Chapter 20: Intense jealousy is like...
As soon as she entered the room, Irene slumped down on the stool. Her tense nerves completely relaxed. Her nose felt sore and tears were about to fall.
She finally doesn't have to be married off, and she can finally do what she wants.
Every minute she spent on the plantation she was worried that she would be exposed and burned as a witch. When she escaped and was on the road she was worried that she would be caught and taken back.
Until now, the homesickness that had been ignored for so long has begun to surge up in my heart.
School, friends, mentors... the voices and smiles of every familiar person flooded into her mind.
There was even the kitten at the cafeteria entrance. She promised to bring cans for the cat after she got the kitten's pet for free last time.
At that time, I was clearly thinking that there would be many futures, but how come there is suddenly no future?
Irene covered her face with her hands, tears flowing out from between her fingers again.
What should she do? Will she never see them again?
When she thought of this possibility, Irene was suddenly overwhelmed with sadness, because her teacher's promise to take her to District 1 had not yet been fulfilled.
If she had known she would travel through time, she would not have rushed over to do so much work for him in vain. God knows how painful it was for her when she hand-sewed the top with 300 beads.
There was a light knock on the door. Irene hastily wiped her face and patted her hot eyes. When she opened the door, a social smile was already on her face.
The man who had just met at the door bowed politely. His voice was low and hoarse, with a standard British accent, but it didn't sound artificial.
He was still dressed the same as before, but he had on a more formal hat, which made him look more dignified.
The man smiled and said, "Dear lady, are you free to join our party tonight?"
Wow, he really treated her as a client.
The opportunity to make a fortune that came to my doorstep diluted the emotions that were blocking my chest.
Irene's eyes lit up, and she almost couldn't wait to agree, "No problem, sir."
I’m here to steal your customers!
So, she received an invitation that smelled of roses.
Irene was flipping through the palm-sized card with curiosity, not noticing that the door of the cabin next door was ajar. Leo leaned his head against the door frame, sideways against the wall, looking at her coldly.
After finding out the time and place of the party, Irene happily strolled around the deck twice. But to be honest, she seemed not to have seen Leo since entering the cabin.
Is he still in the room?
Irene hesitated for a moment, but in the end she didn't dare to knock on the door.
Although Leo seemed to believe her excuses, who knew if he would ask something else. She had finally managed to coax Leo into submission, so she should try not to cause any more trouble.
Besides, he is already on the pirate ship, he can't just jump into the sea and escape. Swimming from here to Mobile is no joke.
The image of Leo with tears on his cheeks and eyes suddenly appeared in her mind. Irene's body stiffened unnaturally, and a flush of annoyance appeared on her face.
But speaking of it, how could she seduce a little boy so excessively, acting like a sex-hungry ghost? I don't know what she was thinking at the time.
Even if she really wanted to take Leo down, she should have been more patient anyway, otherwise she might scare the child away.
Irene let out a long sigh. She couldn't even empathize with herself whose brain was controlled by desire half a day ago.
Forget it, let's get down to business first. She wants to be the center of attention at the banquet tonight! Earn her first pot of gold!
The woman ran lightly past his door, holding up her skirt, and the wooden soles of her shoes made a crisp sound when they touched the iron-clad deck.
Again and again, the blows hammered heavily into Leo's heart, almost making his flesh and blood explode.
Leo expressionlessly suppressed his heart, which was so excited by Irene's every move that it almost jumped out of his chest.
Jealousy urged him to follow her and see who had attracted Irene's attention so much that she didn't even come to see him when she reached his door.
Leo gripped the door handle, veins popping out on the back of his hand. The air outside the door seemed to still carry the faint scent left by Irene when she passed by.
The boat was swaying, and outside the door was the blue sea with white waves, tempting every poor and heartbroken person, like Irene.
It seemed that Irene’s figure was everywhere in the outside world—the figure that resolutely left him.
The cold water vapor inhaled into the nasal cavity irritates the fragile soft tissue, and every breath causes a burning pain.
He pulled hard, and the hatch that had been opened a crack was closed quietly, just like him, without attracting anyone's attention.
This is a skill he has acquired since childhood. Even if he is standing in a crowd, even if he has an outstanding appearance, he can easily make others ignore him.
After all, if he doesn't attract attention, he will get less beaten, and it's safe to hide in a corner. This is the survival rule that allows him to survive.
The room was dark, and Leo lay quietly in the darkness like a doll.
The image of Irene's brisk back as she turned and left his room appeared before his eyes, and the scent of basil mixed with the salty sea breeze filled his breath.
He didn't understand why he followed Irene against his will again and again. He was sinking consciously, sinking in the beautiful illusion that Irene had constructed for him.
Proof of identity was definitely not a reason for him to stay, and he didn't need it to survive.
Leo closed his eyes tiredly, and Irene's sparkling eyes when she broke into his cage appeared from somewhere and rushed into his mind.
He should have discovered it earlier, Leo pulled the corner of his lips sarcastically, he had obviously lost control of himself since the first time he saw Irene.
Everything that happened afterwards was not so much that he let Irene go again and again, but rather that he clung to Irene like a ghost, and he went to great lengths to find countless excuses to stay with Irene.
Countless ridiculous and pathetic excuses convinced him to stay with a female liar, endure her exploitation, and even find excuses for her lies.
After sitting there for a long time, he finally realized one thing - in the relationship between him and Irene, Irene had always been the one in power, and he was like a puppet in Irene's hands.
A puppeteer can have many puppets, but a puppet can only have one puppeteer.
Leo couldn't imagine what would happen if one day Irene treated others the same way she treated him.
He didn't even want to think about it.
At this moment, the desire to keep Irene by his side became extremely strong.
He clenched his back teeth tightly
——No matter what means.
——No matter how she insulted him, disliked him, or hated him.
The wound on his thigh was aching slightly, and his lips couldn't help but tremble in pain.
Cold light shone in along the window sill, and the air was filled with fine mist and dust.
Too bright.
Leo raised his hands to cover his eyes, his chest heaving violently, but it seemed that he couldn't get any oxygen and his breathing was very difficult.
Not so bright.
Did you hear that? Don't be so bright.
——Don’t hurt him again.
There was moisture between Leo's fingers. He leaned slumpedly on the stool, with its legs raised and dangling in the air.
After a long time, the stool leg finally fell heavily to the ground with such force that it almost left some scattered white marks on the ground. The boy lowered his head, covered his face, and almost collapsed and admitted his defeat.
If there really are so-called witches in the world, Irene is definitely one of the best.
*
The party was held in the banquet hall inside the cabin. There were not many people when Irene arrived. Waiters were walking around with plates, and exquisite dishes were placed on the long dining table covered with white cloth.
Beautiful music echoed in the room. The large and exquisite chandelier hanging in the middle of the ceiling of the hall emitted bright and soft light. The aroma of wine floated in the air. The inner hall was filled with people wearing elegant clothes and all kinds of bright and eye-catching skirts were dragging on the ground.
There were not many male guests, mainly young ladies like her. The female guests who had arrived earlier were gathered in groups of two or three, whispering something, and from time to time there were a few giggles with a hint of anger.
A few vague gazes fell faintly on Irene's clothes.
Tsk, why does it feel like there is no small group she can join? How can she develop clients if this continues?
As we all know, major clothing brands generally have two product lines, one is the so-called luxury line, and the other is the civilian line with good quality and low price.
The former is high-end customization, while the latter requires mass production. Irene does not have the ability to set up a factory for mass production now, so she can only target the rich.
She planned to open a fashion store in Rochester first to earn money from the rich, and then open a factory to sell wholesale goods when she had enough financial foundation.
So the first step was for her to seize every opportunity to develop clients. In those days without the Internet, if she wanted to make her name known she could only rely on word of mouth.
So, how to attract rich people to become her customers?
Irene picked up the wine glass, a standard second-party smile appeared on her face, and she went straight to where there were the most women.
Of course, we should go straight to the point and not let go of any potential customer.
As long as she is thick-skinned enough, there is no client she can't get.
In fact, as soon as Irene entered the cabin, she attracted the attention of several ladies because the skirt she was wearing was quite different.
Nowadays it is popular to dress yourself like a clothes hanger full of accessories.
They wear huge hats on their heads that are colorful, decorated with flowers, lace, and even branches and fur, and the size of the brims is getting more and more exaggerated.
Not to mention the clothes on her body. The tights squeezed the fat together and tried to make the breasts more upright. The colorful and huge skirt and the stiff whalebone supporting the collar suppressed the body like shackles.
Irene's education made her clearly understand that clothing is used to serve the body, not to restrain women.
So the skirt she wore did not have a huge hem or layers of tulle. The milky white single-layer skirt hung comfortably and freely, fitting her body like water, and as she walked, it swayed like a fishtail, and her every step was like a lotus.
The upper body is even more stunningly beautiful, with a large neckline that just reveals the white collarbone and graceful neck line. The fishbone outlines the tight and slender waist, and the back is decorated with ribbons of the same color, creating the shape of wind in the air.
Especially in this soft indoor light, she looks like a goddess from Greek mythology who has come to earth.
In the corner where the light didn't reach, Leo, who was standing on the second floor, could hardly take his eyes away. He couldn't help but take a step forward. As his toes just touched the light, he suddenly shrank back, as if his skin was burned by the hustle and bustle downstairs.
Leo tried so hard to control his anger that he almost couldn't breathe.
She actually dressed up so beautifully to meet that man. No wonder she didn't take the initiative to look for him since she got on the ship. She must have been worrying about what to wear in the evening to impress that man for the whole afternoon.
He was almost burned to death by jealousy. Leo clenched his back teeth tightly, and his expression became colder.
He sneered through his teeth, his face pale as if he had some incurable disease. Leo looked from afar at the huge chandelier that was swaying slightly with the ups and downs of the ship, and turned away seemingly indifferent.
Since she doesn't care about him, why should he care about her?
Even if she died here tonight, she was willing to fall into her lover's trap.
What does it have to do with him.
It has nothing to do with him.
The joints of Leo's clenched fists were unusually protruding, as if the finger bones would be squeezed out of the flesh and blood at any second. He looked at Irene coldly, with red eyes.
Even Irene, who was used to being stared at by all kinds of eyes, noticed something was wrong. She looked up and around in confusion.
Just as she raised her eyes to look at the second floor, the boy's slightly thin figure disappeared at the end of the corridor.
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