âWell, it is bleeding,â Evan said, though he was not bothered about it to the slightest.
âSo does it hurt?â Nicole seemed frantic.
âYeah, it does a little,â Evan said gently, staring at the bite marks on his arms.
No, you need to be sure about it. A little is not enough!
The next thing he knew, his other arm was getting bitten as well.
âDoes it hurt?â Nicoleâs eyes were filled with excitement and arousal.
Evan sighed as he looked at his tattered arms. âYes, it hurts. A lot.â He nodded.
âReally? Iâm so gladâ¦â Nicole seemed absolutely delighted.
Evan simply stared without saying a word.
Hah⦠So thatâs what you want. Itâs alright though. Iâll do whatever that makes you happy.
Having made sure that Evan could feel the pain from her bites, Nicole could finally bring herself to believe that everything that had transpired was indeed real.
Meanwhile, in a luxurious hotel suite.
Levant felt like he was having a fever. Back at dinner, while Nicole only drank one glass of the spiked wine because her second got spilled, he drank two whole glasses of it. He had been pulling through so far purely by willpower.
âMr. Levant, how about⦠How about I find you a woman?â The hotel manager asked.
âNo⦠no. Where is Nicole?â
âI donât know. I got a waitress to go look for her in the bathroom, but she is nowhere to be found.â
Oh god, she drank the wine too. I wonder if she is alright?
âMr. Levant! This is not the time to be worrying about someone else! If you keep this up, youâll hurt yourself!â
Levant gritted his teeth, and whispered weakly, âSend me to the hospital. Quick.â
âMr. Levant, I can find you a woman, you know? Why-â
The hotel managerâs words got cut off by Levantâs harsh glare. He immediately shut his mouth and called the hospital.
An hour later.
Evanâs phone suddenly rang.
âYoda, have you found Mommy? Do you need our help?â
âThat would not be necessary,â Evan replied, his voice low and rough.
On the other end, Juan was rather startled. âYoda! Yoda, you can speak now?â
Evan was speechless.
Should I tell the kids that Iâm their father?
Before he could say another word, Nicole took his phone away. âJuan, Mommyâs coming home soon.â
âMommy, Yoda can suddenly speak now! He kind of sounds like Daddy though?â
Nicole turned to look at Evan. Though she was not certain of it, she knew that he had good reasons as to why he disguised himself as Yoda.
And she did not want to mess up his plans. âYou must have heard it wrong. Mommy was the one talking just now.â She quickly made up something to say.
âItâs Mommy?â Juan frowned in confusion. Did I really hear it wrong? Itâs not really possible to mix up a man and a womanâs voice, is it?
âAlright, Mommyâs going to hang up now. See you soon, okay?â Nicole ended the call.
âYouâre not very good at lying, are you?â Evan laughed.
âWhat would be a good one for that situation then?â
âWell, you can say that you got a waiter to answer it just now, or⦠â
âOh shut it! Donât forget that Iâm making up those things for your sake!â
Evan was a little stumped. âBut werenât you angry that I lied to you? Why are you making up lies for me now?â
âI was angry because there shouldnât be any secrets between us, especially one related to life-and-death situations. As for the kids, sometimes youâll have to lie to protect their hearts from the harshness of reality,â Nicole replied.
âSo, you have not told the kids about my death?â
âOh donât even talk about it! Death? Whoâs dead? Arenât you well and alive in front of me right now? Donât even mention the word death!â Nicole became fired up all of a sudden.
Evan was again at a loss for words. He did not expect her to be that sensitive to those words. Smiling, he kissed her on the forehead.
âSo, what happened during the plane crash?â Nicole asked after a moment of silence.
Evanâs face tensed up. âItâs Levant. He sabotaged the plane I was on. I only survived because I noticed that things were suspicious early on.â
âLevant? Why would he do that to you?â
Evanâs gaze darkened.
âNot just to me, what happened with Sylphiette and the letter that Grandpa received back then are all his doing.â