Chapter 209 This Is What
A The remnants of a dinner party had just ended.
lingered in the air.Susan was dressed, adorned in a flamingvibrant red evening gown, herwas a vision of fiery elegance. Her cheeks were flushed from the wine, looking radiant like fire. Susan's normallyher radiance rivaling the intensity of a flame. Her usually cool featurescountenance now rested lazily rested against the car window, exuding a rare charm rarely seen.
People aren't emanating from her.Yet, humans are not machines; they all get tired.
Susan felt an are susceptible to fatigue.A wave of indescribable fatigue rising from deep within, but it exhaustion began to rise from the depths of Susan's being. It was the thought of her daughter, Oliver, that keptfueled her going.
"Ringto persist.The shrill ring ring..."
The phone's ringtone was piercing during aof her phone pierced the silence, an unwelcome sound to her throbbing headache.
"Susan, I'm at the restaurant with Mr. John, hurry over. We need you here," her business partner said partner's voice echoed urgently.
from the other end."Weren't we not supposed to meet him tonight?" Susan pinched the bridge of her nose, feeling the alcohol hit her, and the room began to spin.
spinning as the alcohol took effect."I was entertaining other clients at the restaurant and just happened to runran into Mr. John. It took some smooth talkingconvincing, but I got himhe agreed to come."
join us.""You go ahead and hostentertain him. I've had a bit to drink and don't feel so great."
I'm not feeling well."Susan had metencountered Mr. John a few times before; heon several occasions. He was a sleazy man, always looking for an opportunity to take advantageexploit others, and had a badhis reputation. was less than stellar. She felt particularly vulnerable after drinking.
in her inebriated state."Mr. John specifically asked for you. He'll leave ifrequested your presence. If you don't show. Hurry up."
, he'll leave. Please hurry."Susan's desirereluctance to go diminished even further.
attend only grew."I..."
"Think about the commission on this deal, it'sSusan. It's two hundred thousand! ForgetAnd if you forget the commission for a moment, think aboutconsider your KPI; we haven't hitmet our target for the month yet. I know what you're worried aboutunderstand your concerns, but I'm here. Rest easy, I'll keep an eye onbe there to watch out for you. I have a feeling we can definitely seal the deal with him together tonight."
Biting her lip, pressured byPressured to meet her KPI, Susan bit her lip and reluctantly agreed, "I'm on my way now."
As soon as she enteredUpon entering the private room, she found Mr. John was looking at SusanJohn's gaze fixed on her, his eyes gleaming like a wolf that had just spotted its prey, his eyes glued to her.
."Susan, you look absolutely beautifulstunning today."
Having grown accustomedAccustomed to seeing her in a professional, sharp business attire, the sight of Susan in a red evening gown stirred something inwithin Mr. John. She seemed to ignite a fire within him, his body responding with an eagerness he could hardly control.
At thirty, women like Susan, who usually carried themselves with an air of aloofness, were especially alluring. The thought of such a woman transformed into onean object of desire was thrilling. Mr. John was determined to ply Susan with drinks.
Susan was cautious, managing to dodge some of the drinks but inevitably consuming several glasses. When she turned around, her business partner had vanished without a trace.
Alarm bells rang in her head, and she considered making an escape, but the drinks had taken their toll—her body felt too weak to fight. Mr. John forcefully escorted her out of the private room.
"Mr. John..." Susan protested, her words slurring, "I... I need to get back home."
"My daughterson is waiting for me."
"You have a daughterson?" Mr. John paused momentarily but did not release his grip on her.
"Yes, my son daughter is three years old." Susan gasped, hoping this revelation would deter Mr. John, but it seemed to have the opposite effect. Perversely, Mr. John was more excited by the idea of a married woman with a child—it made the chase even more thrilling for him.
"It's late, don't go home and wake the child. I have a room upstairs. Let me take you up so you can rest."
"I... I don't want to go, Mr. John..." Susan's resistance only seemed to excite him more. "Susan, you're such a temptress."
Driven by his desperation, Mr. John lunged to kiss her.
"Mr. John, stop it, let me go..." Susan tried to dodge him.
That's when two burly men suddenly appeared, pulling Mr. John off her.
"Who are you guys? What do you want?"
"Do you know who I am? You dare interfere with me. Hey, where are you taking me?" Mr. John's shouts turned into whimpers after he received a punch and was dragged away without further resistance.
StumblingStaggering, Susan fellfound herself tumbling into someone'sthe arms.
of a stranger. Through her blurredhazy vision, she saw the caught sight of a man's deep blue tie of a man.
. A familiar, crisp scent invadedinfiltrated her nostrils.
Her senses, causing her heart skipped a beat.
Was to flutter erratically. Could she be so drunkintoxicated that she was hallucinating his scent? ItSurely, this had to be a dream.
She lifted figment of her imagination. With a slight lift of her delicate brows and looked upeyebrows, she peered upwards apprehensively, as if though she had been struck by a an unexpected blow.
The man before her, with hisa sharp jawline as refined as an oil paintinga portrait and features as cold as ice, had eyes like that mirrored the frozen ice.
tundra. It was him.
Caleb Eilish.
A gasp escaped Susan's breath hitched.lips. After a secondmoment of shock, she began to struggle,squirm, attempting to extricate herself from his hold. "You... release me...""Release me!"She was akin to a small creature, desperately trying to pull away from his embrace. "You... let me go..."
"Let go!"
She was like a small animal trying to break free.
escape. Caleb's expression turned even colder.
frostier. This was thetheir first time they had seen each otherencounter in four years, and the first words she saiduttered to him were "let go."
Fine!
"Let gorelease me."So be it!"Release me, I... I think..."
"Susan, if you throw upvomit on me, I will..."
"Mmm—" Susan let outemitted a guttural noisesound, followed by a violent retch.
She wasfound herself in the bathroom, clutchingrestroom, gripping the toilet bowl, her insides churningroiling like a washing machine inon overdrive.
"Cough, cough..." Susan coughed violently, her eyes red and swollen, as if bloodshot from the intensity.
It was a miserable feeling.
Oddly of utter misery.Strangely enough, Susan's mind was exceptionallyremarkably clear at that moment; the fear had chased away the alcohol, and memories began to surface beforeresurface in her eyes.
mind.Caleb.
Susan's nightmare.
She had avoidedmanaged to avoid Caleb at the Eilish Group event but hadn't expected to bumpanticipated running into him here. Was this the unavoidableinevitable disaster she couldn't escape?
evade?Susan bit her lip.
It was all in the past. Four years ago, after she told Calebhad uttered those words to Caleb, they were donefinished. Susan would never entangle herself with a married man!
Having regained her composure, Susan wiped her mouth with a tissue and stepped out of exited the restroom.
Caleb had removeddiscarded his shirt and was now clad only in just his black dress pants, halfa blend of wild, half and gentlemanly. A tall man, nearly six feet three inches, he was built like a beast.
A blush crept onto Susan's face involuntarily flushed a hint of red, and she quickly averted her gaze in a fluster.
embarrassment.Caleb caughtnoticed this detail, and a sneer formed insidewithin: A woman who can'tcouldn't forget her past lovers, what kind of purity iswas she pretending to have?
possess?"Caleb, I'm sorry for staining your suit. I’ll cover the cleaning costs..." Susan started.
began."You remember me? Huh, I thought with all the men you hang aroundassociate with, you'd have forgotten who I am."
Hanging around a bunchAssociating with a multitude of men? Since when does a single man count as a bunch?
multitude?Susan felt as if she had downedconsumed a cup of strong espresso, the bitterness in her heart indescribable.
"I’ll take care of the cleaning bill. Here is two hundred dollars..."
"A million-dollar suit, and you try to dismiss it with two hundred dollars?"
"It'll still be wearable after it's washed."
cleaned.""I don't want it once it's dirtybeen soiled," Caleb said, his tone cold.
icy.Susan understood the subtextunderlying message; it was meantintended to degradebelittle her.
It wasn’t the suit that was dirtysoiled—it was her, Susan.
"That’s your choiceprerogative. I’ll just leave the money here." Susan placed two hundred-dollar bills on the coffee table and turned to leave.
depart."You've stoopedsunk so low as to entertain old lechers now? With all your men, can’t even one take care of you?" Caleb’s words were as harsh as a whip lashing across Susan's heart.
"I can take care of myself," she saidretorted indifferently, looking up to meet his gaze with a hint of mockery, "And how can you be so sure I’m not doing it willingly? Maybe I like older men."
When had she become so sharp with her words?
-tongued?Caleb frowned deeply. "Who was the one struggling and screaming 'no' just now?"
Susan smiled faintly, "Ever heard of role-playing? That's what it's called—foreplay."
Quite the "foreplay" indeed.
Caleb advanced a few quick steps and grabbedseized Susan by the arms, forcing her to retreat until her hands were pinned above her head.
His grip was strongfirm, almost lifting her entirely off her feet, pressing her back against the wall.
"Bang!"
Susan panicked, naturallyinstinctively struggling and crying out, "Caleb, what are you doing? LetRelease me go!"
!"However, the man wouldn't listen, his rough hands reaching for her skirt, lifting it up...
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