novelxo Chapter 24
Chapter 24: Maniacal
Candice was in a bit of a trance but Byron perceived it as her having a guilty conscience after getting exposed by him.
“You’ve got a bigger appetite than I thought.”
His words were brief yet raw and harsh.
”
“I asked him for a favor,” she said uneasily.
“Is it a favor I can’t do you?”
He retorted casually.
Candice bit her lip and said, “I didn’t want to bother you.”
Byron looked indifferent and contemptuous as he remarked, “You know the rules well, eh?”
“I always have.”
He flicked the ash off the cigarette and said, “It’s not time to play games to get me to get back at Rufus for you.”
She suddenly flew into a rage and exclaimed, “I don’t need
you anymore now!”
“Because you don’t want to sleep with me?”
Candice felt that he was too cold-hearted.
Apart from that, he was domineering too.
He had his principles and his own mindset, which would not be disturbed by other forms of interference.
“You’re not in a relationship with me.”
Byron got impatient and his tone was irritable as said, “Does it make a difference whether we are in a relationship or not?”
Despite knowing that there was no way she could explain. herself, Candice couldn’t help but ask, “Are you and Miss Vicky in an exclusive relationship?”
“You’re not the same as her. Why are you comparing yourself to her?” Byron said as he snubbed out the cigarette.
Vicky was shrewd and straightforward.
One was a love affair that had come to fruition with genuine feelings.
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The other was a casual h o o kup between two adults to get rid of their loneliness.
It was indeed different.
“I don’t like you.” He pressed down the lighter with one hand and lit up another cigarette.
“If you sleep with me as my girlfriend in name when I don’t have any feelings for you, you’d just be deceiving yourself.
Candice admitted that being friends with benefits while they were both single, was not overboard at all.
Byron was good-looking and well-mannered. If Vicky hadn’t appeared, she would more likely fall harder for Byron.
The trauma from her last marriage had caused her to fear impure and volatile relationships.
Besides, Byron was a fickle-minded man.
They might share the same bed today and tomorrow, he might just dump her.
Falling in love with Byron and then losing him would hurt worse than with any other man.
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Everything about him was so deadly, like a poison that runs deep. Candice was running from a pain she couldn’t control.
She gazed out the window at the pouring rain and asked, “How many women have you had?”
“I haven’t counted.”
Staring at him from above, Candice asked, “Were there many?”
“Not as many as Enos.”
“How many girlfriends have you had?”
Byron went to the driver’s seat and kicked open the door of the passenger side. Candice understood what he meant and knew that she couldn’t defeat him. He got into the driver’s seat and drove to her house.
“One,” he answered.
“You’re pretty loyal,” she said emotionally.
He was particularly stringent when it comes to love but deep within, he wanted to be a player.
Byron didn’t tell Candice because he didn’t think he needed.
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to.
He had good taste in life and his own standpoint in love affairs. Promiscuous women with messy private lives and those who had undergone too much plastic surgery would not arouse his desires.
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In the past six months, Candice was the only one who could please him.
“Has he touched you?”
“Touched what?” Candice asked with greater confusion.
Byron slid his palm under her collarbone.
He had just seen clearly from that angle just now that Percy had poked her breast.
Candice turned to the side and avoided him.
“It was an accident.”
“Trust you to believe that. Men will never make such a careless mistake. It was definitely premeditated,” he said, clucking his tongue.
She adjusted her shirt and said, “Mr. Percy is not that kind
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of man.”
Byron stopped talking.
If she had called him by his first name, Percy, he might have been repulsed. However, Mr. Percy, the formal title, was marginally acceptable.
It had nothing to do with jealousy. He had only ever been jealous of one man in his life so far.
The man who took Vicky’s virginity.
He didn’t ask who it was and Vicky didn’t come clean about it either. In any case, it wasn’t him.
Byron was annoyed with Candice and he wasn’t willing to admit defeat.
He hated losing the situation and getting teased by Enos as a counterexample at a drinking game in the future.
Men in that circle were basically experts at courting women. Byron had lost the upper handing that.
“You blocked me, huh?” Candice suddenly asked.
“Yeah.”
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“Did I make you angry?”
He assented again.
“When?”
“Every single time.”
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She continued, “Are you going to unblock me?”
Looking at the scenery, Byron said, “Whatever.”
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Candice opened Instagram and repeated again, for she was afraid that he would forget.
“What’s the answer to the security question?”
“None of my business.”
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Just tell me straight if you’re not going to unblock me. Why are you playing me out?”
“The answer is, none of my business,” Byron drawled.
Candice gave up again after typing in the answer for the security question.
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He glanced at his phone screen to see that there were no notifications.
“Did you send another follow request?”
“Forget it,” Candice said.
Peace was the best. Since she had slept with him before, they couldn’t be just friends.
During the journey, Byron did not speak again and Candice played mute.
She didn’t move even when they reached the neighborhood.
He tilted his head to face her and asked, “What else?”
Candice pointed to the road and said, “Can you drive me back?”
Byron frowned.
“I drove on my own and I parked my car at the mall. I want to drive it back to avoid overtime charges.
He touched the cigarette case and threw it to the passenger side after realizing it was empty.
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218 Nouder]
He took a glance at Candice and said, “Why didn’t you mention it just now?”
“I got carried away by my thoughts.”
“Go get me some cigarettes,” Byron ordered as he fished out 20 dollars.
Candice took the money and bought a pack of Winston cigarettes from a nearby grocery store.
When she returned, she pulled out just one box of cigarettes.
He ripped open the plastic wrapper and asked languidly, “Where’s the change?”
“It’s just two bucks,” she said in a high-pitched voice.
Byron didn’t want it and it was purely to tease her. He had already seen her cupping the change in her hand. He was behaving rather differently from his cold, detached energy, which was funny.
Candice threw the bills on the center console and said, “Here you go.”
He grinned and rested his face on his clenched fist.
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He lit up a cigarette and turned around to go back to the Shelton Building.
On the way, Byron’s cell phone rang six or seven times in a row. It was vibrating so much that Candice couldn’t stand it.
“Aren’t you going to pick that up?”
“I can’t be bothered.”
When it rang again, he finally answered it with his cigarette in his mouth, “I didn’t have a free hand. There’s a chick with me right now.”
Candice kept a straight face, thinking to herself that he had used her as an excuse again.
“I just got back.”
Byron swallowed without saying anything.
“I’ll go to your place?”
“I’m not at home,” he said before hanging up.
Candice reckoned that he would give in sooner or later, for he didn’t have a backbone when faced with Vicky.
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In case a little private episode popped up during the call, she would be too insensitive to be present.
Thus, she cleared her throat and said, “Pull over in front of the fast-food place, I’ll come back up after you’re done with the call.”
“Why?” he asked, staring ahead expressionlessly.
“Isn’t it inconvenient for you to talk now?” she whispered.
“Did I say that?”
Byron was really fierce and aggressive.
He was spoiled by women.
Candice simply stopped talking.
As she drove across the square, she couldn’t hold back and snorted with laughter while Byron glowered at her.
“Professor Wilson, you’ve got a dozen fan girls chasing you, right?”
He ignored the question without wavering in his expression.
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“They’ll never guess what it’s like when Professor Wilson, who is so high and mighty, is troubled in love.”
“What am I like?”
“Tyrannical and stubborn.”
He refused to give up even if he had to die.
His face was getting more and more sullen, gloomier than the gray sky outside.
They drove past Fifth Avenue, where an empty woman stood on the empty street.
Her figure was thin and slender, and she was wearing a flattering red sleeveless dress.
Vicky did not have an umbrella so she was thoroughly drenched from the inside out.
Some women looked incredibly beautiful and attractive even when they were in a wretched state. Vicky was one of such women.
She exuded a mature and demonic charm and every inch of her was seductive.
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A blink of an eye or a teardrop of hers would be enough to make a man fall hard for her.
Candice stared at herself in the rearview mirror and her face turned pale. Compared to Vicky’s stunning and heavy makeup, she was much plainer.
The thing that made her better than Vicky was that she wasn’t aggressive and it would be comfortable being around her.
Men who are sick of the game would more likely than not marry a girl like Candice while secretly harboring lingering feelings for women like Vicky.
Byron didn’t slow down when he saw her and went straight in her direction.
Vicky stood firm, undaunted, while Candice held her breath in fear. When he was only half a meter away, he finally slammed the brakes.
It was wild and crazy.
It was a gamble on who would surrender first.
The wipers bobbed back and forth on the windshield as Byron and Vicky made eye contact.
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After a long time, Byron got out of the car.
Holding her umbrella, Candice called out to him.
He didn’t even care to listen to her nonsense. As he walked over, the scene was full of passion and thrill.
“What are you doing?”
“Waiting for you.”
ww
“How did you know where I was?” Byron asked with a frown.
“I planted a GPS device in your car,” Vicky said, her eyelashes stained with rainwater.
“Who allowed that?”
“Me.”
Byron’s eyes were burning with fury.
“Vicky, you’d better behave yourself now that you’re already with someone else.”
“I’ll wash my hands off it after I make some more money.”
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Candice couldn’t really hear them so she slowly lowered the car window.
He stood still without moving.
“I just want Robert’s money. I don’t have real feelings for him.”
W
Byron said sneeringly, “Don’t I have enough money for your to spend?”
“Do you have enough?”
Candice had never seen a woman boldly express her greed for material things so openly without hiding at all. “I want more.”
“Don’t I have more?”
“Do you?” Vicky said calmly.
Byron suppressed his emotions and lowered his head. without responding.
She moved closer and said, “I want you to be the boss and support me in the future.”
“All you care about is money,” he said coldly.
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Vicky wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her head in his chest as she said, “Byron, I’m doing this for your sake. Don’t go too far.”
He pushed her away and said, “You don’t need to.”
“I just love how dominant you are.” She moved her hand down, pulling the hem of his shirt from inside his belt. “I like your dominance even better when you undress.”
Byron looked away without pushing her away this time.
Candice rolled the windows up again.
After a while, he clutched Vicky’s hand and realized it was very cold, “How long have you been waiting…”
“Not long, but my time is precious too.”
He sized her up and said, “You’re afraid I’ll get in the way of you seducing men, huh?”
Vicky nodded, “I left Robert for you. He’s a fat piece of meat.”
Byron’s anger subsided completely.
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Candice looked away, feeling becoming more and more uncomfortable.
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It wasn’t jealousy that she was feeling but frustration.
The colder a man is, the more likely he is to bewitch a woman ad make her fall head-over-heels in love with him.
It was even more so for Byron.
Unfortunately, his gentleness and warmth weren’t for her but for Vicky alone.
Most importantly, he forced her to watch.
He was the first to provoke her these few times.
Fortunately, she did not take the bait. Men tend to be clearer about the difference between love and lust while women are prone to falling hard. After every intimate encounter, they tend to fall harder and over time, their feelings would accumulate to the extent that they cannot let go and eventually get tortured to death.
They got in the car and Vicky sat in the back, feeling rather displeased with it. She leaned against the back of the driver’s seat and rubbed Byron’s ears with her fingers.
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“Are you two back together?”
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Her voice was raspy and somewhat androgynous, a stark contrast to her seductive appearance.
“I’m just giving her a lift.”
“Is it along the way?” Vicky harped on it.
Byron was about to start the engine when he stopped again. “No.”
To be honest, Candice was going to continue hitching a ride.
She would just turn a blind eye to their display of affection. Given the heavy thunderstorm, it would be hard for her to get a cab.
However, Byron didn’t bother to consider that so she had no choice but to get out of the car.
Candice walked along the road for half an hour before she finally got a cab. Her umbrella was already soaking wet.
As luck would have it, she caught a cold that night, which left her sneezing and suffering from a splitting headache.
Byron returned to work the next day. As soon as he arrived
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at the hospital at noon, he resumed consultations.
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“Have you had any meetings with Candice in the last few days?” Harry asked.
“No,” he said with a straight face.
“Candice was stood up by some a s s hole last night. She got a cold and cursed on Instagram. I thought it was you.”
“What did she say?” Byron asked, raising his head.
As Harry went on, the more he wanted to laugh.
“She cursed that bas ta rd to go bald, sprain his ankle while. walking, and raise another man’s son.”
Byron pursed his lips and said, “That’s pretty harsh.’
“Serves him right. The bas ta rd deserves it.”
The office was silent.
“I heard from Enos… that your biological brother is back in NY, huh?” Harry asked, clucking his tongue.
Byron’s biological mother, who didn’t marry into the Wilson
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Family, was still living on her own out there.
She had mansions, luxury cars, and ser vants, but she had to remain hidden.
On the other hand, Percy was the only legitimate son and child of the lawful wife.
Back then, Byron’s mother was his father’s girlfriend, but someone came in between them later on and the situation was extremely complicated. The two women were both at fault.
Out of guilt, his father had given his mother a large sum of money, which was enough to buy an entire building. However, she refused to give in and break up.
Byron changed into work attire, made a cup of coffee, and didn’t answer that question about Percy.
“Are there any surgeries for today?”
“Doctor Orson and I have taken over the surgeries that were meant for you.” Harry went through the drawer and took out a stack of X-ray films. “One of the patients, 58 years old, asked for you to operate on him and I have him scheduled for next week.”
Byron picked one of the films from the pile and taped it to
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the lamp.
“Go pick someone up for me.”
“Who?”
“Vicky.”
Harry stood up and asked, “Have you guys made up again?”
“No. She’s staying at my place for the time being,” he said while focusing on making notes on the medical records.
“You’re cohabiting and you say you haven’t made up?”
“I’m staying in the guest room.”
Harry didn’t believe it.
Byron couldn’t stand her flirting, and Vicky wasn’t a woman who would behave properly.
Her target was mostly older men. Once she got her hands on the money, she would go back to Byron for a better life.
Harry walked to the lobby on the first floor to see that Vicky was leaning against the wall and smoking.
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She and Byron smoked the same brand of cigarettes.
Winston Red.
To be exact, Byron had picked it up from her and developed a smoking addiction because of her.
“Miss Vicky,” Harry greeted from behind.
*
Vicky turned and said with a flirtatious smile, “Doctor Harry.”
“You remember me?”
She dropped her cigarette in the trash and strutted gracefully toward him.
Harry had always had eyes for cold and aloof intellectual beauties like his forensic scientist ex-girlfriends. Hence, he hadn’t really paid attention to sultry women like her and now, he thought that she was indeed quite attractive.
“Doctor Harry, you’re such a hunk. Of course I can’t forget you.”
Harry coughed to cover up his shyness. “Let’s go upstairs.”
They entered the elevator one after another, and Harry
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pressed the button for the third floor.
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The air in the cramped elevator compartment smelled so good that it was overwhelming.
“What perfume are you wearing?”
Vicky half-heartedly teased him, “It’s my bodily scent.
Harry did not answer.
After a long time, he asked, “Do you know anything about Robert’s background?”
“It doesn’t matter to me,” she said casually.
Harry hesitated for a second before revealing, “He’s Doctor Byron’s uncle.”
Vicky’s smile gradually faded.