Sober up, then we'll talk

"Why did you drink so much again? Haven't you learned your lesson after getting such terrible hangovers the next day? Let me get you some hangover soup I saved some in the fridge. I'll heat it up for you." Lia reached out, holding his arm around her shoulder.

When she stretched her arm and placed his weight on her comparably petite size, she hissed. 'I forgot I had a wound on my back. Sh*t, can I even support his weight? Ugh. At this rate, I will have to redo my bandages again. Whatever, deal with him first.' She silently thought to herself as she helped him into her apartment.

Suddenly, he growled and extracted his arm forcefully. His hands landed on her shoulders and gripped it terrifyingly tight. Her face scrunched from the agonizing pain. "Let me go! Antonio, are you crazy? You're hurting me! Ahh!"

No matter how she kicked, slapped, punched, or tried kneeing him, he didn't budge. Instead, his murderous eyes stared directly into her tearful ones. She was shrugging at this point and sweating from pain.

"You! Because of you, Lia! You ruined my lifetime happiness. You ruined my family. You ruined me! If you didn't lie about Selina's death, I would've continued searching for her and found her before Jason Hui! I would have had the chance to make her fall in love with me and the one who will stand by her now is me! Not Jason Hui! It is your fault! Are you happy?"

As he strengthened his hold on her body, his white knuckles appeared on the back of his hands. His veins look das if it was ready to burst.

"I said let me go! It hurts!" Finally, Lia managed to break free from his grip. She held her right shoulder with trembling hands. Taking a deep breath, her fingers from the left hand pressed lightly on the spot where he had attacked. The pain was unbearable.

"What the hell are you talking about? I told you, I have lied to you, but considering your health back then, what else could I have done? It felt worse seeing you look like a dead corpse walking around the streets! Yes, blame me. I followed your dad's orders to make your heart die-off from looking for Selina. Whether you wish to see it as my selfishness or a scheme, I only care for your overall condition."

While raising her voice at him, Lia could feel that her wound had reopened and blood-soaked through the bandages. Her shirt was slightly stuck to her back already. However, she must deal with the man in front of her first before changing the bandage again.

As uncomfortable as she felt right now, she had to calm him down first. When she shoved him just now, he stumbled backward and fell against her bed. Hearing him hiss after the fall and his hand rubbing the back of his head, she tried examining his condition.

However, the moment she stepped right in front of him, a chuckle escaped his mouth. He laughed lowly, pulled her arm, and pinned her down in bed. "I said, if you didn't lie to me, then right now, it'll be Selina by my side! What kind of attitude do you have to yell at me? What right do you have? You just follow my dad all day long and obey his commands."

His fingers dug into the wounds on her wrist from Master Liam's recent punishment, making her nerves tense up. "Please, just stop. You're really hurting me! Sober up and then we can talk. But not right now. Please, just stop this. It really hurts. Seeing you like this hurts me even more!"

Tears began dripping from the corner of her eyes, running down to her temples in multiple streams. It was the first time she cried in front of him. Even when she was punished severely and her wounds ached, she never shed a tear. She never once complained to him about how hard her missions were. Yet, he always managed to make her heartache in unexplainable ways.

Antonio remained silent when he watched her cry in front of him. After a few seconds, he started blinking, squinting, and shaking his head as if his consciousness was fading. When he opened his eyes again, he whispered, "Selina...It's you..."

"Selina? Ha... No, I'm not Selina. Let me go." She tried her best attempt to struggle out of his grip, but her efforts were useless against his strength. If she wasn't injured, perhaps she had a chance to break away. However, her body was in no condition to even raise a kick at him.

"Selina, please listen to me. I love you. I've loved you. We were working together back then as partners and we knew each other's thoughts without having to communicate. We were a perfect match and I fell in love with you. But back then you were my friend's fiancee and girlfriend. I couldn't steal you away. So, I keep looking at you from afar. I kept observing you." Antonio continued confessing with a bitter expression on his face.

"No, I don't want to hear it." Lia shook her head sideways, refusing to listen to his confession to another woman. It was enough when she knew he wouldn't return her feelings, but now, she really couldn't stand such a blow.

"Selina, listen to me. We were supposed to be a pair. We were supposed to be a married couple. I can give you what Jason Hui could give you and even more. I love you more than he does, so please, give me a chance. Please, don't reject me..." He muttered, lowering his head to plant kisses on her face.

"No... No! Stop. I am not her! Sober up already!" Lia shifted her knee upwards, however, her injured ankles were quickly locked in place by his legs.

He gritted his teeth. "Why? Why not me?! Dad is right. I need to make you mine first. Love can come later. I have to make you mine first even if it means your body first!"

"Ah!!" Lia couldn't fight him in the end.

That night, the relationship between them changed. A broken heart and broken relationship became irreparable. They can never be the same again.