Chapter 128 The Tenderness Under Sean’s Cool Exterior

“We’re the same! We’re both proud and so arrogant.

“We lived our entire lives in the spotlight, Sean Stewart! How could men as haughty as you and I stand having such a woman, a woman held in hatred and contempt by all, unacceptable even by our own standards, as the first woman we’ve ever truly fallen for?!

“You love Jane Dunn, Stewart, don’t deny it. You know who you are. If you haven’t fallen for her, you would usually be colder than the Arctic. Would you run here to me in the middle of the night and beat me up like this?

“Sean Stewart, you have clearly fallen for her!

“But can you accept it, Stewart? Do you dare to admit that you love her in your own words?

“You don’t. You can’t!”

Haydn roared with laughter again, sneering at the man not far away from him, “You can’t even do it yourself, Stewart, so what right do you have to make me do it?

“I’m the heir of the Soros empire!

“I can get any girl I want with a crook of my finger!

“I don’t love her. I will never admit that I’ve fallen for her!

“Hahahahaha…”

His laughter was wild but also heart-wrenchingly painful. The corners of Haydn’s eyes were wet with tears, but he did not stop howling, “I would never fall for that woman!”

Sean’s Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat. “Never approach her again, Soros! If your way of loving her is by putting a smile back on her face…

“Then I’ll use my own way to express the words that I cannot say!”

Yes, they were both proud men who stood above everyone else… Haydn was right about all of that, but he did not guess how everything would end.

“Hahaha…” Haydn reacted as though he had heard a crazy joke. “Sean Stewart, I look forward to it! I can’t wait to see how you use your own way… A woman like that! She’s all yours! I want no part of her!”

Sean turned and left. “I hope you keep your word. Stay away from her from now on.”

Haydn ignored the shards of glass all over the floor, raising his hand and pressing it against his chest. He kept pressing on it with all his strength over and over again, as though it was the only way he could suppress the gaping pain there.

The two voices in his head were arguing again.

One said, Don’t miss this.

The other said, You did right.

The first one roared at him, You’ll regret this! You’ll definitely regret this, Haydn Soros!

“No! I won’t ever regret this!” Haydn’s fist smashed into the ground mercilessly, and he earned more glass in his skin for his troubles. Still, the glass did not hurt him at all, nowhere near as much as the rending pain in his heart did!

At this point, he had never imagined that the pain he felt now was nothing compared to the torturous regret that would torment him for years to come.

Many years later, Haydn would tell Sean,

“We’re the same. We’re peas in a pod, so I deserve it, and so do you. I withstood the pressure from my family for her, but I lost to my own meaningless arrogance and useless pride. I didn’t lose to you. I lost to myself. When I did all that I did, I thought I was doing it for her, but in the end I was the only one touched by all of it. In the end, we’re just narcissistic pricks.

“And it was that narcissism that cost me the most important person in my life.”

…

It was late at night, when all was quiet. He drove his car, speeding down the expressway. There were some things he had not managed to figure out before he arrived at the amusement park. However, when he saw that woman in a corner by the amusement park gate, he suddenly understood.

He had been so worried and anxious when he heard she was missing. Although he did not put it into words, he was perfectly aware of it.

That was why he had been searching endlessly down every road, making every call and asking if anyone had found her. Over and over again… At the time, he had been so worried that he did not even have the time to wonder why he had so anxious just because an unimportant woman had vanished without a trace.

She was missing, but what did that have to do with him…? He had always been cold-blooded by nature, so why should he care?

Finally, he saw that woman standing in a corner by the amusement park gate… As expected, she really was here. At the same time, he was perfectly aware of how all of his nerves and desperation had immediately calmed down the moment he saw her silhouette.

He had gone up to her and looked at her for fifteen whole minutes. Only he knew what he had been thinking for that quarter of an hour.

The car slowly came to a stop outside East Emperor, but the man in the car did not get out. Instead, he pulled out his box of cigarettes. The spark from the lighter flashed in the dark of night, his bright red cigarette tip blinking with embers. He took a deep breath, taking one swig before he put the cigarette out and pushed the door open, getting out of the car.

He then walked into the elevator. When the doors opened, the two bodyguards standing watch over the 28th floor made to greet him. “Bo…”

The man’s slender and long finger pressed to his lips, and he gave them a look. The two bodyguards nodded and soundlessly left the room.

He opened the door, glancing at the bed and asking calmly, “Why aren’t you sleeping?”

The woman on the bed was leaning against the bedpost, hugging her knees in a fetal position. When she suddenly heard some movement, she turned her neck slowly, her gaze moving from the window to the man at the door. “I’m not sleepy.”

The man’s cool gaze swept across her body next. “What did I say before I left? One, you wash up and go to bed. Two, I’ll wash you up and go to bed with you.” His gaze ran across her clothes and settled back on her face. “You’re not sleeping on my bed without taking a bath.”

The next moment, the woman in the bed threw off her covers right in front of him, slowly moving to the edge of the bed and trying to stand up.

The man at the door suddenly narrowed his thin eyes. He stood unmoving at the door too, but his gaze never left that woman. Without a word, he watched her get out of bed and walk toward the door… He chuckled to himself. What a stubborn woman.

She was heading toward the door. That clearly meant she wanted to leave.

When she walked past him, the previously motionless man suddenly reached out and grabbed her by the scruff of her color. She may be wearing plenty of layers, but she was actually built like a stick. He easily picked her up by her collar and brought her to the washroom.

“What are you doing, Mr. Stewart?” She was frustrated. She already said that she was tired of acting tonight, and she did not want to face him, much less play his games.

The man did not say a word as he began to strip her.

All of a sudden, Jane grew tense. All the blood drained from her face. “Go away.” Don’t touch me!

Jane pushed the man in front of her forcefully and immediately backed away, wary. She glared at the man in front of her, all her nerves taut. Her palms were already sweating. “Mr. Stewart, weren’t you the one who said I was dirty? You’re the one who called me filthy, so why are you doing this now?!”

The man raised his gaze slightly at those words, giving her a cool look before he drawled,

“One, you wash up and go to sleep on your own, or two, I’ll wash you up and sleep with you. You weren’t willing to go with one, so that clearly means you want two. You didn’t want to wash up and go to bed; in fact, you stayed up so late for me. Can I interpret that to mean a declaration of your love and desire for me? If you really want me to bathe you and sleep with you that badly, you don’t have to go to all those steps. Just tell me and I’ll satisfy your every need.”

“...” For a second there, Jane was dazed and confused. By the time she realized what he meant, her ears turned red and she looked up him abruptly, actually raising her raspy voice for once, “I’ll wash up myself!” Would that do for him?! She had to force those words out from between her clenched teeth!