Chapter 613 Daniel, Your Efficiency Makes Me Anxious
"Look at you, all beat up like this, and you're still thanking him?" Lyric choked out, her voice trembling.
Tears streamed down her face uncontrollably. Though the scars had healed and new skin had grown, the pain on his body was an ache in her heart.
Her heart ached so much she could hardly breathe.
Daniel reached out, wiping her tears away, and with a tearful smile, said, "Mr. Vaughn was testing my love for you. Of course, I have to thank him. Lyric, haven't you noticed? Ever since your family opposed us, you've been especially concerned about me. If I can earn your care, your understanding, and marry you, I'd be willing to take any beating. I wouldn't even mind being crippled."
"Don't talk nonsense! I can't accept my husband being a cripple," Lyric said, giving his arm a playful slap.
He took the opportunity to pull her into his arms, pressing her beneath him. Their noses were so close they almost touched, and the sudden intimacy made Lyric's face flush.
"Lyric, seeing you safe and sound puts my mind at ease." He kissed her forehead, then released her, sitting up and standing straight. He began putting his clothes back on. "You should rest. I have to go."
Just as he finished dressing, Lyric clung to him like an ornament, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist. "Don't go. Stay tonight, please?"
"But—" He hesitated, though he didn't want to leave either.
With Zephyr's current low opinion of him, being caught would only make things worse.
Lyric pleaded, "It's so hard to see you. Can't you stay just this once?"
"Lyric—"
"My family is already picking out new suitors for me. Daniel, did you know that? Stay, let's have a baby. That'll force their hand." Lyric kissed him passionately.
His heart ached for her. He let her kiss him, but when he didn't respond, she grew anxious. "What do you mean by this?"
"Lyric, this isn't right."
"This is your only chance to turn things around, you fool. If you want to marry me, listen to me," Lyric cried.
His eyes reddened, and after a long pause, he murmured, "I can't. I won't take advantage of you, Lyric. I need to get your family's approval first, then we'll have a wedding, and only then will we think about having a baby. I don't want people to gossip about you."
"I don't care, as long as we end up married. You'll take responsibility for me, won't you?"
"But I care. Lyric, I can't bear to see you do this. If you keep coming up with these bad ideas, I'll really leave."
He gently set her down and turned to go.
Lyric panicked, softened, and quickly hugged him from behind. "I'll listen to you. Just don't leave. Stay until tomorrow. We'll set an alarm, and you can leave early before anyone notices."
Daniel's body stiffened. He turned around to see Lyric standing on tiptoe, kissing him lightly, her eyes filled with burning love, just like back in Silverbrook.
It was as if there had never been any unpleasantness between them.
"Daniel, I love you," she whispered with a smile. "It's funny, when I used to watch TV shows and the male lead said 'I love you' to the female lead, I thought it was so cheesy. But now that it's my turn, it seems like the only way to express my feelings. You know, back in Silverbrook, I tried so hard to suppress my feelings for you. Even though I liked you a lot, I only showed a little bit."
"Because I was scared that if I loved you too much, you'd get cocky and use my feelings against me. But now, I don't think that way anymore, Daniel. If I like you, I should just say it. Life's unpredictable; we don't know what tomorrow holds. If you love someone, you should say it openly. I'm young, why should I pretend to be reserved? I love you so much, why should I act coy?" Lyric's eyes were red, filled with tears, but she smiled as she spoke of her longing for him.
Lyric looked at him. "You know, I realized I can never get enough of you. When you showed up at the matchmaking hotel, I wavered. But my rational side wouldn't let me forgive you so quickly. If I forgave you too soon, it would feel like all the hurt you caused me was for nothing. Actually, when you kissed me forcefully, hugged me against my will, and even changed my shoes so domineeringly, I was really, really happy, Daniel."
As soon as she finished speaking, he cupped her face and kissed her gently.
Their breaths quickened, faces flushed.
When Daniel was about to take the next step, she pushed him away, telling him to go take a shower.
Once he was in the bathroom, and she heard the sound of water, she opened the bedside drawer, took out a still-sealed condom, and carefully pierced several tiny holes in its packaging with a needle.
She still believed that getting pregnant would help him. She wanted to give him a child, to surprise him.
That night, neither she nor Daniel got any rest. She clung to him with an overwhelming passion that he could hardly handle, but he went along with her, unaware of her little scheme.
As dawn approached, she lay against Daniel's arm, looking up at him with deep love in her eyes. "Daniel, you can't give up, okay?"
"Okay."
"Find a way to get my dad to accept you."
"Can't wait to marry me, huh?" He suddenly realized that when Lyric softened, she was quite the little girl. He gently touched her cheek and asked tenderly.
She retorted, "Don't you want to marry me quickly? With so many competitors, you don't stand much of a chance, you know? Daniel, you need to work harder! Your efficiency is making me anxious."
"Who says I don't stand a chance?"
"Then tell me, what chance do you have?"
"I'll tell you next time we meet. It's my little secret." Daniel teased, then suddenly remembered something and asked, "That address you put on your resume, what was that about?"
Lyric thought for a moment but couldn't recall. "What?"
"You filled it out yourself. You don't remember?"
"I just wrote something random. How could I remember? Does that place really exist?" Lyric asked curiously.
Daniel felt a pang of discomfort at the memory. "Of course it does. We even went there."
"Serves you right for bullying me. That's what you get for trying to take the easy way out."
"It wasn't all for nothing."
"What?" Lyric looked at him, puzzled.
He smiled and told her, "Walter found a wife there."
"Well, I hope we get their wedding invitation soon. We'll go together and wish them well," Lyric said with a sigh. "I can't believe my random act actually helped him. He definitely owes me a meal."
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