Back to Love: A New Beginning
Chapter 68

Chapter 68:.

We left the mall and headed to the parking lot. Once inside the car, Derek said he wanted to go out to dinner. I declined.

“You just spent thirty-eight thousand dollars. It’s wasteful to always eat out at restaurants, on top of all the shopping you’ve done. I can cook you home-cooked meals, can’t I? It would cost a lot less, and it’s guaranteed to be the healthier option. Or doesn’t my cooking seem as good as restaurant cooking to you?”

Derek looked at me helplessly, licked his lower lip and smiled. “Of course, the food you make is more delicious than anything I’ve ever eaten in a restaurant. Very well, then, my dear. Your wish is my command. Let’s go buy some ingredients and go straight home.” I felt a blush creep up my cheeks, so I looked out the window and pretended to watch the scenery we were passing.

Night had fallen.

Derek had been acting strangely these past few days. There was something about the way he treated me and talked to me that made me feel like we were a real loving couple. I had to admit it was a blissful feeling, and I always found myself looking forward to enjoying it. Still, apprehensions and uneasiness remained deep in my heart. I had a vague fear that these wonderful moments would be snatched away from me in the blink of an eye.

After all, the more wonderful something was, the more painful it was to lose it.

I prepared two starters and a soup. We had a harmonious time over dinner and then I set about doing the dishes. I was just finishing when I heard music coming from the living room.

I wiped my hands and left the kitchen.

When I looked for the source of the sound, I found an old cassette player on the living room table. It was playing a Thorn Birds song.

Although the device looked beautiful, it was of better quality than the old tape recorder I had.

I looked out and saw Derek lounging on the balcony with Ugly.

The little guy hadn’t been here long, but he seemed to have taken a liking to Derek. He was purring loudly as he licked Derek’s palm. I knew cats were very intuitive animals. They could tell people apart and they could tell the bad guys apart. That said, I must say that I had never seen Ugly acting so familiar with Shane.

“Where did you get that from?” I asked, pointing to the cassette player.

Discover what’s next on gⱯlnσν𝓮ℓs․𝒸o𝗺

Derek picked Feo up and walked back into the living room. He sat back down on the couch, the cat still in his arms.

“It’s something I had lying around.” I walked over and sat down next to him to enjoy the music. When I listened to the Thorn Birds, I always felt relieved and comforted, no matter how bad my day was.

“They’re terrible!” commented Derek suddenly, making me think again.

I shot him a disapproving look. “No, they’re not! They’re very pleasing to the ear – don’t you replace the lead singer’s voice magnetic and quite sexy?”

Derek leaned his body to the side and stared at me. A faint smile danced on his lips. And then he spoke, in a deep, alluring voice. “Magnetic? Sexy?”

“Yes!” I insisted.

Instead of getting angry, however, her smile widened and her eyes sparkled with pleasure. Her expression annoyed me for some reason, and I threw a throwing pillow at her.

“Why are you laughing?” The moment the pillow landed on his face, Derek let out a small scream and covered his eyes with his hands.

The pillow was stuffed with cotton and was very soft-how could it have hurt him? But then he leaned over, apparently in pain, his hands still over his eyes.

Nervously, I leaned over to check what was wrong.

“Did you hurt your eyes?”

“Mm,” Derek grunted and dropped back against the couch, eyebrows furrowed.

The eyes were a particularly sensitive part of the body. It would definitely be a serious problem if they were hurt. I wasn’t in the mood to joke with him anymore. I pushed Ugly away and reached out to hold Derek’s head. .

“Take your hands off your face for a second. Let me take a look.” He slowly complied, though his eyes were still closed. “Can you open them?” I asked him urgently. “Here, try.”

Derek started to open his eyes, very slowly, and then stared at me. Before I knew it, he had already grabbed me around the waist and pulled me close to his chest.

And then he was kissing me.

I knew, I knew it was an act. I struggled in his arms, determined to teach him a lesson. But I was no match for his strength, and he kept lunging at my lips again and again. After a long while, I finally managed to push him away. “What are you doing?” I spat, visibly angry, I had been so worried about him just a moment ago!

Derek flashed me a lopsided grin and proceeded to unbutton the top button of his shirt. This exposed his collarbones, and I could see the distinct rise and fall of his skin as he breathed.

“Hey, I hurt myself. I deserve compensation.”

As he said this last word, the fire in his eyes flared brighter and his voice dropped an octave.

He knew the kind of compensation he was asking for. In Derek’s vocabulary, it meant lovemaking. At least, when it was between the two of us.

My thoughts returned to his hungry passion from the night before, and I felt my face burn. He tapped my forehead. “What are you thinking about? I was going to make you feed me something nutritious.”

I had misunderstood him, and in the most humiliating way possible. Mortified, I raised a fist and punched him in the shoulder.

“You’re so annoying!”

Derek caught my fist as I was about to deliver another blow, and used it as leverage to draw me back into his arms.

“Don’t be mad, honey,” he whispered. “Since you wanted to make it up to me with your body, I’ll do my best to cooperate.”

I realized he was up to something again. I freed myself from his grip and lifted Ugly off the ground.

Derek reached out and tousled my hair affectionately.

“Look at you, Eveline, you’re blushing again! Why are you so beautiful?”

I turned and flung Ugly at him, but he was too quick. He caught the cat and lay back on the couch with a smug look on his face.

We were playing, joking and laughing together – wasn’t this how married life was supposed to be?

I foolishly believed that our time together would stay that way, but everything changed the next day when I got to work.

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