Love the Second Time Around

Chapter 28

Chapter 28 Torture

I didn’t want to die too miserably, so I quickly turned to smile at him. “You must be very hungry, Mr. Hartnell. Come on, let’s eat…”

After that, I couldn’t continue talking anymore because I could feel the fiery wrath coming from his intense gaze. If he could kill me with just one look, that would be it.

“One,” he started counting down.

My lips twitched when I knew that I couldn’t avoid it anymore, so I slowly made my way towards him.

“Are you crippled too? Don’t you know how to walk anymore? Would you know how to roll your way here, then?”

Hearing that, I didn’t dare to take my time anymore. After taking two huge strides, I was finally in front of him.

Even so, I did leave some distance between us so that I could run away from him if I needed to.

Dominic then started to scrutinize me up and down.

I was starting to feel uncomfortable under his gaze, so I found the courage to say, “Mr. Hartnell, I was wrong, alright? Come on, hurry up and say what you want.”

All I did was scold him earlier. He should have gotten straight to the point. Why did he have to torture me like that?

At that moment, I stopped worrying. After all, I was already in deep sh*t, so there was no point fretting on what was about to come.

“Tell me what you did wrong, and I’ll let it go if I’m satisfied with the answer. Otherwise, both of us will have a long talk about it.”

I wanted so much to kick him when I saw the look that said—”I’m kind enough to spare you”—on his face.

You drama king! I’ve already admitted that I was wrong. What else do you want me to say?

“Two!” My heart thumped when he started counting down again.

Alright. Whatever you say, boss.

To make sure that I could satisfy him sooner, I started to talk so that I could clear my name. It didn’t matter if it was true or false; words poured out of my mouth the moment I thought of them.

I was already starting to feel thirsty from all the talking, but he still remained indifferent. He didn’t tell me to stop, nor did he say that he was satisfied. All he did was stare at me with an odd smile on his face.

This damned man!

Even though I was cursing Dominic in my heart, I said out loud with a smile, “May I know if you’re satisfied with what I just said, Mr. Hartnell?”

I couldn’t make up anything else, and my legs were starting to go limp after the intensive run this morning.

My heart thumped loudly as I awaited his answer. After a long moment of silence, he then finally replied, “Yes.”

Upon hearing that, I heaved a sigh of relief.

However, before I could even take a break, Dominic said, “I’m hungry.”

“Alright, alright. I’ll go heat up your breakfast now.” The food that Calvin bought must have gotten cold right now, so it wouldn’t be good for his stomach.

At that moment, I realized how much of a lackey I was being.

“Who wants to eat that? Didn’t you get groceries already? I’m giving you ten minutes to make something.” Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

Why the hell did you ask Calvin to get you food if you weren’t going to eat then? Don’t you know that it’s shameful to waste food?

I glared at him when I noticed the subtle smile on his face.

That a**hole must be gloating, seeing how busy I am.

Didn’t you say that you would get gastric pain if you’re hungry for too long? Why didn’t you just die from the pain then?

I was still fuming as I went to pick up the bags full of groceries before going into the kitchen reluctantly.

What can I make in ten minutes? With a frown, I started to dig through the bags.

I saw a box of waffle mix in one of the bags, and I shouted, “Are waffles okay, Mr. Hartnell?”

It could be made in a few minutes, and it was filling, so it was the perfect food for him.

Unexpectedly, Dominic answered in disgust, “You’re making something so unhealthy for me?”

I was left speechless at his words. Why don’t you make your own breakfast then?

“I’ll cut up some fruits for you too,” I said through gritted teeth.

A moment passed before he replied, “Whatever. I doubt that you’re able to make anything good anyway.”

I almost smashed the plate I was holding when I heard what he said.

What is his problem? Would he feel uncomfortable all over if he kept his snide remarks to himself?

Frankly speaking, if there was a drug or poison that could cause him to lose his voice, I wouldn’t hesitate to use it.

While grumbling under my breath, I was filled with resentment as I continued to prepare his food. Oh, how I wished the fruits that I chopped up were him instead!

Dominic would also remind me of the time every now and then, and it was getting on my nerves.

After ten minutes, I was finally done. Then, I placed his breakfast in front of him.

“Please enjoy, Mr. Hartnell,” I said in a flattering manner.

I stared at him nervously. Even though I knew that he wouldn’t say anything nice, I still looked forward to seeing how satisfied he would be.

My eyes brightened when I saw that he finally started to eat. “Is that alright, Mr. Hartnell?”

He swept a cold glance at me and avoided my question by replying, “Where’s your plate of food?”

I was stunned for a moment but quickly answered, “I’m not hungry. You should go ahead and eat.”

After all, I had lost my appetite after receiving all the snide remarks from him.

“Go get another plate.”

I didn’t know what he was trying to do, but I quickly went to get a plate just as told.

To my surprise, he then pushed his plate towards me while saying, “Put half of it in yours.”

Huh? What does he mean by that? Did I make too much? I remained standing there as I stared at him, dumbfounded at his words.

“What are you looking at? Your waffles are hard, and they don’t taste good at all. Am I supposed to finish all this alone? Hurry up and take half of it.”

My expression turned uglier upon hearing his words.

Forget about saying something nice; the least he could do is not make me seem so worthless. Hey, I worked my a** off for this, okay?

I huffed in frustration as I took half the portion of the waffles and put it on the empty plate while he continued to stare at me.

Whatever. If he’s not grateful, I’ll eat it myself.

Holding the plate, I started to shove the waffles into my mouth.

Excuse me? How does this not taste good? And how in the world is this “hard?” My waffles are the epitome of perfection!

It was obvious he didn’t know how to appreciate it and was trying to pick a bone with me.

After breakfast, I felt as though all my brain cells were about to die due to my frustration for him.

As I cleaned up and took the dirty dishes into the kitchen, I heard him giving me instructions on what to do again.

“I need you to clean up the whole house. Use a rag to clean the floors, and I want all the glass in the house to be so clean that one can see their reflection on it. Call me when you’re done preparing lunch. And don’t even think about slacking off. If I catch you doing that, I’m going to deduct half of your salary.”

Once he was done, he wheeled himself back to his room and closed the door with a thud.

I was too consumed with anger to speak as I put the dirty dishes into the sink.

What on earth did I do to be tortured like this?

I felt like I was about to burst from rage soon.

Now that I was the only one left, I wanted so much to leave everything and run away.

However, I thought of the threatening words he said earlier, and my courage shrunk.

In the end, I finally accepted my fate and started to follow his orders.

By noon, I felt as though my back was about to break. I had never done housework like this in my entire life.

After setting the table, I went to his room, but no one answered even when I had knocked on his door for a long time.

I was left confused. Did he fall asleep?