Chapter 209 Why Are You Clinging to Me?
"Don't touch me."
Cecilia tried to pull off the suit jacket, but he grabbed her wrist.
Rufus's eyes were unreadable, with suppressed irritation churning beneath the surface.
He was about to snap at her for being ungrateful, but when his gaze swept over her bare shoulders and her body shivering in the night wind, that irritation mixed with an anger he hadn't even noticed himself.
"What, you want to freeze to death out here?"
Cecilia stopped moving.
She thought Rufus was being completely ridiculous.
He'd never been the caring type, and besides, she'd rejected him over and over again. He had a perfectly good substitute in Elodie, so why was he bothering with her?
While they were at a standoff, Rufus's phone rang. He pulled it out casually, answered the call, and put it on speaker.
Louis's efficient, calm voice came through: "Mr. Chapman, we've narrowed it down to a few areas. Fifteen minutes ago, the Brookside Road sanitation department got a complaint from a citizen about spotting a woman in very unstable mental condition. She wouldn't answer questions and ran off quickly. Our people are heading there now."
Brookside Road?
The name made Rufus's brow furrow slightly. It sounded familiar, but he couldn't quite place it.
He didn't dwell on it.
"Thank you." Having gotten concrete information, Cecilia simply said those words.
The next second, she turned decisively and headed straight for the roadside, ready to hail a car herself.
Rufus's expression completely darkened at that moment.
He'd used his connections to find her a lead in the shortest time possible, yet she couldn't even spare him an extra word, didn't even bother to accept his help.
A fury at being completely rejected instantly overwhelmed his reason.
"Stop!"
He lunged forward, grabbing her wrist from behind and yanking her back hard.
The force made her stumble, her back slamming heavily against the cold body of the limited-edition sports car.
A dull thud.
Rufus pressed in, one hand against the car door by her ear, the other still gripping her wrist, trapping her completely between himself and the car.
The distance between them instantly closed to nothing.
His tall figure brought an intense sense of oppression, completely enveloping her.
The evening wind lifted his hair, and those bottomless eyes churned with terrifying anger in the darkness, fixed on her.
The position was filled with dangerous tension.
The driver, who had just received orders and rushed over, came jogging up and witnessed this scene, nearly jumping out of his skin.
He didn't know whether to leave or stay, wishing he could shrink into a ball, even forgetting to breathe.
Rufus looked terrifying like this! Amelia was in trouble.
"You want to go alone?" Rufus's voice squeezed through his teeth, each word wrapped in bone-chilling anger.
"Let go." Cecilia didn't answer his question, just looked at him coldly, the disgust and rejection in her eyes completely undisguised.
The more she acted this way, the fiercer the anger burned in Rufus's heart.
He yanked open the back door and roughly shoved her inside.
The car door slammed shut.
He walked around to the other side and got in beside her, coldly ordering the already-frozen driver: "Drive!"
The silver-gray limited-edition sports car's engine roared to life, instantly merging into traffic.
Inside the car, the atmosphere was oppressively tense.
"Rufus, what exactly do you want?"
Cecilia finally couldn't take it anymore. She turned her head, her cold gaze piercing straight at his sharp profile.
"I told you, my business has nothing to do with you."
Rufus stared ahead, his jawline tight, saying nothing.
His silence made the anger in Cecilia's heart burn even hotter.
"Why won't you leave me alone? Haven't you already found a new toy?"
"That woman called Elodie—doesn't she imitate it perfectly? Whether it's the way she talks or that submissive attitude, she's exactly like the Cecilia in your memory, down to the last detail."
"Since you enjoy playing god so much, enjoy molding someone into what you want them to be, why not go to Elodie?"
"She's gentle, obedient, knows how to please you. When she looks at you, her eyes are full of the worship and fear you crave most."
"She's the perfect substitute, isn't she?"
The rapid-fire questions came sharp and fast, cutting like knives.
Rufus's fingers gripping the armrest suddenly tightened, his knuckles turning white from the pressure.
Yeah.
Why?
Elodie really was similar. So similar that sometimes when he looked at her, he'd feel momentarily confused.
He'd given her endless money and resources, made her into a perfect replacement.
A proper substitute should be docile, grateful, available at his beck and call.
He should be satisfied.
But what about Amelia in front of him?
She was covered in thorns, wild and untamed.
She only had hatred and rejection for him. Her eyes always said "stay away from me."
Not only did she refuse to cooperate or play along, she always seemed to want to burn them both to ashes.
If he was just looking for comfort...
Amelia was undoubtedly the most unqualified, the biggest failure, the most frustrating one.
So what exactly was he holding onto?
This thought created a tiny crack in Rufus's obsessive, mad inner defenses.
Seeing his silence, the mocking curve of Cecilia's lips deepened.
"What, cat got your tongue?"
"Or is it that you never actually loved that 'Cecilia' in your memory?"
"You just fell in love with the feeling of controlling everything. You like watching her humble herself for you, suffer for you, lose herself for you."
"And now you want to pull the same trick on me?"
"Rufus, what do you think the Cecilia you tortured to death would feel if she saw you like this now?"
"Would she think you're devoted? No, she'd just find you disgusting!"
"Disgusted by this belated, cheap, self-indulgent so-called repentance!"
"Shut up!"
Rufus whipped his head around, his chest heaving violently, his breathing rough, that pretense of calm completely shattered.
"Hit a nerve, so now you're lashing out?"
Cecilia met his furious gaze fearlessly. Her voice was actually calmer than before, and more cruel.
"Rufus, you're not looking for a substitute at all."
"You're looking for prey you can keep abusing."
"Elodie's too compliant, makes you feel bored, so you turned your attention to me, right?"
"Because I fight back, because I hate you, so I give you a new thrill and a new desire to conquer?"
"Answer me, Rufus."
Cecilia leaned forward, closing in on him, those clear, cold eyes now burning with icy fire.
"You go to such lengths to pester me, humiliate me, keep me trapped by your side—what exactly is it for?"
"Is it for that ridiculous guilt, or to satisfy your twisted, dark obsession?"
"Why me specifically?"
"Why won't you let me go?"
That last question she practically shouted, carrying too much suppressed hatred and confusion.
Inside the car, dead silence.
Rufus stared at her intently. Deep in those storm-filled eyes, confusion and chaos appeared for the first time.
Why?
This sense of losing control from not understanding made the violence in his eyes miraculously fade somewhat, replaced by a deep exhaustion.
He seemed to really not understand.
Why Elodie's compliance made him feel hollow, while Amelia's hatred made him feel a twisted sense of reality.
He leaned back against the seat, closed his eyes, and buried all his emotions.
The car fell silent again.
After a long while, when the car was already smoothly driving toward the east side of the city, Rufus finally spoke again.
"That crazy woman—what's your relationship with her?"
Cecilia turned her head, looking at the neon lights rapidly retreating outside the window.
The city's lights stretched into blurred streaks in her eyes.
She answered his question with silence.