Chapter 18 The Accident Four Years Ago
Nora's body froze instantly.
"Why are your eyes so swollen from crying? What's wrong? Talk to me," Steve urged as his hand gently patting her back, his soothing tone lifting the weight of his height.
The fear in Nora's heart vanished.
The tears she'd fought hard to stop now surged uncontrollably at his words.
She bit her lip, trying not to make a sound, yet her tears flowed fiercely.
Soon enough, the front of Steve's shirt was dampened by her downpour.
Steve stiffened for a brief moment.
Then, he scooped her up and sat down on the couch, holding her in his arms, allowing her to vent her distress against him.
Looking at her aggrieved expression, he felt a pang of dejection.
Had he gone too far?
Nora felt profoundly aggrieved, her crying unabated even after half an hour.
Steve could no longer hold back. "Can you tell me what happened?" he asked.
Nora buried her face in his chest. She was still crying and refusing to speak.
Steve's brow furrowed; he was anxious but lacked the experience to comfort someone, uncertain of what to say.
As he wrestled with his thoughts, Nora suddenly spoke.
"Tonight, I was hurt by the man I've loved deeply all this time."
Steve went silent.
The man she's always loved?
So, does she still love him?
The restlessness slowly eased, and the gloomy mood lifted in an instant.
"He had me arrested for his lover, and then my friends bailed me out. When I got home and realized I'd lost my keys, my friend took me to a hotel. That was when he showed up, yelling at me, wanting to humiliate me in front of my friend. I'm divorced from him; he's got someone else and keeps hurting me for her. What right does he have to control or shame me? Even if I did want to sleep with another man, he's got no say over me now! He's a monsterl!"
Steve remained silent.
"I hate him; I'll never like him again! You should change your name too. I gave you the name Steve to remember him, but now I can't stand him. Just hearing 'Steve' makes me angry!"
Nora candidly told Steve that she had named him after someone she had once cared for.
They were just collaborators, having met only a few days ago, with no emotional ties from Steve's side.
"It wouldn't matter if Steve knew," Nora thought to herself.
Steve tensed for a moment, a flicker of emotion in his eyes.
Seconds later, he said, "To truly let someone go, you don't have to avoid everything about them. That's not forgetting. It's just evasion. The day you can hear his name, see him, and remain composed, unaffected—that's when you've truly let go."
Nora bit her lip fiercely.
She understood the logic.
But she couldn't let go, so she chose to escape.
Steve continued, "And the man you're talking about may not really want to hurt you. Maybe you did something that he misunderstood, and he unintentionally hurt you."
He subtly spoke in his own defense.
Nora clenched her teeth tightly.
She wanted to truly move on from Isaac, but she couldn't.
He was the man she had loved since her youth.
Seeing that Nora didn't respond, Steve didn't press the matter further.
He glanced at the antiseptic on the table, remembering when he uncovered her wounds in the hotel, feeling pained.
Her injuries, though superficial and not too deep, were extensive and shocking to see.
Moreover, they were on her delicate skin, and such surface wounds were painful.
"Why is there medicine on the table? Are you hurt?" he asked, feigning surprise.
Nora sniffed and stepped away from his embrace.
"I had a car accident tonight, just some scrapes. I'll go put on some medicine."
She realized she was seated on his lap as she prepared to stand up.
Her face flushed in an instant with the awkward posture.
Nora attempted to scramble to her feet in a panic.
But Steve, with a stretch of his long arms, firmly circled her body, anchoring her within his embrace.
"It's awkward for you to apply the ointment yourself. Let me help you with it," he offered.
As he said this, he reached to remove her clothing.
Nora's cheeks reddened even further, and she hastily pressed against his hand. "No need; I can manage it on my own."
"Embarrassed? I've seen every part of you before. What's there to be scared of?" Steve raised an eyebrow teasingly.
After a moment of deliberation, aware of the difficulty she'd have doing it herself, Nora reluctantly relaxed her hand and said, "Just be gentle; it hurts."
"Okay."
She removed her clothing, closed her eyes, turned her flushed face aside, and lay on the couch, exposing her wounds to Steve.
Steve's heart ached more as he saw the wounds on her leg and side.
Suppressing his emotions, he dabbed a cotton swab in iodine to clean her wounds first.
Nora tensed, her complexion paling and sweat beading on her forehead, but she bit down on her teeth without making a sound.
"If it hurts, just let it out."
Nora murmured a response but remained silent still.
Steve hastened his movements, finishing the disinfection quickly, then applied the medicine to her wounds.
After the medicine had been applied, Nora was drenched in a cold sweat, her body damp.
Weakly lying on the couch, she didn't even have the strength to dress herself.
Steve stroked her head and whispered, "Just lie still. I'll grab a towel to wipe off the sweat, then get you some clean clothes to change into."
Nora nodded feebly.
Steve stood up, fetched a set of spare clothes Nora kept here from the back room, then soaked a towel in the bathroom and returned.
He meticulously wiped the sweat from her skin.
Then he gently helped her into the fresh clothes.
Once everything was taken care of, he lifted Nora into his arms and carried her to the back room to rest.
The back room had a modest wooden bed—no match for the comfort of her own bed but better than the cramped sofa for sleeping.
Steve lay down beside her, pulling Nora into his embrace to provide more comfort.
Nora nestled her head in his chest, her consciousness beginning to blur.
Just as she drifted toward sleep, a sudden thought jolted her eyes open.
"What's wrong? Why so serious all of a sudden?" Steve looked down at her with concern and asked in a low voice.
Nora sat up, distancing herself a tad from him, her gaze doubtful as she scrutinized him.
"You waltzed into my shop tonight for the first time. I didn't point out the lounge or the bathroom, let alone tell you I keep clothes here. Yet you found your way effortlessly to the restroom and the lounge, and you even grabbed my towel. Out of everything in there, how did you pinpoint my stuff with such precision?"
"Steve, tell me. How come you're so familiar with this place?" Nora's voice was a mixture of seriousness and disbelief.
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