Chapter 1406: Self-Torment
Knowing that nothing had happened between Thomas Fisher and Anthony, Alice Turner finally let out a breath, though she was quite surprised at how easily Thomas had left.
She’d thought he would make a scene with Anthony for a while, and hadn’t expected him to leave so calmly; that actually made her see him in a new light.
That guy was still clingy and willful, but compared to five years ago, he was so much better.
Alice and Anthony had no idea that Thomas hadn’t left the hotel at all, but had gone downstairs to the front desk to check in.
Her sudden disappearance five years ago had left a deep shadow in Thomas’s heart; now that he’d finally found her, there was no way he’d be that careless again.
He had to stay in the hotel with her, keep her within his line of sight at all times; he could not let what happened five years ago happen again.
By coincidence, the guest in the room opposite Alice’s had checked out that very day, so Thomas chose that room and moved in.
After he finished the check-in process, he called for delivery, and the address he gave wasn’t his own room number, but the one opposite.
Alice was completely unaware of what was happening outside, until the delivery guy knocked on her door; only then did she realize someone had ordered takeout for her, and from the delivery guy she learned that the person who’d ordered it was Thomas.
Looking at the takeout she was holding in her hands, Alice suddenly felt a sting in her nose; she didn’t know why, but right at that moment she just wanted to cry.
Her tears seemed to be in even more of a rush than her heart; before she could react, they were already spilling down like a snapped string of beads, pattering down along her cheeks.
By the time Alice realized what was happening, her face was already flooded with tears. She set the takeout on the table beside her and strode into the bathroom.
She turned on the faucet and washed the tears from her face. Just as she reached for the towel, she suddenly caught sight of herself in the mirror; she froze for a second, then drew back the hand she’d just extended.
Alice braced both hands on the edge of the sink, her eyes fixed tightly on the woman in the mirror. She watched the droplets of water slide down her face one by one, but she didn’t react at all, not even intending to wipe them away.
Alice Turner! Snap out of it. A man that good is completely out of your reach. If you don’t cut things off cleanly with him, sooner or later you’ll drag him down and make him lose all his dignity.
Alice bent over again and turned on the faucet. She cupped the icy water in her hands and kept splashing it onto her face, and only when her cheeks were numbed by the cold did she gradually stop this self-punishing act.
She straightened up and took the towel hanging on the rack, wiping the droplets from her face.
By then, there was no more pain in Alice’s eyes, no trace of the earlier surge of emotion or inner turmoil. All that remained was coldness and resolve; that pitiful, beaten-down look from just now was nowhere to be seen on her anymore.
After walking out of the bathroom, she didn’t so much as glance at the takeout she’d left on the table, and went straight over to sit on the sofa.
Once she sat down, Alice reached for the laptop on the coffee table and started working. The moment she began, she slipped instantly into a state of complete absorption.
That state lasted until after four in the morning. By then she really couldn’t hold out any longer. She shut the laptop and lay straight down on the sofa, and because she was so exhausted, she quickly drifted off to sleep.