Chapter 316 - 315: I Can’t Hear

The man’s "mm" was low and deep, the sound lingering. As it reached Joanna Kennedy’s ears, she felt them flush hot, and her heart gave a slight tremor.

Her mind unexpectedly flashed back to what the man had said that afternoon. It was in this very bedroom that Simon Lockwood had asked her, "Tonight, can we..."

The large hand on her waist was impossible to ignore. Joanna Kennedy felt the spot where he held her grow hot, so hot she could barely stand it.

"Simon..." Joanna Kennedy’s fingers, clutching his sleeve, fidgeted subconsciously. She sounded conflicted, but still said, "It’s so late..."

Her voice was soft, as if she were embarrassed. After she spoke, she lowered her head, not daring to look at him. After a long moment, she heard him give another low "mm."

The large hand on her waist didn’t loosen in the slightest. Instead, it pressed her closer, until she was flush against the man’s hard, broad chest. Joanna Kennedy’s cheeks burned, but she didn’t resist, letting him turn off the night light.

In the dim room, Joanna Kennedy kept her eyes closed, but her long eyelashes trembled ceaselessly, like a poor little butterfly fluttering its wings.

Her chin was gently pinched. She tremblingly opened her eyes. Her beautiful, doe-like eyes were clear in the darkness, shimmering with a watery mist.

She was still nestled in his arms, half-sprawled across him from when she’d been drying her hair. They were very close. As he spoke, his hot breath hit her neck. Joanna Kennedy heard Simon Lockwood ask her, "Are you scared?"

She could clearly feel the obvious change in his body.

Realizing what it was, Joanna Kennedy’s face was completely flushed. Her heart pounded like a drum, and her mind went blank. "I, I don’t know..."

Her words were evasive, yet her fingers clutched his clothes tightly as she unconsciously burrowed into his embrace, looking utterly pitiful...

Simon Lockwood recalled the past. Joanna Kennedy had always been like this, never learning how to refuse him. Every time, she would dazedly let him do as he pleased, and when she really couldn’t take it anymore, she would beg pitifully.

Joanna Kennedy didn’t know that this was the version of her he liked best.

A Joanna Kennedy completely under his control, her eyes red from crying after his teasing.

"Don’t be afraid." Simon Lockwood’s Adam’s apple bobbed slowly, and the look in his eyes darkened. His voice was very low and raspy. "Joanie, don’t be afraid..."

It sounded like reassurance, but also like an ultimatum.

The night was as cool as water, but the room was a completely different kind of warm. The air was so thick it had almost stopped moving.

Fair, flushed fingers reached out, only to be firmly grasped in the next second by his large, well-defined hand and dragged back, slowly but irresistibly.

"Nngh..." Joanna Kennedy sobbed, her voice muffled. "Simon, I hate you..."

Her accusation, choked with tears, was both petulant and pitiful. Simon Lockwood chuckled lowly. "Hate me again?"

Amidst Joanna Kennedy’s ceaseless sobs and pleas for mercy, Simon Lockwood calmly removed his hearing aid with one hand and casually tossed it aside. Moving unhurriedly, he pressed down on her. "What is Joanie saying?"

"I can’t hear you," Simon Lockwood said.

"..."

The man’s low, husky voice was full of puzzlement, but his movements didn’t pause for a second. Joanna Kennedy’s tear-reddened eyes widened in disbelief. "You, you..."

She was so angry she was speechless. Before Joanna Kennedy could react, she was pulled into the next round.

Low sobs started up again, as if they would never stop.

As the sky began to pale, Joanna Kennedy was finally let go. By then, she was too exhausted even to cry. Tears slid down her flushed, feverish cheeks, only to be kissed away by the man before they could even fall onto the pillow.

"Don’t cry anymore, okay?" In her drowsy haze, the man’s low, husky voice sounded by her ear. The familiar, pleasant sound of his voice only made Joanna Kennedy feel more aggrieved, and for a moment, she cried even harder.

Simon Lockwood wasn’t wearing his hearing aid. He could only see that the girl’s face was wet with tears, her thin eyelids swollen from crying, and the corners of her eyes were extremely red.

He sighed lightly, coaxing her with a mix of helplessness and heartache. "Joanie, be a good girl..."

’The bully was telling the "victim" to be good. Where was the justice in that?’ Joanna Kennedy’s heart was filled with grievance, but she couldn’t fight off her exhaustion and ended up crying herself to sleep.

She didn’t sleep soundly. As if seeking warmth, she pressed closer to the heat source, but once she was truly against it, she would subconsciously tremble and pull away.

Simon Lockwood knew he had bullied her too much. He felt a faint pang of regret, but that bit of regret was quickly overwhelmed by a profound sense of satisfaction.

He was Joanna Kennedy’s, so he would give her his all. And she was not allowed to refuse.

At ten in the morning, Joanna Kennedy slowly stirred awake. Her eyelids were so swollen she could barely open them.

The space beside her was empty, but she could still faintly smell the man’s pleasant scent. The familiar scent brought her back to the night before, and Joanna Kennedy shivered involuntarily. Realizing this, she punched the pillow in frustration.

The movement was too big. It pulled on something, and the sharp pain made her grimace. With a trembling hand, she lifted the blanket to look, and her eyes widened in anger.

’There wasn’t a single inch of unharmed skin on my entire body! It’s all red marks and bruises. Anyone who didn’t know better would think I’d been beaten up!’

Remembering the unhurried way the man had removed his hearing aid last night, Joanna Kennedy felt her face burn so hot it might as well be smoking.

’Psycho! Pervert! Scoundrel!’

Joanna Kennedy gritted her teeth. She cursed him with every swear word she could think of, but it still wasn’t enough to vent her anger. She grabbed the pillow he had slept on and threw it on the floor.

The door opened, and Simon Lockwood walked in to this very scene. The girl was lying on her side, her ink-black hair splayed out behind her. Her pale, delicate shoulders were covered in red marks, making her look both pitiful and cute.

Her expression, however, didn’t match. It was fierce, like a little animal grinding its teeth, about to bite.

Unfortunately, the corners of her eyes were red, the tip of her nose was red, and her rosy lips were swollen from being bitten. She didn’t look threatening at all.

Simon Lockwood picked up the pillow. Meeting the girl’s fierce gaze, he sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled the blanket up over her, his voice tinged with disapproval. "What if you catch a cold?"

Joanna Kennedy: "..."

The man had the aloof air of an untouchable prince, as if he wasn’t the one who had gone crazy last night. Joanna Kennedy was furious. "How dare you say that!"

’How can he lecture me so righteously?’ Joanna Kennedy wanted to see just how thick-skinned Simon Lockwood could be.

The man looked noble and indifferent. His white loungewear was worn neatly, and he must have showered this morning, looking fresh and clean.

In contrast, her voice was hoarse, and her eyes were so swollen from crying they’d lost their creases. By comparison, she was a complete mess.

’We both put in the same amount of effort, so how come Simon Lockwood is so refreshed while I feel like I’ve been beaten up?’ Joanna Kennedy felt it was deeply unfair. She flopped onto the pillow in a huff and refused to get up, no matter how Simon Lockwood tried to coax her.

"I made pumpkin pastries and crystal shrimp dumplings," Simon Lockwood said softly. "They won’t be as good when they get cold."

Joanna Kennedy didn’t say a word.

Simon Lockwood: "I also made purple sweet potato buns and meatball soup."