Chapter 113 The Night
Matilda caught on immediately to what he was suggesting. Their night was finally happening.
"Then let's go rest. What are we waiting for?" she asked. She'd been ready to get off the streets anyway.
Wentworth looked a bit sheepish as he led the way.
He'd booked the most luxurious suite in the hotel and had given the staff specific instructions beforehand. The second Matilda walked in, her eyes went wide. She started exploring, looking at this, checking out that. Since the weather was cold, the hotel had carpet throughout and central heating. Roses were everywhere—flown in special—even scattered across the bedsheets.
The fridge was stocked with all kinds of food. Seafood, crab, steak—all flown in too. Compared to her current dorm room, this place was straight-up paradise.
He'd promised her a perfect wedding night. This was it.
"Wentworth, you... put so much thought into this!"
Wentworth walked over and pulled her into his arms, kissing her earlobe. "You like it?"
"Yes!"
Finally, no one to interrupt them.
"I'm gonna... take a shower first," Matilda said. Since they were here and both knew what was coming, might as well stop stalling and get to it.
"Go ahead."
The suite had a bathtub. She decided to take a proper soak. She filled it to the brim, added bubble bath, and sank in completely. Absolute bliss.
She'd barely been in there a few minutes when Wentworth came in too. Only her neck was visible above the bubbles, but she still felt shy. "What are you doing in here?"
Wentworth walked up behind her, kissed her first, then said, "To serve my queen."
"Stop it!" She laughed, embarrassed, and splashed water at him.
He didn't dodge. Instead, he stripped off his clothes and climbed right into the tub. It was big enough for two with room to spare.
"You're terrible!"
Water splashed everywhere in the tub.
...
By evening, Matilda felt like her bones had turned to jelly. God, having a husband in peak physical condition was exhausting.
From the bathtub to the bed, from the bed to the couch, even when she went to the kitchenette to pan-fry some steak, he'd attacked from behind. By the end, she was too tired to move. He had to bring food to the bedside like she was an invalid.
She scolded him weakly, "You better not start again. If you do, I won't be able to go back tomorrow." Her whole body ached, and he'd left marks all over her.
Wentworth naturally felt bad for her. But then at night, he couldn't help going one more round.
Afterwards, she wanted to bite him. "Wentworth, you're like some kind of animal."
Wentworth looked wounded. "But you said you wanted me to."
"That's because you deliberately... I'm not talking to you anymore."
He'd worked her up on purpose, like she was burning on a spit, then held back until she begged him. After this round, she genuinely couldn't move. She slept straight through until noon the next day.
Wentworth didn't dare push her anymore. They ate something at the hotel, then prepared to head back.
On the drive home, he suddenly asked, "Wife, you need to give me a rating."
"Rating? What rating?"
"My performance last night. On a scale of one to ten, what do I get?"
She decided to mess with him. "Two or three, maybe."
He immediately cranked the steering wheel and started heading back toward the county.
"What are you doing? We're not going back?" she asked quickly.
"I need to earn back those other seven or eight points."
Matilda was speechless. Did all men care this much about their partner's opinion?
She quickly backtracked. "Okay, okay, I give you ten points. Now turn around and go back." She definitely didn't want another round. Just sitting in the car, her lower back was killing her.
Only then did Wentworth turn the car around.
...
They said goodbye at the old clinic. She'd already gone inside, but Wentworth sat in the car staring after her, reluctant to leave. The second she saw that look in his eyes, she remembered how fierce he'd been last night. She quickly shut the door.
He was terrifying! Good thing they didn't live together, or she'd never survive going through that every night.
Matilda went to her room and collapsed on the wooden plank bed. Coming back here from that luxury hotel suite was a bit of a letdown. She used to think her old house was pretty bare-bones, but the living conditions here were even more basic.
Just as she was thinking about her old place, her phone rang. It was Brianna, immediately launching into, "Where the hell have you been? I've been looking everywhere for you!"
Hearing Brianna's voice made Matilda's scalp prickle with instinctive resistance.
"What do you want?"
"I'm sick! I'm at Harmony Health Center right now!"
Matilda sighed. "If you're sick, go see a doctor. Why are you calling me? Does Harmony Health Center not have good doctors or something?"
"Doctors nowadays are all scammers. You think I can just see anyone? I need you there with me, otherwise they'll order this test and that test, and one visit costs a fortune."
"It'll still cost money even if I'm there."
"You're a doctor. You can pull strings to get me free tests."
"I can't do that."
"Then talk to the director. I'm family, so I should be able to get free checkups."
Matilda was furious. "Can you be reasonable? When you come to the hospital, your medical records and test results have to be filed. Nobody can get you free tests."
Brianna cursed her out, then said she'd go find the director herself. Matilda was exhausted and too tired to argue.
A few days later, Matilda had almost forgotten about it. Then Dr. Parker sent her a message saying Brianna had acute appendicitis and had surgery. She'd only paid the exam fee and deposit—the rest would be deducted from Matilda's paycheck.
After insurance, it came to three grand. Because Brianna had stayed in a private room.
Matilda felt a wave of irritation. Whatever. Consider it repayment for raising her. Brianna was her mother, after all.
...
At the end of the month, Allie organized another get-together, also in the county seat. Matilda mentioned it to Wentworth, but he had guard duty that day, so he had Danny drive her instead.
The county was too far not to make some conversation. They mostly talked about Wentworth, since he was someone they both knew.
Matilda asked Danny, "How long have you been with Wentworth?"
"Four years now. The captain saved my life, you know."
"Have you guys always been stationed here?"
"Of course not. The captain and I were temporarily assigned here. Right before you arrived—maybe a month earlier? The captain had that insomnia thing, plus he was in a bad mood, so coming here was basically like taking a desk job. Hasn't he told you any of this?"
"A desk job? But you guys seem pretty busy."
"Compared to our old unit, this is a desk job. Before... never mind, forget it."
"You used to deal with criminals a lot, right?" Matilda asked. That time he came to propose, he'd just gotten his leg slashed by some thug.
"Not just criminals—these were desperate people. Real fight-to-the-death situations."
"What kind of criminals were they?"
"All kinds..."