Chapter 856: Deliberately Provoking Charles
Hannah was with Austin, but her mind was totally somewhere else.
Eating, watching movies, shopping—none of it did it for her.
She really wanted to be all in on this date with Austin.
But her thoughts were running wild.
Her brain was a total mess, jumping from Charles to Stella to Wyatt's words.
Every time she thought of Charles, she was like, 'How's he doing? Is his fever down? Or is it worse? Did Wyatt take him to the doc?' And when Wyatt popped into her head, she remembered his story. And what Stella said about Charles's girlfriend. But mostly, she kept thinking about that kiss. That unexpected but kinda nice kiss.
What was wrong with her? Why was she like this?
Seeing her so out of it, like he had dragged her out on this date, even her smiles were fake, Austin finally snapped.
Austin said, "If you don't wanna be here, just go home. I'll go home too!"
Hannah was shocked, not getting why he was suddenly mad.
Hannah asked, "What's your deal?"
Austin shot back, "What's my deal?" He sneered, pulled out his phone, opened the camera, and pointed it at her face, "Look at yourself. What do you think is my deal?"
Hannah looked closely and was immediately freaked out by her reflection in the camera.
The always cheerful and lively her now looked worried and deeply sad. This was a side of her that had never shown up before.
Even when facing serious stuff in the past, she had always been optimistic, like when her dad was really sick. She was always like, as long as there's life, there's hope. But today, she looked so worried. Anyone who didn't know better would think something terrible had happened at home.
What was wrong with her? Why was she like this?
Austin put away his phone and asked, puzzled, "Tell me, what's up with you? Did something happen? If you're in trouble, I'll help you out."
Hannah stared blankly at him, her mind not catching up, but her mouth already asking, "Do you think someone could mix up gratitude with love?"
Austin was shocked. The thing he had always feared had finally happened. If Hannah could ask this question, it meant she had started thinking about it. No. No way. He had used constraints to keep her with him. If she figured out the difference, he would have no hope, even if Charles died, he couldn't be with her. He couldn't let this happen. In a short time, Austin thought of many solutions.
Seeing Hannah's increasingly regretful expression, he smiled gently, pretending to be relaxed, and gently rubbed her head, "Do you think anyone could be that foolish? Tell me, who is so foolish that they don't even know who they like?"
Hannah innocently said, "A friend of Wyatt's!"
She recounted the story Wyatt had told her to Austin.
After listening, Austin's eyes were cold, but his face stayed the same, and he laughed even more.
Austin asked, "Why do you think Wyatt's friend's wife married him out of gratitude?"
Hannah tilted her head and asked, "Isn't that the case?"
Austin said, "Of course not! In my opinion, his wife loved him. Otherwise, she wouldn't have felt happy during the two years of marriage."
Hannah was even more puzzled, "If she loved him, why did she fall for another man?"
Austin grabbed her hand, leading her out of the mall, chatting like it was no big deal, "I think that guy's wife used to love him but then fell out of love! She probably said that to make Wyatt's friend give up."
Hannah was like, "Seriously? Is that even possible?"
A woman just stops loving? If they really loved each other, how could they change their mind so easily? Why were feelings so complicated? She never thought they were this messy before.
Austin said, "Yeah! If love was that strong, there wouldn't be so many secret affairs."
Hannah frowned, "If that's the case, why even get married?"
Austin smiled and explained, "Marriage starts with love, but over time, love turns into affection. To keep things good and not let the marriage fall apart, you gotta restrain yourself, not give in to every temptation. If everyone did that, the world would be a mess. And because their behavior isn't accepted, people resist them."
After saying this, he let go of her hand, put his arm around her shoulder, and pulled her close.
Austin comforted, "But don't worry, this won't happen to us! I'll only love you in this lifetime and never fall for another woman. Marry me, and you'll be the happiest woman in the world."
Hannah tilted her head to look at his hand on her shoulder, thinking. Would she really be happy?
Austin said, "Don't listen to other people's nonsense. No woman would marry a guy out of gratitude! Besides, a lot of feelings grow from gratitude. Look at TV shows, how many female leads fall for the male lead because he saved her? Are they all out of gratitude?"
At this point, as if remembering something, he added, "Think about the movie we just watched. The female lead was almost hit by a car, saved by the male lead, and then she fell for him. Do you think that was out of gratitude?"
Hannah thought for a while and suddenly felt he made a lot of sense. All love starts with gratitude! In Wyatt's friend's case, it could only be said that his wife didn't love him, not that she married him out of gratitude. Many people divorced and remarried when they didn't love anymore. But undeniably, their first marriage didn't start with love.
Thinking this way, Hannah seemed to resolve some doubts.
Austin didn't want to push her at this moment; the more he pushed, the worse it would be.
Austin said, "Stop overthinking! I'll take you home. Get a good night's sleep, and you'll feel better tomorrow."
"Okay!" Hannah nodded, hoping so.
Austin drove Hannah home, parking in the underground garage of her apartment building. While looking for a parking spot, he keenly spotted Charles's car.
He narrowed his eyes and deliberately found a spot close to it. After parking, he walked around the front of the car and opened the passenger door.
As Hannah bent down to get out, he affectionately took her hand.
When they were not far from Charles's Maybach, he deliberately stopped, his back to the Maybach.
"What's wrong?" Hannah's view was blocked by him, so she saw nothing.
Austin wickedly curled his lips, cupped Hannah's face with both hands.
Hannah's whole body tensed, her nerves instantly on edge.
Austin knew she was scared, so to prevent her from pushing him away, he whispered so only the two of them could hear, "Don't worry, I won't touch you."
Then he quickly kissed her lips.
And this scene was fully witnessed by Charles sitting in the Maybach.
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