Chapter 120 - 119: A Cold Apology
’I must have smelled it wrong, I must have...’
On the bed, the girl’s eyelashes fluttered a few times before she slowly opened her eyes. The moment she moved, an unbearable soreness washed over her entire body.
Joanna Kennedy couldn’t help but cry out in pain. ’Was I beaten up?’
Her brain slowly rebooted, and the events of last night came flooding back. The final image seared into her mind was the man’s cold, indifferent dark eyes.
In stark contrast were his scorching, intense actions, which threatened to devour everything.
"..."
His demands were tyrannical and possessive, completely disregarding her feelings. The Simon Lockwood from last night felt like a stranger to Joanna Kennedy. The physical pain was a sharp reminder.
The "culprit" himself was nowhere to be seen. ’Took what he wanted and left, what a heartless scumbag.’
She bit her lip, her chest tight with a sour ache. She felt wronged and furious, and her already puffy eyelids grew even redder.
The sound of scratching reached her from the door. Wiping the tears from the corners of her eyes, she got out of bed on trembling legs. She propped herself up with a hand on the mattress, and only then did she notice the medical tape on the back of her other hand.
’I even had an IV drip.’ One could only imagine how rough he had been.
Joanna Kennedy felt the urge to cry again. She took deep breaths, trying to compose herself. The noise outside the door persisted.
She walked over awkwardly. Even the short distance from the bed to the bedroom door made her legs tremble.
She grabbed the doorknob and turned it. The little cat on the other side was unprepared and tumbled right in. "MEOW!"
Joanna Kennedy watched its comical tumble and furrowed her brow. [What are you doing?]
[I should be asking you what you’re doing!! Taking so long to open the door!]
Joanna Kennedy: [...]
’How could she possibly explain?’
Joanna Kennedy’s tone was sullen. [Go eat your cat food.]
She turned and started walking back to the bed. 166, remembering it hadn’t said the important thing yet, anxiously leaped in front of her, blocking her path. As Joanna Kennedy frowned, it hurriedly asked, [Nothing happened to the male lead, did it?]
Joanna Kennedy froze for a second, not understanding why 166 would ask that. [What do you mean?]
[I... I...] 166 hesitated for a moment, its tone uncertain. [I think I just smelled the scent of the female lead’s energy on him.]
’The scent... of the female lead’s energy?’
Instantly, Joanna Kennedy’s mind flashed to the man’s strange behavior.
Everything that had happened from yesterday afternoon until now, the subtle concealment, his cold attitude...
Joanna Kennedy’s breathing quickened. [Are you sure?]
was hesitant precisely because it wasn’t sure. It wasn’t a system anymore, so its perception was much weaker. If it hadn’t been so close to Simon Lockwood, it might not have caught that faint wisp of energy at all.
explained this honestly.
After hearing this, Joanna Kennedy fell silent for a long time, her face turning pale. [I understand.]
[Where’s Simon Lockwood?] she asked.
said he was downstairs. Disregarding everything else, Joanna Kennedy endured the pain and went downstairs, finally making her way to the living room.
Just then, the man emerged from the kitchen. When he saw her, his cool brow furrowed, his eyes filled with disapproval.
Joanna Kennedy gazed into those tranquil dark eyes, and her heart felt a numb prick, as if stabbed by a needle.
She recalled 166’s words, and the feeling of unease intensified. "You..."
"Who told you to come down?" he interrupted before she could finish. The next moment, her body felt light as he lifted her into his arms and started toward the sofa.
...
Smelling his familiar scent, Joanna Kennedy couldn’t help but snuggle into his arms, yet the ache in her heart only intensified.
Simon Lockwood set her down on the sofa, pulled a nearby blanket over her pale legs, and then poured a glass of warm water and placed it on the table.
His actions seemed almost subconscious. Watching him, Joanna Kennedy’s eyes reddened. In a flash of anger, she threw the blanket to the floor. "I don’t need you to take care of me!"
Her eyes were red, her tone full of hurt and anger. Simon Lockwood, seeming to have expected her anger, picked the blanket back up, his eyes devoid of emotion.
"Don’t you have anything to say to me?" The sight of his expressionless face only fueled Joanna Kennedy’s anger, and her chest tightened uncomfortably.
But Simon Lockwood just pressed his lips together. "About last night, it was my fault. I’m sorry."
’Such a formal apology,’ she thought. ’As if that could just gloss over what he did.’
’He doesn’t really think he was wrong; he’s just trying to placate me.’
This didn’t placate Joanna Kennedy in the slightest; it only made her more furious. "Is there nothing else you want to say?"
"What do you want to hear?" Simon Lockwood looked at her, pausing for a fraction of a second as his gaze met her shimmering, tear-filled eyes. He quickly looked away. "I’ll say whatever you want, if it will make you stop being angry."
Joanna Kennedy was his lover; he had acknowledged that. Therefore, he had an obligation to coax and spoil her, even though he didn’t love her.
It was like a clumsy, imitative display of affection. But while others might imitate strangers, he was imitating his former self.
’He would learn to love Joanna Kennedy.’
Joanna Kennedy’s long eyelashes trembled. It felt as if her throat was closing up.
She took a deep breath and asked directly, "Serena Sutton came looking for you yesterday, didn’t she?"
Simon Lockwood frowned but didn’t speak.
Joanna Kennedy took his silence as a confirmation, and her voice became choked with tears. "Why didn’t you tell me? What did she do?"
"I didn’t," Simon Lockwood suddenly said. "I never saw her."
Leaving the office, going to the parking garage, then driving home—in Simon Lockwood’s memory, the person Joanna Kennedy mentioned never appeared.
He remembered it all clearly. And yet, for a split second, a hint of confusion flickered in his eyes. ’Did I really not see her?’
Joanna Kennedy hadn’t expected that answer; she was taken aback. Just then, 166’s voice sounded in her mind: [He might be suffering from the effects of energy-field rejection. It could have caused him to lose his memory of a specific period.]
"I’m sorry," Simon Lockwood suddenly repeated.
He spoke words of apology, but his eyes were still cold. Joanna Kennedy turned her head away, unwilling to look at him any longer. She didn’t like this Simon Lockwood.
Porridge was simmering in the kitchen. Having said his piece, Simon Lockwood started to leave, but then paused as if remembering something. "I have a business trip the day after tomorrow. I’ll bring you back a gift."
"..."
Simon Lockwood had originally planned to leave tomorrow, but he remembered that it was Old Master Grant’s birthday banquet. It wouldn’t be right to miss it, so he had postponed his trip by a day.
Joanna Kennedy no longer knew how to react. In fact, was there any way she could react?
Business trips were normal; there was nothing wrong with them. And it wasn’t as if she could stop Simon Lockwood and forbid him from going.
But ever since she had moved into the villa, Simon Lockwood had rarely gone to the office as long as she was home.
Now, when she was injured and hadn’t fully recovered, he was leaving on a business trip for who knows how long. The change in his behavior was too drastic; Joanna Kennedy simply couldn’t accept it.
[...What exactly did Serena Sutton do?] Joanna Kennedy asked, her composure returning.
paused for a moment before answering honestly. [It was probably the system belonging to the second male lead that did something, but as for the specific methods it used, I can’t figure it out.]
In that case, only Serena Sutton or Charles Jennings would know the answer.
The faint sounds from the kitchen drifted to her ears. Joanna Kennedy blinked, forcing her tears back, and found Jack Warren in her contacts.