Gloria didn't look embarrassed at all. She said frankly, "Mr. Lucas, I never said that the food I cooked was worth 100 thousand dollars. You gave it to me because you thought it was worth it. I was short of money, so I accepted it. Why did I accept it, though I knew it was not an equivalent exchange? Perhaps you have forgotten that I am a woman who will do anything for money. I'm a call girl. I'm not a socialite. I need money. I need one million dollars. It means the world to me. If I don't come up with this money by the deadline, I'm going to lose something very important."
"That has nothing to do with me." Lucas was expressionless. He did not care about anyone else.
He raised his hand and glanced at his watch. "I have wasted a lot of time already. Miss Carter, I have disturbed you for a long time now. There's no need for us to meet again in the future."
"I thought so, too. That's why I walked you downstairs." She thought for a moment. Then she said, "Mr. Lucas, thank you. Also, you were wrong about one thing. We are just strangers, so there's no point mentioning the future."
The future was for important people only.
As soon as Gloria finished speaking, a gust of cold wind blew, and she wrapped her clothes tighter. She turned around and walked slowly inside.
Lucas suddenly grabbed her and asked, "What do you mean? What do you mean you thought so too? Is that why you sent me downstairs?"
The more Lucas thought about it, the more he felt that something was wrong. What did she mean?
It was like she wasn't the one who just asked for a million dollars from him.
"Let go of your hand, Sir. We have made the same decision. What's the point of asking about it?" Gloria said.
She thought, 'Does it matter what I mean?
I don't want to see him again anyway, and he isn't interested in me anymore.
Now that we are on the same page, why does he care?'
"No." Lucas found it strange. He pulled Gloria and said, "Tell me exactly, or forget about going up tonight."
Gloria was furious. She thought, 'Don't you find yourself overbearing?'
"Fine, don't tell me. But I have plenty of time anyway. Let's stay here till tomorrow when you need to go to work. If you still refuse to talk, then I guess there's no need for you to go to work," Lucas said.
A wave of revulsion welled up in Gloria's heart. She kept silent for a while. She had a feeling that Lucas was serious about it.
"Didn't I just tell you? For me, a million dollars is more important than my life," she slowly said. "However, Mr. Norman, though you are willing to give me such a sum of money which is more important than my life, I still don't want you to touch my wound again. It's nothing personal. I just don't want anyone to touch my wound! So, Mr. Norman, I don't think I will see you again. I walked you down only to say goodbye."
She pulled Lucas' hand off her arm, hunchbacked, grabbed the handrail in the corridor, and climbed the stairs.
Lucas stood there with complicated expressions.
He thought, 'So, is that what she meant when she said she needed a million dollars?
Did I get her wrong?'
If anyone else had said it, Lucas would never have believed it. He would just think they were quibbling. However, when it came to Gloria, Lucas couldn't tell how he felt about it.
Then, he quickly caught up with Gloria, who was climbing the stairs. He stood on one of the steps below her and grabbed her neck from behind.
He was taller than Gloria, even though he was one step below her.
He used his long, strong arm to hold Gloria tightly. Suddenly, her shoulders sank. Lucas bent his head close to Gloria's ear and said in a dangerous voice, "Loose lips sink ships. You shouldn't have answered me in the end. Now I am even more interested in you.
Gloria said coldly, "That's not my business."
"Miss Carter, you are in fact a very cold person," Lucas said.
Gloria was silent. She did not respond to him.
She thought, 'Why shouldn't I be? After all, I served my time in the werewolf prison once. Mica lost her life because she wasn't cold enough.'
"Mr. Norman, we shouldn't meet again." She reached out to push him away, yet she only felt that she was forcefully turned in a direction. The next second, Lucas had Gloria's hands clipped behind her back.
"What are you doing?" Gloria shouted dissatisfied.
Lucas freed up a hand and used his slender fingers to brush away the hair on her forehead.
Gloria's eyes widened. "Stop! Stop it!"
But no matter how much she struggled, her hands were tied behind her back by Lucas. He said in a magnetic, teasing voice, "Stop moving. You can't escape."
"Mr. Norman, you never respect others, do you?" Gloria never hated Lucas more.
"Respect?" Lucas' thin lips moved. He said, "You said it yourself that you're just a bitch who will do anything for money."
Gloria's heart suddenly ached, and she clenched her hands, which had been clipped behind her.
"Anywhere except here," she stubbornly looked at him and said. "No means no."
"What if I insist?" Lucas said provocatively.
Gloria didn't say anything. Lucas somehow felt that Gloria's body was glowing. He was curious. He thought, ' How can there be a woman like her in the world? She's one of a kind.
She is extremely humble and proud at the same time.
What makes a woman like that?
One minute she bores me, and the next moment I get to find something in her that attracts me so much. I simply cannot move my eyes away from her.'
As he used his lips to feel her wound gently, he sensed that Gloria's body tensed up, including her skin under his lips.
Lucas was puzzled. He thought, 'How did she get the wound anyway?
It would be fantastic if I could leave such a deep and unforgettable wound in her body that no one is even allowed to touch.'
Gloria's nails dug deep into her palms. Blood oozed and dripped to the ground.
Finally, Lucas let go of her.