Half a month had passed. Patrick didn't appear in front of her again. Occasionally, Hank would come back to take a change of clothes and then leave in a hurry.
Apart from being confused, the guards in the pack became increasingly serious.
Gloria didn't know what had happened.
One day, the dark iron gate of Alpha's villa opened again. She saw the familiar Bentley driving in from the second floor from a distance.
She looked at the car and fell into a daze.
Finally, he came back.
She retracted her gaze and did not know how to face him.
Just as she was lost in thought, Kevin went to her door and invited her to meet Alpha respectfully.
She wanted to ask if she could refuse.
However, Kevin turned around and left directly.
It was no use delaying. She still went downstairs.
Gloria gave a self-mockery chuckle. However, her smile faded quickly. As she got thinner, her face seemed to be sunken.
She noticed a tall man standing upright at the stairway entrance.
It was Patrick.
He stood there with his chin slightly raised and looked at her without a word.
Gloria couldn't help having a strange feeling. He was like a person staring at her in a painting.
Hank stood respectfully behind Patrick in a defensive manner, the same as before.
Patrick looked at Gloria for a while before reaching out to wave at her, who was upstairs. "Come here."
Patrick's deep voice sounded. Gloria could tell a trace of rare gentleness in his voice as well.
She maintained silence. She knew clearly that she could not avoid him.
She stepped down.
It took a long time for her to take every step as she indeed didn't know how to face him. She thought that he would be out of patience and angry. To her surprise, he stood quietly at the stairway entrance, watching her walk over slowly.
For some reason, at this moment, Gloria had an illusion that Patrick had been waiting for her for hours and hours. He would never leave before he met her.
As soon as the absurd idea flitted through her mind, she forced herself to forget it.
How was that possible? What was worse, she did not know what she should do when facing him at all.
She did not know how long it had been. When she finally stood in front of Patrick, she felt her feet weak. She stood motionlessly without daring to look up. She could feel the gentle gaze above her head.
She raised her eyes and cast a glance at him secretly. Then, she failed to look away.
She was seized by the complicated emotions in his eyes.
His eyes were full of gentleness and affection. Why?
Gloria found it confusing.
She did not understand Patrick's gaze.
Just then, Patrick rested his warm palm on her forehead without saying a word to her.
He gently caressed the scar, which could never be removed.
"It must have been painful back then," Patrick said gently.
She was annoyed by his gentleness and waved his hand away, "It didn't hurt."
She had suffered a lot. Actually, it was no longer worth mentioning the scar since she had been through worse situations.
The back of Patrick's hand became red and swollen immediately.
Hank glared at Gloria. However, Patrick said with a wave of his hand. "Hank, you and others can wait for me outside."
Hank had no way but to leave. At the same time, the servants retreated to the courtyard under the lead of Kevin.
For a moment, only Patrick and Gloria were left in the huge living room.
Patrick reached out and rubbed the back of his swollen hand. He seemed to comfort Gloria, "I'm fine."
Gloria did not know how to break the eerie silence.
There came Patrick's voice again, "Do you remember your eighteenth birthday party? At that time, you were arrogant and energetic. You looked down on me. You were an interesting girl!"
She tried to annoy him on purpose. "I don't remember."
"It was a summer afternoon. Back then, I had a rest under a tree with my eyes closed. You thought I was asleep and kissed me secretly."
"I don't remember that anymore," she insisted.
Patrick only laughed it off.
"You used to make chocolate the same as other girls on Valentine's Day. You secretly stuffed it into my bag."
She answered, "It ended up being eaten by dogs."
Patrick burst out laughing. He was amused by her. "No, my dogs didn't like the chocolate you made."
Unconsciously, she began to chat with him, "That's right. You have always disliked me."
Patrick ceased the laugh and fixed his deep eyes on Gloria. He replied with a faint smile, "No, I ate the chocolate and then had acute gastroenteritis. I had diarrhea for three days."
Gloria was shocked.
She wanted to mock him for his nonsense, but something occurred to her suddenly. She recollected that she had come to Black Thorn once and had only been told that Patrick suffered from a stomachache and was hospitalized.
As he spoke, Patrick extended his hand towards Gloria, "You took a lot of photos of me when I played basketball. Where are they? It's time to return them to me."
"I lost it." Gloria pursed her lips.
Patrick took a deep look at her.
Gloria was somewhat upset due to his inexplicable attitude and words.
She couldn't take it anymore. "Patrick, what are you trying to do? Are you coming to catch up?"
Patrick seemed to ignore her words. He continued, "I can remember how much you loved me."
She suddenly trembled and closed her eyes. How could he say those words to her?
"Then, do you remember that no one is called Gloria in the Carter family?" she asked. This was what he had said back then.
"Alpha Patrick, I am a criminal. I have killed people before. I am vicious."
Patrick lowered his head in silence. After a while, he sighed and reached out his hand again. "You no longer love me, right?"
As soon as he finished speaking, her heart leaped a beat. Although he didn't say anything else, she felt herself being hit by a sharp pain again.
She reached out and wanted to cover her heart. However, she forced herself to put her hand down.
She convinced herself into believing that she was fine and letting bygones be bygones. She didn't want to fall desperate once more.
Surprisingly, she was pulled into a warm embrace the next second. She struggled to get free, but Patrick buried his head in her neck and whispered, "Don't push me away. Let me hug you for a while."
Gloria wondered if it was her illusion. He sounded miserable. She began to soften and stayed stiffly in Patrick's arms.
She could feel how he stroked her head with his firm chin.
He patted her back gently, as if she was a treasure in his arms.
Her chin was lifted, and her lips were touched by warm fingers. She squinted at Patrick warily.
However, she could only see the longing and love in Patrick's deep eyes.
A faint smell of tobacco in his fingers greeted Gloria as he constantly rubbed her lips. She was afraid that he would lose control.
However, he did nothing but rub her lips with his slightly rough fingers. She couldn't help feeling itchy and becoming increasingly restless.