18:08 Tue, 4
Chapter 43 My Christmas Present
Chapter 43
I looked up and saw a young man dressed in a Santa Claus costume,
hovering nearby. He was watching both of us and looking extremely
awkward.
Liam stared coldly at him. “Well? What do you want?”
Santa Claus hurriedly put on a smile. “Here’s a present for the two of you.
We’re open until…”
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I didn’t hear the rest of his sentence because Liam had already yanked me
into the lift. When we got out, we were at the car park already.
Liam got into the driver’s seat while I sat on the passenger’s side. When he
started the car and began driving, I buckled my safety belt and glanced at
him, then turned my attention back to the road. After I did this a few times,
Liam asked, “Do you have something to say?”
“Just…” I floundered for a moment. “Thank you.” Earlier, he had obviously
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Chapter 43 My Christmas Present
mistaken Santa Claus for a drunk.
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Liam did not bother to reply. I fell silent as well and stared out the window.
Soon, I began feeling very sleepy. I wanted to resist, but I had no energy left
to do so. Within minutes, I was dead to the world. Perhaps it was because I
had finally managed to get some exercise and eat a decent meal, but I slept
very well.
When I finally awoke, it was only because I was feeling slightly nauseous. It
took me a while to stop feeling dizzy, and when I opened my eyes, I realized
that it was very dark. Groggily, I reached to turn on the bedside lamp; the dim
yellow light illuminated the outlines of the furniture. I was in my room.
There was no one around. I opened the bedside drawer and was about to
take some medicine when someone suddenly knocked at the door.
Hurriedly I closed the drawer. Whether from self–preservation or wariness, I
instinctively turned off the lamp and lay back on the bed. Before I closed my
eyes, I noticed that the door was already opening, and a tall silhouette
loomed in the doorway.
Chapter 43 My Christmas Present
It was Liam.
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I did not dare to open my eyes. In a little while, I heard soft footsteps coming
toward the bed. One side of the mattress sank down as Liam sat on it, and I
felt his hand brushing my cheek.
His caress was very gentle as if he were using the back of his hand to stroke
my skin.
It felt comfortable enough that I gradually relaxed. In fact, I was on the verge
of falling asleep again when I heard Liam say, “Get up; it’s time for dinner.”
I tried to speak but failed. My head was spinning so much I couldn’t even sit
up.
“It’s 7 o’clock.” He dropped his hand, and his voice hardened. “Where’s my
Christmas present?”
I opened my eyes.
Chapter 43 My Christmas Present
“Go have your dinner,” he ordered.
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“I know. Let me shower first.”
Liam frowned. “Why do you need to shower for dinner?”
Of course, it wasn’t necessary to shower for dinner. However, I needed him to
leave so I could take my pills; they would take a few minutes to start kicking
in.
Anticipating that ordinary excuses wouldn’t persuade him, I thought for a
moment, then muttered, “Who knows if you’re going to eat dinner or me…”
At first, Liam didn’t say anything; he merely stared at me.
His gaze made me very uncomfortable, and I was beginning to regret what
I’d just said. I wanted to close my eyes and avoid his stare, but he suddenly
caught hold of my face and began leaning in slightly.
I broke out in a cold sweat.
Chapter 43 My Christmas Present
“Seems like you really enjoy this sort of thing,” Liam commented mockingly.
I shook my head vigorously. “No, I don’t…”
Liam smirked. “Go shower.” He let me go, then pinched my cheek. “Use
unscented soap; I don’t like the scented kind.”
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After he left, I hurriedly took my medicine and lay down on the bed for a little
until the dizziness had mostly subsided. Naturally, I did take a shower, but I
used lavender soap and put on an extremely perfumed body lotion. To
prevent him from finding fault with me, I squeezed out all the unscented bath
gel and washed it down the drain.
The dining room was empty tonight; the robots were the only ones serving
dinner.
Liam was sitting at the head of the long dining table, talking on his phone. He
was smiling faintly, a doting expression on his face. “No, it’s just work…yes, it’s
pretty busy since everything has to be done from scratch…it can’t compare
with your’s, naturally…I’m just about to have dinner…yes, I eat this
every
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OPEN >
O Private Label Nail Gels
Chapter 43 My Christmas Present
day…does it upset you?”
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I sat at the other end of the table opposite him. Between us, in the middle of
the table, was a delicious–smelling roast goose. We were far away enough
that I couldn’t see his smile very clearly.
Which woman was he talking to this time? Rina?
One of the robot servers filled a plate for me in no time and ladled out a bowl
of soup. In a pleasant female voice, it said, “Bon appetit, ma’am!” before
retreating into the corner.
Today was Christmas, so the dinner was a traditional Christmas menu. Aside
from the roast goose, there were also other roast meats, a cheese platter,
and cold cuts as well as various vegetable side dishes.
The soup was a creamy mushroom soup, thick and pale. It smelled very
appetizing.
Liam hung up the phone shortly and looked over at me. His gazo
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Chapter 43 My Christmas Present
feel unreasonably tense and I looked down at my plate.
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Suddenly, I heard the sound of a chair scraping against the carpet. By the
time I looked up again, Liam had already come over to me. At over six feet in
height, he was already taller than me on any given day. Now that I was
seated, he towered over me. I felt like a terrified sprite who had been born
into subservience.
Amid my panic, Liam abruptly leaned down, and his nose grazed the side of
my cheek.
My hair stood on end. He took a deep sniff and murmured throatily, “Very
fragrant.”
My back felt damp from sweat. In a small voice, I answered, “There wasn’t any
more unscented soap.”
“Lavender’s much more sensual.” As he spoke, he leaned toward my neck
and sucked hard enough to leave a mark. “Mmm… Vivienne Mendez, you’re a
tease…” After that, he took my fingers and sucked them as well.
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Chapter 43 My Christmas Present
I now suspected that Liam enjoyed strong scents, but he also knew that I
would not want to use them. That was probably why he had used reverse
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psychology on me. Unfortunately, the realization came too late to be of any
use.
The meal was already cold by now. The robot servers heated up whatever
could be heated; by the time we finished eating, it was already 9 o’clock.
Liam leaned back in his chair, sipping tea. Glancing at his watch, he
remarked, “You still have three hours.”
I had propped my chin on my hands so I would not fall asleep from fatigue. At
this point, my brain wasn’t even working anymore. Stupidly, I asked, “Three
hours? For what?”
“My Christmas present.”
With an effort, I rubbed my eyes. Liam’s present to me had cost almost
twenty thousand dollars, but I hadn’t been able to get him anything because
I had decided to catch a nap in the afternoon.
Chapter 43 My Christmas Present
What on earth was there in the house that could be considered fairly
valuable?
I racked my brains for a while before I remembered that I did indeed have
something of the sort. Hastily, I answered, “Yes, I do have one for you. Wait
here for a moment.”
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I hurried out of the dining room and paused at the stairs, hesitating. Drawing
a deep breath to give myself courage, I went upstairs, only to discover that
the main entrance to my room had been demolished. It looked like the
renovation plans had been finalized, after all.
I went in through the cloakroom and opened the safe, retrieving a painting.
It was an antique piece of art that I had purchased last year while at an art
show. Since it was considered a more recent work and the artist was not that
well–known, it had not been very expensive. At the time, I thought it was quite
beautiful; knowing that Liam liked art, I had bought it, intending to give it to
him.
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Chapter 43 My Christmas Present
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However, I changed my mind later on. He had never liked any of my presents,
anyway.
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Chapter 44 I Was A Fool
Chapter 44
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I decided to give him the present today, so I wrapped up the painting and
went back to the dining room.
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Liam was not in the dining room; he was smoking on a rocking chair on the
balcony. It began to snow. Snowflakes were falling from the sky like feathers.
I sat next to Liam. “This is for you,” I said as I gave him the present.
Liam placed the cigarette in his mouth. His eyes lit up at first when he
unwrapped the present, but then he threw the painting on the floor when he
saw the signature on it. “No, I don’t want it,” he said.
“Why?” I asked as I picked up the painting.
“It’s ugly,” Liam said.
Ugly? The flowers and birds in the painting look almost real.
