Chapter 2No Regrets, Only Love

Eason’s frantic voice disoriented me. For a moment, I wasn’t sure where I was. I opened the door in a daze. Seeing that I was unharmed, he let out a sigh of relief, then his anger flared.

“What’s wrong with you? Not answering your phone, ignoring my messages. Is it amusing to deliberately scare me?”

I picked up my phone, realizing Eason had called countless times. While I was asleep, there had been another tremor.

“I’m sorry, I was sleeping too deeply to hear.”

“You’re lying! You’re terrified of earthquakes. Every time there’s even a slight tremor, you’re too scared to sleep!”

He was right. In those moments, he would stay by my side all night. He would endlessly reassure me that he would protect me. Even if the world collapsed, he would die with me. I glanced at the mismatched buttons on his shirt, a strange warmth spreading through my chest. He did still care about my safety.

But the intimate marks on his neck below his jawline, a silent reminder of his entanglement with Vivian, screamed at me not to delude myself. He only placed me, another orphan, in his protective circle because of his brother’s dying wish.

“Perhaps I was just too tired.”

Eason clearly didn’t believe me. He stared at my face for a few seconds, then spoke, his voice cold and accusatory. “Why did you paint your face so white in the middle of the night? Was it just to trick me into coming here?”

I lifted my gaze, seeing the displeasure in his eyes. Before, when the ground shook, he’d tell my pale face not to be afraid. Now, my face utterly devoid of color from the recent procedure, he accused me of painting it to deceive him.

I tugged lightly at the corner of my lips, my heart feeling like a plum steeped in icy water.

“It’s my fault for ruining your good time, big brother. You should go back to your fiancée.”

It had been so long since I called him ‘big brother.’ The unexpected address made Eason’s thin lips press into a tight line. His eyes, dark as a deep well, held an emotion I couldn’t decipher.

“You’re coming back with me. If there’s another aftershock, I’ll feel better with you close by. Vivian will too.”

“Besides, it’ll stop you from causing more trouble.”

“I won’t cause trouble. You go!”

I stood stubbornly rooted to the spot. Eason’s brows furrowed, his voice losing patience. “Just because you wouldn’t answer your phone, I left Vivian alone at home. Can’t you be more understanding?”

But I had already ended the pregnancy and quietly decided to leave. Wasn’t that understanding enough?

Before I could speak, Eason’s phone rang. A syrupy, tearful female voice asked him, “Eason, when are you coming back? I’m a little scared…”

“Don’t be afraid, darling. I’ll be right there!” Eason soothed her softly, while casting a meaningful glance at me.

I was already grateful that he had thought of me immediately after the earthquake. For someone with no blood relation, to have cared for me for so many years—if I continued to be difficult, it would be pure ingratitude.

Eason couldn’t hang up the phone just yet, and I still refused to move. So, he simply hoisted me over his shoulder and headed for the elevator. I struggled violently, telling him to put me down, and accidentally knocked his phone to the floor.

Annoyed, he reached out and slapped my bottom. The sharp crack of his palm against my behind echoed in the corridor. Both of us froze, stunned. The heat of his palm, through the thin fabric, scorched me, making me deeply uncomfortable. The memory of our wild night flooded me, and my chilled body instantly burned.

A young girl passing by stifled a giggle and hurried away, only to gossip in a hushed voice to her friend at the corner. “Just saw the most intense couple! I bet they won’t leave their hotel room for three days!”

Eason, already frozen by his own impulsive action, instantly dropped me onto the floor as if I were scorching hot. His face, usually so composed, flushed crimson all the way to his neck.

“Look at the trouble you’ve caused! It’s utterly humiliating! I shouldn’t have come to bother with you!”

With that, he picked up his phone and left alone.

I mustered all my strength to steady myself, but the moment the elevator doors began to close, I couldn't hold on any longer. He was the one who had forcefully tried to carry me, and he was the one who had crossed a line by slapping my bottom. If that was humiliating, then what was getting me pregnant?

My emotions surged, and the bleeding below stopped. My vision blurred, and I fell backward, straight down.

The young girl, hearing the thud, quickly shouted at the elevator, “Hey, your girlfriend passed out!”