Falling into the man’s arms, Vera Wave was still reeling when his voice, warm with his breath, filled her ears.
"Don’t you think you owe me an explanation?!"
Vera Wave turned her face, her soft lips parted slightly in surprise, her wide eyes filled with confusion.
"An explanation for what?"
Kris Cooper’s right hand, gripping her wrist, tightened unconsciously.
"That man, why do you like him?!"
Clearly, that man couldn’t compare to him. Did she give up on him for that bastard? The very thought made him grind his teeth in frustration.
At the mention of his name, Vera Wave’s expression instantly fell.
"I must have been blind!"
"I don’t think you were blind; you’re just stupid, brainless, and a complete idiot!" Kris Cooper leaned over, grabbing Vera’s arm and pinning her against the dining table. "What’s so good about him, huh? Tell me!"
He roared the last three words.
At first, he had searched like a madman. He’d only met her at a party, and she rarely spoke of her family, so he actually knew very little about her. His search was like that of a headless fly, bumping around aimlessly. With great difficulty, he finally learned about her school through others, but by the time he rushed there, she had already withdrawn. He managed to find her family’s phone number, but it was already disconnected. For almost a year, he drove around the streets of New York every day, attending all the Ebba people gatherings he used to despise, just hoping to catch another glimpse of her.
And her? She was like a gust of wind, vanishing without a trace.
He’d had to give up and try to pull himself together. He worked like a madman, from dawn till dusk.
But she was like a curse. Even in moments of idle thought, she would claw her way out from the depths of his heart, her presence like cat claws scraping at his nerves.
His only recourse was to work ceaselessly, often collapsing asleep at his computer each day, just to escape that torment.
It took him three full years to gradually claw his way back, to once again become the seemingly carefree Kris Cooper he once was.
But no one knew that this return was merely superficial. Ever since meeting her, he could never truly go back to the man he had been.
Now, he had finally found her. And what was she doing? Grieving over some worthless bastard!
Vera Wave was stunned silent by his roar.
She remained frozen for a good ten seconds before her mind cleared.
The man before her was incandescent with rage, his face as dark and stormy as a sky on the verge of a tempest. His eyes, however, held not only fury but also an undercurrent of something else, an emotion she couldn’t decipher.
Both her arms were caught in his grip, his hands like iron vises, threatening to snap the bones.
"What the hell is wrong with you? Let go of me!" she struggled instinctively. "That’s right, I’m a fool, I’m brainless, I’m an idiot! But what right do you have to control me!"
Kris Cooper abruptly shot up from his chair, releasing her. The chair skittered backward, its legs screaming against the floor in a sharp shriek.
Vera Wave swayed, then crumpled to the ground.
"You ask me what right?" Kris Cooper squatted, looming over her. He reached out, his fingers closing around her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze. "Did you really think your act was so convincing? Did you think I wouldn’t recognize you? Let me tell you, I’d recognize you even if you were turned to ashes!"
Forced to meet his furious gaze, Vera Wave was utterly bewildered.
Behind him, the decorative vase on the table had tipped over. Water gushed out as it rolled precariously toward the edge, moments from crashing to the floor.