Chapter 34 Are You Really Into Elm?
The moment Eric’s gaze fell on her, Eileen snapped back to reality and pushed him away firmly, saying, “No!”
Her heart was racing with anxiety.
Eric composed himself and looked at her with an emotion she couldn’t quite decipher. “Eileen, you’re rejecting me,” he remarked calmly.
Eileen clutched onto her black pleated skirt tightly, reiterating, “I’ve told you before, Eric, you’re only my brother. Please stop doing these strange things to me from now on. Vera would be upset if she found out.”
She could not bear the thought of Eric playing with the feelings of two women simultaneously. While waiting for him to pick her up earlier, was he doing something like this with another woman in the car?
Eileen realized that she no longer had any feelings of love for him.
He only loved Vera.
Even Sarah, who bore a resemblance to Vera, was merely seen as a tool to bear a child for him.
Her heart once belonged entirely to Eric, but she had lost too much in the
process.
She was genuinely afraid.
Eric’s eyes turned cold as he responded, “You’re right. I’m sorry. I promise it won’t happen again, and I apologize for what happened last time as well.”
“It’s fine… I’ve already forgotten about it!”
“Good… let’s just pretend it never happened.”
With the car now unlocked, Eileen quickly opened the door and fled.
As she entered the entrance of the house, she saw Elsie descending the stairs wearing a captivating purple pajama set. Elsie greeted her “Eileen, did you just get back? Your father. has a party tonight and won’t be back for dinner. Let’s have dinner together.”
However, Eileen was too preoccupied to care about dinner. Her mind was filled with thoughts. of the tumultuous encounter she had with Eric earlier in the car.
Eileen felt a strong sense of disgust, and her stomach churned, making her feel nauseous.
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Just as she was about to decline Elsie’s offer, Eric’s voice came from behind, “Idiot, don’t you want your schoolbag?”
Elsie turned to Eric at the door, surprised, “Eric, weren’t you at the company? I just finished. cooking, and since I was bored, I decided to prepare dinner. Come and taste my cooking.”
Elsie glanced back at Eileen, who was still in shock, with a meaningful smile in her “Eileen, what are you standing there for? Come over for dinner.”
Feeling cornered, Eileen replied stiffly, “Okay.”
Sharon brought three sets of bowls and chopsticks over, and Eileen sat beside Elsie.
eyes.
“I know you like sweet crispy meat, so I asked Sharon for advice to see if it suits your taste,” Elsie said, gesturing to her dish.
Eileen looked down at Elsie’s dish, took a bite, and forced a smile. “Thank you, Aunt Elsie, it’s delicious.”
“I’m glad you like it, I’ll make it for you the next time.”
“Okay.”
Elsie suggested, “Do you wanna have wine? Your stepfather brought a bottle of red wine yesterday. I told him to quit drinking, and it would be a waste if it’s left untouched.”
Eileen’s plate remained untouched, but she had eaten her rice quickly and began to cough violently.
Concerned, Sharon hurried over, patting Eileen on the back, and said softly, “Don’t eat so fast, no one is going to take your food away. Drink some water.”
Clutching her chest, Eileen coughed until she felt a dull pain in her chest. She managed to speak through the discomfort, “Sharon… Can you get me my painkillers? I forgot to take it.”
“Of course, hold on. I’ll get it for you,” Sharon replied soothingly.
Eileen had been injured for a long time, she felt as if her ribs were about to break all over again.
Enduring the pain, Eileen said, “Aunt Ginnie, Eric… I’m full. You can continue eating.”
Elsie stood up, showing concern, “Are you alright? Should I take you to the hospital?”
“No, there’s no need. I’ll be fine with some medicine.
Fearing that Eileen might stumble on the stairs. Sharon helped her up to her room, leaving
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Elsie and Eric alone.
“Are you satisfied?” Eric’s tone was cold.
Elsie casually brushed her wavy long curly hair behind her shoulder, “I didn’t do it on purpose. Who would have thought she couldn’t handle a little teasing”
“Do you doubt that Eileen knew about it all along? You know I’m cautious, and you don’t want Eileen to know what’s going on between us, right? Or are you suggesting that I should do something to her? Do you want to help me with that?” Eric asked.
Elsie smiled, and she crossed her fingers as she rested her chin on them, her eyes exuding allure and seduction. “Darling, you know I’m not soft-hearted when it comes to dealing with romantic rivals.”
“If she is really with Jasper, and if they get married… Dealing with the Swan family would be enough for you, but now there’s the Smith family too. Do you think you can handle it all?” Elsie questioned.
Eric put down his cutlery, wiped his mouth, and replied, “You have no right to judge me…. Put your shoes on.”
Elsie smiled and moved her foot away from his calf.
Eric stood up and left the room. Soon, the Audi drove out of the
garage.
That night, Eileen went to bed before eight o’clock.
Jasper still had not replied to her message, but she didn’t let it bother her too much. The person she met earlier today likely was not him.
If it had been Jasper, he would not have ignored her messages.
Sharon had washed the black coat and hung it outside on the balcony of Eileen’s room.
The school uniform with a missing button was stitched up and neatly folded by her bedside.
In the morning, Eileen woke up feeling restless and sleepless throughout the night, haunted. by intermittent nightmares.
In one of her dreams, Eric locked her in a room and treated her aggressively. He chained. both her legs to the head of the bed as he looked at her aggressively, “Eileen, you’re my wife. How could you like someone else?”
Glancing at the time, she saw it was only six o’clock. Eileen decided to take a shower and read
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a book for a while. It was not until 7.30 am. that she finally sent the messages she had intended to send and rushed to school.
For the next few days, Eileen’s life was relatively peaceful with little to do, and she rarely bumped into Eric. However, she noticed that her cla*smates were increasingly distant and cold toward her. When collecting homework, the cla*s representatives would skip her on purpose, and when test papers were handed out, some students would purposely throw them on the ground, offering fake apologies like, “I gave it to you, but you didn’t catch it.”
Though this happened more than once, Eileen did not let it affect her.
During the weekly exams, she consistently performed well, landing in the middle to upper ranks of the cla*s. Eileen deliberately kept her grades from being too outstanding to avoid. drawing criticism from others.
After the last cla*s ended, Eileen noticed Charlie and Albert approaching her from outside.
Quickly stopping them, she asked anxiously, “How Elm is doing?”
Charlie responded with disdain, “It’s none of your business! What’s it to you? Are you really into Elm? Do you think you even stand a chance? Save yourself the embarra*sment… even if he liked dogs, he wouldn’t like you.
Albert patted Charlie’s shoulder, saying, “Let’s go, don’t waste your breath talking to her. She might cause us trouble”
Eileen watched them leave. She was just genuinely concerned about Elm, why did they have to a*sume she liked him?
Eileen carefully packed her review materials and cla*s notes into her schoolbag. She was on duty today, and she had decided to stay back for cleaning.
As she silently placed her schoolbag down, she could not help but notice the messy corner behind her, prompting another sigh. Attending such an expensive school demanded maintaining cleanliness.
Eileen’s strong inclination towards cleanliness resurfaced, and she diligently cleaned the cla*sroom until it was almost dark outside. Even the chewing gum on the ground was meticulously removed using a ruler.
Wiping the sweat off her forehead, she gazed at the cla*sroom, now clean and spotless, and felt an inexplicable sense of happiness.
Eileen was the last one coming out from school, and her driver had been patiently waiting for her. As she was about to get in the car, she suddenly spotted a familiar, slender, and tall figure not far away on the street, accompanied by three or five other people…
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