17:26 Mon, 24 Feb 0
Chapter 275
Chapter 275
Ellie anxiously gazed through the glass, waiting for Linda to finish work. Behind her, Alex, who stood six foot three, leaned silently against her, following her gaze into the shop.
Suddenly, Ellie felt a familiar presence close in on her. As she turned her head, her cheek brushed against Alex’s, sending a shiver down her spine. Instinctively, she pushed him away.
“Murder!” Alex yelled as Ellie’s car key accidentally grazed his face, causing him to double over in pain, gripping his injured cheek with one hand and tugging at Ellie’s leg with the other, groaning in discomfort.
“Stop groaning and let go,” Ellie exclaimed, aware that Alex had a firm grip on her white chiffon wide–leg trousers, drawing the attention of passersby who paused to stare.
“My family has gone bankrupt. From now on, I’ll have to rely on my looks for food. This injury will ruin my beauty, you need to take me to the hospital.” Alex stubbornly clung to her trousers.
Just then, Barry walked by, carrying paraquat. He happened upon the scene and ignored Alex.
Previously, Alex had pursued Ellie relentlessly, even ending up in a cell, but he had never won her heart. Now, with his memory fading, it seemed they were both free of those old connections.
Even though Ellie was a widow with two children, Alex couldn’t help but feel intrigued by her. Now that Ellie had a chance to talk with Alex, Barry felt the need to avoid being a third wheel.
“With so many people watching, you’ve got to get up.” Ellie pleaded, trying to soften her tone to coax Alex into releasing her pants. “I’m a reconstructive surgeon. Let me take a look at your wound first to see if you need to go to the hospital.
“I admit I injured your face, but my legs are nothing like yours; I can’t outrun you. Just let go of my pants, and we’ll figure this out. I promise I won’t run away.”
Noticing that Alex remained unmoving, Ellie furrowed her brow in frustration. ‘Why did I keep running into him today when I was trying so hard to avoid him?‘
Finally, with obvious reluctance, Alex stood up. He bent slightly, almost nudging his face against Ellie’s. She took a step back, carefully inspecting the cut on his face.
The mark made by her key extended from his forehead down to beneath his eye–a long line of crimson. While it wasn’t serious, it definitely looked bad.
“It’s not that serious; I’ll just go inside and buy some supplies,” Ellie said quickly before Alex could protest. A few minutes later, she emerged from the pharmacy holding a bag of medical supplies.
Looking at Alex’s sour expression as he stood stiffly before her, Ellie tilted her head to meet his gaze. “Don’t worry, I’m sure there won’t be any scarring.”
“Mr. Warren, please don’t worry; Ms. Thompson works at Bondie Private Hospital. If there are any problems, you can always go to her,” Barry chimed in, noticing Alex’s grim expression.
Ellie glanced at Barry, momentarily at a loss for words. Alex pushed Barry aside and bent slightly with his hands on his knees, stretching his neck to catch Ellie’s attention.
Ellie retrieved items from her bag and gently tended to his wound. Normally, for an ordinary man, such a minor injury wouldn’t be a big deal, but Alex was anything but ordinary.
When he was ruthless, it was deadly, and when he was being pretentious, it was even worse.
“Could you at least bandage me?” Alex complained as Ellie hurriedly wrapped his injury with just a few motions, irritation
evident in his voice.
1/3
Mon, 24
Chapter 275
“The heat makes it worse for healing.” Ellie replied hesitantly, as his wound was just a scratch.
“No way, you need to wrap it,” he insisted. Seeing no other choice, Ellie complied and placed a band–aid over the cut. With their closeness, Alex stared intently at Ellie, his eyes sparkling with mischief.
“Alex, you scoundrell” Just as Ellie prepared to turn away, Diana suddenly appeared out of nowhere and kicked Alex from behind.
Caught off guard, Ellie couldn’t turn in time, nor could Alex evade the surprise attack. With Ellie’s startled yell, Alex stumbled forward, falling onto her and sending them both down onto the pavement.
Diana didn’t realize that Alex would just remain still. Seeing Ellie toppled over caught her off guard; she gasped, quickly covering her eyes in shock.
As Ellie clutched his collar, Alex let out a low groan, yet instead of feeling hurt, she opened her eyes to find herself being cradled securely in Alex’s strong arm, her back safe from the ground.
He held her up with one arm, drawing admiring whispers from the crowd around them. Hearing the compliments, Ellie snapped back to reality,
She tried to push Alex off to regain her position, but his grasp was firm. Gazing into his teasing eyes, Ellie’s expression darkened. “Let me get up.”
Alex teased, “Am I impressive?”
Ellie stayed silent. Alex tightened his grip on her arms, playfully jostling her. “Come on, tell me, am I impressive?”
As the onlookers egged them on, Ellie wished she could disappear into the ground. “Still not speaking?” Alex held her firmly, starting to do one–handed push–ups.
“What a jerk!” Diana, furious at Alex’s evident exploitation of Ellie’s situation, rolled up her sleeves to intervene.
Barry quickly jumped in. “Ms. Grant, don’t worry; Mr. Warren won’t harm Ms. Thompson.”
“You’re no better.” Diana shot back, landing a quick jab to Barry’s eye, rendering him instantly dazed.
“You’re impressive. You’re the best,” Ellie finally exclaimed, forced into praise as she gave in to the pressure.
Pleased, Alex released Ellie. Alex touched her side, causing her mind to go blank in an instant.
“If you want to see me longer, why not come to my place for a more leisurely view?” Alex said, straightening his arm as Barry checked his bruise, his gaze at Ellie filled with flirtation.
Ellie’s expression shifted quickly as she grabbed Diana’s arm and hurried into the pharmacy. Alex continued to watch Ellie until she disappeared inside, unable to resist the temptation to smell his hand that had just held her.
“Mr. Warren, your arm looks pretty bad; should we go to the hospital now?” Barry asked, concern written all over his face.
“I’ll just wait until tomorrow to see her at her hospital,” Alex replied with a grin, then turned to find Barry’s eye, which looked like it’d been punched.
“The gears of my destiny have just begun to turn, while yours is about to unravel, Alex remarked, glancing at Barry’s bruised eye. “What’s up with your eye? It looks like it’s about to be a painting on a wall.”
“That was a punch from Ms. Thompson’s friend, Ms. Grant,” Barry whispered, covering his swollen eye. “Oh, it’s no big deal, Alex concluded before ripping off the band–aid from his face. Barry rolled his eyes.
