Trapped By Tainted Love

Chapter 45: Rachel, You Just Can't Bear The Loneliness 

Victor stepped on a glass shard.The crisp sound reminded Alice of the sound of a breaking neck, instilling fear in her heart to the point that she clammed up.

"Alice, do you really think I wouldn't find out that you switched Rachel's examination paper using my name during her interview?" Victor asked, glancing down at her.

"Mr.Sullivan, I'm so sorry.I know I shouldn't have given my sister a hard time in your name, but I did that because..."

Alice summoned up the courage to stand up.

"I have feelings for you!"

After saying that, she looked at him, holding her breath and feeling tense.

Moments later, Victor held her chin.

"You like me, huh?"

Alice's eyes lit up when she heard him say that.

"I do.Ever since the first day I met you, I've fallen in love with you.Victor, if it weren't for my sister, I would've married you.Unlike her, I will never—"

"Alice."

Victor smirked as he called out her name to interrupt her confession.

Alice froze upon seeing the disdain in his eyes.

It seemed that he wasn't pleased to hear her confession.

"Who do you think you are? Do you honestly think you deserve to have feelings for me? No matter how terrible Rachel was, she is still the eldest lady of the Bennet family; an identity recognized by everyone.You are nothing but an illegitimate daughter.You're nothing compared to her! Rachel doesn't even deserve my love, and yet you think you do? Preposterous!"

Victor emphasized the word "preposterous", as if her confession was a joke to him.

All the hope in Alice's heart dissipated like melting ice.

"Victor, I-"

"Watch your tongue, Alice! I'm your boss, and you will address me with respect.You have no right to speak casually to me.Anyway, don't let me catch you sabotaging Rachel again.If I can easily make her a gofer, just imagine what I can do to you.If it pleases me, I can even make you a dustman on the streets!"

With that, Victor walked away without a second thought.

Alice was left there; her face as pale as a ghost.She could no longer keep herself standing, and she fell to the ground momentarily.

Once he had left the Crown Club, Victor went back to his company.

Soon, a Maybach car pulled over outside the Sullivan Group's entrance.

Through the rearview mirror, Ivan looked at Victor while he was closing his eyes to rest.

"Mr.Sullivan, we've arrived at the company," said Ivan.

It was already ten in the evening, and there was hardly anyone left in the building.

Victor opened his eyes and grunted as a response.

He got off the car and said, "Ivan, you can go home now.I will be staying here tonight."

Ivan withdrew his hand from the car door, contemplating for a moment.

Seconds later, he nodded in agreement without questioning Victor's order.

It only took a few moments before Ivan drove away on the Maybach.

Victor massaged his temples with his fingers.

It was apparent that he was tipsy at the moment because Carson had made him drink several shots of strong cocktails.

After making sure that he was good to walk, he headed towards the entrance of the building.

At the same time, someone was walking out of it.

Upon hearing the set of footsteps, Victor looked up, and when he saw who it was, his eyes darkened.

It was Rachel.

She was wearing a thin shirt.

Her long hair that had been tied up was now disheveled due to long hours of working; a few strands of her hair were hanging over her eyes.

Through her eyes, he could tell that she was exhausted.

Her face was pale, but her cheeks were a little pinkish, and sweat was rolling down from her forward along her cheeks.

The chilly night wind in early autumn blew gently, seeping into their skins.

Seeing Rachel like this, Victor stopped in his tracks.

For some reason, he remembered the joke Carson had said tonight.

While they were in the Crown Club, Carson said to him, "You told a spoiled lady who hasn't done any housework in her life to clean the washrooms of the entire building.Let's not forget how many washrooms there are in the Sullivan Group's building! Just think about it.Everyone in the company knows that Rachel is your ex-wife, and now she's been stripped of her dignity, and made to clean toilets in front of all your employees.What do you think those people will think of her? Victor, my friend, you are the cruelest man I've ever known.You must really loathe Rachel to humiliate her like that."

Victor's eyes narrowed as he asked himself, 'How much do I hate Rachel?'

If this had happened in the past, he wouldn't hesitate to admit to himself that he was disgusted of her from the bottom of his heart.

Even a glance at her could make his stomach turn inside out.

But now, for the first time in his life, Victor hesitated to answer his own question.

Initially, he thought that it would make him happy to see her miserable, but for some reason, he wasn't delighted to see it actually happening.

Instead, a heavy burden lay in his heart, and it frustrated him to admit that.

Rachel was walking sluggishly, feeling like her legs were heavy as lead.She had to exert so much effort just to drag her legs to move.

After Victor commanded her to clean every washroom in the building, Rachel didn't allow Abby to stay and help her.

She did all the cleaning alone.

Fortunately, the cleaners had already finished more than twenty floors of the washrooms before she took over.

The rest of the washrooms were also cleaned daily.

Although there were a lot of washrooms in the building, it didn't take that much time to clean them all.

As soon as Rachel reached the gate, she felt sick to her stomach.Her face turned pale as she covered her mouth.She then squatted down and started vomiting continuously.

This feeling of nausea had been torturing her for the entire day.

Nothing came out of her stomach, for she hadn't eaten anything all day.

At first, she kept throwing up fluids, but now, there was nothing left to vomit.

Moments after she vomited, her eyes turned red and tearful.

"Miss, are you okay?" a concerned voice asked from above her.

Rachel looked up to see who it was, and saw that he was wearing athletics apparel.She gleaned that he must be a night jogger.

Slowly, she got up and nodded.

"I'm fine."

"You don't look too good.Do you need help going to the hospital?" the jogger asked.

"No, I'm okay.Thank you." Rachel put on a faint smile.

"I see."

Seeing that she didn't seem to want any help, the jogger didn't insist anymore.

He just stuffed a bottle of water into her hands and said, "If you're feeling uncomfortable, you should go to the hospital.Anyway, you can keep this bottle of water.I haven't opened it yet."

After saying that, he smiled politely and continued his jog.

Rachel glanced at the bottle of water and felt so grateful that she smiled. Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

Meanwhile, Victor was standing nearby, and his eyes dimmed because of what he witnessed.

Ever since their divorce, Rachel had never smiled at him.To be more precise, she hadn't said anything nice to him since then.

Every encounter they had always ended up in confrontation and discord.

When he saw her smiling at some stranger, it somehow infuriated Victor.

The indescribable feeling of annoyance spread through his heart, slowly turning into desire, and urging him to approach Rachel.

She, on the other hand, still felt nauseous.

The overwhelming discomfort distorted her face.She had to squat down and press her stomach against her knees.

Then, she opened the bottle of water, wanting to drink some of it to ease the sickness she was feeling.

If she kept on vomiting like this, Rachel would soon collapse.

After taking a sip, she felt a little better.

Just then, a figure cast a shadow over her, and she heard Victor's cold, sarcastic voice from above her.

"Rachel, you just can bear the loneliness, can you? When you failed to seduce me, you decided to hook up with another man.You really are a whore.You'll never change."