Chapter 4

The next day, Elliot woke up with a splitting headache. Using the side of the bed as support, he sat up and smelled himself. He was reeking of stale alcohol. All of a sudden, he frowned and yelled, "Angelica!" He was met with silence, so he called out to her again a couple more times. Still, nobody answered him. Instead, he caught the attention of a maid who was coming over to clean. "Mr. Quigley, Ms. Thornton has gone out." "Out?" Elliot narrowed his eyes in disgruntlement. "Where did she go?" Whenever he was drunk in the past, Angelica would take care of him tenderly, no matter how late it was. He would never have a hangover or reek of alcohol. Sure enough, Angelica was still throwing a tantrum. After Angelica left the hospital yesterday, Rosie gave him the idea to make up for their second wedding anniversary. Who would have guessed that Angelica would leave him on read after he sent her a text? She didn't even show up. Something heavy formed in his chest, so heavy that it affected his mood, prompting him to drink more. For a moment, he thought that Angelica didn't know better. "Mr. Quigley, Ms. Thornton didn't mention where she's going. Why don't you…call her?" The maid's voice jerked Elliot out of his thoughts. He groaned impatiently. "I'm not calling her. Did she think of herself as a big deal? She better not ever come back!" … Meanwhile, Angelica had left the villa early in the morning. She had gathered the jewelry and branded bags Elliot had given her during their marriage to be sold to the secondhand market. "Miss, are you sure you want to sell all of this? Honestly, none of them holds their value. It's better to keep them as a memento," the salesgirl in the luxury item store said tacitly. A smile played on Angelica's lips. Her eyes were still swollen, and she looked rather haggard. "I'm sure of this. Please calculate the total value for me." These things were given to her as compensation every time she donated her blood to Rosie. In reality, they were just trash which Rosie didn't like. Sadly, Angelica had thought of them as treasures in the past and couldn't bear to use any of them. "Alright, please wait a moment. I'll estimate their value now." The sales girl deftly whipped out a calculator and began calculating the total value. In the end, she paid Angelica 90 thousand dollars. As Angelica stared at the number in her bank account, she couldn't help but feel teary again, her fists tightening. She had lost count of the blood drawn from her over the course of ten years. Still, she knew that selling blood in the black market was worth much more than this. Elliot had never treated her as a human being. Tears poured out of her eyes, and before the sales girl could offer her comfort, she fled the store in panic. Only when it was dark did she return to the villa with a securely wrapped gift box. The maids were each busy with their own work. When Angelica stepped into the dining room, she saw that they were keeping away the leftovers. Then she heard Elliot's and Rosie's voices from the living room. "Elliot, does my massage feel good?" "Yes. It doesn't hurt anymore." Angelica was speechless. Although she had already seen their shameless act yesterday, she still couldn't help but feel disgusted hearing their conversation now. Blood drained from her face, and she tensed up. Hearing footsteps approaching, Elliot sat up from Rosie's lap, his dark hair messy from the pressure. When he raised his gaze, he happened to look into Angelica's eyes and groaned. "I thought you had the guts to stay outside forever. Angelica, who gave you the permission to return so late?" In the past, Angelica would not leave the house. Was she trying to display her disgruntlement to him? He was not a person who would fall for it and wouldn't coax her since he already decided not to. Angelica looked down without a word and passed the gift in her hands to him. "Elliot, this is the gift I prepared for our second wedding anniversary." The box was the size of an A4 paper and securely wrapped. When Elliot saw it, the look on his face softened a little. Just as he expected, Angelica would never divorce him, given the love she felt for him. Everything she said in the hospital ward yesterday was said in the heat of the moment. But the box was so light. What could possibly be inside? Elliot wanted to tear it open, but Rosie stopped him and tossed the gift to a maid. "Elliot, nobody opens a gift right away. Go upstairs and take a shower. I have a surprise for you later." The heater was turned on in the villa, and Rosie was draped in a thin nightgown with a split that revealed her fair thighs. With her wavy chestnut hair, she looked mature and alluring. "Okay." Elliot heeded Rosie's every instruction and said no more, rising to his feet. Before going upstairs, he turned around and warned Angelica, "You better not make Rosie mad." Angelica was expressionless, so calm that it was abnormal. Rosie waited until Elliot had entered the room before saying, "Angelica, don't get the wrong idea about what happened earlier. "Elliot had a headache. As his sister, I have to massage him. I know you're still mad at me for yesterday, but I didn't do it on purpose. "You know how dangerous it gets for a hemophiliac person when they bleed—" "What are you trying to say?" Angelica was exhausted and didn't want to listen to Rosie's long-winded story. She was too soft-hearted in the past, and that was why she got played by Rosie. Rosie's words got stuck in her throat, her eyes widening in shock. What was the matter with Angelica today? Why was she different? She had always been submissive with Rosie in the past, but she clearly appeared impatient right now. Could she have discovered something? Quietly, Rosie observed Angelica. Standing at 160 pounds, Angelica was twice her weight. Furthermore, she looked especially plump with a thick fleece jacket wrapped around her wide shoulders and fat body. Even though her face was rounded, her features were delicate upon closer inspection, and her skin was fair. Anyone would say that she was born pretty. Once she lost weight, she'd be stunning. An unnoticeable trace of jealousy flickered in Rosie's eyes when she realized this. She asked, "Angelica, do you remember the clothes I gave you to conquer Elliot's heart? Put them on tonight and make him yours." Angelica shut her eyes, balling her hands into fists unwittingly. As she recalled the scene in the ward yesterday, she said, "Elliot wants to see you in them, doesn't he?" Pin-drop silence fell over the room after the words left her lips. Seeing the stunned look on Rosie's face, Angelica couldn't help but snigger sarcastically. A few minutes passed before Rosie spoke again. "Angelica, w-who told you this nonsense? Elliot is my younger brother, and we're not what you imagine us to be." The way she anxiously explained herself was incredibly hypocritical. But Angelica, who had come to her senses, caught the provocation and smugness in her eyes. It suddenly dawned on Angelica how blind she had been, as she had never seen through Rosie's true colors back then. If she had thought through some details in the past, she wouldn't have ended up in her current situation now. She was too foolish. "Rosie, you must be so smug. Under the pretense of a sibling, you are actually having an affair with your brother. I'm done with that used dog, Elliot. You can have him as you wish."