Chapter 203 The marks
Alana had gone out of her way to wear a high-neck chiffon blouse and tied a silk scarf around her neck, barely managing to cover the marks on her neck.
She had tried to cover it with foundation, but it was no use, the marks were too deep. She gritted her teeth, suspecting that Stephan had done this on purpose. Although he had left marks on her before, they usually faded away almost completely after a night’s sleep, they were never this severe.
This time, he’d marked her so fiercely, who was he trying to protect her from?
When Alana arrived at the office, she ran into Carla.
Carla leaned in and slung her arm around Alana’s, “Lana, why are you bundled up so tightly today? Aren’t you hot?”
Alana glanced at Carla, feeling a little guilty. “It’s okay, not too hot.”
“Really?” Carla glanced at the neckline of Alana’s top, her sharp eyes catching
something. She exclaimed in surprise, “Oh my, Lana, there seems to be something on your neck, it’s all red. Did you get hives?”
Alana blushed and said nervously, “No, no, no, it’s not...”
Carla said anxiously, “Then let me take a closer look. It looks just like hives to me. I had it once before, I had to go to the hospital and get IV fluids for several days before it cleared up. Yours looks pretty bad; you really need to take this seriously! If hives get severe, they can be life-threatening!”
“It really isn’t hives!”
As Alana struggled, the scarf tied around her neck accidentally slipped off.
Carla could now clearly see what the marks on Alana’s neck actually were. This wasn’t hives at all, it was clearly a row of conspicuous strawberry marks.
Carla nearly choked on her own spit. “Cough, cough, cough...Sorry, I misread it. Okay, it doesn’t look like hives after all...”
Alana’s cheeks flushed bright red, and she frantically tied the scarf back on.
But when she looked up, she met Cole’s gaze, dark and foreboding, radiating an
indescribable chill.
His gaze was so terrifying that Alana’s heart tightened involuntarily.
Carla grinned and couldn’t resist a bit of gossip. “Lana, I never would’ve guessed, you and your boyfriend really know how to let loose...”
Alana felt an overwhelming wave of embarrassment. “Carla, please stop.”
Carla was about to say something else, but when she turned and saw Cole standing behind them, she fell silent.
“Ahem, ahem. Manager Cole, good morning.”
Cole’s eyes darkened as he forced a restrained “Mm.”
Yet he couldn’t help but fix his gaze on Alana.
To be precise, at her delicate neck.
He had seen it clearly just now: her fair skin was marked with traces that sparked all sorts of wild imaginings.
The mere thought that another man had done such things to her made the jealousy
churning in his chest threaten to erupt.
He couldn’t believe that the once innocent, conservative, and reserved girl would actually be with another man...
He simply couldn’t accept it.
She should be pure and belong only to him!
Cole clenched his teeth, suppressing the raging fury in his chest, and ordered,
“Lana, in my office now!”
Alana frowned, fearing he might lose control and lash out, Cole turned and walked away without hesitation.
As soon as Cole left, the heavy tension surrounding the two of them instantly
dissipated.
Carla let out a sigh of relief, still feeling a bit shaken. “Lana, Manager Cole is certainly handsome, and he seems like a gentle person, but I can’t help but feel he’s a bit unpredictable!”
Alana lowered her eyes and replied flatly, “I suppose so.”
*********
When Alana arrived at Cole’s office, she discovered it was in complete disarray,
with papers scattered all over the floor.
And she caught a glimpse of a side of Cole she’d never seen before.
He was sitting on the sofa, his collar loosened, a lit cigarette held between his m slender fingers.
Several more lay on the floor. His expression was far from gentle; instead, it was icy cold.
Alana paused for a moment, unsure whether she should go in.
The Cole before her seemed somewhat frightening to her. She had never seen him like this before.
As if sensing her presence. Cole snapped out of his trance, slowly stood up, and crushed the cigarette between his fingertips into the ashtray.
“Sorry, come in.” His expression quickly returned to normal, the menacing look gone. It was as if it had all been a figment of Alana’s imagination.
However, the papers scattered all over the floor told Alana that this was real.
Alana’s heart tightened involuntarily. She had always thought of Cole as someone who rarely loses his temper.
But at this very moment, she suddenly felt completely unsure.
A person’s character has many facets.
Just as she couldn’t guarantee that she, too, had only one side to her.
Nevertheless, at Cole’s request, Alana stepped inside and bent down to pick up the scattered papers one by one.
Cole didn’t stop her.
He was thinking about what he would talk to her about in a moment.
It wasn’t until Alana had gathered the papers, sorted them one by one, neatly folded them, and placed them back on the man’s desk.
When she was done, she instinctively turned around, only to nearly bump into Cole.
He had walked over from the sofa at some point and was now standing behind her. Silent as a ghost, it was enough to scare the life out of anyone.
Alana instinctively pressed her side against the desk, her clear eyes filled with panic and fear, still shaken by the close call.
“Manager Cole, could you please make some noise when you walk?”
Cole drifted over to her side like a wandering ghost, his eyes dark as he
asked, “Lana, did you... do it with him?”
Alana frowned. “Huh?!”
Wait, was it polite of him to ask her such a personal question?
She frowned and reminded him, “Manager Cole, this is my personal business.”
Cole clenched his fist.
“Lana, as your ex and as someone you’ve known for years, I feel compelled to warn you: most men can’t be trusted! Don’t let men take advantage of your emotions so easily!”
Alana pursed her lips. “Thanks for the warning, but I’m an adult. I know right from wrong.”
Cole’s lips twitched. In the end, she still didn’t trust him. “When are you going to bring your boyfriend over to meet me?” He was eager to meet her so-called boyfriend.
He intended to warn that man that Alana was not someone he could just touch at will!
Alana froze.
Thinking back on it, last night she had intended to come clean with Stephan and ask him when he’d be free to accompany her to meet Cole.
But then... after he’d kept her up for a while, she’d fallen asleep from exhaustion.
Plus, he’d left so early this morning that she hadn’t had a chance to discuss it with him.
“I haven’t heard back from my boyfriend yet. We’ll talk about it once he agrees.”
Cole narrowed his eyes. “Is it that there’s no definite answer, or are you feeling guilty and afraid to face me?”
Alana blinked.
Wait, wasn’t he reading too much into this?
Cole couldn’t contain his anger and sneered, “Lana, I never would have thought you’d end up with such a cowardly man. Do you really think a cowardly, incompetent man like that is worthy of you?”
Alana’s face darkened as she said sternly, “Cole, I won’t let you speak of my
boyfriend that way! He isn’t weak or incompetent, and he’s certainly not unworthy of me! He’s the best man I’ve ever met!”
Cole laughed bitterly. Once again, she was defending another man right in front of
him.
His heart ached so deeply it felt like it was bleeding; his eyes, hidden behind his glasses, glowed faintly red.
He desperately wanted to find that man’s flaws, to go to great lengths to discredit him. “If that’s the case, why doesn’t he want to meet me?”
“Why does he have to come see you? Whether he meets you or not is his choice. Even if he doesn’t come to see you, it’s no
big deal to me.”
“Lana, if he doesn’t even dare to meet me, it means he doesn’t care about you at all!”
“You’re overthinking it. Whether he cares about me or not can’t be judged based on just this one thing!”