Filed to story: A Second Chance with My Billionaire Love
“Wait!” Shirley, who had been watching everything indifferently, suddenly stopped Flossie and Halston.
Halston stopped and turned to look at Shirley. His tone was icy as he asked, “What?”
“Can I speak to Ms. Ellsworth?” Shirley asked Halston, looking innocent and harmless.
“Absolutely not.” Halston rejected Shirley without any hesitation. He had met a lot of malicious women like Shirley, and he knew that she and Flossie were not friends. There was no reason for her to speak to
Flossie.
“Yeah, you’re not close to my bestie. What do you want to say to her? We don’t know what wicked intentions you might have…” Leia snapped at Shirley, then said to Flossie gently, “Flossie, go and rest.
Ignore this witch.”
Flossie, however, found Shirley’s request quite strange, so she whispered in Shirley’s direction, “I’m sure Ms. White has something important to say given her sudden visit… Come to my room later. We can talk.”
“Okay, Ms. Ellsworth. I knew you were a fair person.” Smugness gleamed in Shirley’s eyes.
When Halston carried Flossie back to the bedroom, the nurse put her on an IV drip. Soon, her vitals became stable. “Are you hungry or thirsty? Tell me if there’s something you need.” Halston sat near the bed and held Flossie’s hand, his heart aching as he watched the liquid in the IV drip fall. He wanted to ask her what had happened, but he stopped himself when he saw how weak she was. How could he call himself a good husband when he had no idea his wife had been suffering so much? Did she not tell him about the surgery because she didn’t trust him? Maybe it was his fault – maybe he didn’t make her feel safe enough to trust him unconditionally.
“I don’t want food or water for now. Honestly, I just want to be left alone… but I know that you want to be with me.” Flossie sounded helpless.
Halston could not tell Flossie’s emotions since she had lost her eyes, and it scared him. “I’m sorry!”
Halston’s voice hitched, and he gripped her hand tightly. This was all his fault.
Flossie was stunned for a moment, then she chuckled. “Silly, why are you apologizing?”
“I don’t know what happened to you, but I guess it’s because of me. I’m not a very good husband… I’ve wronged you.” Halston could no longer hold back his tears as he spoke.
Flossie’s sense of hearing and touch was enhanced because she was blind, and she could sense that
Halston’s emotions were off. She asked hesitantly, “Halston, are you crying?”
“No, I’m not,’ Halston said immediately. He turned away and took a deep breath, trying his best to control his emotions.
“I don’t believe you. You must be crying…” Flossie patted the edge of the bed and said firmly, “Come sit here.”
“Why?”
“Come here. Stop asking so many questions.”
Halston could not refuse Flossie. He moved over and sat at the edge of the bed obediently.
“Turn your face towards me,” Flossie instructed Halston.
“Why?” Halston asked stubbornly.
“Just do it!” Flossie ordered, her tone brooking no arguments.
Helplessly, Halston moved closer to Flossie. He was a tycoon in Beach City, but when it came to Flossie, he would do anything she wanted him to. The irony was not lost on him.
When Flossie felt Halston nearby, she reached out and held his face. “You…”
Halston immediately tensed up as if someone was about to attack him.
“Calm down, I just want to touch you. Can’t I do that much?” Flossie held his face and gently caressed his jawline.
“Yes, you can, but please don’t go too far. You just had surgery, and I doubt you want to torture me…”
Halston protested weakly. The most painful thing in the world was enduring temptation knowing you couldn’t have what you desired.
“Why am I torturing you? What kind of dirty thoughts are you having?” Flossie smiled mischievously, her fingers caressing his face until she reached the corners of his eyes. As expected, they were wet. He had been crying.
“You said you didn’t cry, but what’s this?” Flossie gently wiped his tears away.
Halston turned away awkwardly, trying to save face. “Something got into my eyes; it’s normal. You know
I don’t cry.”
“My, my. Do you think you’re an iron man, a transformer, or a sculpture made of stone?” Flossie teased him, but her heart warmed at the thought of it.
In the past, Halston never used to cry-they used to call him an iceberg.
Even if Flossie had died in front of him, he wouldn’t even have flinched. But now, he couldn’t stop his tears. Seeing men cry was so rare that people always said men’s tears were the best stimulant for women.
At first, Flossie wanted Halston to leave the room because she needed some time alone, but when she realized he was crying, her heart softened. She imagined his handsome face streaked with tears, painting a charmingly pitiful image, and suddenly felt the urge to grab him and kiss him.
Hmm… She needed to calm down.
“Hey, aren’t you the toughest CEO in Beach City? You cry more easily than Adie and Abby, I think I’d better change your nickname to ‘crybaby’/ Flossie held his arm and said cheekily, trying to stifle her laughter.
“I’ll say it again: I didn’t cry. I just got dust in my eyes.” Halston scowled in embarrassment as he tried to defend himself. In his opinion, only feminine men would cry, and those were the men he hated the most. He would rather kill himself than become like that.
“Fine, the crybaby didn’t cry-his eyes just peed. I got it, so be good and stop your eyes from peeing, okay? I’m fine.” Flossie touched Halston’s head and consoled him like she would with Adie and Abby.
She knew she couldn’t push him too far because he would become stubborn, and nobody could persuade him then.
“If you really were fine, you wouldn’t be hiding everything from me. I’m just scared you’re facing something bad…” Halston’s eyes became teary again.” Do you think I’m that unreliable? Do you see me as a child who can’t accept reality?”
“No, that’s not it,” Flossie said patiently. Maybe Halston thought they had to face all hardships together, or it would seem like she didn’t trust him.
However, Flossie felt that they did not have to be sad together since she could face it alone.
“What is it then? If you really do trust me, why didn’t you tell me? We can face it together,” Halston persisted. He worried about how Flossie saw him and how much she cared about him. He hoped that they could face everything together.
“It’s because I love you, so I don’t want to see you sad. If you were in my situation, you’d probably do the same. So… I hope you can understand me,” Flossie explained slowly. The reason she hid it from him was because she loved him, and didn’t want to see him sad.
“Okay, I understand. I won’t force you-you can tell me when you want to,” Halston said finally. He spent some time with her, then left. Owen had texted him that the results of the compatibility test between
Flossie and Shirley were out, so Halston needed to go there and discuss the subsequent steps with them. “Rest well and get better. I’ll need to go discuss the issue of your eyes with Owen, so just let me know if you need anything.”
After Halston left, Shirley quickly knocked on Flossie’s room door.
“What do you want?” Leia scoffed, narrowing her eyes at Shirley suspiciously like she was a ticking time bomb. When everyone had gone to Owen, Leia had followed Shirley upstairs, and blocked her way when she knocked on Flossie’s door.
“It’s none of your business; this is between Ms. Ellsworth and me. She promised to speak to me alone just now.” Shirley’s expression was hostile and unfriendly, very much different from her innocent look when she was in front of Xavier. 1
“It’s my business since you’re looking for my bestie. She just had surgery and is blind, so she needs to be protected from wicked people like you,” Leia said firmly.
“Ms. Osborne, I don’t owe you anything, and I’m not your prisoner. Why do you always object to everything I do? Do you really have that much time on your hands?” Shirley smoothed her hair, her tone sarcastic. “If I were you, I would have spent more time dressing up. There are plenty of women like me, and men care about appearances the most. No man wants to date a girl who acts like a guy!”
In her mind, Leia was an unattractive and noisy tomboy-the kind of woman no man would fall in love with. She firmly believed that Xavier had not fallen in love with Leia, and was just doing all this to infuriate Shirley. 1
Leia’s eyes widened in surprise, then she shook her head as if she found Shirley very pitiful. “Hmph, spoken like a true celebrity. Clearly, you have no understanding of the love between men and women.”