"Drip."
Water dripped onto the stainless steel sink.
The kitchen was quiet.
Only the sound of my and Finley's breathing filled the air.
"Why didn't you answer my calls?" he asked.
My gloomy heart suddenly felt a little lighter.
As if venting my grievances, I complained,
"I was dragged into Luke's car earlier, and my phone and bag were thrown into the backseat."
I added, "They're still in the car."
"Hmm?" "Second question, is it shameful to admit that we're married?"
Only then did I realize that he had a problem with what I'd said earlier.
I felt a bit down.
"Our first meeting with the family was tied up with Luke."
"If they also involve you, what will others think of you…"
Finley suddenly laughed. "What would they think?"
I said, "A rescuer… a chump… naive and easy to fool—"
"Naive and easy to fool?"
Finley chuckled and kissed me.
The sudden assault shattered my rationality.
He… kissed me?!!!
Finley had eaten mint candies.
It masked the smell of smoke.
Coolness and heat mixed into an unfamiliar and exciting sensation.
He slowly pressed me against the glass door of the kitchen.
The air was hot.
Outside the door, Luke shouted to reassure his grandfather,"Elise will divorce soon. She doesn't like that man at all. She only married him to spite me recently."
Inside, Finley pressed against me, his slender fingers tracing the curve outlined by my dress.
He took in my reaction.
He commented casually,
"He says you don't like me at all."
"Is that so?"
I was drowning in his gentle voice.
Wrapping my arms around his neck, my voice was like a fluttering cicada wing, barely audible. "Mr. Hebert, let's be quieter… there are people outside."
He straightened my waist:"Answer the question first."
Tonight, he was proactive to the point of being aggressive.
"Answer the question, and I'll let you go."
My legs went weak, and I leaned my whole weight on Finley.
Before things got worse, I whispered, "I like you…"
Finley's fingers slid into my hair, loosening his tie, then he kissed me deeply again.
"If you like me, keep going."
"?"
……
When I came out of the kitchen, my dress was wrinkled.
I looked a bit disheveled.
A few minutes later, Finley emerged from behind the door and casually closed the kitchen door.
He was still dressed in a suit, looking handsome and dashing.
Only the cleaning tools knocked over in the kitchen hinted at what had happened.
The grandfather, having brooded, went to the garden to cool off.
Everyone followed him.
I pushed open the glass door to the garden, and the cool breeze dispersed the heat on my cheeks.
Luke was talking loudly: "My brother?" "Me?"
"At his age, he's not good at anything anymore. He can't keep anyone."
Finley didn't look like someone who couldn't handle things.
Luke began to boast, "Still, you have to be like me, building a relationship since college."
"That way, no matter how you mistreat her, wave your hand, and she'll come back like a dog."
"When I told her to divorce, she did it immediately."
I was about to step forward to argue, but suddenly realized my dress had been caught.
Lila hugged her knees, huddled in a corner, her eyes red.
"Luke is going to marry you, are you happy?"
"Coming to the family dinner to chase after him, you're so shameless."
I fell silent.
Whether to scold Luke or Lila first was a difficult decision.
Both of them were pretty despicable.
She stared intently at my wrinkled dress. "You're having an affair in front of me now…"
"Right, he always does things to make me sad."
"So he can pursue me."
Lila lifted her eyes, her gaze pitiful:
"Luke is mine."
"This is our thing, you don't understand anything."
……
