Gloria looked flustered and viscerally rejected Christine's statement.
She quickly said, "Christine, I haven't changed."
"Gloria, haven't you noticed? The expression on your face is no longer rigid. All I could see in your face before was a dull, lifeless look," Christine looked at Gloria and said. "Now I think you're more like a living person."
Gloria opened her mouth. She wanted to say something to refute Christine.
"Gloria, who made you change? Lucas?" It didn't seem that Christine felt glad for Gloria. She went furious instantly and rebuked Gloria sternly, "He's up to no good! Gloria, I want you to feel happy, more than anyone else. But this man, Lucas, shouldn't be the one to walk you out, because he could get you hurt again."
Gloria did not speak.
Christine exhaled hard and said, "Gloria, promise me not to see him again. I will arrange a new dormitory for you today."
"No!" Gloria immediately looked up and called out. In the next second, she saw Christine look at her with disappointment, and she clenched her fists hard.
She said, "Christine, I don't want to change to a new dorm. I promise you, once I have a million dollars, I will never see him again."
Gloria let Christine down. Christine gritted her teeth and said loudly, "Gloria, I hope you won't regret it!"
Not wanting to see Gloria's face right now, Christine walked straight out of the office.
Gloria stood in front of the desk alone, remaining silent. Christine's voice echoed in her ears, and she felt bitter in her mouth. Of course, she knew. Lucas had other intentions while approaching her, and he was up to no good.
"But I am greedy. I want to be able to feel again, just like everyone else," Gloria said to herself.
Lucas had other purposes, and she was well aware of that. She should keep her distance from him since he was a dangerous man. However, he made her feel alive, that she was still a living person.
She used to think that her scar could never be touched. Yet now, while enduring the pain, she could settle for a change once in a while.
It turned out that her scar could be touched now and then after all.
Then what about that man?
Could she forget about him? Could he fade away just like the scar on her forehead? Could all her feelings for him vanish, including both love and hate?
She knew Lucas was poison. However, she accepted him anyway. It wasn't because of affection. It was simply because she had been trapped in a dark abyss without sunlight for too long.
And she was getting greedy. She wanted to be like an ordinary person living under the sun.
She knew that these changes started with the kisses left on her forehead. The kisses from Lucas every night before he left her dormitory.
The deadline she and Patrick had agreed upon was almost up. On the second day of the countdown, Lucas, as usual, was about to leave when she called out to him in a hoarse voice, "Wait."
"Yes?"
He turned to look at the silent woman behind him. Although she did not say anything, it was obvious that she was getting more preoccupied these days. He did not ask her. He was waiting for her to take the initiative to speak.
Gloria stood in front of Lucas, her palms covered in sweat. The wet and greasy feeling made her even more nervous.
"What is it? Miss Carter, tell me. I'm all ears."
The man in front of her was an elegant gentleman inside and out. However, facing him right now, she could not say the words that had been lingering in her mind for a long time.
"Miss Carter, if there is nothing else, I am tired today, so I will take my leave," Lucas said and was about to turn around.
Lucas felt that his sleeve was tightened. He looked down and saw that Gloria was grabbing his sleeve.
He looked up at her. Gloria tugged at his sleeve with one hand, and with the other, she pushed back her bangs to reveal the hideous scar. She glanced away and said nothing.
Her actions were self-explanatory.
The look in Lucas' eyes changed slightly. He looked at her and asked, "What do you want?"
Gloria's face was a little pale under the light of the dormitory. She still didn't look at Lucas. She simply lifted her bangs with one hand, exposing the hideous scar to Lucas' eyes, and said, "100 thousand dollars, Mr. Norman. I want an advance payment."
Lucas realized that she wanted to receive tomorrow's kiss so that she could have the money in advance as well.
Suddenly, Lucas smiled, "The game is over, Miss Carter. You are worthless now."
When she gave up her stubbornness and surrendered willingly, then, she meant nothing to him anymore.
"The scar is the most valuable and charming thing on your body and it can't be touched. Yet it now bores me, since you use it to make money. Miss Carter, I thought you were a very interesting woman, but you're just as vulgar as the rest."
Lucas didn't even say goodbye before he disappeared from her sight.
Gloria was not devastated.
She just stood at the gate in silence. The cold wind in the corridor blew against her face, yet it seemed that she didn't feel it at all. She didn't love Lucas. She didn't mind selling herself to Lucas in exchange for money. However, she couldn't do so when facing Derrick.
Gloria stroked her forehead. Suddenly, she had the urge to laugh. How ironic! The most valuable thing on her body was left by that man.
She looked at the empty corridor, gave a sudden chuckle, and said to herself, "I'm still willing to take the poison because it makes me feel alive for a moment."
Gloria was grateful to Lucas. He pulled her out of her abyss and brought her back to the world, though he then pushed her back again.
She did not blame Lucas. She blamed herself for being greedy. She longed too much for those feelings that had been missing for those three years, though only those alive were entitled to have feelings.