After Rebirth, I Accept The Arranged Marriage-Chapter 138: Playing Pitiful

"Thank you," Victor Morgan said with a straight face after hearing Jessie Sterling’s words. He sounded so earnest, as if he were truly grateful for her kindness in taking him in on this snowy night.

After they got in the car, Victor had Jessie enter the hotel’s address into the navigation. It would take them about half an hour to get there.

"Are you having fun out here?" Victor asked, breaking the silence as they drove.

Jessie replied, "Of course. It’s way more fun than being in Aethelburg, anyway."

Victor: "..."

’Even though he’d long since realized Jessie was just trying to provoke him, her words still hit him like a punch to the gut sometimes.’

"Plus, there aren’t any annoying people here," Jessie continued, twisting the knife. "I’m having a great time!"

Victor: "...I’m sorry."

Jessie turned to look at him, her expression one of surprise. "What are you sorry for?"

Victor: "At The Caldera Resort. I didn’t handle things well."

Jessie looked at him. "Then why didn’t you come find me the next day?"

Victor paused, deciding to come clean.

He let out a resigned sigh, glancing at Jessie from the corner of his eye. "My wife slapped me. I have some pride, you know."

Jessie: "..."

The mention of the slap made her feel a little guilty.

"Let me make this clear," Jessie said. "Even if I go back, I’m going to Southaven first. If you came all this way just to find me and drag me home, you might as well go back tomorrow."

Victor: "That’s fine. I’ll go to Southaven with you. It’ll be a good chance to see Mom and Dad."

Jessie didn’t know that after she’d left, Victor had flown from Aethelburg to Southaven to find her. She thought for a moment. "Well, you’ll probably get an earful."

She wasn’t even sure if her family knew she and Victor had been fighting.

If they did, Victor would definitely be in for it when he went back with her.

"Hmm?"

"If I let my parents and my little sister find out you fought with me, hmph, don’t even think about setting foot in my family’s house!" Jessie looked rather smug as she said this. In her family, no one was allowed to bully her. "I’ll tell on you, so you’d better watch out. Hmph."

Listening to her impossibly haughty but endearing voice, Victor thought she was unbearably cute.

It was late, and the roads were nearly empty. Victor suddenly wrenched the wheel, pulling the car over to the side of the road.

Before Jessie could even react, she heard the CLICK of a seatbelt being unbuckled, and then someone’s lips were on hers.

Victor leaned over, cupped her cheek with one large hand, and lowered his head to capture her incredibly soft lips.

They still tasted faintly of the sweet cocktail she’d had.

Jessie let out a soft gasp, but Victor took the opportunity to slip his tongue inside, tangling with hers.

Jessie’s hands were initially braced against Victor’s shoulders, and at first, she might have wanted to push him away. But in the end, the feeling of his kiss was simply too good, and she wasn’t one to deny herself pleasure. Since it felt good, there was no reason to push him away.

In the end, Jessie’s slender arms wrapped around Victor’s neck, and she actively tilted her head back, chasing his lips.

Outside, heavy snow was falling, but the world was quiet.

This silence, and the bitter cold of the icy, snow-covered world, only served to amplify the wet sounds and fervent heat inside the car.

Jessie’s breathing grew more and more ragged. Victor’s kiss, gentle at first, became fierce and intense, as if he wanted to devour her whole. Jessie even felt the root of her tongue go slightly numb from his sucking, and reflexive tears welled in the corners of her eyes.

When they finally broke apart, Jessie caught a glimpse of a silvery thread in her peripheral vision.

Her already flushed face seemed to burn even hotter.

Seated in the car, the only illumination came from the faint, flickering lights of the dashboard. The interior was dim, not bright at all.

But in this dim environment, Jessie suddenly met Victor’s eyes.

Her heart gave a violent shudder.

It was the feeling of being targeted by a lone wolf on the prairie.

Deep, dark, and filled with an inscrutable fierceness.

Jessie swallowed and deliberately looked away. She was afraid that if Victor got truly worked up, they would end up doing it right there in the car.

She was also afraid that she wouldn’t be able to resist his temptation and would actually mess around with him like this out in the open.

The only sound in the car now was their slightly uneven breathing.

Victor felt the fire inside him finally begin to subside. He let out a breath and said slowly, "I already went to Southaven."

"Huh?" Jessie asked in surprise. "When?"

Quincy Sterling certainly hadn’t given her a heads-up.

How could Jessie have known that Quincy had done it on purpose?

Quincy had deliberately set a trap for Victor. She absolutely would not tell Jessie that he had flown from Aethelburg to Southaven on the last day of the New Year’s holiday, just barely missing her as she was leaving.

Otherwise, what if Jessie suddenly had a change of heart? A man who couldn’t properly coax his wife deserved to be punished.

Victor: "After you left Aethelburg without a word."

Jessie: "..." She licked her lips and gave a dry laugh. "I really had no idea. So, when you went to find me, did my parents know?"

"Mhm."

"Did you get chewed out?"

Victor: "Mom and Dad didn’t, but your sister gave me a talking-to."

’He couldn’t even remember the last time someone had mocked him to his face. Quincy Sterling was definitely a first.’

’The worst part was, he couldn’t even argue back.’

"Hahahaha!" Jessie couldn’t help but laugh out loud when she heard that. "When you go back, you’re not allowed to give my sister a hard time."

Victor looked completely exasperated. "How would I dare?"

"That’s more like it," Jessie said.

’She was allowed to bully her little sister, but no one else was. Besides, wasn’t her sister only confronting Victor because of her?’

Watching the triumphant look on her face, Victor suddenly felt an itch in his heart. He couldn’t help but lean over and kiss Jessie again.

This time, Victor even had a reason.

"In your heart, Quincy Sterling is more important than me."

’Jessie was about to hmph and say, "Isn’t that obvious?" Her little sister was the one who had spent all her allowance and New Year’s money on little dresses for her since they were kids. Of course her sister was the most important. How could Victor possibly compare?’

But Victor seemed to know what she was going to say—and that it definitely wouldn’t be something he wanted to hear—so he simply shut her up by covering that little mouth of hers that was so good at making his heart ache.

By the time Jessie got back to the treehouse hotel, her lipstick had been completely kissed off. She could even feel a slight numbness in her lips and wondered if Victor had kissed them red and swollen.

"I’m warning you," Jessie said, turning to the man behind her, who was carrying a simple travel bag, before they went inside. "I’m just taking you in for the night! Don’t you get any other ideas!"