Chapter 16 Injured
Brooklyn was a whirlpool of bewilderment, grappling with the meaning of Sebastian's cryptic utterance.
"Since you understand pain, just sit still."
Her nails dug into the supple leather of the couch, a silent testament to her turmoil. Tears welled up in her eyes, threatening to spill over, but she ruthlessly wiped them away with the back of her hand.
'Why cry?' she berated herself, 'I can't afford to cry.'
Sebastian, clutching a medical kit, was suddenly struck by the absurdity of his actions. He muttered a curse under his breath, his thoughts racing, 'I can't believe I'm carrying a medical kit for this ungrateful woman! I should make her taste the pain and see her helpless tears!'
With a cold, emotionless expression, he tossed the medical kit onto the glass table within her reach. He then strode over to a solitary sofa, sinking into its comfort and crossing his legs with an air of indifference.
Brooklyn's gaze flickered between the medical kit and Sebastian's impassive face. A bitter laugh echoed in her mind, 'What am I expecting? That he will personally bandage me? Wake up! He's Sebastian! The same Sebastian who wishes I were dead!
It's okay if he doesn't help bandage me, I can do it myself.'
With a grim determination, Brooklyn retrieved some iodine and soaked a cotton ball in it, preparing to disinfect her bloodied knee. The cotton ball hovered a mere inch above the wound, and her face paled at the anticipation of the impending pain.
A glance at Sebastian, lounging with his legs crossed, transformed her simmering anger into a self-destructive courage. The iodine seared her knee like sulfuric acid, the sharp, intense pain akin to a knife's cut.
Sweat trickled down Brooklyn's forehead in large droplets. Her legs trembled under the onslaught of pain, her disheveled appearance a stark contrast to her usual composure.
The overhead chandelier cast a myriad of light strands that danced on the polished floor. Brooklyn, clad in a long black dress, bent over her wound amidst this play of light. A strand of her long hair fell across her face, obscuring her vision.
Sebastian's fingers twitched, a sudden urge to brush away that stray hair seizing him.
Brooklyn discarded the blood-soaked cotton ball into the ashtray. Thirteen cotton balls later, she remained silent, her stoicism unbroken.
Sebastian's piercing gaze softened as he watched her. 'If she can be this cruel to herself, how would she treat others?' he wondered.
This thought swiftly retracted any budding pity he felt for her.
Brooklyn applied the medicine with swift, practiced movements, wrapping the bandage around her wound.
The stark white gauze stood out against her slender leg, a jarring sight.
Using the sofa for support, Brooklyn rose to her feet. Clinging to her last shred of dignity, she declared, "I'm leaving."
Sebastian stretched out on the sofa, his posture akin to a sprawling eagle. His voice was laced with a lazy, somewhat disgusted tone as he retorted, "This is your home. Where do you plan on going?"
Brooklyn managed a smile, her shattered heart hidden behind a mask of indifference. "I don't remember this place as my home, Mr. Kingsley. I think you're mistaken."
She reached for her handbag, ready to make her exit, when Sebastian's voice echoed behind her, "Don't try to challenge my boundaries. You are my woman, and even if you die, you will die on my territory!"
When Brooklyn turned her back to him, the pain on her face was nearly unbearable, but as she turned around, she became seductive again, "You're keeping me here just to satisfy your possessiveness, to flaunt your power, and to embarrass me, right?"
Sebastian's brows were deeply furrowed, his lips sharp as a blade, his tone as cold as ice, and he spoke slowly. "Not only that, I want you to know the consequences of betraying me, and the pain of being betrayed."
Brooklyn wanted to laugh; she had clung to the hope of a lucky break in their entanglement for three years. She always felt that there was a sliver of emotion between them, but now it seemed that this expectation was like an expired can of food—it was time to throw it away.
Brooklyn hadn't yet managed to speak of divorce when Sebastian had already stood up, walked over to her, and shouldered past her to take the advantageous position in front of her.
"Also, you better not think about divorcing me. Once I've used something, it only has one outcome if it leaves my hands."
He turned his head, leaned in close to her, and stared at her with piercing eyes.
"That is destruction."
Brooklyn was shaken. "Sebastian, if you hate me so much, why not just kill me?"
Sebastian loosened his shirt collar, stood tall in the light, casting Brooklyn completely in shadow. "Dr. Mitchell, think about it, under what circumstances is a patient most in pain? Is it in death or in painfully living?"
Sebastian's words exploded in Brooklyn's head like a muffled thunder; she knew he wanted her to live in pain!
Brooklyn's eyes were cold. "It's not yet certain who will make whom suffer more."
Sebastian's lips curled up, suddenly pinching her chin, and said mockingly, "It seems you're prepared."
"Doctors are on call 24 hours for their patients. Also, Mr. Kingsley, don't forget, sometimes people don't want to die, but they are fated to—this is more cruel than death itself."
Having said that, Brooklyn threw off her high heels, hopping step by step to the staircase, thinking, 'Isn't it just staying overnight? Well then, fine!'
With effort, she ascended to the second floor, pushed open the door to the master bedroom—their wedding room, the place where she first slept with him, everything was still so familiar.
She shook her head, trying to shake off those terrible memories. She closed the door forcefully and locked it!
She thought, 'It's just sleeping here for one night, does he think I wouldn't dare?'
Looking at the locked door of the master bedroom, a hint of frustration finally appeared on Sebastian's face.
The recent argument made him realize that he, too, could have emotional changes, could feel heartache.
He had thought his own heart had long been dead.
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
