Chapter 14: The Slap
AFTER dining, they sat on the bed and watched an old comedy sitcom titled The Blackadder starring Rowan Atkinson AKA Mr. Bean, which both of them enjoy. They start laughing about the main characters' mishaps throughout the episode.
When the episode finishes, they’re about to become steamy again. She kisses him on the lips, then the neck and lastly on his collarbone. He notices she’s sucking on one place, then he realizes she’s leaving a hickey on his body. He tried lifting her chin but she did not budge.
"I can’t have any marks on me since I’m going to see Malena tomorrow night." He says to himself.
He tried to move her again but she did not budge. "He’s imagining Malena seeing the hickey and breaking up with him."
Imagining that, anger flared inside him, and he lost his temper. He pushed her and hit her hard on the cheek and her head slammed on the headboard.
"Stop it!" He yells, his hand on her neck while the other is about to hit her again.
She was shaken and looked at him in disbelief. The man stares back at her with a deranged look on his face, he emanates a cold and dangerous aura that if she did something wrong he would snap her neck.
He heard the loud thud of her head slamming on the headboard and when he looked at her, her cheek was red and a visible palm print could be seen.
He was taken aback by what he had done and felt silent.
After a long, awkward moment, he says,"I didn’t mean it." He sighed deeply.
"I can’t have markings on my body, I have a girlfriend and I’m seeing her tomorrow."
Sieve did not move. Not seeing any reaction from her, Blade went to the restroom to cool down. He noticed his hands shaking, he then took a shower to relax.
When he got out, she was no longer there. He tried calling her but she did not pick up his call. He texted her, but she did not respond.
He then remembers the look in her eyes.
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She was in the cab and the driver was glancing at her in the rearview mirror. She heard her phone ringing and set it to silent. She saw his message:
11:23:01 PM I didn’t mean to.
But she chose to ignore it.
When she arrived home she tiptoed and made sure no one saw her cheek.
That night she did not sleep well. She dreamt that Blade was pounding her in a missionary position while slapping her in the face as punishment for being a bad girl.
She woke up drenched in sweat, she stared at her reflection in the mirror and then slapped her other cheek.
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The next day, Lucian went to Malena’s apartment to pick her up but she was not at home. When he called her, he heard loud music in the background. She said she had forgotten about the movie night and went out with the girls instead.
He was extremely disappointed and threw the red flowers he had brought. He’s pissed and wants to destress but he can’t even contact his stress reliever.
Ever since he had Sieve, he stopped going to the clubs in nearby provinces to pick up girls. He’s used to sleeping with her and it's also safer than having multiple girls, but tonight might be different.
He drove in circles around the city trying to calm himself and think properly.
He then heard a text notification and saw it was from Sieve. He is hesitant to open her message and lets it go unread for a while.
Meanwhile, Sieve was staring at her phone. She was used to him responding to her message within seconds, but this time was different.
She then remembered he was with his girlfriend.
A box in her room caught her attention and she remembered that Luci had asked her to make gloves and a scarf for him. She opened the box, prepared the materials, and started knitting.
Blade finally got the courage to open the text message;
7:30:01 PM Let’s meet up when you're free.
"Shit!" He muttered to himself.
9:00:10 PM I’m free right now. I’ll pick you up.
She's too focus on knitting, she did not notice the text notification on her phone.
He grew impatient, waiting for her response. He dialed her number.
She hears her phone and answers the call;
9:04:20 PM
S: Hello?
B: I’m free right now. Where are you?
S: I’m at home. Just send me the location and I’ll meet you there.
B: Let’s meet at the Eastside Hotel again. See you in 30 mins.
After the call, Sieve stares at her reflection in her phone, holding it tightly while biting her bottom lip.