CHAPTER 152: CHAPTER 152: DO YOU HATE ME THAT MUCH?

Lachlan Wyatt felt it was quite foolish to come to Jude Hawthorne when he was in a bad mood; this man might even be happy seeing someone else unhappy!

So Lachlan sneered, "I heard you and Seraphina Colbert aren’t in contact now?"

Jude Hawthorne spoke through gritted teeth and was particularly uncouth, "How can I contact her? If I make a call to Seraphina, her brother James Chesterton will directly show up at the door. It’s like he’s installed surveillance around Seraphina..."

"Well, he’s a Red Guest, these things are a piece of cake for him."

Lachlan glanced at the ceiling and sighed, "So, you and Seraphina have ended things, right?"

"Ended?"

A string seemed to be plucked in Jude’s heart; his instinct was to deny, but for some reason, every time he drinks too much and closes his eyes, he thinks of Seraphina.

Seeing him like this, Lachlan asked again, "Have you been thinking about her a lot lately?"

Jude was taken aback, but eventually admitted to his brother, "You too?"

Too? Lachlan grabbed the ashtray, "I’m thinking about Iris Crawford, and you’re too!"

Jude said, "I’m thinking about Seraphina, damn it! Who the hell wants to think about Iris!"

Listen to this guy, he almost has a curse word in every sentence!

Lachlan was so startled by Jude’s shout that his hair almost stood on end. He silently moved a few inches away, then touched his face and said, "It’s all your fault for not specifying the subject, causing me to misunderstand."

"Look at yourself."

Jude casually said, "Anyone just glances at Iris and you get all worked up, you big-tailed wolf, pretending to be a good person! You saved her because you wanted her, right!"

Lachlan’s heart skipped a beat, embarrassed by Jude’s piercing words; he wanted nothing more than to wrestle Jude to the ground right now, "So what! Adults can’t have other thoughts about her? I’m not like you, afraid to admit your dirty thoughts, let me tell you, so what if I want her! Iris’s legs are long!"

Jude rolled his eyes, "Seraphina’s face is pretty!"

Lachlan slammed his hand on the table, "Iris has big breasts!"

Jude was dismissive, "Seraphina sings well!"

Lachlan finally couldn’t take it anymore, how could he be outdone in this matter? So he said, "Iris moans beautifully!"

"..." Jude furiously kicked over, "You really... made a move, huh!"

Lachlan finally calmed down.

It was because he made a move that Iris was so cold to him!

He suspected he was on her blacklist!

Jude clapped his hands and shook his head, "Back then you swore to your brother you were just playing with that woman, didn’t expect, Lachlan, even you couldn’t stop yourself."

Lachlan clenched his fingers, lifted and lowered his glass several times.

He still didn’t want to get too drunk.

He wanted to see for himself, when he’s most clear-headed, if he’d still think about this woman.

Things said when drunk don’t count.

The two men said nothing, stayed silent until the night was deep; each immersed in their own world, stared blankly at their phones, as if lost, trapped in emotions they couldn’t escape.

Until the phone buzzed, Silvan Caine sent a message saying he finally finished setting up the computer and is going out for dinner, asking Lachlan if he wanted to join.

Lachlan finally snapped back, looked at Silvan’s message, instinctively glanced at Jude.

"You and Seraphina before..." Lachlan attempted to ask as someone experienced, "Did you argue often? Or would she confront you?"

Jude was stunned, after a while said, "Never, Seraphina wouldn’t dare lose her temper with me."

But now, he doesn’t even have the qualification to be scolded by her.

The cruel thing isn’t being scolded, but being given up.

Jude thought, in Seraphina’s world, he must have been abandoned.

"Why not take the room for yourself?"

Jude hesitated a while but still got up, "I’m heading out."

Lachlan lifted his eyelids, too lazy to manage him, "Alright, let me know when you return, we can have a midnight snack and chat."

Jude moved swiftly when leaving, Lachlan didn’t finish his words and he slammed the door, after a while Lachlan suddenly realized, this punk might be going to find Seraphina!

So Lachlan immediately pulled out his phone, called Iris.

"Hey Iris, tell Seraphina to avoid Jude, he lost control of his emotions chatting with me just now, might crash into them on the street..."

"Iris is asleep."

The reply was Dante’s voice, "I’ll convey it when she wakes up."

Lachlan jumped up as if his tail was stepped on, "Why are you answering her phone?"

"Is it strange?" Dante looked at the sleeping profile of Iris beside him, after a while said, "She took sleeping pills, I’m busy lately, thought to stay with her."

Lachlan’s hand holding the phone was trembling, "You mean you’re lying on the same bed now?"

He felt murderous.

Dante let out a cold laugh as a response.

Then he hung up the call.

Lachlan Wyatt held onto the phone, listening to the busy tone, as he stood alone in the vast hotel room, bewildered like a child facing the end of the world.

In a daze, he couldn’t hold onto the phone steadily, and until it dropped to the ground, Lachlan didn’t think to pick it up.

Why did it turn out like this?

As soon as he left, Iris Crawford could share a bed with Dante. Previously, she clearly hated sleeping with him, so why did she accept it this time...

She was just pretending, putting on a show for him!

Lachlan lowered his eyes, unable to suppress the coldness in them. Although it wasn’t yet the depths of winter, his gaze was so frigid it was as if the blood in his veins had frozen. The man clenched his teeth, hissing through them.

He stood by the window, behind him a stretch of night, as if dawn had never existed.

******

It was the first time Seraphina Colbert had such a peaceful meal with Silvan Caine.

Silvan Caine had always looked down on her, but now Seraphina was James Chesterton’s sister, and what’s more, she once had his child. While ordering food, Silvan Caine glanced at Seraphina with the corner of his eye, sighing inwardly.

If it weren’t for the fact that this woman was too tainted in the past, he might have tolerated having her by his side.

After ordering on his own, Silvan Caine put down the menu without asking Seraphina’s opinion, "I’ve ordered, just eat what I eat."

"..." Seraphina pointed to herself, "I haven’t looked at the menu yet."

"Whatever I eat, you eat," Silvan Caine was an extreme chauvinist, clearly indulged at home, "You’re a woman, don’t have so many opinions, don’t be like Iris Crawford. If all women were like you, the world would be in chaos."

How can he say such infuriating things with such a handsome face?

Seraphina rolled her eyes, "I was wondering why the Kingdom of L hasn’t seen any rain; turns out you’ve silenced me."

"..." Silvan Caine, being mixed-race, didn’t catch on immediately. After a moment, he understood what Seraphina meant, a trace of anger appearing on his face, "Seraphina Colbert, have you grown bolder with your new status?"

"Yes," Seraphina responded, "Annoying, isn’t it? Changing from a prisoner to a high-born lady, if I were you, I’d be gnashing my teeth in anger!"

This woman had mastered Iris Crawford’s sarcastic and ironic style perfectly! Truly a ’Bird Study Expert’, right?

Silvan Caine took a deep breath, continually telling himself internally that she was just a woman, not worth getting angry over. After calming down, he said to Seraphina, "It doesn’t matter even if you seem high and mighty now; the men who’ve played with you before know what you’re really like."

"Don’t worry."

Seraphina felt a stab of pain in her heart, yet she forced a smile at Silvan Caine, "In the future, all the men in the world will know what I’m like. Just not you, haha."

What did she mean by that! Was she saying she could be with any man in the future, just not him?

Silvan Caine nearly lost his temper, "You used to be a whore, what are you pretending to be so noble for! You’re not the same as Iris Crawford; she grew up noble, what have you been through? Do you even deserve to emulate Iris Crawford?"

Seraphina’s face turned pale, she tightly clenched her fingers, smiling until her eyes turned red, "Why bother spending time with me if you despise me so much? Since you’re so clean and pure, don’t mix with me to avoid being dragged down!"

Silvan Caine reached the limit of his patience, stood up abruptly, and left without even paying the bill. The waiter chased after him, calling, "Sir, you haven’t paid the bill yet!"

Silvan Caine shouted in fury, "Ask that damn woman to pay, doesn’t she think she’s a lady now!"

Having said that, Silvan Caine left with a flick of his sleeve, leaving Seraphina alone in the restaurant, with other customers looking over to see what had happened at this table.

Just as Seraphina felt helpless, a shadow calmly sat down in the spot where Silvan Caine had been sitting.

Seraphina wiped her eyes, and when she lowered her hand, she was stunned.

Jude Hawthorne had sat down across from her, upright, with his sharp eyebrows and bright eyes.

In such a short span of time, the man sitting across from her had changed.

Seraphina looked at Jude in shock, her lips parted slightly, "Why are you... here?"

"Can’t I be?" Jude started to eat, taking advantage of the food that Silvan Caine hadn’t touched. He replied, "I was just passing by."

Just passing by and managed to coincidentally sit in the spot opposite her?

Seraphina turned her head away in embarrassment, "I must have made a fool of myself just now."

Jude chuckled, "Yes, I enjoyed the show. Leaving my side means being prepared for this."

Seraphina’s eyelashes fluttered slightly, "Then rest assured, no matter the cost, it was my decision to leave."

Jude almost lost his grip on the chopsticks, considering they were in a Chinese restaurant and speaking in Mandarin, perhaps others around could understand.

"Why do you keep entangling with Silvan Caine? He was able to bring you to the Kingdom of L, and I can do the same."

Jude felt a bitter tightness in his throat, "Why did you let him bring you in the first place, why not come to me?"

What Silvan Caine was capable of, Jude could do as well.

"Exactly," Seraphina’s eyes were red, "Things he couldn’t do, you could. Like hurting me."

At that moment, Jude felt as though a thousand arrows had pierced his heart.

He took a deep breath, the stabbing pain seeping into his lungs with each inhalation.

"Do you... hate me that much?"