Tiffany’s cries cut off abruptly.
In a trembling voice filled with disbelief, she asked, “What do you mean, Cliff?”
Clifford closed his eyes and replied in a low, tired voice, “I coddled you too much before. Since you’ve married him, just try to live a good life. If you really can’t take it anymore…”
He paused for a moment before continuing, “Talk to Mom and Dad. I don’t have the heart to deal with these matters right now. Besides…”
He laughed bitterly. “If I settle this matter for you, it’ll be even harder for me to earn Beth’s forgiveness.”
Tiffany’s breathing quickened, and she screamed hysterically, “Have you really fallen in love with Lilibeth?“.
After a momentary silence, he replied softly, “Yes.”
His reply was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Tiffany’s voice was so loud that it almost shattered his eardrums. “Impossible! I’m clearly the one you like, so how could you fall in love with her? You’re definitely lying to me!”
She went on an incoherent rant, bringing up all sorts of topics, from their childhood anecdotes to how he had always indulged her and the intimate, charged moments between them.
Clifford remained silent from beginning to end, up until a rough male voice sounded from the
other end of the line.
“Who allowed you to make a call? Was the lesson you received in bed still not enough for you?”
There was a sound of something tearing, and Tiffany’s sobbing voice grew more and more distant. “Cliff! Save me! Please save me…”
The call was then disconnected. Clifford slowly put his phone down, his knuckles turning white from how tightly he was holding it. He massaged his temples but didn’t call back in the
end.
During the few days Clifford remained hospitalized, he would always hear about Lilibeth and Magnus from the nurses‘ idle conversations
“The couple in Ward 302 are so deeply in love! That lady has been staying in the room for three whole days without getting a wink of sleep..”
Clifford listened quietly, feeling as if a boulder were crushing him and cutting off his air.
MO Chapte 21
Before he was discharged from the hospital, he found himself outside Ward 302.
The door wasn’t closed properly. Through the gap, he could see Lilibeth sitting by Magnus bedside, peeling an apple with her head down.
Magnus, who was leaning against the headboard, suddenly reached out to pull her into his
embrace and kiss her.
Lilibeth didn’t push him away. Instead, she locked her arms around his neck and responded to the kiss enthusiastically.
Clifford stood outside the door, feeling like a thief stealing glances at a happiness that should. have belonged to him.
Clifford’s injuries hadn’t fully healed, but he stubbornly insisted on going through the discharge procedures along with Magnus.
Recently, he had been wracking his brain for ways to win Lilibeth’s favor. He had bought her the flowers she liked, her favorite desserts, and the limited–edition bag she once mentioned she wanted.
Yet, she hadn’t spared his gifts a single glance.
“Clifford Sinclair,” she said at last in an impatient tone. “How much longer are you going to pester me? Go back to Jolsville and stop being an eyesore here.”
Clifford swallowed. “Are you not going to forgive me no matter what I do?”
Lilibeth laughed. “It’s not about forgiveness. You no longer have a place in my heart, so I won’t even spare you a thought.”
Her words, sharper than any blade, pierced straight through his heart in an instant. He knew that he wouldn’t be able to get through to Lilibeth by speaking with her.
“I’d like to speak with Magnus,” he said suddenly
Lilibeth frowned. “There’s no need for you
to.”
Magnus put his hands on her shoulders and smiled lazily. “Let me handle it, Beth. It just so happens that I also feel rather irritated that we have a stalker following us around and disrupting our quality time every day.”
