?”
Zach pulled out a chair and sat at the head of the table, “It’s fine. Let her sleep a little longer.”
Not long after Zach sat down, Madelyn got up and said, “I’m full. I’ll go to school now.”
Rosario, “Why’d you eat so little? You still have some pancakes left. There’s still time, finish it before you go.”
Madelyn, “It’s all right. I need to catch the bus.”
Zach commanded, “Sit down and finish it!”
He continued, “I asked your class teacher. You didn’t attend the evening self-study session yesterday. Where did you go?”
Madelyn coldly replied, “None of your business.”
She thought, ‘Even Hayson doesn’t care about me, so who is Zach to try and control me? If he’s smart enough, he should know that I’m avoiding him. Everything he’s done to me has
been to harm me, and now he’s pretending to care about me…
‘Who the hell does he think he is?”
Zach said clearly, “If it was because of your Olympiad Mathematics class, you’d be done at eight-thirty at the latest. You’d need half an hour to come back from school, so you’d be back. by nine.” He did not lift his head as he continued, “If you don’t explain yourself clearly, you’re not going to school.”
Madelyn snapped, “You don’t get to decide whether I can go to school.”
Rosario chided her, “Madelyn, Zach is your brother. You can’t speak like that to your brother.”
“Brother?” Madelyn sneered. “What kind of a brother is he?”
She lamented to herself, ‘Even Forrest is so much better than him. At least he saved my life. What about Zach? He used underhanded methods to harm me, drugged me and even let a few hooligans rape me.
‘What an… “amazing” brother he is!’
Rosario wondered what happened between them. ‘In the past, Madelyn was very close to Mr. Jardin. But now, she avoids him like an enemy.”
Madelyn was filled with anger when she thought about all that. She was on her period, so she got mad very easily. She looked annoyed as she said, “Let’s make things clear right here and now.”
Zach’s eyes darkened as he coldly stared at her.
Madelyn continued, “Stop pretending to care about me. It won’t change all the unforgivable things you’ve done. I won’t bow down to your every word anymore, like I did before! You’ve disgusted me from the beginning. The longer I stay here, the more we’ll just disgust each other. The more hypocritically you act, the more disgusted I’ll be. It’s true that I’m afraid of you, but that doesn’t mean I can pretend that the things that you did to me never happened. I can’t just calmly sit at the same table and eat with you.
“I’ll move out of here before school ends, so please stop bothering me and trying to control me!”
Zach thought vehemently, ‘I’ll give her a taste of her own medicine!’
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Suddenly, Madelyn’s wrist was grabbed firmly. She lost her balance and almost fell.
Zach violently dragged her into the study and closed the door, locking it from the outside.
Rosario hurriedly rushed over and said, “Mr. Jardin, what are you doing?”
Madelyn pounded on the door, “What are you doing?! Let me out. Zach, you jerk. Who do think you are to lock me up?!”
you
Zach removed the key after he locked the door. His face was stone-cold as he told Rosario, Don’t bring her any food without my permission.”
He turned back towards Madelyn and said, “You can come out once you’ve realized your mistake! Let’s see if I have to power to control you or not, like you said!”
Jadie was awakened by the noise outside. She leaned toward the door and listened. She thought, ‘Is Zach arguing with Madelyn?’
Jadie came out of her room at seven-thirty in the morning and sat down to have her breakfast. The atmosphere in the living room was tense. Jadie, who was eating the pancakes, lifted her head, “Zach, are you not going to work today?”
Zach was still in his home clothes reading the newspaper. He emitted a chilling aura.
He responded, “I’m working from home today. I’ll ask Kevin to take you to school later.”
“O-Okay.”
!
When Jadie left, she glanced at the study door.
She pondered, ‘Zach is usually gentle and polite. He rarely loses his temper. What happened. between him and Madelyn?”
Rosario went to clear the silverware on the table. She wanted to say something, but Zach spoke before her, “I’ll be at home today. Rosario, you can have the day off.”
Rosario lamented, ‘It seems like Mr. Jardin is determined to lock Madelyn up the entire day. Madelyn hasn’t experienced much hardship growing up. She can’t bear this!’
She said, “Madelyn’s just a kid. She’s still immature…”
Zach interrupted, “Kid? She’s eighteen! She should be able to make judgments like an adult.” He put down the newspaper and got up, walking back to his bedroom with his hand in his pocket.
Rosario worriedly glanced at the study. She thought, ‘Sigh, she shouldn’t have gotten angry with Mr. Jardin.”
1/2
Madelyn was locked in the study until three in the afternoon.
When Zach finally opened the door, the room was dark. The lights were off, and the curtains. were drawn. Zach switched on the lights. To his surprise, the study room was still neat and
tidy.
He then looked at Madelyn, who was huddled on the sofa. The bandage on her hand was soaked in blood, which was dripping onto the ground.
Madelyn did not move at all.
Zach walked forward and looked down at her with his piercing gaze and asked, “Are you calm now?”
Madelyn came back to her senses. She then stood up and tried to walk away. She felt like she was suffocating when she looked at him.
Zach grabbed her wrist. Madelyn immediately shook off his hand, “Get lost. Don’t touch me!”
Her eyes were red, as if she had been crying. She looked pale and sick from exhaustion.
Madelyn walked out of the study. She then quickly grabbed a few books from her bedroom and stuffed them inside her bag. After that, she went to the living room and put the rest of her books into her bag before trying to leave.
Zach stood in front of her and blocked her way.
He thought, ‘I shouldn’t have spoiled her too much. Now, she’s forgotten who’s in charge.’
He said, “I’ll give you two options now. One, you can go back to your room and calm down before we talk again. Two, I’ll take you to school right now, and from now on you must be home by nine o’clock. You need to inform me if you plan to come back after nine.”
Madelyn yelled, “Just focus on taking care of your Jadie! I have nothing to talk about with someone who hires thugs.”
She then walked past him and opened the door. Suddenly, Zach forcefully slammed it shut again. The sound frightened a neighbor who was leaving home.
Zach grabbed her shoulders, pushing her against the wall. He looked terrifying. Madelyn could see the rage in his
eyes.
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Madelyn sneered, “Why are you so angry? Isn’t it the truth? You drugged me for so many
years, and even had people rape me… And now you act like you care about me. What are you trying to do? Are you worried about me now? Or is it just pity?
“I’ll say it again, get lost!”
Zach suddenly bent down. He kissed her soft lips.
Madelyn bit his lips hard. Zach frowned in pain. Both of them tasted the taste of blood.
After a brief pause, he became more aggressive. He endured the pain and bit her lips. Madelyn struggled in pain…
Zach thought, ‘Her scent is so addictive. If the first kiss was part of my plan, what about this. time? Is it anger? Why am I angry? Was what Madelyn said wrong?”
Every word that Madelyn said was true. She did not make any false accusations! He knew that Madelyn was intentionally distancing herself from him and trying to avoid meeting him.
He was well aware of what he was doing too! It was unexpected and sudden, but he just could
not control himself!
He had crossed the line.
After some time had passed, Madelyn felt dizzy. She leaned back against the wall trying her best not to fall. Her long lashes were trembling. She looked very pitiful.
A slapping sound was heard.
Madelyn slapped Zach’s face.
“Zach, if you dare to touch me again, I’ll tell Hayson and make him chop off your hands.” Madelyn’s sobbing voice trembled.
Zach was surprised. ‘She knows how to threaten people now? Not bad!’
He tilted his head, laughing softly. He then lowered his eyes and looked at Madelyn’s helpless expression.
He thought, ‘When she gets angry, she looks like a wild, thorny rose. When she was being bullied, she shivered. She looked like a harmless, innocent, little rabbit with red eyes.’
Zach demanded, “Call me ‘brother”!”
Madelyn remained silent. She glared at him to show her unwillingness.
Zach bit hard on her injured lips, and Madelyn winced in pain.
“Call me ‘brother’!” he demanded again.
12
“No.”
“I’ll say it again, call me ‘brother’! Or else… I won’t be held responsible for what I’ll do next.”
His evil voice echoed clearly in the living room as his expression became more and more
unhinged.
Madelyn was so terrified that she had goosebumps. She was afraid that he would really do something wicked. There were only two of them in this huge apartment, and there was no way
for her to escape.
Zach never cared about the consequences of his actions.
Chapter 210
“You’re…my brother…”
Madelyn relented and gave in.
‘So what if I admit he’s my brother? Are we going to pretend he never hurt me? Zach… What’re you trying to do?!’ she thought.
Zach chuckled.
‘She knows she’s asking for trouble by resisting me, so why does she never listen and keep acting defiant like this? She’s always making me take drastic action.’
He said menacingly, “Don’t ever talk about those things again. I won’t deny they happened, but… I don’t like hearing about them! Understood?”
Madelyn was silent.
Zach gripped her chin and forced her to lift her head, “Speak!”
Madelyn did not plan on giving in.
‘If we don’t get this over with, things will just remain the same in the future,’ she thought to herself.
“Zach… I’m only reminding you, but isn’t your true goal to ruin my life? Right now, all you’re doing is behaving inappropriately toward an eighteen-year-old student.”
Suddenly, Madelyn chuckled. With an icy and hateful gaze, she continued, “Zach, you didn’t even let me touch you in the past, yet you’re acting this way to me right now. Don’t tell me you’ve fallen in love with me?”
Zach darkened his gaze.
In the end, Madelyn still did not go to school. Zach called the school and had her take a day off.
Around four o’clock in the afternoon, Zach dragged Madelyn into the car. They had run out of gauze at home, so he drove her to the hospital.
Madelyn sat in the passenger seat. She had already changed into her normal clothes and sent her blood-stained uniform for dry cleaning.
She looked out the window and said, “I don’t want to go to SereneCare.”
‘That woman-like man-Kai Stewart-is Zach’s accomplice, and I don’t trust him. If I go to his hospital, I’ll die.’
Zach did not respond. However, he switched lanes at the upcoming traffic light and went in a different direction.
1/
After they arrived at the Community Hospital, Zach queued up for registration.
Madelyn got her wound cleaned up in the consulting room. The blood on her wound had already clotted and stuck to the stitches. Madelyn frowned in pain when the doctor removed
her stitches.
“Don’t move. The blood on your wound’s already dried up. I’m going to wipe it with alcohol. It’ll hurt a little, but please bear with it.”
The doctor grabbed an alcohol cotton pad with a pair of tweezers and said, “Hold your girlfriend, and don’t let her move around.”
Madelyn explained indifferently, “He and I don’t share a relationship like that. He’s my
brother.”
The doctor chuckled.
“You youngsters love to joke around. What kind of brother would bite his sister on the lips? Young man, you’re also no better.”
Zach smiled innocently. Then, he smiled and said, “She’s still mad at me. Don’t mind her!”
It was as if the doctor would only believe him if he gave such an explanation. Madelyn could not understand why they did not believe her and insisted on their own assumptions instead.
By the time they left the hospital, it was already dark out.
On their drive back, Zach’s phone rang. It was a call from Jadie. He answered the phone, ” What’s the matter?”
“Zach, I think we don’t have any more strawberries in the fridge. Could you please buy some? I feel like having strawberries.”
“Okay! Sure. Anything else you
want?”
“Nope. Thank you, Zach. My teacher’s coming, bye.”
“Mhm.”
The phone call was on speaker mode, so Madelyn heard their conversation.
‘He does treat her differently,’ she thought.
Zach made a detour to the supermarket, but Madelyn did not go with him. He called her by her name, but she refused to follow or listen.
She remained in the car and adjusted the vanity mirror. She took out the concealer Yvonne had given her, which coincidentally came in handy at a time like this.
Madelyn could not find the product online, but it was from a really expensive brand.
‘It’s probably custom-made and not sold to the public. This concealer I’m holding right now is
2/03
probably at least four figures.’
Chapter 211
Madelyn dabbed some concealer onto the red, swollen area around her lips and avoided the wound. She then put on some lipstick.
‘Otherwise, I’ll have a hard time explaining the situation again when we get back,’ she thought.
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Ive been waiting for the update of this novel for so long now..... :(...