Chapter 36: Where Did These Scars Come From?
Chapter 36: Where Did These Scars Come From?
"Roland Francois, are you insane, get off me!" Alvera struggled wildly, but he was too strong for her.
"You'll regret this," she said, her eyes full of hopelessness as she watched him tear at her clothes.
...
"I never regret the things I do."
"I hate you, Roland Francois. I will never forgive you and the Earhart family."
Roland pulled off her clothes, but she pulled the blanket over herself quickly.
...
As he reached out to pull the blanket away, she screamed, "Turn off the light!"
He sneered and pulled the blanket off of her.
When he saw her body, Roland frowned and stopped.
...
Her pale skin contrasted sharply against every scar and bruise on her body.
Amongst the old scars, there was a new, barely healed scar across the right side of her abdomen.
He knew that was from the liver transplant.
Alvera squeezed her eyes shut as he observed her body.
Both of them remained silent for a while.
Roland frowned. He felt his heart tremble as he looked at the scars all over her body.
What had happened to her?
His finger gently caressed her scars.
She opened her eyes and yelled, "Don't touch me!"
His hand paused in mid-air.
"I told you to turn off the light the first time you touched me," she said hoarsely, her eyes full of hatred.
"I told you, I'm dirty. If you're disgusted, this is your own fault."
"Where did these scars come from?"
She sneered. "What does it have to do with you?"
"Alvera." He didn't like her attitude.
She raised her eyebrows. "You really want to know? Fine, I'll tell you. Every single scar is caused by
you."
"Me?"
She gritted her teeth. "Did you think you sent me to prison to enjoy my life?" Têxt © NôvelDrama.Org.
His heart ached a little. "You were tortured in prison?"
She smiled. "Guess."
"I didn't know what happened to you in prison."
"Of course you don't. If you don't know, then it's got nothing to do with you, does it? Doesn't change the
fact that I hate you, though."
She pulled the blanket over her body and covered herself. "Do you want to continue, or can you f*ck off
now?"
He lowered his eyes to look at her. She was like a cactus, full of thorns and ready to prick anyone who
came near to her.
He had always thought that this was a sign of her bad character.
He did not expect this.
Every scar on her body showed every near-fatal injury she had ever had.
"You can't hide your disgust anymore, so get off me now," she said.
Roland came back to his senses and looked at her, still not moving.
She was about to sit up when he suddenly kissed her gently.
...
After the kiss, they lay in bed together without saying anything.
After a while, she got up slowly.
The buttons of her pyjamas had been torn off in the scuffle, so she held her shirt together at the collar.
Roland grabbed her wrist as she got out of bed. "Where are you going?" he asked seductively.
She ignored him, pulled her wrist away from him and left the room.
Upon returning to her room, she found herself a fresh new set of pyjamas and put them on. Then, she
grabbed a handful of candy from a jar on the shelf and began eating them.
Roland came out to look for her when she did not return after some time.
When he cracked open her door, he saw her sitting by the windowsill with several candy wrappers
littered around her feet.
He felt his heart sink in some indescribable emotion.
Alvera's gaze was fixed on the distant sea that was illuminated by the new streetlamps.
She was regretful.
She really regretted everything she had done. She had been too anxious for revenge when she first got
out of prison.
She should not have struck a deal with this Satan.
When Alvera woke up in the next morning and went downstairs, Roland was still there.
He was having breakfast at the table.
Becky smiled at her when she saw her. "Come and have breakfast, Ms Alvera. Mr. Francois just came
down too."
Alvera glanced at Roland, sat down, and thanked Becky with a smile.
Becky set down her breakfast for her and went back to the kitchen.
Alvera did not look at Roland.
Roland drank some of his milk and put the glass back on the table.
"Are you free today?"
Alvera did not reply.
"Are you going to stop talking to me forever?"
Alvera was still silent.
"I guess you're trying to burn this bridge, then, now that you have enough money for the orphanage."
She paused midway in her meal and looked at him. "How did you know..."
"Now you're talking."
She threw the piece of bread back on the plate, suddenly realizing something. "You investigated me."
...
"I just found out where you spent all your money. Your best friend isn't good at keeping secrets."
Alvera glared at him fiercely.
Roland smirked. "You don't have to be so hostile towards me. You should count your lucky stars that I
found out where the money went. If you had used it somewhere else, I would not have given you
another 20 million."
Alvera stood up angrily and turned to leave.
Roland said coldly, "Sit down."
Alvera ignored him continued to walk out.
"You know I can make your orphanage disappear as easily as I can fund it, right? It's not a big deal to
me."
"You..." Alvera glared at him.
"Sit down and have your breakfast."
Alvera took a deep breath, sat back in her seat and looked at him.
"Roland Francois, do not meddle in my project, or I'll take you down with me even if I die," she warned.
"Building an orphanage is a good deed. Why are you hiding it?" he asked.
Alvera's expression was calm. "Do I have to announce my good deeds?"
"You must have your reasons."
Alvera picked up the bread again and put it into her mouth. "I don't want people to know that the
orphanage was built and funded by a criminal so that the kids in the orphanage won't be criticized
because of me. I want them to grow up happily. Is this a good enough reason?"
He was shocked by what she said.
Alvera smiled bitterly. "Roland, does it feel good forcing me to share my secrets?"
"I was just curious because you had so many secrets. Like I said last night, you're not honest enough,
that's why you lost out on a lot of opportunities. You could have just told me you needed the money to
build an orphanage without having to plan so many things."
Alvera bit her lip. He spoke as if he would support whatever she did.
"Do you have any other arrangements today? Or do you have anything you need to do?"
She looked at him and asked, "What do you want?"
"Remember, I found you a job in my company."
Alvera was surprised. "Can I start so soon?" she asked.
"It's just a small position as a clerk, it doesn't take long to arrange."
"I'm free today."
"Then you can go to work with me later."
Alvera nodded. After breakfast, she went upstairs to change her clothes.
When she came down from the upstairs, the doorbell rang suddenly.
Becky took a look at the doorbell camera and told Alvera, "Miss, it's that man again."
Alvera felt a twinge of nervousness, knowing that it was Antoine outside. "Tell him I'm not in, Becky.
Make him leave," she said hurriedly.
"I've told him several times already, but he still comes here everyday."
"Tell him again."
"Okay." Becky opened the door and went out.
In the living room, Roland raised his eyebrows and squinted at her. "A man? Your admirer?"
Alvera's expression was uneasy as she answered, "Maybe. Can we wait a while before leaving?"
Roland didn't object.
Becky did not take long.
She came back and smiled. "This young man is really persistent, but I managed to persuade him to
leave."
Alvera smiled. "Thank you, Becky. Mr. Francois, we can leave now."
She headed towards the door.
Roland was silent, but his expression showed his displeasure as he followed her to the door.
This woman was really attractive. She had only been out of prison for a few days, and she had already
managed to get herself an admirer.
He was not happy about this.
Alvera stepped out of the door before him. Just as she stepped out, a hand grabbed her from the side
and pushed her against the wall. "Alvera, why are you avoiding me?"