The transparent crystal glass was filled with deep red champagne, but it was quickly downed in one go.
Seraphina Sinclair had thought of using alcohol to numb herself, but the more she drank, the clearer those memories became, each scene like a small knife, piercing her heart bit by bit.
So she drank more urgently and accidentally choked, immediately coughing dramatically.
When Desmond Fairchild pushed the door open, the room was filled with the aroma of alcohol, and he saw Seraphina Sinclair kneeling by the coffee table, her face flushed from coughing.
His brow furrowed, and he quickly walked over, helping her up from the floor and gently patting her back.
"Why are you drinking so much?" Desmond’s face slightly darkened as he caught a strong whiff of alcohol on her.
"I didn’t drink much; I only had three or four glasses." Seraphina absent-mindedly waved his hand away, holding the glass in one hand and leaning against the back of the sofa.
Desmond glanced at the several bottles of champagne haphazardly placed on the coffee table, one almost empty, and his face grew even more somber.
"What’s wrong with you today? No more drinking, give me the glass!" Desmond reached out to take the glass from her hand.
Seraphina didn’t resist and let him take the glass, staring at him for a long moment before suddenly laughing, "Desmond, do you think money is really that important? That for money, you can ignore years of feelings?"
She was clearly smiling, but her eyes were full of sorrow.
Desmond didn’t know how to answer for a moment. Seraphina watched him for a while, chuckled lightly, and picked up the glass again.
Desmond, not knowing how to comfort her, went to the side and grabbed another glass, drinking one cup after another. For a while, the only sound in the room was that of wine being poured into glasses.
"Desmond, you probably don’t know, but I actually wanted to try accepting you. But what happened back then scared me so much. I chose the wrong person and lost my father. Now only Jude is with me, and I can’t lose him too."
After finishing two bottles of wine, Seraphina couldn’t hold out any longer. After saying these words, she collapsed into Desmond’s arms.
Desmond was also a bit drunk at this point. Caught off guard, he instinctively wrapped his arms around her to prevent her from falling off the sofa. Thɪs chapter is updatᴇd by novel•fire.net
"Silly." Desmond touched Seraphina’s hair and sighed. Although he knew she couldn’t hear him, he still murmured, "You won’t lose Jude. One day, I’ll make you completely accept me."
Even after getting drunk, Seraphina was quite content. She found a comfortable position in his arms and drifted into a deep sleep.
Desmond carried Seraphina to the bedroom, placed her under the covers, and lay down beside her, soon falling into a deep sleep himself.
The next morning, when Seraphina woke up, she felt a headache, the aftereffect of a hangover. Rubbing her forehead and yawning, she pushed open the door to the living room.
"Awake? Go freshen up, I’ve prepared some hangover soup for you. Drinking a bit will make you feel better." Seeing her appearance, Desmond remarked with some amusement.
Seraphina’s slightly muddled mind suddenly cleared. Seeing the steaming hangover soup on the table reminded her of last night’s events, and her throat suddenly felt hoarse. Nodding absently, she fled into the bathroom.
With both hands on the sink, Seraphina splashed some cold water on her face, then looked at herself in the mirror: "Seraphina Sinclair, you must stay calm. Why have you been getting drunk repeatedly in front of Desmond?" And said all those nonsensical things!
Taking a deep breath, Seraphina forced herself to calm down and began her morning routine.
After exiting the bathroom, she sat down at the table, tentatively sipping the hot hangover soup, her eyes unfocused.
"Is it that you don’t like the taste of the hangover soup?" Desmond asked, observing her.
"Huh? No, it’s fine." Finally snapping out of it, Seraphina lifted the bowl and drank it all.
Though not very unpleasant, it did have a peculiar taste. Before Seraphina could comment, Desmond handed her a plum from the side.
Surprised, Seraphina looked at him, smiled, and took the plum, "Thanks."
"Thank me for what? Are you referring to drinking with you last night, or the hangover soup and plum now? We’re not strangers, are we?" Desmond said.
Seraphina lowered her gaze to the plum in her hand, recalling everything Desmond had done for her lately.
"Thank you for everything you’ve done for me these days. I really appreciate it and am deeply moved..." She lifted her eyes to look at Desmond and said earnestly, word by word.
"I don’t need your gratitude. Everything I’ve done has been willing and joyful." Desmond replied just as sincerely, his gaze fixed on Seraphina’s face.
Lowering her head, Seraphina flashed a flustered smile, "Ahem, it’s getting late. I should head to the office." Saying this, she quickly stood up and hastily left the scene.
"Such an ungrateful person." Desmond muttered with a mix of amusement and helplessness as he watched her rush out like fleeing from a wolf.
Since that morning, Seraphina hadn’t seen Desmond for several days, and the odd, uncontrollable feeling in her heart finally began to subside.
This afternoon, she was in her office handling some documents. "Knock knock." An unexpected knock on the door.
"Come in," she said without lifting her head.
"President Sinclair, President Fairchild is here," the secretary said.
"Hmm? What’s he doing here? Let him in." Seraphina said, puzzled as she set aside her work.
"Alright." The secretary nodded, and shortly after, Desmond was brought in.
"Why are you at the company today? Is something wrong?" Seraphina asked nervously.
"Can’t you think positively? Grandma just called me, asking me to bring you home for dinner tonight," Desmond said, amused by her demeanor.
Feeling a bit embarrassed, Seraphina coughed quietly, knowing all the recent happenings had put her on edge.
"It’s not a holiday today. Why is Grandma asking you to bring me over for dinner?" Seraphina clumsily changed the topic.
"You’ll know when you get there, won’t you? Let me know when you get off work, and I’ll pick you up." Desmond didn’t point out her obvious attempt at changing the subject.
"Alright," Seraphina nodded.
After work, Desmond arrived as promised and drove Seraphina to the old house.
Upon reaching the well-lit home, Seraphina felt a twinge of foreboding, which turned out to be true once they stepped inside.