Richard followed closely behind and sat beside her. She silently moved to the window to distance herself from him, wearing an uncomfortable glower as she did so.
"Why don't you just wait?" Richard muttered.
Suppressing the turmoil in her heart, she looked at the figure beside her with as much calm as she could muster. "Wait for whom?"
Richard started the engine. He did not look at Miranda throughout the journey, but his eyes flashed with mixed emotions.
When they arrived at their villa, both Richard and Miranda got out of the car.
Richard noticed that Miranda was limping as she walked. He quickly caught up in large strides, held her by her wrist, and pulled her into his arms before lifting her to carry her.
"Put me down you brute" Miranda tried to wriggle herself from his arms. Richard placed her on the sofa.
"Take rest. We will go to the hospital tomorrow." Richard said.
Staring at him desolately, Miranda snapped, "Isn't it what you want? If you were human, you wouldn't have left me, a woman, on the streets alone."
Tears flooded down her cheeks. She had even lost her virginity to Richard, the devil!
"I didn't --m-mean it." Richard stammered.
"You didn't mean it?" Miranda's tears started streaming down her cheeks.
"Calm down..." Richard walked to her, stretching his hands to touch her.
"Don't touch me." She shoved his hands away. "Richard, Did I force you to marry me? I marry you to save your family's dignity."
While gritting his teeth, he retorted "Miranda, don't push to my limit."
"I didn't expect you to treat me nice. But you don't have the right to look down on me. And it's not a big deal for you to find Levi. You just don't want to find her." Miranda roared.
"Shut up!" Richard's icy voice echoed in the air.
Miranda cried desperately, not knowing whether it was because of the pain in her body, the grievance in her heart, or both.
Richard frowned; unapologetic and walked towards the door.
-------
Miranda came downstairs calling Emily. She was confused to see a man, who was playing games on his laptop while eating some fruit.
As soon the man saw Miranda, he threw the pear in his hand away and stood up. "Hi! Sister-in-law. I'm George Fuller. I am Richard brother. Of course, we don't look alike. Richard picked me up from the trash."
Miranda nodded and sized George up. "Nice to meet you."
"Can you cook something? I am very hungry." George asked.
"Uhh...Ah! Okay." Miranda said.
Richard did not seem to be busy and coincidentally came over at night. Steven followed up behind him with a suitcase and laptop in his hands.
"Where is my medicine?" Richard asked Emily.
"All of them have been tossed away because of the expiration date," Emily replied.
Richard scratched his head. "Then pour a cup of warm water."
Emily opened the fridge and took out scallions, ginger and turnips unwillingly. She diced scallions, sliced ginger and turnips and boiled them in water for twenty minutes.
"Why? Is my brother feeling sick?" George asked.
"Yes..." Emily took a glance at Miranda who has an uncaring expression.
"Miranda, Can you go upstairs and give this glass of water to Master?" Emily asked.
"I will give..." George's words trailed off when he saw the sharp eyes of Emily.
----
The door opened just as Miranda was about to take a deep breath and knock.
With an icy expression on his face, Richard, tall and straight, stood at the door.
"What are you doing skulking around the study door?" he questioned.
Miranda with a stoic expression passed him and put the water onto the table. "Drink this so your throat can feel better. I have made porridge for George. If you want to eat it, you can come into the dining room."
"Who are you to order me?" Richard stared at her as his words morphed into hot air.
When she looked back into those stoic eyes, he flicked her eyes away. He was so overpowering that she didn't dare to look back, despite the seething rage deep down inside her.
She mustered her last straw of courage and fought back. "I am not giving orders. If you don't want to come down. That's your wish and...."
Before she finished the words, the man took hold of her chin and forced her to look up at him. Then, his lips which were full of us were pressed upon hers without any warning and started to invade her lips and tongue.
Miranda was dumbfounded by the kiss. Before she realized what was going on, the man's burning tongue had already reached her soft and tender tongue; so that her lips and tongue were full of the special scent of that man.
Annoyed, she took a heavy bite of the man's lips, and the sweet taste of blood soon spread over their lips and tongue.
Startled by the pain, Richard left her lips and stretched out his hands to wipe off the blood on his lips, looking gleeful.
Furious, Miranda glared at him, panting heavily. "Richard! You crazy!"