"Stay with me tonight…" Karin doesn't expect that Troy will suddenly make such a request. And she is
completely shocked. Before she can come to her senses, Troy has stopped her and carried her into the
bedroom.
Only after he puts her on the bed, presses on her, and kisses her fervently and enthusiastically does
she come to her senses. Then she struggles to push him away. However, it is already too late...
"Don't move. Or else I don't know what I'll do."
His partly-true words do intimidate the woman beneath him. Then she says, "Is it true that if I say yes to
you, you will keep your promise?"
"Yes."
"Good then..."
She slowly closes her eyes, knowing full well that even if she doesn't consent to Troy, he won't let her
go tonight either. So she compromises, thinking that she can also hurt Troy's sense of price by doing
so.
She was right. Troy originally thought she would struggle desperately. However, he doesn't expect that
she will agree so easily. At the thought that she can make such a sacrifice for William, he is so angry
that his eyes, heart, and brain are instantly filled with blazing rage.
He is so angry that he wants to hold this woman he loves to the bone in his arms, turning into ashes
with her together...
It is unknown how many times they have made love. In the end, Karin faints in Troy's arms. By the time
she wakes up, it has been 4:30 a.m. It is still dark outside the window. And a small-sized lamp is on at
the bedside, emitting a faint orange light.
Karin thinks to herself, "Since when does he like to sleep with a light on? If I remember it correctly, he
doesn't like to go to bed with any light on."
Gently lifting the cover, she picks up the clothes on the floor that aren't torn and puts them on. Then
she turns off the lamp and fumbles in the darkness to move in the direction of the door.
"Are you going to leave silently again as you did back then?"
Suddenly, a magnetic, slightly hoarse, and questioning voice came from behind her. She, who doesn't
turn around, stands in the darkness and faintly replies, "I left on a valid ground."
"I once said so to you, right? Since you still remember the former half of my words, you should also
remember what its latter half is about."
Of course, she remembers what he once said to her. How could she have forgotten it?
"If you say you still love me, I will tell you that I have been waiting for you."
As soon as Troy finishes his words, he hears her indifferent reply, "I no longer love you. Five years
have passed. So regarding what happened tonight, it will be the first time as well as last time."
There isn't any sound behind her anymore. Instead, she only feels that a burst of cold air is
approaching her as she takes a deep breath, "Remember your promise. Don't take it out on others
again because of the grudge between us."
"Do you have to be so protective of him?"
"If you think so, I won't care about it either."
She opens the door and goes out without ever looking back. Neither does she deny it nor admit it.
William does owe her. And she will never forgive him. However, she should never confuse repaying his
favor with seeking revenge on him. When she was down and broke, it was William who lent her a
helping hand. As for this, she won't ever forget it.
After she is at home, she stands in her daughter's room for a while. Then she retreats and walks into
the bathroom. Feeling that her private parts down there still ache, she wants to wash Troy's aura off her
body. Never will she allow his aura to confuse her senses.
Troy has been having a gloomy look on his face all day. Robert holds himself back all morning and
dares not to ask him why. And that afternoon, he finally can't stand it anymore and asks, "Have you
seen Miss Karin?"
Troy hesitates for a moment and nods, "Yeah."
"What did she say? Did she tell you whose child it was?"
"William's."
Robert frowns, "Do you believe it?"
"No, I don't believe it."
"Then what are you going to do?"
"I just don't know what to do. That's why I'm distressed."
Troy sighs softly, thinking that his intuition tells him that that child is 80 percent related to Troy and that
it is just a pity that Karin won't admit it.
"Why do you have to be so distressed about this? Take that child to do a DNA test. Then everything will
be clear."
"No. It will break her heart."
Robert stares at Troy in bewilderment and mutters in a low voice, "You have hurt her many times..."
Originally, Robert intended to complain in secret. But he doesn't expect that the man in front of him will
have heard his words. Then Troy replies, "It's because I have hurt her so many times that I don't want
to hurt her anymore."
Last night, after she left, he sits in the dark and ponders on it for a long time, consuming a whole pack
of cigarettes. Five years have passed. Under the influence of time, he, who was originally proud and
valued his self-esteem so much, finally understands that he can't bear losing her the most.
"Taking the child for a DNA test will indeed hurt her so much. But this is the only way. After all, you can't
expect her to take the initiative to tell you the truth. She surely won't tell you. If she is, she would have
told you about it long ago rather than wait until today."
That evening, Troy went back to Star River Community. And unexpectedly, he ran into Karin's daughter
again in front of the gate of the residential quarter. He sits in the car and quietly gazes at her, thinking
about the proposal brought up by Robert, feeling that he is caught in a struggle and contradiction.
After struggling for a while, he finally decides not to adopt Robert's proposal. Thinking of the painful
look in Karin's eyes when she was begging him to accept the child five years ago, he simply can't bear
to hurt her again.
Pushing open the car door and getting out of the car, he walks straight up to Esme and squats down to
ask her, "Did you run away from home again?"
The little girl raises her head. After seeing who is in front of her, she says nothing and lowers her head
again.
Sitting on the lawn of the residential quarter, she hugs her bent knees with both hands and buries her
pink little face in between her knees. And her long eyelashes are flickering as if she had something on
her mind.
"Don't you recognize me? But I treated you to food in KFC, okay?"
She remains silent. Rolling his eyes, Troy deliberately sighs and says, "Hey, now the kindergarten
teacher is teaching the children to be indifferent to those who are good to them..."
His trick indeed works. Hearing his words, Esme lifts her chin and says grumpily, "It has nothing to do
with my teacher. It's my mother who won't let me talk to you."
"Why does your mother forbid you to talk to me?"
"How should I know? This is a problem between you adults."
Troy smiles, "Then what are you doing sitting here? Where is your mother?"
"My mom went out for something. I'm waiting here for her to come back."
"Did she leave you alone at home?"
"The situation today is special. The nanny went home. So I was alone."
"Did you eat anything then?"
"Not yet. Mom said she would come back later and take me out for a meal."
Troy stands up, feeling distressed for Esme, "Go. Uncle will take you to have some food."
"No, I've already talked to you. If I go out to have food with you again, I'll be doomed if my mother
knows it..."
"It's okay. I'll take you home after dinner. I have a way to stop your mother from being angry with you."
"What way is it?"
He ponders on it and says, "You can just say I kidnapped you, okay? Your mother has a bad
impression of me anyway."
Hearing his words, Esme is swayed. The point is that she is indeed so hungry now.
"Hey! Well, to be honest, I do plan to have some guts. Unfortunately, my stomach fails me..."
Hearing her childish words, Troy is amused. Then he pulls her hand, takes her to the car, and drives to
a western-style restaurant.
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