Chapter 187: I Understood

[Chapter 187: I Understood]

"Come on, get up! I made some porridge, and I hope you like it," Elisabeth said with a faint smile before turning and leaving the room.

Julia peeked through the slightly ajar door, but she didn't see the girl anywhere. Wrapping herself in a blanket, she timidly made her way to the bathroom. She didn't have Elisabeth's carefree nature and wasn't comfortable exposing herself in front of someone she had only just met, even if that person was a woman.

Twenty minutes later, Julia appeared in the dining room wearing a loose, light green house dress. Elisabeth had already set out breakfast. When she saw Julia walk in, she merely nodded in acknowledgment, continuing to read her newspaper casually while eating, completely at ease.

Julia didn't mind and took a seat at the table. She picked up a piece of toast, spread some peanut butter on it, and took a few bites before trying a spoonful of the plain porridge.

"Did you sleep well last night?" the girl across from her suddenly asked.

"Ah, of course," Julia quickly replied, feeling inexplicably guilty, though she couldn't pinpoint why. Her memories of the night before had already blurred into a tangled mess.

"Honestly, I recommend that you avoid having a repeat performance," Elisabeth remarked meaningfully.

"A repeat of what?" Julia blinked at the girl across from her.

"Getting drunk; don't drink so much next time."

Julia seemed to realize something: "Did I... did I do something embarrassing last night?"

Elisabeth nodded without hesitation: "Yes."

"Oh no." Julia slapped her forehead in shock. "This is really bad; what if it gets out?"

"Don't worry, it won't," Elisabeth said, still not looking up from her newspaper as she flipped to another page.

"Hmm?"

"I think that idiot wouldn't let it slip," Elisabeth commented nonchalantly.

Julia's eyes widened. "That idiot... you mean... Eric?"

"Bingo!"

Julia's heart raced, and she stammered, "So... Liz. What exactly... what did I do?"

"It wasn't too outrageous. You just latched onto that idiot and cried, begging him to kiss you."

"Oh my God!" Julia groaned in utter distress, burying her head on the table. She thudded it a few times against the solid wood surface.

Seeing her reaction, Elisabeth couldn't help but chuckle. "Careful, don't break the wood -- no one's going to mourn for that."

After a while, Julia lifted her head and poured herself a glass of cold water from the glass pitcher in the middle of the table, gulping it down. She took a few deep breaths before summoning the courage to ask, "Uh, Liz. Can you tell me what happened last night in detail?"

"Are you sure you want to hear?" Elisabeth asked in response.

Suppressing her urge to backtrack, Julia nodded.

Elisabeth had an excellent memory, and she hadn't been drunk last night. So she began recounting the events, starting from when Julia complained about Eric, adding in vivid details.

"I... I said even my dreams out loud?" Julia looked like she was about to break down, gazing at Elisabeth with a pleading expression, as if hoping for a denial.

"Uh-huh," Elisabeth replied, lifting her bowl of porridge to her lips. She nodded absentmindedly to Julia's question.

Julia banged her head against the table once more. "It's over. I can't show my face in public again."

Elisabeth finished the last mouthful of porridge and wiped her mouth, curiosity shining in her eyes as she asked, "Julia, does Eric Williams really have that twisted preference? Does he like hitting women?"

"No," Julia mumbled against the table.

Elisabeth seemed relieved. "So those were your sexual fantasies. I thought he was truly a creep, which would have been revolting. I was somewhat interested in him."

"Liz, let's not talk about this anymore, okay? I feel like dying right now."

"It's nothing. Who said women can't have sexual fantasies? But yours are particularly... interesting. You actually wished for him to hit you."

"That was just in a dream," Julia weakly defended herself.

"Dreams are a convenient and quick way for human desires to manifest. They're essentially the same as fantasies during waking hours, except fantasies are controllable while dreams are not. If those thoughts weren't in your heart, you wouldn't have dreamt that way."

"Hmm..." Julia sniffled a few times, looking like she might cry if the topic continued.

Elisabeth dropped it and switched topics. "Julia, are you in love with him?"

Julia shot up suddenly, visibly more sensitive to this topic. "No, of course not! I hate him!"

"Oh," Elisabeth said noncommittally, wisely choosing not to press further, knowing that she might provoke a furious response. Inwardly, she mused that Julia's reaction surely reflected an extreme case of 'hate.'

Julia stared at Elisabeth, fingers pressing down slightly on the edge of the table as if she wanted to do something. After a moment of waiting, she realized Elisabeth wasn't continuing and let out a sigh, faltering, "I just... actually..."

"Forget it, Julia. Let's have breakfast. I think your life is a bit too dull, which is why you overthink things. How about we go shopping after breakfast? I can borrow a private jet, and we can fly directly to Manhattan. Fifth Avenue is a shopping paradise! In the evening, I'll take you to some parties to meet some young people. They might not be as great as Eric Williams, but their families are surely wealthier."

"I've come across quite a few of those types at various parties. Either they're too old or just full of themselves, living off their families' wealth. Sometimes I wonder if they'll even be able to afford the inheritance taxes when the time comes. I heard many rich kids had to donate substantial parts of their inheritances because they couldn't pay the exorbitant estate tax."

"Ha, you're talking about a rare few," Elisabeth laughed. "As long as you think ahead, those billionaires have countless ways to smoothly pass on their assets to the next generation."

Unknowingly, the conversation shifted away from last night's embarrassing moments, and the two began chatting animatedly.

"Liz, what do you think of this shirt? Don't you think the one you're wearing is a bit big?" After breakfast, the two girls dove into Julia's wardrobe to pick out clothes. They had similar figures and heights, so size wasn't an issue.

"Well, I like clothes that are a bit looser. This one's nice," Elisabeth said, making no effort to change. She stood there in her underwear, her fair legs exposed while rummaging through another closet for long pants.

Julia bit her lip, quickly thinking of how to have Elisabeth unknowingly take off the shirt.

"Hmm, these pants are nice; I'll take them," Elisabeth said, pulling out a pair of khaki casual trousers and trying them on.

"Very nice! Looks great," Julia observed. "But I think khaki pants go better with a light blue top or even pink. White can be a bit odd," she said, quickly grabbing a couple of small shirts from a rack and holding them up. "Look!"

Elisabeth blinked at the two small shirts, then glanced at the one she was wearing. Suddenly, she lifted the hem of her oversized white shirt and pulled it off, leaving her in nothing but white panties, exclaiming, "Wow, wow, how disgusting! I get it now -- this must be Eric Williams' shirt! So gross, yuck, yuck, yuck!"

*****

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