Chapter 8
Carrying her wet and dirty clothes, Arlene was just about to enter the house when Brendan pushed her in and pinned her against the wall.
Brendan didn’t look good. He frowned and looked at Arlene.“Who brought you back?”
The room wasn’t lit up, it was dark, but Arlene still felt Brendan’s gaze was glaring.
“You don’t know…” Arlene calmly explained, pushing Brendan as she turned on the lights in the house.
Under the lights, Arlene, wearing shorts, had bruises and scars all over her legs, which was really shocking.
I’m sorry…
Brendan’s anger subsided, he grabbed Arlene’s wrist, pulled her into his arms, and hugged her from behind.“About today… I’m
Arlene stood there stiff and numb, letting him hold her.
sorry,”
”
said.
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Arlene suddenly remembered back in her freshman year when she was being bullied by Wilma, Brendan slapped Wilma in the face in front of her and made Wilma apologize publicly…
Back then, Arlene felt like Brendan was shining. He was willing to stand up to protect her, willing to fight his own sister for her…
Looking back now, I was really stupid to the point of being pathetic and laughable.
Apologizing is the worst word ever.
The damage was already there, scars are a fact that cannot be erased.
Apologizing is like another heartless injury and trampling on the victim by the offender.
“Did Mr. Dudley confess his feelings successfully?” Arlene asked hoarsely, changing the subject.
She didn’t need Brendan’s fake apology.
It was very harsh.
Brendan paused and held Arlene’s hand, “She just got divorced, so she’s not ready to be with me yet. Don’t worry, I won’t leave you in the short term…”
worry Paige had just gotten divorced and hadn’t moved on from her last relationship, so she was stringing Brendan along.
And Brendan was willingly led by her.
Paige was hitting on Brendan, and Brendan wouldn’t let Arlene go.
“I really didn’t know that Paige called her brother today… Darin has been studying abroad for the past few years, Paige didn’t tell me he was coming back…” Brendan wanted to explain to Arlene.
He didn’t mean to call Arlene over to be bullied and humiliated by those people.
“I transferred 100,000 to you, go buy something you like, okay?” Brendan said, kissing Arlene’s cheek gently, as if coaxing a child.
Thanks, Mr. Dudley,” Arlene wasn’t too proud to accept, Brendan handed over the cash, she wasn’t going to turn it down, she needed the money for her
studies.
One hundred thousand, not nearly enough.
“Still mad at me?” Brendan was getting impatient.
Over the years, he always looked down on Arlene as if he was superior. He believed Arlene was someone he couldn’t live without, so he couldn’t stand her being so indifferent to him.
Arlene looked down, pushed Brendan’s hands away, and turned to look at Brendan.“Mr. Dudley, I’m tired and I want to sleep. Please go back…”
Brendan frowned, pulled Arlene into his arms, and pinched her chin.“You’re not a kid anymore, how long are you going to mess with me? I haven’t even asked you, when did you start hanging out with Albert? I didn’t know you had such big ambitions, wanting to step on me to get ahead.”
Arlene was stunned, not sure how Brendan knew she had gone to see Albert. “No…”
She wanted to deny, didn’t want to involve Albert.
That Maybach had a Houston license plate, besides Albert, who else could it be?” Brendan looked at Arlene and chuckled mockingly. “Arlene, don’t be so naive, our circle is not as simple as you think. You were lucky to meet me, others… won’t be as gentle to you as I am.”
Brendan used to say, “People in this circle are all wolves and tigers, Arlene is like a little white rabbit in their hands, she would be eaten up completely.”
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Brendan knew he wasn’t a good person, but at least he wouldn’t harm Arlene.
He was just having a normal relationship with Arlene, nothing dirty or transactional,
But others, not necessarily.
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Arlene has always been too innocent–looking. Over the years, many big shots in the same circle have tried to make a move on her, but Brendan turned them all down. He doesn’t allow anyone to tarnish or touch his things. He sees Arlene as his possession.
He thought he was treating Arlene well, thinking he was protecting her.
So Arlene should be grateful.
“On my way back, I bumped into Mr. Stevenson… He just had the maid get me some clean clothes, and then had the driver take me back,” Arlene explained, telling Brendan not to overthink it.
Brendan didn’t think too much about it. He didn’t think someone like Albert would be interested in Arlene. But he knew Albert was interested in Arlene. It was like a hunter spotting his prey.
Brendan felt a bit uncomfortable deep down, knowing that his stuff was being coveted by others. It was a really crappy feeling.
“Get some rest, come with me to a dinner party tomorrow,” Brendan thought of something, raised his eyebrows and smiled at Arlene,
Tomorrow night’s dinner, organized by the Seattle Chamber of Commerce, Albert will also attend,
Brendan took Arlene to swear allegiance.
Even though he wasn’t going to marry Arlene, he still didn’t allow anyone to covet his things.
“Mr. Dudley, I quit…” Arlene wanted to refuse, she had a really bad feeling.
“Your resignation application has been rejected, so hurry up and come to work on time.” Brendan pinched Arlene’s cheek and said, “Honestly, I really like your appearance.“I remember you wanted to study abroad. Your school has limited spots, I heard someone has been pre–selected, only one spot left, right?”
He liked to see Arlene cry, so sometimes he would cruelly tease her, purposely making her cry and beg for mercy,
