Chapter 24 Chapter 24. Hatred Beneath the Water
Zephyr frowned slightly but did not dodge, letting her vent her anger. She was already exhausted and sick, so after biting for a moment her strength faded. Unwilling to give in, Zoria lifted her head. Zephyr’s expression had not changed at all. Blood smeared her lips. She turned her face away.
Zephyr glanced at the bleeding bite mark on his arm, then thought of the wound on the back of Zoria’s hand that he himself had caused. He gave a faint, mocking smile. “Zoria, when you lose your temper, you look far more interesting than that gloomy, lifeless version of you from before.”
Zoria shot him a resentful look and shoved him with all her strength. Unexpectedly, Zephyr had already anticipated it and stepped back, causing her to lose her balance and fall away from the car. Her knees were already weak, and the hard impact with the ground sent a sharp pain through her, forcing a cry from her throat.
“I was going to wait until you recovered before teaching you a lesson, but it looks like your spirit is doing just fine. No need to wait then.” Zephyr said coldly as he grabbed her wrist and dragged Zoria straight into the villa.
On the uneven ground, pain stabbed through her knees. Zoria was almost hauled into the bathroom. She could only watch helplessly as Zephyr turned on the faucet and adjusted the bath temperature.
All of Zoria’s resistance was useless under Zephyr’s control. She hated her own weakness at this moment. In the blink of an eye, she was completely subdued.
Zoria struggled nonstop, clenching her teeth so she would not make a sound, staring at the male before her with eyes full of hatred.
Never had Zoria imagined that the male she loved most would one day become the one she hated most.
Hatred surged in her chest, swallowing her whole, so intense that Zephyr did not notice it at all.
Suddenly, Zoria lunged forward and bit down on Zephyr’s lip. The faint metallic smell of blood spread through the air. After a moment, Zephyr released her lips and spat a mouthful of blood onto the tiled floor.
His tongue had been torn by her bite. Blood flooded out, the sharp taste filling his mouth. In that flash of pain, Zephyr had no doubt that Zoria truly wanted to bite his tongue off.
Zephyr let out a cold laugh. His handsome face looked even darker under the dim light. “Do you really want to hurt me that badly?”
As soon as he finished speaking, he lifted Zoria and threw her straight into the bathtub.
Water splashed everywhere. The warm water made Zoria shiver, leaving her with no strength left to struggle.
When she saw Zephyr’s gaze fix on her stomach, Zoria instinctively covered it, her expression tightening. Her pale face made Zephyr mistakenly think she was still grieving over the miscarriage.
Thinking of how Zoria had once lain on an operating table, the anger in Zephyr’s heart eased slightly. He believed she still could not forget the baby who never had the chance to be born.
If the baby were still alive, Zoria’s belly might already have begun to swell. That thought made his eyes linger unconsciously on her stomach.
Zoria was so frightened that her heart felt as if it had stopped. Her body went rigid. She soaked in the water without daring to move.
At that moment, Zephyr suddenly reached into the water, pulled Zoria tightly into his arms, and placed his hand on her belly.
Zoria’s body was so thin it was little more than skin and bone, yet her stomach bulged slightly, round and soft.
“Why are you so skinny, but your belly still has fat on it?”
Zephyr’s casual tone made not only Zoria’s heart but even her ears ache as if pierced by needles.
She closed her eyes, trembling with pain, then collapsed helplessly against Zephyr. Her gaze was empty as she stared at the rippling water and murmured, “Why do you have to humiliate me? Why won’t you let me go?”
Zephyr gently stroked her back, the motion like soothing a frightened rabbit. “Zoria, this trick of pretending to let go just to pull someone back only works for a limited time. Play it too long, and it loses all meaning.”
The corner of Zoria’s mouth lifted into a bitter smile. So in his eyes, even her rejection was nothing more than a game of letting go to lure him back.
Biting her lip, her eyes red with tears, Zoria raised her head and looked at the male who always stood above her, lofty and untouchable. Her voice trembled as she spoke. “Zephyr, I never thought of playing any kind of letting go to lure you back. From the day my father was imprisoned, I gave up on loving you. The longer I stayed by your side, the more I realized that all you hold for me is hatred. I know I was wrong, wrong to have loved you, wrong to have mated with you. But I have lost my parents, lost everything. I have already been punished enough. Why do you still refuse to let me go?”
Zephyr looked at her, his gaze deep and unreadable. “I hate you?”
He laughed softly, the smile hanging at his lips and spreading into his eyes, hazy like mist. “Zoria, I do not hate you.”
If it were only hatred, everything would have been much simpler. If that were the case, he would not have clung to her, unable to let go of Zoria for so long.
If everything came down to hatred, that would have been easier, because something fierce and nameless was already surging in his chest.
Before he could make sense of it, pain stabbed through his heart in sharp waves.
Right now, Zephyr felt like someone who had stepped into slick mud by accident, the more he struggled, the deeper he sank.
"Zoria, give me a baby. We already lost one before. This time, we have to keep it no matter what. Give me a baby."