I was speechless, slumped on the floor, my body and heart aching almost to the point of suffocation.Cassie reached out to grab my arm, but Celeste immediately caught her wrist.Celeste’s gaze swept over my blood-soaked face. Her eyes suddenly turned dark and chilling as she looked at Cassie, gritting her teeth.”Get out!”Cassie was intimidated. She could only swallow her anger and slink away, muttering under her breath as she left.”Celeste Kingston! You’re crazy! If I’d known you were this lunatic’s husband, I wouldn’t have touched him!”As Cassie disappeared, I tried to get up, but a large hand clamped onto my arm again.”
Asher, you’re happy you didn’t have to take the punishment, aren’t you? Did those two years on the island teach you nothing about obedience?””All you had to do was offer a toast, and this whole thing would’ve been over. Why did you have to play crazy? You knew perfectly well that by asking you to toast, I wanted to end this! Are you blind?”As I stared at an enraged Celeste, my bloodshot eyes were my only answer.This time, I finally didn’t hold back. I retorted:”Celeste Kingston!
I’m your husband! If you had just stated my identity, this whole thing could have been resolved just as easily!”My words were clear. It was her. It was her vanity, her desire to protect Leo at that moment, that made her keep my identity secret.My accusation hit a nerve. Celeste looked momentarily flustered.Seeing this, Leo tried to interject on her behalf.But Celeste, unusually, frowned and cut him off.”Enough! Shut up, go wait for me in the car.”Once his footsteps faded, she sighed.”I’m sorry, but I still need to explain. I genuinely didn’t know what the ‘Egg Challenge’ meant.
If I had, I never would have agreed in the first place.””As for Leo, I hope you can understand. After all, he just returned to the country and saw that I was married…”Celeste’s words trailed off, but I could still guess the rest.She wanted to say that Leo was upset about her marriage and deliberately made things difficult for me, so I should forgive him.Our eyes met. Celeste seemed to grasp the mockery in my gaze, and she sighed again.”Alright, I see you’re hurt. I’ll have the driver take you to the hospital. Leo’s not doing well, I need to check on him.
We can discuss this more when I get back.”Without waiting for my reply, she added, “Even though you didn’t complete the task, I’ll allow you to count it as a forgiveness voucher.”With that, she turned and left. Watching her walk away, I touched my still bleeding forehead and laughed out loud.But I didn’t care anymore.Two more times. Once the debt of gratitude was paid, I would leave.From then on, I wouldn’t suffer her indignities anymore.
