Chapter 6 Chapter Six

Erin closed her eyes, struggling with the unspoken words in her trembling soul.It was his voice... richer and deeper, a man's voice, not a boy's anymore.As he approached slowly, the vines on the ground made rustling noises from being trampled on, and she kept refusing to look at him.It took all her strength to keep breathing, her whole body limp with fear, and an irresistible heat that made her heart beat wildly. His voice seemed to knock on a door in her heart, "If you're going to throw it in the river, then I'm coming back." Irene let go of her fingers, and the handkerchief slowly fell from between her fingers.She turned slowly to welcome his approach.The black-haired man she saw in the hall was Mikan, and at this moment he was stronger and more eye-catching than what he saw just now.The body is strong and strong, with a symmetrical and perfect face next to the broad nose.His masculine virility had replaced his former beauty—a sculptor would have thought there were parts of the statue that needed to be softened.But his chiseled face matched his beautiful eyes, clear and bright blue-green eyes under thick lashes.No one else in the world has eyes like this.

"Mikan," she said hoarsely, her eyes searched for him, trying to find some shadow of the lanky boy in the past.but.Mikan is completely unfamiliar now, and the youthfulness and innocence of the past have faded away.His clothes are handmade and his hair, naturally curly, is now cropped in a straight, layered crop.As he got closer, she read more details...the gold watch chain on his vest dazzled in the sun, the muscles in his shoulders and thighs bulging like beasts as he sat on the rock. "I didn't expect to see you here," he whispered, never taking his eyes off her. "I just wanted to take a look at the river... I haven't seen it in a long time."

His pronunciation is a bit strange, soft and drawn back, and some places deliberately add endings. "You sound like an American," Eileen whispered, letting go of her constricted throat. "I lived in New York for a long time." "You disappeared without saying a word. I..." She paused, barely breathing. "I am worried about you." "Oh?" Mikan smiled with a cold expression, "I had no choice but to leave Bristol. Mr. Eberly, the owner of the shipyard who hired me as an apprentice, was cruel. After my ribs were broken and my head was broken, I Decided to get out of there and find a place to start over."

"I'm sorry," Erin said softly.She tried her best to suppress her nausea, and asked, "Then how did you get the travel expenses to America? It must cost a lot of money." "5 pounds. Much more than a year's salary." There was a touch of sarcasm in his words, the amount of money that was an astronomical figure back then is now a drop in the bucket. "I wrote to Mrs. Ficus and she sent it to me out of her savings." Irene lowered her head, remembering the day she received his letter...that was the day her whole world was turned upside down and her life turned around.

"How is she now?" she heard Mikan ask. "Still working here?" "Well. She's still here and doing well." "That's good." Mikan bent down and carefully picked up the handkerchief that had been left on the ground, seemingly not noticing Irene's stiffness.Still sitting on the stone, he began to look at her. "You are beautiful," he remarked calmly, as if contemplating a painting or a pleasant landscape, "more beautiful than I remembered. You didn't wear a ring, I noticed. " Her fingers immediately shrank under the shirt, "Yes, I'm not married."

There was a strange flash in his eyes.The blue-green eyes flicked a sliver of darkness, like a cloud on a clear summer sky for a moment. "why?" She hid her uneasiness and replaced it with a calm smile, "It's not up to me to decide. What about you? It's already—" "No." The news shouldn't have made her heart beat faster.But it does. "Where's Olivia?" Mikan asked softly, "How's it going?" "She's not married either. Lives with Max and me. She... you probably don't see her very often." "What's wrong?"

Eileen tried to find the right words to explain her sister's situation, she didn't want him to jump to conclusions. "Olivia doesn't socialize very much, and she doesn't like to talk to the guests here. It's all because of the scandal 2 years ago. At that time, Olivia was engaged to Sir Amberley, and she loved him very much. But the two Before he could marry, he died in a hunting accident." She paused, brushing a small beetle off her shirt. Mikan was expressionless, "What kind of scandal?" "Olivia had a miscarriage shortly after that. It was known that she and Amberley had..." She paused helplessly, "Olivia made a mistake and she told A friend, who was a gossip. Although Max and I tried our best to suppress the gossip, the whole society knew about it, and it spread all over London." She looked at him defiantly and firmly. Livia has done nothing wrong. She and Amberley are genuinely in love and are about to get married. But there are always people who gossip and Olivia has never recovered from her grief. My mother was a saver and that She has been traveling abroad a lot since the incident. I'm glad my father is no longer alive, otherwise he wouldn't have let Olivia go."

"Then your brother—" "No, Max is nothing like our father. He's just, he's compassionate, and he's open-minded." "An open Marden," Mikan mused, finally finding a suitable adjective. The tightness in his eyes made her relax, and she could finally take a long breath, "If you knew Max better, you would definitely agree with me." Both of them could feel that the gulf between them was deeper than when they were young.The worlds are so different that there is almost no intersection.Now they're more like polite strangers, but at least it won't break your heart.The old Mikan no longer exists, and the old girl Irene can't come back.She looked at the mossy field, the quiet river, the pale blue sky, and then met his gaze.She was grateful for the unreality now, which at least allowed her to see him again.

"I should go back," she moved slightly, "There are still a lot of things..." Mikan immediately stood up, his body outlined in the sunlight. Ailin desperately wanted to break the painful silence, "I really want to know, how could you give someone like Mr. Xiao En a job." "It's a long story." "I'd love to hear it. What changed a boy who wouldn't even be a squire?" "He's horny." Erin stared at him, worried and bewildered, and there was a lot going on in that simple description.She wanted to know all the details of what had happened to Mikan to become what he was now.

Mikan couldn't take his eyes off her.For some reason, maybe it was because of being in the sun for a long time, a blush appeared on his face.He approached her slowly, with the utmost caution, as if her presence were some kind of danger.He stopped a few steps away from her, and she felt her heart beating numb again.She inhaled quickly, filling her lungs with air. "Can I go back with you?" he asked. It was a perfectly normal invitation, as any gentleman would do... Irene hesitated for a while, and finally agreed to take his arm.Her fingers wrapped around his sleeve, lightly like the wings of a white moth. "Thank you." She said softly, took his arm, and pressed it into the fine black tweed fabric softly.The real contact with him after many years made her tremble all over.In order to stabilize her pace, she gently clasped him with her fingertips.Mikan's breathing suddenly stopped, as if something was stuck in his throat.But he quickly adjusted his rhythm and carefully escorted her up the slope to the stone garden.Eileen felt that his body was very strong, and she wondered how he had developed such a physique.

"I worked as a boatman, transporting passengers back and forth between Staten Island and the city." Mikan said, seeming to read her mind, "Earn 25 points for each round trip, during which time I met Sean." "Is he also your passenger?" Irene asked, he nodded, and she gave him a strange look, "But how do you know a businessman?" His expression became defensive, "Everything is connected." She smiled at his refusal, "Looks like I have to find a way to make you talkative." "I've never been very talkative." "But guests have to please everyone," she reminded him. "Oh, I'll please you then," he muttered, "I'm just not used to walking and talking." His deliberate cooperation dispelled her composure, and Irene blushed and sighed self-mockery, "I don't think you have changed your nature of teasing people at all. You know, you are accompanying an English lady." Without looking at her, he replied directly, "Yes, I know." They came to a small house, a cottage not far from the main house, reserved for guests who needed some privacy, or who liked to be alone.Max had mentioned to Irene that although the house was more than enough for three people, Mr. Sean specially designated him to assign this house to one person.Eileen hasn't seen Mr. Sean yet, but she has seen several servants enter the house carrying large and small bags. Mikan stopped and glanced at the house. "Shall we split up here? I'll go to the main house later—but I want to look around first." "Of course." Irene guessed that he must have mixed feelings when he came back to Shizi Garden again. Every corner and every road here is full of memories. "Mikan," she said unsteadily, "Did Mr. Xiao En accept my brother's invitation on purpose? Or, you arranged all this and came back later?" Mikan turned to her. "Why should I come back?" Erin met his unfathomable gaze.He showed no signs of anger, but she could feel his heart tightening like clockwork. In an instant, she understood what he had been carefully covering up... She could only see it because she loved him deeply.It is hatred.He's back for revenge - he's going to punish her for what she did in the past, in a thousand ways. Oh, Mikan, she thought dreamily, and though she instinctively wanted to cry out at the danger ahead, she still felt a great deal of sympathy for him.Have you still not forgotten the pain? She looks away.The possibility of him letting her go is almost zero, and this intuition made her frown.Looking straight up into his face, she said with utter concern, "You've made it, Mikan. Looks like you've got everything you've ever dreamed of and more." She turned, stepping cautiously Leave, doing everything in my power to resist the urge to run. "That's not all." Mikan's voice was low and inaudible, and his eyes followed her until she disappeared. Mikan wandered into the cabin, and the servants rushed in and out to pack Sean's luggage.The furniture in the house is Jacobin, solemn and heavy in appearance.The walls were paneled with luxurious rosewood veneer, and thick velvet curtains hung in front of the windows, blocking out the light.It's nice that Jayden Sean hates sunlight most of the time. Mikan knew exactly why Jayden insisted on living in the house alone.As a gentleman, Jayden must control himself and not act beyond the etiquette.Mikan had never seen him drunk before.Because Jayden would always lock himself in his room, drink a bottle or two of it, and reappear two or three days later, pale and stumbling, but with an astonishingly sharp mind.He also behaved without warning - presumably this was his way of life.According to close friends, the gratuitous drinking began shortly before meeting Mikan, when his older brother, Frederick Sean, died of congenital heart disease. Jayden's squire was putting a box of cigars into a multi-tiered drawer.Mikan rarely touched cigarettes, but today he made an exception.He smoked a cigar and smelled a strong spicy smell.The attendant handed over the small scissors.Mikan nodded and took the cigar and cut off the tail.The servant lit the cigarette, and he smoked the bottom of the cigar rhythmically, noticing that his fingers were shaking slightly. The reunion with Irene was more shocking than he expected. The attendant noticed that he was emotionally unstable, "Sir, do you need anything else?" Mikan shook his head. "If Sean comes, tell him I'm on the back porch." "OK." Like the main house, the cottage is built into a cliff face next to the river.Surrounded by dense pine forests, the gurgling water is accompanied by the soft singing of bird nests among the trees.Mikan let go of his coat and sat in a chair, slowly regaining some self-control.He paid no attention to the crystal ashtray brought by the attendant.His thoughts were completely occupied by Irene, including her thick hair under the hair pin, and the slender curve of her body. Time has made Irene more beautiful and moving.She has fully matured into a woman.Her face is delicately sculpted, her nose is long and straight, and her lips, which were originally dark rose-like, are now pale pink like the inner wall of a shell.And that damn beauty mark that never fades away, that swirl around the corner of his lips that grabs all his attention.Mikan stirred up the last remaining kindness in himself, reminding himself of the joy he had had—but it was something that was gone years ago.It took him several years to reverse his own destiny and annihilate his own soul. Mikan snuffed out his cigar and leaned forward with his arms stretched toward his thighs.He looked at the hawthorn tree full of flowers in front of him, thinking why Irene was not married yet.Perhaps she is essentially as cold-blooded as her father, and the enthusiasm of her youth has been replaced by self-appreciation.But it doesn't matter what the reason is.He would go and seduce Eileen.The only pity was old Lord Westcliff, who had never been blessed with the knowledge that Mikan had finally taken pleasure in his daughter's tender lap. Mikan's thoughts were stopped by the rattling of the floor and the ice cubes sliding in his glass.He sat back in his chair and watched his friend Jayden Sean walk into the balcony. Jayden turned around, leaned half on the railing, and supported the column with one hand.Mikan met his gaze steadily.In the eyes of outsiders, the friendship between the two of them was purely out of self-interest.It is true that this is undeniably part of the relationship between the two, but their friendship is by no means limited to this.As with most solid friendships, both have a flair that the other lacks.Mikan was modest and ambitious, while Jayden was emotionally sensitive and easily satisfied.Mikan acts directly and decisively, while Jayden regards honor as the first priority.Mikan struggled in the mall every day, while Jayden was leisurely by his side. A smile appeared on the corner of Jayden's mouth, "I met Miss Erin on the way back to the house. She is a beauty, just as you described. Is she married?" "No." Mikan stared at the misty smoke restlessly. "Well, it's easier than expected." The shoulders under the shirt suddenly tightened, "It doesn't matter if she gets married or not." "You mean that you will never allow any small things such as your husband to be barred on your road, is that what you mean?" Jayden's smile deepened admiringly, "Damn, you are so ruthlessly cruel, Mikan." "That's why you want me for company." "Yes. We're both very similar in our morals...I'll have a drink." "What's the matter?" Mikan took the cup from his hand, lifted it to his lips and swallowed a few mouthfuls, tasting the liquid that blended with ice and fire. Jadon's sharp eyes didn't miss the trembling of Mikan's hand, and he put ice cubes into the glass, "Don't you think your revenge is a little too much? There is no doubt that you will get Miss Irene. But I think even if That way, you won't stop there." "It's not revenge." Mikan murmured, pushing the cup aside, a bitter smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, "It's to dispel the spell. And I don't expect it to stop. I just want to..." He was silent.For 12 years he has been on the verge of starvation, ever since his life entered an unpredictable phase.In America, the speculator's paradise, he had succeeded, but it was not enough, and nothing could mask the bestiality in him. The memory of Irene had tormented him all his life.Of course he wasn't in love with her - the stupid delusion disappeared long ago.He no longer believes in love, nor does he need love.But he had to do something to calm the anger that had been in him for many years, the anger that did not allow him to forget her.He had seen Eileen in a thousand strangers, her eyes, her mouth, the curve of her jaw.The more he wanted to forget, the more he was tormented by her. "What if she gets hurt in this so-called exorcism project?" Jayden asked.His tone of voice was not in the least affected by him.This is one of his strengths, seeing things impersonally, but returning things as they are. Mikan reached into the glass, took out a piece of ice and chewed it in his mouth. "I was going to hurt her." What an understatement.Mikan didn't want to just hurt her, he wanted her to suffer, to cry, to scream, to beg.He wanted her to kneel down and beg her, and this was just the beginning. Jie Dun looked at him suspiciously, "It's a strange way, after all, you once loved her." "That's not love, it's just the impulse of youth and ignorance." "It was a wonderful impulse," Jayden smiled at the recollection. "I had one too, when I was 16, and I fell in love with my sister's governess. A woman older than me, in her twenties... ’ he stopped, smiling bitterly, his blue eyes clouded with gray. Mikan took another ice cube from the glass. "What happened to her?" "We had a fight. She was pregnant with my baby but she didn't want to tell me. I was sure it was mine. Then she went to a quack doctor and bled to death. It was so sad, she told it to my family Yes, they agreed to pay her a fee. The Xiao En family will treat their illegitimate children well." Although Jayden's posture was as relaxed as usual, there was an indelible gloom in his eyes. "You never mentioned her before," Mikan said, looking at him intently.The two had known each other for more than ten years, and he thought he knew all of Jayton's secrets. "I didn't say that?" Jayden stood up as if recovering, and brushed off the ashes that didn't exist on his hands. "Something here makes me want to cry. It's so damn beautiful that it's like a painting." He went to At the door, I turned around, "I'm going to have another drink, would you like some?" Mikan shook his head and stood up, "I still have things to do." "Yes, of course. If you revisit the old place, there must be a few servants who still remember you." Jayden showed a sarcastic smile, "Stone Garden, what a beautiful place. It's a pity that people here don't know that they have lured snakes into the nest." .”