Back to Love: A New Beginning
Chapter 25

Chapter 25:

I was trying to concentrate on frying the eggs in silence. But in my heart, his pupils had left me puzzled and, at the same time, saddened me.

I wondered if he even had a woman in this house. I refrained from asking him the question, however, for fear that it might be offensive.

Derek had not yet left. I could feel someone watching me from behind, and that made me quite nervous.

“The dress suits you,” he commented sharply.

I looked down at the beige dress I was wearing, and suddenly uttered, “Won’t your girlfriend be mad that I’m wearing her new dress?” Oh, how I wanted to bite my tongue after saying that!

He didn’t answer my question, nor did I turn around. In an instant, I felt as if the air in the room had frozen. My mind went into chaos. I couldn’t imagine what kind of face he had now.

“Who says I have a girlfriend?” he said sounding quite astonished.

His comment made me wonder why he had a dress, since he didn’t have a girlfriend. I stopped asking questions. My face turned red from the embarrassment I felt.

I had no idea when he had left the kitchen. When I came out, he was already at the dining room table, looking at his phone.

I put two bowls of noodles and some sandwiches on the table. Then he handed me a cup of brewed tea.

“This tea is a good hangover cure,” he commented.

I had a headache. I took the cup of tea and thanked him. Holding it in my hand, I felt that its temperature was optimal. Both my palm and my heart felt warm.

At that moment, I wondered once again what kind of person I was. He was as strong as a millennial wine, but he was more complicated than that. On the surface, he seemed easy to deal with, but at times he was stern and cold. It was as if he had an invisible wall between him and strangers. He didn’t seem to lack friends, but I sensed that he was lonely at times.

When he hung up the phone, he leaned back in his chair and stared at me. “A woman should take care of her dignity. Don’t get drunk in front of strange men, Eveline. There are all kinds of men in this world, and not all of them are gentlemen.”

Defiantly, I replied, “Wasn’t it you who said I had to show my sincerity? Frankly, you’ve indirectly forced me to drink.”

A playful smile appeared on Derek’s lips, “How can a married woman be as naive as a maid? You drank only because I indirectly forced you to do so? Are you stupid?

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His words left me speechless. I had nothing to refute. In fact, I was quite stupid to do so.

“So, in a way, you were teaching me a lesson last night?”

Derek picked up the teacup in front of him, but didn’t drink it yet. He merely turned it slightly, looking at the tea leaves floating inside.

“Eveline, don’t judge a book by its cover. There are many things in this world that are not as simple as they seem.”

There was a deeper meaning in her words.

In fact, she already had a sense that it wasn’t as simple as it seemed. Given that he could afford a magnificent villa and owned a luxury car, it was obvious that he did big business.

After that brief interaction, we had breakfast. Derek complimented me on my culinary skills. Meanwhile, I let out a sigh.

Back then, to win Shane’s heart, I studied all kinds of recipes to satiate his appetite. But not once did he praise me for my cooking. I never won his stomach, nor his heart.

“There are two things in this world I will never do. One is to plunder a burning house, and the other is to take advantage of another’s danger. I have a clear distinction between gratitude and hatred. And I will never show mercy to my enemies,” Derek suddenly remarked.

I assumed he was implying that he had been too soft on Shane last night.

Truth be told, it wasn’t soft-heartedness, but sympathy.

After breakfast, I declined Derek’s offer of a ride home and just hailed a cab back to the alley where my old house was.

I didn’t expect Shane to be waiting for me at the entrance to that alley.

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