Chapter 721: Chapter 129: Just Knowing
Two tearstains soaked through her unremoved makeup, dragging black trails down her cheeks. Avril had never been this agitated before, but she couldn’t control it anymore. Once a woman’s emotions erupt so suddenly, it’s easy to stop caring about anything else. With her temperant and character, rely flipping the middle finger and cursing, without actually throwing a punch, ant she was still sowhat restrained.
Looking back, this was probably the second ti after Kate that Adrian had been cussed out with a “Fuck you” and given the middle finger by a woman, so he seed a bit stunned. But Adrian was still Adrian, after all, and he quickly recovered, looking at Avril with a sigh, “Well, if that’s the case, I’ll leave first and co over after you’ve cald down a bit, please… believe .”
Had it not been for his last remark, she might not have reacted so fiercely, but that sentence was like pouring fuel on the flas. Avril sprang up violently, pushed Adrian away with ferocity, and rushed into the inner room where she violently rummaged for a bag and stuffed in a few articles of clothing, “I will never believe you again, you bastard! You liar!”
Yet, while wiping away tears, she grabbed her bundle and headed for the door, “I never want to see you again! Never ever!”
“Where are you going?” Adrian blocked the doorway.
“It doesn’t matter! Anywhere but here! Anywhere you won’t show up in front of !” Avril again shoved him fiercely, “I can’t stand to stay in this disgusting city for another second! Not one second!”
She stumbled onto the street and hailed a taxi, then got in and told the driver without looking up, “To the airport.”
During the car’s journey, Avril hugged her head and never lifted it to look back once.
Due to bad traffic, it took more than half an hour for the taxi to reach Los Angeles International Airport. Avril got out without an extra word and rushed to the ticket counter to buy the soonest ticket to Canada. Fortunately, she hadn’t forgotten her identity, having worn a baseball cap upon leaving the apartnt and used disguises in the car. Since this sort of action was unpredictable, no one recognized her.
Then, she waited almost half an hour in the airport lounge before boarding the plane. And due to 9/11, it took her several more minutes to pass through the security check and enter the plane. After all this hassle, she slowly cald down from her previous fury, but the pain in her heart started to throb again, especially when she recalled the sweet monts they’d had. Her eyes reddened and tears began to swirl, to the point where the flight attendant ca to check on her several tis. Thankfully, the plane wasn’t crowded, and no one sat beside her; otherwise, her current state might have been exposed.
This was the first ti she’d truly and completely fallen in love. She liked to snuggle in his arms and act coyly, to argue and bicker with him, to lt into one after lovemaking in bed and call him “Uncle” for the thrill it gave her. So when it all suddenly fell apart, she couldn’t accept it, and as she cald down, she grew even more distressed. No matter how she tried to avoid it, those images kept surfacing in her mind, bringing pain and reluctance.
When night had entirely fallen, Avril finally returned to Napanee Town by taxi. Paying the cab fare, she walked toward the brightly lit ho where she’d spent over a decade with a body full of exhaustion.
As her hand moved to ring the doorbell, a trace of hesitation flashed across her face. Was she ready to give up her flourishing career, to completely… give up on him? The young girl shook her head and, in the end, rang the doorbell.
“Who is it?” Her mother’s familiar voice soon ca from behind the door, and upon opening it, an exclamation of surprise rang out.
“You’re finally back, Avril. You should have called us before boarding the plane; we were all so worried about you! Look at you, what a ss you are!” After giving her a hug, her mother rattled off a series of words, leaving Avril surprised and a bit confused. Finally back? A call before boarding the plane? Did they know I was coming back?
The dizzy girl followed her mother inside, then heard the voices of family mbers in the living room, with Michelle’s being particularly loud, “So, sister has beco that impressive?!”
“Of course, she writes most of her own songs, and even other popular singers in the company want to ask her for songs,” that voice was very familiar, just a few hours ago she had lost her temper to the owner of that voice.
“What about ? What about ?” Michelle eagerly asked, wanting to show herself.
“Sorry, Michelle, now really isn’t the ti for this,” the man said gently with a laugh, a clear worry creasing his brows.
Avril’s mind could hardly think. Why was Adrian here? Why had he arrived here before her?!
“You…” The girl, dumbstruck, wanted to speak, but her father, who had noticed her, cut in first, “Hey, Avril, what’s this all about? Even if you had many grievances, you shouldn’t have stord off without saying a word and run back here, right?”
“I…” Avril, who was about to swallow her previous words to defend herself, just opened her mouth when her brother Matthew interrupted, “Avril, I rember you’ve always been fearless, why is it that such a trivial matter has gotten you so agitated… that you’d leave everything behind and run back from Los Angeles?”
“Just like that, sis, you’re too impulsive,” Michelle chid in, nodding her agreent beside her.
Avril’s cheeks gradually lost their color as she stared straight at Adrian, asking in a dry tone, “Why are you here?”
“Well…” Adrian stood up, walked over to her, and seed a bit embarrassed, “You know, private planes are a bit faster…”
“You bastard! You liar!” Avril suddenly flew into a rage, grabbing her backpack and, to the astonishnt of her family, began to blindly smash it against him.
“Avril! What are you doing!” Judi was the first to react, embracing Avril tightly, while by then Adrian had already taken several hits, but he stood there without flinching, at most putting up his hands to block a couple of tis.
“What’s the matter, Avril!” John too ca to his senses, looking furiously at his daughter. He stood up as if intending to go over and reprimand her, but was imdiately stopped by Adrian.
Even though her mother’s intervention had stopped her, tears continued to stream uncontrollably from the girl’s eyes. Then she shook off her mother’s grip and stomped upstairs to her bedroom. Looking at the decorations that had never changed, Avril collapsed into a chair, cradling her face in her hands, yet now she couldn’t cry anymore.
“What’s the matter with you, Avril?” The mother, worried, followed her upstairs and now entered the room, looking at her with a mix of concern and anger.
Avril didn’t speak; in fact, her thoughts were so chaotic she didn’t know what to say.
“Well, I know you have a talent for music, and I know you’ve always wanted to prove yourself, but… it’s just one song, and even though Ed promised it to you and then changed his mind last minute, he’s co all the way to Napanee to apologize. Why did you have to react like that?” the mother sighed.
The girl suddenly looked up, disbelief in her eyes, “Is that what he told you?!”
“I don’t think Ed has any need to lie,” her mother said earnestly.
“No! That’s not the truth! It’s not!” Avril shook her head desperately. How could he do this? How could he do that!
“Then what is the truth?” the mother countered.
“It’s…” The girl began but then found herself at a loss for words. How should she explain? To say that she had been dating Adrian and that they had already slept together, and then he was involved with another woman? Not to ntion whether her family, who seed to be on his side, would believe her, even if they did… She couldn’t imagine what would happen.
“You should go apologize, Avril,” said the mother, sighing after a mont’s pause, “Maybe Ed is at fault, but your behavior just now was too much.”
“That’s right,” Michelle joined in at this point, “You’ve made soone’s eyes swell, sis!”
Eyes swollen? Avril was shocked; she hadn’t realized at all. Her first instinct was concern and annoyance, not that he deserved it or it was retribution.
“It’s okay, I’m really okay, don’t worry,” Adrian’s voice ca from the hallway at that mont, and then he quickly appeared at the doorway.
He held an ice pack to the corner of his left eye, which was indeed turning blue, but fortunately, it wasn’t severe; from a distance, it could still be overlooked. However, the distance from Avril’s chair to the door wasn’t part of that distance, so a strong sense of guilt overca the girl, and she even clenched her fists a bit tighter.
“Alright, Judi, I believe Avril didn’t do it on purpose, so don’t bla her too much for this,” he said. “If possible, I would like to talk to her alone, and I think Avril must have cald down by now.”
The last sentence was directed at Avril, whose eyes brimd with sincere pleas, causing her lips to tremble as she found herself unable to utter a word of refusal. After a long while, the girl gave an almost imperceptible nod. Having convinced Michelle to leave, Judi, who had been guarding the door, finally breathed a sigh of relief. Then Avril walked over, pushed her mother out, and locked the door.
“I’m just going to talk to him alone,” she replied through the door to her mother’s questioning, and after a few seconds added, “I won’t hit him again, I promise.”
When the sounds outside ceased, Avril turned back, biting her lip and looking at Adrian with a complex gaze. Although she tried hard to control her emotions, her chest still heaved noticeably. Adrian didn’t speak; he simply stood there, his eyes filled with apology.
“You liar!” Her voice erged almost from between clenched teeth, “Not content with lying to , you’ve also lied to my family, claiming that I ran away angry over a new song… ”
“Then what do you think I should have said?” Adrian spread his hands out helplessly.
Avril was at a loss for words. If she could have said it, she would have before… She glared at him bitterly, but each ti her gaze swept over his bruised left eye socket, her heart felt uncomfortably tight. Rembering how he had rushed here all the way from Los Angeles, a hard-to-describe feeling surged in her heart. Suddenly, she realized her anger had ebbed away. Although she still harbored hatred for his philandering and deception, the resentnt was waning, and occasionally the thought “He might have had reasons for deceiving ” would pop up.
It was a dangerous thought; if it continued, it wouldn’t take long before she might not even be able to hold on to her current fury. Avril knew this, so she desperately clung to her anger.
So when Adrian asked, “Are you calm now?”
She replied in no uncertain terms, “No, as long as you’re still in front of , I’ll never be…”
Before she even finished speaking, she was suddenly pulled into his arms, pushed onto the bed before she could react, her mouth effectively silenced. The startled and furious girl montarily struggled, thrashing and hitting him, even biting his mouth. But Adrian didn’t care in the slightest; he continued to hold her down firmly, not using his tongue but still persistently sucking on her lips, and without blinking, he locked eyes with her from such a close distance.
So, even though she struggled fiercely for the first few seconds, she quickly slowed down. With no anger left to vent and her body becoming increasingly pliable, she unwittingly began to synchronize with his rhythm. Avril felt as though she was back to the night she lost her virginity, when she had drunkenly opposed him verbally yet her body continuously complied with his advances.
What’s happening to ? she wondered sorrowfully after she tentatively entwined her tongue with his.
Fortunately, Adrian didn’t go any further. After she had completely cald down and began to reciprocate his kiss, he finally propped himself up.
“Do you feel better now?” he asked gently, gazing into her eyes.
After her chest heaved for a mont, Avril finally managed to steady her emotions and turned her head away, ignoring him, though a blush still spread across her cheeks. Adrian smiled faintly, picked her up from the bed, sat on the chair, and placed her in his lap, his deanor as if handling a precious treasure.
The girl had truly cald down; though she still harbored a thorn in her heart, she was indeed tranquil.
“How did you know I’d be back in Napanee?” she asked quietly after the silence had stretched on for a while.
“I just knew,” Adrian replied softly, smiling.
“I could’ve gone to Rosa or Jelani, why were you so sure?” Avril persisted, resting her head on his shoulder.
“Because I know you, Vini,” Adrian said as he caressed her back, “just like I always passed you the skateboard when you wanted to play, prepared spray for you when you needed it to avoid pollen, or collected various star decorations for you. When you like soone, you get to know her well, to make her happy, to bring her joy.”
Hearing Adrian use her favorite nickna and thinking of all the things he had done for her, the girl was suddenly flooded with emotions.
“You do this with all won, don’t you?” she scoffed.
“Yes,” Adrian answered without hesitation, “I also rember everything you’ve done for . Because I wanted you to stay natural, you gave up getting tattoos; because I needed you to play the piano, you still tried this ‘too feminine’ instrunt; and much, much more—I’ve never forgotten any of it.”
At the ntion of the “too feminine” instrunt, Avril couldn’t help but almost laugh with a twitch of her lips, but a sigh escaped her at the latter sentence.
The girl sat up straight, straddled his thighs, and looked at him, “I hate you, Ed. You’re a liar, a big liar.”
“I’m sorry,” Adrian’s hand cradled her cheek, “I’ve made you cry.”
Avril bit her lip, allowing him to caress her face, and after a while, she gingerly reached out to touch the bruise under his left eye.
“Does it hurt?” she asked softly.
“A bit, but if it calms you down, I can take a few more hits,” Adrian was quite composed.
“Hmph.” The girl’s teeth gently grazed her lips. Then, as Adrian leaned in toward her, she didn’t think twice before wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him on the lips.
Avril didn’t know why she did it, even though she remained resentful, but at that mont, she just wanted to kiss him. Lips and tongues entwined, the two kissed each other relentlessly, hands wandering over each other’s bodies as if they were lovers who hadn’t seen each other in ages, until—
“Avril, do you need sothing to drink?” her mother’s voice ca with a knock at the door, obviously worried that they hadn’t co out for a long ti.
The girl jolted, suddenly snapping out of the amorous haze, but Adrian had no intention of letting her go, continuing to kiss her cheeks and neck, his hands reaching under her clothes.
“No, mom… It’s okay, we’re still talking; we’ll be out in a bit,” Avril replied, trying to keep her voice steady after hamring a few fists on his body.
“Really? Are you both okay?” her mother still sounded worried.
“No… nothing’s wrong.” The girl nearly bit her tongue as she said it, Adrian choosing that mont to bite and suck on her earlobe, his hands nearly grasping her firmness through just a layer of shirt, the stimulation almost left her completely weak.
“Don’t worry, Judi, I’m fine, Avril is fine too. She has cald down completely, we’ll be out soon,” Adrian then let her go and called out.
“Alright, I understand,” hearing Adrian speak, Judi outside seed more at ease and left them alone for the mont.
“Are you satisfied now?!” After her mother had left, Avril glared at Adrian fiercely and slid off of him to fix her clothes.
“Let’s go out first, so they don’t worry,” Adrian suggested with a smile.
“How can I face them after you made lose face with your lies!” Avril spoke indignantly, her anger from earlier seemingly gone but still intense.
“This is indeed a problem, so co back with tomorrow,” Adrian said earnestly, “No matter how upset you are, you shouldn’t just run away. Now that you’ve cald down, let’s go back to Los Angeles first. That way, you don’t have to awkwardly face your family, and we can slowly discuss our issues.” (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, feel free to vote with recomndation tickets and monthly tickets at qidian. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
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