Chapter 46 Accident
Chapter 46 Accident
It was a little hot. She had spilled some red wine on Jeremy, so he had taken off his coat and wore only a shirt. The top three buttons were unbuttoned. He managed to look casual and elegant at the same time, radiating an air of authority and nobility.
He heard the sound of Sherry's footsteps, and turned. His face was stiff.
Sherry kept her expression cold and distant. She walked past without looking at him.
However, Jeremy had no intention of letting her go that easily. Although Sherry was very tired, he would force her to talk to him.
Sure enough, he asked lightly, "Are you done? Did you enjoy yourself?"
Sherry took a deep breath, trying not to show her anger. She ignored his insinuating questions and continued walking.
Jeremy was a difficult man to ignore. Despite her pretended indifference, he moved towards her, stretching out his hand. Sherry knew he would try to reach for her, so she stepped to one side, avoiding his touch.
But Jeremy was too quick for her. In an instant he had taken her hand, pulling her to a stop. He turned her to face him and said, "You had the courage to dance with Steve. Now you don't even have the guts to face me?" ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .
Sherry met his cold gaze. She could see the anger in his eyes, hidden beneath his flat expression.
"I don't need to answer your questions," she said coolly. Sherry spoke as though she was fending off the intrusions of some unwelcome stranger.
Her attitude successfully provoked the anger that he had been trying to conceal. Sherry had a way of wielding her words like a sharp knife. She never failed to make him lose control of his temper.
"Tell me, what questions would you be interested in answering? It looked like you were having a nice chat with Steve, but you were unwilling to be with me. Don't tell me you've fallen in love with him." Jeremy's eyebrows were knitted and his thin lips were twitching. Sherry maintained an air of indifference.
Falling in love with Steve? What a joke! That was the funniest thing Sherry had ever heard. She had absolutely no warm feelings for Steve. She felt as cold towards him as an iceberg. Still, just the sight of her spending time with another man always triggered Jeremy's wild accusation.
"That's impossible," she said flatly. "Don't even imagine that I could ever love someone like Steve." Sherry hated it when Jeremy assumed that she was in love with every man who approached her.
"Have you forgotten what I told you? Just because Steve is interested in you, you throw yourself at him!" His grip tightened painfully on her hand, and he scowled at her.
These days, it seemed that Sherry could provoke him almost effortlessly. Every moment he spent with her left him restless. Every time he spoke to her, she made him crazy.
Sherry gave him an icy look and looked down pointedly at her hand, which was beginning to ache from how hard he squeezed. The skin beneath Jeremy's grip was turning red, but she said nothing about the pain. Instead she said, "I am not throwing myself at him. There, are you satisfied?"
She didn't want to waste any more time arguing with him.
He was not reassured. "Of course, you're playing it smart by playing hard to get," he accused.
Sherry was beginning to lose her cool. She had been so calm a moment ago, but Jeremy's endless badgering was getting on her nerves.
Jeremy stared into her burning eyes and realized that she was no longer the sweet, weak girl he had married.
He felt like he couldn't recognize her anymore. The woman who stood before him was a complete stranger.
"Let go of me," she said angrily. "You have such a filthy mind that you believe everyone else thinks the same way as you!" She tugged on her hand, trying to pull away, but he refused to relinquish his grip. She glared at him.
"Am I wrong? It's so easy for you to play around with men!" His eyes shot daggers at her. She stared into those deep black eyes that seemed to be able to swallow her whole.
She was really pissed off now. She knew that it would be useless to keep talking. He would never be convinced by anything she said. She struggled to pull her hand free and said in a determined voice, "I warn you, we aren't at home right now. If you keep harassing me, I will scream!"
"Go ahead," he retorted. "Yell as much as you want. Let everyone see me harassing you!" With that, he released Sherry's hand. But at the same moment, he grabbed her and pulled her closer, and she fell straight into his arms.
Sherry kept trying to struggle, but it was in vain. He held her in an unbreakable grip. Without warning, he lowered his head and kissed her hard on the lips.
She could feel the fury in his kiss. It frightened her. She tilted her head back and leaned to one side, trying to escape his kiss. Jeremy lifted a hand to the back of her head, continuing to kiss her. His hand was warm and strong on her hair. She was surrounded by his familiar, intoxicating scent.
She did not enjoy the kiss. He was too overbearing, forcing his lips against hers, his tongue pressing against her closed mouth. She wanted to scream but didn't dare to part her lips, so broken whimpering sounds came from her throat. Her eyes were wide open and scared.
Jeremy was blind to her reaction. She infuriated him so much that he kept losing control. He kissed her so hard that she felt trapped and desperate.
Finally, unable to bear his kiss for another second, Sherry opened her mouth to bite down on his tongue. He quickly released her, but not before he licked her lips with satisfaction.
She stumbled backwards, breathing hard, glad that he had finally stopped kissing her. However, Jeremy reached out and placed a hand on her hip, and she stiffened all over again.
He was going to kiss her again. She could read his intentions in his eyes. To her, the punishing kiss felt like an attack, and she frantically raised her hands to ward him away.
"Jeremy," she gasped, not knowing what to say.
She wanted to tell him to stop, but swallowed her words, afraid to provoke him even further. Seeing her hesitation, Jeremy gave her a mocking smile. "What? What were you going to say? Are you going to keep resisting me?"
His hand slid from her hip to her back, then moved even lower. She flinched as he pinched the sweet curve of her bottom. She glared at him and said, "I already hated you, and now I hate you even more!"
The smile on his face froze. "I don't care how much you hate me."
If he didn't care that she hated him, then why wouldn't he just let her go? His fierce, imposing manner made Sherry feel wary, and she took a step back, placing some distance between them.
She wondered fearfully if he was planning to take her right here and now.
"Please don't," she whispered.
She knew they couldn't possibly have sex here, but the terrible look on Jeremy's face made her think that he was capable of anything at the moment.
"Don't do what? Have sex with you? Well, you may enjoy playing the innocent with other people, but I know you have not been innocent for a long time."
"Jeremy!" she snapped, her chest heaving.
She didn't know what he was going to say, but she had to stop him.
She couldn't stand the things that Jeremy did and said to her. He made her feel so awful, all the time.
Jeremy moved closer and lifted a hand to her face, running his thumb gently over her lower lip. Because of her fear and anger, her lips were trembling slightly. He said in a hard tone, "I'm not done with you yet. What are you so afraid of?"
Sherry didn't answer. She didn't want to talk to him anymore. She didn't want to listen to the nasty things he said.
"You've been mine for years. You belong to me, body and soul. No one can own you again except for me!"
Sherry winced at his aggressive tone. She had heard these outrageous claims from him many times, and she was tired of his possessiveness.
She shoved his hand away from her face and stepped back again. "That was before. This is now. I'm not yours anymore."
With that, she turned and rushed away, hoping he wouldn't chase her.
Jeremy didn't follow her. He sighed as he watched her leave. He had come here only to tell her that they belonged with each other. But every time they spoke, they always ended up fighting. He always wanted to say more.
He also wanted to kiss her again. Inexplicably, he wanted her close to him all the time.
Sherry quickly walked down the corridor. She touched her bruised lips and grimaced. She looked back and saw that Jeremy hadn't come after her, so she stopped under a light to straighten out her dress and fix her hair. She cast a long, slender shadow on the floor.
She shook her head, trying to forget the things Jeremy had said, and how he had brutally kissed her. Jeremy could be so kind sometimes, but so cruel at other times. She couldn't figure out what he was thinking. Which version was the real Jeremy?
Meanwhile, Jessie was still at the party, and she was getting bored. Jeremy had disappeared and left her alone in the crowd. She made several rounds of the room, scanning the faces of the strangers around her, but she saw no sign of Jeremy.
Finally, she caught a glimpse of movement in a corner, and saw Sherry rejoining the party. She looked breathless and lost.
Jessie scowled. To her annoyance, Sherry still wore that gorgeous dress. She looked absolutely beautiful. Jessie thought resentfully that Sherry was probably the lofty, snobbish type, the kind of woman who obnoxiously believed that she was better than everyone else.
Her scowl disappeared as she realized that even if Jeremy had vanished, she could take the opportunity to have some fun with Sherry.
She put down the wine glass in her hand and quietly crept up behind Sherry. The other woman didn't notice, absorbed in her own thoughts.
When Jessie got near enough, a waitress was passing close to Sherry. Jessie's eyes lit up with malice as she saw her chance.
Sherry had wandered over to the middle of the hall, where glasses full of red wine were piled up on the table. She heard an exclamation and turned to see what was happening.
To her shock, a waitress in a cheongsam came flying towards her, her face frozen in horror.
Sherry tried to retreat, but the waitress collided with her. Instead of placing her weight on Sherry, the waitress threw out her hands and tried to support herself on the table. She knocked over the pile of wine glasses.
The waitress screamed. Sherry also let out a cry of surprise.
Hundreds of wine glasses tumbled to the floor.
Sherry stepped back. Her high heels caught on the hemline of her floor-length dress, and some of the glasses spilled all over her body.
The sound of shattering glass could be heard across the hall as everyone fell silent to watch the spectacle. Shards of broken glass were littered among the spreading pool of red wine on the floor.
As Sherry tripped on her dress, she fell to the ground. Her white dress was soaked in red. Sharp fragments of glass pierced her delicate skin.
"Oh my God!" someone said.
"Is that Miss Xu? What happened?"
On the floor, Sherry let out a groan. Her face was distorted with pain. She gazed around and saw that everyone was staring as she lay on the floor surrounded by wine and broken glasses.
"Oh, I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" cried the waitress who had crashed into the table, hurrying to help Sherry get up.
Jessie, who was responsible for the entire incident, looked proudly at her handiwork. Sherry definitely looked like she was suffering now! Maybe she wouldn't be so high and mighty in the future. That would teach her not to wear dresses like that.