Chapter 2 Priceless

After hanging up the phone, Wesley smiled. He stretched out his hand and bent his finger, motioning for her to come over.

For a moment, Lavender felt as if she was the swirling wine in his hand. A part of her wanted to run to the hills, but she had no other choice but to come to him.

Her mind was in disarray from the amount of alcohol she had taken. She had no idea how she ended up standing before him. In fact, she even forgot to put her heels back on.

"Mr. Wesley..."

Wesley looked at her up and down before glancing at her bare feet. Fresh blood was still trailing down the edges of her toes.

It was not until she realized where he was looking did she feel the piercing pain from her feet. She winced. "I'm sorry, Mr. Wesley. Please give me a moment," she said awkwardly.

She was about to walk back to her sofa and put on the heels, but when she took another step forward, pain shot up her legs. Her legs immediately gave over, and she could feel herself falling.

The man immediately came to her side. His arm wrapped around her slender waist, steadying her. He bent over her, and his hoarse breath fanned the side of her face. She shivered. "Are you really planning to seduce your boss on the first day of work?"

Lavender clenched her jaw. She was about to push him away, but he tightened his grip around her. "Don't move!"

She could already feel her whole world spinning before her, and she blinked rapidly. Under the public's watchful eye, Wesley carried her out of the hotel.

"Mr. Wesley--" She didn't know what to say. Not knowing what to do, she found herself burying her face into his arms.

She was lucky to still be wearing this mask. That way, no one would know who she was. Fortunately, Wesley had just returned from abroad. Only a few people recognized him.

The masquerade was set on the eleventh floor. Without giving her time to refuse, Wesley entered the elevator with Lavender in his arms. The party was still in full swing, so no one made any move to leave. They were the only ones in the elevator.

Now that there was no reason to hide herself, Lavender banged her fists against his chest.

She tried to push him again and again but it was to no avail. Realizing this, she resorted to begging, "Mr. Wesley, please! Put me down. I can walk."

However, he made no efforts to move. Instead, he frowned and said, "Stay still. I don't want to be called out on abusing my employees." As he spoke, he tightened his grip around her waist and pulled her even closer to him.

Lavender didn't give up. "Put me down, Mr. Wesley. Please!" she cried out. She fought desperately, kicking her legs up in the air. At this point, she didn't care if she irritated Wesley tonight and lose her job in the process. All she cared about now was to get rid of him.

His words of 'seducing him' echoed at the back of her mind. There was no way she was going to let him imply such a thing without putting up a fight!

Feeling the desperate resistance of the woman in his arms, Wesley frowned. He threw her on the ground, and his eyes darkened.

Lavender's forehead slammed against the cold wall of the elevator. She flinched from the impact. Pain radiated from her skull. When she reached out to touch her forehead, a warm and sticky liquid fell on her fingertips. She gazed at the red substance. Holding the railings attached to the wall, she slowly staggered upwards. The bright steel surface reflected her current embarrassment.

Her hair was similar to a bird's nest, and now blood was currently beading down her forehead to the bridge of her nose. Regardless of the pain on her feet, she hobbled over to the elevator door. As soon as the door was opened, she was about to leave.

Just as she was about to step out of the elevator, Wesley grabbed her wrist. The grip was so tight that it almost broke her wrist. Although she tried hard to resist, Wesley still aggressively dragged her out like she was some sort of ragged doll. The gashes on her feet were still bleeding, leaving bloodstains all over the carpet.

Noticing the scene, the security guard in the lobby walked up to them. Narrowing his eyes, he asked, "Sir, can I help you?" The man glanced at the branded suit Wesley was sporting and the ordinary dress that Lavender was wearing. It didn't take him a minute to figure out who was in charge here.

With a bloodthirsty glint in his eyes, Wesley glared at the security guard. "Get out of my way!"

Although the guard couldn't see his face, he was still frightened by the dangerous aura emanating from Wesley. He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly as saying, "Yes, sir. Thanks for coming."

He plastered a flattering smile on his face and opened the door for them.

After they walked out of the hotel, Wesley pulled Lavender down the parking lot. It was just eight o'clock at night. There were still plenty of people walking around the street outside. Upon seeing the scene, they all widened their eyes.

A man with a cold face rudely dragged an injured woman across the pavements. Although they sympathized with the frail woman, they couldn't do a thing. They only sighed and turned the other way. No one was willing to meddle in the matter.

"Let me go! You bastard, let go of me!" Lavender stretched out her flailing arm and slapped Wesley's hand. "I said, let go of me! Bastard!"

He allowed her to beat him. However, he didn't loosen his grip. Soon, Wesley stopped in front of a Lotus car, opened the door, and shoved her into the passenger seat.

The leather surface rubbed against the fabric of her clothing. Just as she was about to open the door once again, Wesley had already sat on the driver's seat and locked the door.

Lavender pulled the handle and gritted her teeth. "Let me out!" she roared. "If you don't let me go, then I'll call the police." She pulled out her phone from her bag and began to dial the number.

In a blink of an eye, Wesley grabbed her phone. He lowered the window from his side and brought the phone out. He mockingly swung the gadget around.

Then he loosened his grip and the tips of his fingers were the only ones keeping her phone from falling onto the pavements.

"No!" Lavender's heart raced in her chest. She crawled up her seat and was about to grab it, when she saw the strange smile dangling on his lips. She stilled. If she moved any further, he might actually throw it out. After a few minutes of knowing him, she realized that the man was capable of anything.

"Why are you so nervous? No one would even think twice to save this shitty phone," he said scornfully.

Her phone was indeed worthless. In fact, it should've been disposed of years ago. But she couldn't find it in herself to throw it away. Whenever she saw her phone, she would remember him, the man who had touched her heart. As she saw her phone being waved outside the window, echoes of the past flashed back in her mind.

"Lavender, as your friend, you shouldn't be stubborn. Although you love him and don't want his child to go with him, you still shouldn't burden yourself with the kid! You still have to go to college. Not everyone could get into the university you've gotten into. I don't want all your efforts to go down the drain. Look, if you want to give birth to the baby, I'll support you. I will do everything in my ability to help you. You can count on me to arrange everything!"

"Lavender, the child's mine, okay? I can't wait to tell my parents. They'll be ecstatic! That kid will have my surname and everything. I will treat this baby as my own. She'll be my child."

"Lavender, stop this! That child is lost. Look, we can get through this, okay? We can have so many more children in the future. Just please, don't do this again. Don't put yourself through the heartache!"

"Be my girlfriend. I will never allow anyone to bully you."

"From this day on, I'll protect you. I promise that I'll be better than that bastard!"

Thinking of the past, she was overwhelmed with so many emotions. Happiness soared through her mind. If it hadn't been for him, Lavender would've dropped out of school and found a place to raise her child. If it hadn't been for him, she didn't know where she would have been.

Unfortunately, she couldn't get the best of both worlds. She had gone to college and given birth to her baby, but the baby was lost. No one knew whether that child was alive or dead.

If he hadn't gone to England to further his studies... Things were always like this. Even the closest people would separate due to different circumstances.

Fortunately, time didn't stop from galloping. All the sadness she had felt floated away like a fleeting cloud.

"The phone may not be worth much, but it holds so many memories!" Tears shone in Lavender's eyes. "Do you even know what love means?

That phone was given to me by a very special person. It's priceless!"

She knew how childish it was to go through such extremes. Usually, she was much more rational than this. When being forced into an unfortunate situation, Lavender would find a way to adapt to the circumstances and follow the trend, but it didn't mean that she had no principle. And now, he was crossing the line.

Wesley closed the window. Before she could breathe a sigh of relief, the man threw it against the windshield. The two things collided. Although the windshield was fine, the phone's screen cracked from the impact.

"Wesley!" she screamed. Lavender was about to pounce over and grab the phone when he stopped her.

A brown paper envelope blocked her view.

"Priceless? Are you sure about that?"

He flung the envelope onto her lap. "What about this? Don't you want the three hundred thousand?" Glancing blankly at the phone lying beside the windshield, Wesley took out his lighter and lit up his cigarette. He inhaled casually.

As the smoke surrounded him, he shrugged. "Choose."

For a long time, Lavender was silent. Her heart throbbed at the crossroad lying before her.

After taking a few deep breaths, Wesley threw the cigarette butt out of the window. He reached out the passenger seat and pinched her cheek, forcing her to look at him. He sneered, "Do you know why I hired you? I just wanted to see what it looks like if a woman dares to ask for three hundred thousand dollars from her boss before she even goes to work!

Well? Aren't you good at seducing? Let's see if you're worth the price!" Wesley's hand slid down her top and grazed his fingers against her breasts. Without any warning, he pinched her hard. "Please me!"

Lavender yelped. The pain was enough to draw tears. Her nails were tightly pressed against her thighs that they almost drew blood.