Edie looked startled for a moment, what could she say? What did he want to know? "Is it Donald?" Edie asked tentatively.
She recalled him being displeased after coming back from the restaurant, presumably because of the event they encountered with Donald and Joanna.
Stuart answered with a light, "Yes." Edie bit down on her lip.
She is Stuart's wife in name, and he is not an ordinary man, to avoid causing unnecessary conflict, she owes him an explanation. The surroundings were very dark. Edie could not see his facial expression; clearly, this seemed to give Edie the courage to face her fears.
"Thank you so much for helping me today. I'm sorry to have involved you in such a mess," she gradually opened her mouth to speak. "I should have made it clear to you before we got married, but ... I didn't know how to explain it since I was confused. Donald was my ex-boyfriend; we had been together for five years. He helped me a lot financially when I was still in college, but I had already repaid him last year, there's no need to worry!"
"About a year ago, I had a job which required me to film in the mountains. It was a very remote location, so I had no signal and could not contact him for a few months. After I came back from filming, he was with Joanna and would have nothing to do with me. It was a hard time for me. I tried everything to get him back, including begging him to take me back, but as time passed, I let him go. Since Joanna and Donald are now engaged, I will no longer have anything to do with them, today's encounter was a total coincidence."
Edie's speaking volume gradually turned down as she went on.
She did not have the confidence to believe that Stuart would accept her past. She thought over in her head, and if he wants to end the deal, she can take it, all she will have to do is raise the money herself to bid for the necklace.
"You loved him very much?" A deep male voice echoed in the dark night. Edie froze for a moment, then said, "Yes, Donald was my first love. He wasn't like this before, but ever since I came back from the mountains, he has turned into a completely different man. One of the reasons I kept bothering him was to find out what has happened..."
No one likes listening to his woman talks about her former boyfriend. Stuart's face was hidden in the dark, Edie did not see the temperature of his eyes dropping. There was nothing but silence. "Now, you are my wife?" Stuart said. As expected, Stuart's mind was on Donald. What happened today at the restaurant must have belittled him, and now he's going to reconsider their arrangement.
Edie's heart sank; she spoke bitterly, "If you want to end our deal, I..." As Edie spoke, she stepped forward unintentionally.
Suddenly, she felt her face touching a warm body! A steady, powerful heartbeat pounded in her ear, and it was his chest!
Edie's eyes widened, wasn't he standing at the window? When did he walk over by her?
"Did I ever say I want to end our deal? Huh?" The voice-over Edie's head was deep and charming as if he was by her ears.
Especially the "Huh," she sensed enchantment in this pitch dark night. Edie seemed a little flustered, "I... I may not be suitable to be your wife." When she spoke, Stuart felt the fresh breath of lily spraying on his chest.
His hand touched her waist gently. "No, you're the most suitable person." Though his voice always had a cold tone to it, at this moment, it sounded gentle. Edie felt the warmth passing through his large hand, "Why?"
"I believe Mr. Bates has told you, and I hate being touched by a woman. Actually, it's even worse, and I would experience an incomparable feeling of disgust if any woman came near me; however, I can't resist your touch." The big hand wavered on her waist, Edie was thinking over what he just said and forgot to resist.
"If it were someone else, she would not be able to approach me. Do you think my family will believe in a woman who can't come near me to be my wife?" He looked down and sprayed his warm breath on her forehead; the smell of the male hormone made her blush at once. She pushed him away, "I get it, good... good night."
Edie ran away straight after she finished the sentence. Stuart did not stop her. He felt that a part of his body had risen. If he touched her body again, he was not sure whether he would lose control and frighten her. In fact, everything Edie just told him he had already known, including things she hasn't told him.
How could he possibly marry a random woman? Not resenting her touch was just one of the many reasons that made him choose her. More importantly, Edie was indeed the most suitable for him by the information he found. She just happened to fit his appetite.
After what had happened ten years ago, he could no longer tolerate being touched by any woman, even the best medical team in the United States couldn't do anything about it. They even subtly told him that he might not be able to heal for a lifetime. Strangely, it was completely different from her.
Not only could he accept her touch, he utterly desired her touch, her tenderness, her sweet taste. In front of others, he could be a cold-blooded king, but once facing her, he experiences the devastating attraction.
When the eyes cannot see, the human factory sensation becomes utterly sensitive. It seemed he could still smell the sweet odor of her body in the dark. The risen part of his body had no tendency of fatigue whatsoever. "Damn." A deep voice cursed in the darkness.
Edie returned to her room and went straight to bed, covering her face with a blanket. She could hear her own heart pounding. She had always known how seducing Stuart's face was, but she didn't expect his voice or his hands to be so enticing as well. Her heart raced faster as if she had just finished a marathon.
Something in her heart seemed to have sprouted, but she dared not think profoundly and even tried to avoid it. She doesn't need intimacy; what happened with Donald has made her utterly disappointed in love. All she wanted was to live well by herself; that's what she promised her Mother.
As for Stuart, as he said, it was because of his mental illness that he had to get married to her. When the deal terminates, they will never meet again. After all, they are not the same kind. What she needs to do now is to get her Mother's necklace back and punish that shameless couple!
As Edie pondered in her head, she took two deep breaths and calm down. She set the alarm for work tomorrow, closed her eyes, and fell asleep.