Chapter 12 Eat This

• Cindy was taken aback at Calvin's comment. At the same time, she suddenly felt embarrassed, despite having taken all kinds of criticism in her stride all this time. "After I broke up with you..." Abruptly, tears began trickling down her cheeks and she started to cry. "…I honestly don't know how I managed to get through it."
• Hunter sensed a change in the atmosphere and found an excuse to yank Zac out of the room. He did not want the young idiot to dig his own grave tonight.
• Calvin looked deeply embarrassed. The breakup had been the first major blow in his free-and-easy life. Try as he might, he could not understand how Cindy could have been so in love with him, yet walk away for the sake of fame and fortune at a moment's notice.
• He had no wish to bring up that part of his life again.
• He handed Hannah the grape. "Here, eat this." If he was not mistaken, she had not yet eaten dinner.
• Hannah took the grape from him dumbly. She had originally intended to leave the room with Hunter and the rest, but somehow her legs refused to move and she remained rooted to the spot.
• "I'm sorry." Cindy did not seem to notice Hannah's presence; she continued talking to Calvin. "Back then, I thought I should be independent and make something of myself, so I could hold my head high and be a fitting mate for you. But I ignored your feelings in the process…"
• Very carefully, she stroked his cheek, unable to hold back the emotions that she had been suppressing all this while. It had taken her a great deal of courage to come and see him today.
• Calvin handed her some tissues. In reality, this seemingly considerate gesture was a way for him to avoid her touch. Without a change in his expression, he replied, "That's all water under the bridge now."
• Cindy's eyes narrowed; evidently she was not willing to accept this. Gesturing to Hannah, she demanded, "Is it because of her?"
• Hannah was eating the grape she had been handed, but Cindy's question stopped her cold.
• She had not had time to swallow the fruit and she did not dare chew any further. All she could do was suck the juices out of it with as little noise as possible and try to let it slide down her throat.
• "Don't talk nonsense." Calvin's expressionless facade cracked slightly. The rash on his arm began to itch, causing him great discomfort. In the past, his allergies would act up whenever he went somewhere that was dirty or dusty, so he was not entirely surprised.
• This time, however, the itch was intolerable, to the point where it irritated him.
• "Everybody should take responsibility for their own actions. Back then, you had to choose between a bright future and me; you chose your future. Now you've achieved the fame and fortune you always wanted."
• Calvin stared at Cindy as if she were a stranger. "Perhaps you've reached some sort of agreement with Zac; is that why you've come today? Has he agreed to sponsor your climb up the charts so your popularity will soar? In exchange, you've brought him here today so he can have a front row seat to watch the fireworks, isn't that right?"
• He showed no hesitation in speculating about Zac's involvement in the matter. Since there was no one else in the room, he did not spare Cindy either, directing his words at her like daggers. "When you can't get what you want, you push the responsibility onto someone else. Seems like you're sinking lower and lower as a human being."
• He rose and lightly dusted off his shoulder where Cindy had leaned on him earlier.
• Cindy was still reeling from Calvin's words. Try as she might, the phrase “It seems like you're sinking lower and lower as a human being” kept ringing in her mind. For the first time, she realized that this man was not one to show any mercy; he would not spare anyone's feelings either.
• "Hannah." Calvin shot a perfunctory glance at the stunned Hannah. "We're going home now."
• "No!" Cindy barred their path. "You're wrong. It's not like that. Zac only sent me your location. We don't have any dealings with each other." She drew a deep breath. In the last few years, there had been very few occasions where she had to eat humble pie, and the words stuck in her throat. "I haven't fallen so low yet."
• With that, she chuckled lightly as if nothing had happened earlier. "We'll meet again next time." She put on her enormous sunglasses, deftly hiding the brimming tears in her eyes. She let Calvin and Hannah exit the room before she left.
• Cindy had never felt the slightest shame or unhappiness when she first started out in the entertainment industry, whether she was accompanying clients drinking or being slandered by netizens. She had always felt that as long as she could reach the pinnacle of her chosen profession, she would be able to take her place proudly beside Calvin. Their family backgrounds would no longer be an obstacle.
• However, now that she had achieved fame and fortune, it seemed as though she had truly lost Calvin for good. No! She absolutely refused to accept this.
• Cindy had never been one to simply admit defeat or back off at the first sign of difficulty. There was still ample time for her to change Calvin's mind. Behind her sunglasses, her tear-filled eyes burned fiercely with determination.
• "Are you still here?" Calvin glanced around at Hannah, who was still rooted to the spot and afraid to say anything. "Do you want to stay here and be a bar hostess then?"
• No matter what, the two of them were now husband and wife. Furthermore, they had a property ownership certificate and were lawfully married. Given this, Calvin could not understand why Hannah had suddenly become a shrinking violet when confronted by his former girlfriend.
• If this had been in the past, she would already be kicking up a fuss.
• When Cindy had broken up with him back in the day, Hannah had stormed over to his place indignantly. If he recalled correctly, she had made him a plate of pasta that was so salty he had almost choked. She had even made a joke out of it by giving it a fancy name, saying that it was the Death By Excessive Salt Pasta, and he would be able to resurrect and have a new start after that.
• A trace of warmth crept into Calvin's cold eyes, and his turbulent emotions began to settle down. Even the rash on his arm no longer itched as much. "Well, are you going to leave or not?"
• Hannah shot an apprehensive glance up at him; her face was scarlet as if she had been holding her breath.
• "V-Vi…"
• Calvin pounded her on the back several times. "Did you choke?"
• That was a close call. Hannah was thankful that he had intervened in time, preventing her from accidentally blurting out her instinctive, familiar name for him.
• "Ahem…" For whatever reason, she felt slightly guilty and embarrassed. To cover it up, she kept coughing. "That was a pretty large grape…" She had barely dared to breathe during the scene earlier; it would have been a miracle if she hadn't choked.
• "For crying out loud, at your age?" Calvin strode out of the room without bothering her any further. The faintest hint of a smile played about his mouth, nonetheless.
• "She's part of the past now." Hannah only caught these very faint words after Calvin's departure.
• Was it her imagination? Had he actually spoken just now? Her brain kept on obsessing over the matter.
• Hunter had dragged Zac out of the room, and the two of them were nowhere to be seen when Calvin and Hannah came out. However, Calvin mentally chalked this entire mess up to Zac's account.
• The small-time model that Zac had his eye on recently was probably never going to hit stardom. After being rejected everywhere, her ceaseless complaints would most likely irritate him to death, which would be a form of revenge in itself.
• "Are you still hungry?" Calvin asked Hannah abruptly once they were in the car. Only then did Hannah realize that the grapes had been for her to take the edge off her hunger.
• "I'm fine." Right as she said this, her stomach let out a loud growl. In embarrassment, she stared out the window and pretended not to hear it.
• "When we get home, ask Mrs. Wright to make you some pasta. I haven't eaten either."
• Pasta…
• Hannah's hands clenched on her skirt. In the past, she used to coax him to make pasta for her.
• What on earth was Calvin thinking? She could not fathom the workings of his mind, no matter how she cudgeled her brains.
• "Mrs. Wright? Are we going to your penthouse, the one on the outskirts?"
• Was that even a place she could consider home?
• Calvin merely nodded. "My mother won't allow you to stay at our family residence, so you'll have to stay at my place. Don't go back to that motel. I can't be embarrassed like that. Furthermore, I've no wish to become a cuckold."
• Hannah asked hesitantly, "…Could you please give me back my job?"
• Calvin navigated a turn in the road. The headlights of the on-coming car illuminated his face, allowing her a clear view of his teasing expression. "Have you forgotten what I said in the office?"
• "Excuse me?"
• "Satisfy me, and I'll give you your job back."
• Silence descended in the car after that. Hannah’s ears began to burn. It was as if she could still hear their heavy breathing in the basement from that night.