Mr. Warner, Your Wife is Running Away Again!-Chapter 133: Brother Warner

Shane gently removed her hand, turned to face her. She looked up at him with her rosy cheeks, her dark eyes less bright than usual, appearing half-awake, with a slight frown.

Looking at her, the restless beast inside Shane slowly awakened, yet he stubbornly asked her, "Who don’t you want to leave?"

Audrey Sutton stared at his speaking lips, clearly not hearing what he was saying.

Staring intently, she raised her arms to wrap around Shane’s neck, tiptoeing to move towards his lips.

Shane was momentarily stunned, only pausing for a fraction of a second before he reached out to wrap his arm around her waist, bending down...

Suddenly realizing something, he quickly pulled her head away.

Audrey Sutton stood bewildered, not knowing what had just happened.

Shane turned his head, picked up the toothbrush above the sink, squeezed out some toothpaste, "Open your mouth."

Seeing Audrey Sutton unresponsive, he simply pinched her cheeks, forcing her to open her mouth, and then inserted the toothbrush.

She cooperated surprisingly well, not struggling or resisting, just staring blankly at him the whole time.

Shane brought a cup of water to her mouth, and she instinctively drank it.

"Gulp..."

Shane: "..."

Did she drink so much that she lost her mind? She just drank the water meant for rinsing after brushing her teeth??

Scolding her at this point would be pointless, Shane didn’t even bother speaking, pressing her head down and squeezing her mouth, making her spit out the water.

Her teeth were brushed, but the atmosphere was completely lost.

Having dealt with enough, Shane simply placed her, clothes and all, into the bathtub, turning on the tap, hot water gradually rising, steam fogging up the glass partition, also misting over her eyes.

The towel floated in the water, her figure hidden beneath, covered by white bubbles filling the bathtub.

Suddenly, she grabbed Shane’s arm and pulled herself out of the bathtub, ignoring the bubbles and water stains covering her, and fell into Shane’s arms, dirtying his dark gray sweater.

Shane was a man, a man full of vigor.

Seeing the girl in front of him offering herself, the balance of reason and desire began to tip, and the latter prevailed.

Her blurred eyes cradled his face, cautiously pecked at his lips, and then gazed directly at him.

She rarely dared to make such direct contact with him.

Then, as if remembering something unhappy, she lowered her eyes and cried out loud with her lips pursed.

Shane hugged her body, removed her heavy wet sweater, cupped the back of her head, first kissing away her tears before deepening her earlier fleeting kiss...

The soft bed sank deeply, both of them leaving damp marks on the bedding with their water-streaked bodies.

Shane reached to remove the rubber band from her hair, loosening the already untidy ponytail, letting her black hair cascade over her white shoulders and back.

She possibly thought she was dreaming, her hands always hooked around his neck, wanting to take the initiative but a bit unsure of what to do, her movements hesitant and shy, with more of fear and timidity in her eyes.

Shane didn’t know if she would blame him or hate him when she woke up, but at this moment he had no rationality to ponder those questions.

Cautious exploration, instinctive tenderness, heartaching as he watched her frown and cry, yet her tearful eyes never straying from his face.

"...I like you." Her words, blurted out with a sob, made Shane freeze, his voice hoarse as he asked her, "Who am I?"

He was very afraid she was mistaking him for someone else.

"...Brother Warner."

Shane wasn’t sure whether to be surprised by her calling him that or by the fact that her words of "liking" were truly meant for him.

Drunken words are honest words, her confession surely couldn’t be false.

Though he didn’t know when she had started to like him.

Feeling relieved, Shane’s heartache vanished, and he felt like he was walking on air.

And she seemed to keep crying, maybe those days weren’t happy for her, or perhaps she was still worried deep inside about them possibly divorcing.

Every tear told of her grievances.

After a while of fussing, she seemed to cry herself to sleep, even her eyelashes were still damp.

Shane tucked her in, laying a gentle kiss on her brow.

By now, it was already past four in the morning.

He wasn’t sleepy.

He walked to the window, opened it, and lit a cigarette in the cold wind.

Recalling her words, "like," and thinking about what he had done to her recently, he felt both pained and guilty.

There was nothing significantly wrong he did to her, yet his coldness alone was enough to break her heart, wasn’t it?

She had tried so delicately to protect their marriage.

He knew deep down, what she had between her and Simon Sue wasn’t as bad as the reports made it seem.

He said those words to her because he was unsure of her thoughts and also questioned if he was too selfish in wanting to own her, so he tried to distance himself, giving her the chance to find a love more suited for her and that would make her happier.

He envied Simon Sue’s youth and also envied the scenes with her and Simon which evoked imagination and longing.

Afraid that deep down in Audrey Sutton’s heart, he was not the irreplaceable best choice.

But when she said "like," everything weighed on his heart disappeared instantly.

Looking back, he realized he wasn’t even as good as her.

When Clarissa Morgan and Lan Irving appeared around him, she immediately turned into a little hedgehog, claiming her dominance, expressing her possessiveness over him.

And when he saw her with another man, he didn’t even have the courage to ask her.

She was young and beautiful; even if Simon were truly pursuing her, it would be normal.

Yet, because of this, he pushed her away and even said those hurtful words.

If he truly lost such a girl, he might regret it for a lifetime, right?

As the cigarette burned out, Shane returned to the room, looking down at the peaceful sleeping girl, a slight smile unwittingly appearing in his eyes.

He had never imagined what kind of girl he’d fall for.

Now, whenever the thought of love crossed his mind, her face would emerge in his thoughts.

This seemingly carefree and heartless girl was, in truth, extremely sensitive and delicate inside.

Thinking it over, he still didn’t understand when she started liking him.

Careful examination suggests she might have liked him even before they were married.

No matter what, as long as she holds him in her heart, he won’t let her go for anyone else.

...

The next day, the sky was gloomy, the first snow of the winter falling.

The curtains were tightly closed in the room, no lights on, and Audrey Sutton opened her eyes to complete darkness.

She couldn’t remember where she was or what time it was.

Reaching for her phone on the pillow, she felt the bed was much larger, realizing she wasn’t in her dorm!

She then noticed she seemed to be... unclothed on the upper body.

Memories slowly returned, recalling accompanying Flora Lane to a bar last night, drinking a lot due to her distress over the divorce, but unable to remember anything after that.

Could it be... was she now in a hotel?

And did she experience the clichéd "youthful pain of a night" as described in novels???