Gloria stood for a long time. In the end, she opened the door and bent down to pick up the takeout that was placed on the ground.
She said softly, "Mandy, thank you."
However, no one heard her.
Time passed by quickly. It was getting dark outside.
Gloria glanced at her watch. It was almost time to get off work, but she did not want to go back home.
Stewart did not call her for the whole day. She thought that her threatening words in the morning should be effective and that Stewart was afraid of her.
Gloria finished looking through the documents on the table. She no longer had an excuse to stay longer.
She left the office.
Gloria parked the car in the underground parking lot, took the elevator upstairs, and arrived at the floor where she lived. Standing outside the apartment, she looked at the closed door with mixed feelings.
She reached out her hand and placed it on her heart gently. She could feel clearly that her heart was beating abnormally fast.
She opened the door. It was dark inside, and she breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that Stewart had taken Patrick away.
The next moment, she felt a sense of loss.
Gloria pressed the switch on the wall, and the warm light lit up the living room.
Patrick was not on the sofa. In the past, he liked to stay on the sofa the most.
Gloria put down her backpack. She went into the bedroom and turned on the light. No one was on the bed, either.
She walked out of the bedroom to the balcony.
There was only the telescope.
Gloria touched it. It felt cold and lonely.
She wanted to figure out what she was thinking, but she was at a loss.
She went back to the living room. When she walked past the bar counter, she suddenly stopped. There was food on the table.
Gloria stood quietly there and looked at it for a long time. She reached out to the plate. It was no longer as warm as last night.
Patrick had left. No one would heat the dishes for her.
"It's good. He finally left," Gloria said.
She picked up the fork and began to eat the cold food.
She turned on all the lights and the warm light shone on every corner of the room.
However, Gloria frowned and felt that something seemed to be missing.
At night, Gloria tossed and turned, trying to get some sleep.
A few hours passed, but she still did not feel sleepy at all.
She threw away the quilt and stepped on the ground barefooted. She paced in front of the window in frustration.
She put on a nightgown, walked to the living room, and turned on the TV.
All of a sudden, there was a small sound outside the door.
Gloria listened carefully.
The noise lasted for several minutes. She was certain that she had not heard it wrongly.
Was it a thief?
As soon as the idea appeared in her mind, Gloria rejected it. Since Patrick allowed her to move out of Alpha's villa, it meant that it was somehow safe around the apartment building.
But what was going on outside?
Gloria opened the door.
She never thought that it would be Patrick.
Her heart skipped a beat.
Gloria stared at Patrick for five minutes, and he was also staring at her. She looked calm from the outside.
In fact, behind her calmness were endless struggles.
When she saw the pleading in Patrick's eyes, her feigned calm was gone, and her heart softened.
Gloria turned around and walked into the apartment.
The door was still open.
She did not see whether Patrick followed her in or not. She walked forward and took a bathrobe and towel from the bedroom. When she came out, no one was in the living room. She looked up and saw Patrick sitting outside the door and looking inside. His eyes were fixed on her.
Gloria walked to the door silently and stuffed the bathrobe and towel into Patrick's hands.
She turned around and went back to her room.
Just now, she saw clearly that Patrick's eyes lit up when he took the bathrobe.
"Gloria, thank you!" Patrick's voice rang out.
Gloria paused at the door of the bedroom and clenched her fists.
She entered the room and ignored him.
She leaned against the door weakly. She seemed to have accepted the reality.
She thought, 'Patrick, what do you want me to do with you?'
Gloria did not ask why Patrick had come back.
She held her phone, and she heard the sound of water in the bathroom.
She knew that as long as she made a phone call, Stewart would come to pick up Patrick.
This way, she would not be bothered by the complicated feelings in her heart.
Gloria grabbed her phone tightly, her palm sweating. She was at a loss once again.
She closed her eyes. No one knew what she was thinking.
Time passed bit by bit. She stepped on the floor barefooted and walked to the window. She threw her phone on the bed quietly.
Gloria opened the window. The wind and rain got through the window and blew on her face and shoulders.
"The wind and rain came at a bad time," she murmured.
She stood in front of the window, lost in thoughts.
A small noise behind her startled Gloria, and she turned her head instinctively. The door was open, and a black shadow was standing there.
She didn't know if it was an illusion. She felt that Patrick had been standing there for a long time.
They had nothing to say to each other.
Gloria took her blanket and walked out.
When she passed by the door, Patrick grabbed her hand tightly.
"Gloria, where are you going?" Patrick asked in a panic.
Gloria almost couldn't hold back her laughter. How ironic!
Patrick snatched the blanket in her hand and pushed her into the room. He slammed the door shut. "I'll sleep in the living room."
They spent the night in total silence.
The next morning, another day had come.
Gloria opened the door and smelt the aroma of food. She washed up silently and sat in the same seat as usual.
Patrick was less talkative, but Gloria could sense his gaze on her head.
As soon as she looked up, she met Patrick's deep eyes.
She mocked in her heart. 'I was defeated by just his look.'
When she went out, Gloria said seriously to Patrick, who was as innocent as a child, "Patrick, you have to get better soon."
Patrick was stunned for a moment. Then, he smiled, "Okay! Gloria, I'll do whatever you say! I'll get better."
His smile was warm and bright, but Gloria felt it was unpleasant to the eye.
She and Patrick seemed to have a strange tacit understanding.