Victoria swallowed her saliva, gazing at Brandon's handsome face without blinking, but slowly she felt him pushing the back of her neck to push her face forward, causing her to reflexively move away.
"No..."
The woman immediately stood up.
"I think I should eat something," she said randomly, quickly walking to find the kitchen.
Brandon fell silent with disappointment, almost succeeding in kissing her but failing, and there was no talk of the past anymore.
'No... I can't let her drift away from me again. I have to convince her!' he thought to himself, then quickly followed Victoria to the kitchen.
Upon arriving in the monochromatic kitchen dominated by cream, white, and black furniture, he saw her opening the fridge, then the pantry, but finding nothing.
"There's no food ingredients here," he said, making Victoria immediately turn to him. "This apartment has been vacant for a long time, so the kitchen items like food ingredients have gone bad and expired, so the housekeeper disposed of them before we arrived here," he explained.
Victoria sighed, swallowing her saliva, looking around anxiously, feeling the urge to leave the apartment immediately, but Brandon seemed to keep watching her.
"Um... Well then... Maybe we could eat out when Sophia wakes up," she said awkwardly.
Brandon immediately smiled faintly, nodding his head. "That's not a bad idea."
"Uh... In that case, I should go back to the room."
Victoria walked slowly towards the door, but suddenly Brandon intercepted her, causing her heart to race and worry about their past being discussed again.
"I miss you," Brandon whispered.
Victoria immediately smiled thinly, shaking her head, looking up at Brandon who was much taller than her.
"Please don't go again," Brandon pleaded, then immediately grabbed Victoria's hand and lifted it until she was in front of his chest. "Don't make me go back into suffering... I need you, I love you, I don't care what happened... I just want us to be like before again."
"Like before again, dating in secret, is that what you mean?" Victoria asked, raising her eyebrows.
Brandon fell silent, swallowing his saliva, remembering how they dated Victoria 5 years ago.
Flashback:
At 11:00 p.m, Portland.
Brandon left his room and glanced at the mansion's atmosphere, which was so quiet and dimly lit because the main lights had been turned off. He took off his black flip-flops, then carried them down the black stairs to the ground floor, then continued walking to another room, traversing a hallway until he reached a row of rooms with each name on each door.
He took a key from his dusty shorts pocket, then used it to open the door with Victoria Clark's name on it.
Successfully opening the door, he immediately pushed it and entered, always checking from inside.
"Oh my God... Brandon," Victoria whispered upon waking up and realizing someone had entered.
Brandon placed his flip-flops and the key on the floor, then approached Victoria, immediately climbing onto the bed and crawling on top of her.
"I miss you so much!" he whispered with a smile, trying to kiss her but being avoided.
"You're crazy!" Victoria whispered.
"What?"
"We shouldn't be doing this!" Victoria exclaimed softly, pushing Brandon off her and onto the bed, then she quickly got up from the bed. "Go... I don't want to do this," she continued, walking towards the bathroom.
Instead of leaving immediately, Brandon took off his clothes and pants, then lay on the bed and covered part of his lower body with a blanket. He glanced at Victoria's phone lying on the pillow, then picked it up.
"What? Why did she put a lock screen? Does she have a secret?"
He immediately frowned, his blood boiling with emotions, suspecting that his girlfriend was cheating.
Click...
Victoria returned from the bathroom with a slightly fresh face, looking at Brandon shaking her head.
"Why did you take off your clothes?"
Brandon threw Victoria's phone to the edge of the bed.
"Hey... what's wrong with you?" She picked up her phone.
"You cheated on me!" Brandon exclaimed, pouting, even turning his face away.
Victoria smiled thinly. "Why... Where did you get such speculation? How could I cheat when you're so possessive... You don't even give me time for myself?" She wondered, raising her eyebrows.
Brandon just remained silent, but slowly sadness appeared on his face.
"Please don't accuse me recklessly... I wouldn't do that." Victoria placed her phone on the table. "Now you better go back to your room. I don't want anyone to know about us... We can be intimate elsewhere, not here."
Brandon looked at Victoria. "You changed in an instant. Don't you realize that it hurts me so much?" he asked softly.
"I haven't changed..." Victoria shook her head.
"No, you changed..." Brandon looked down. "You didn't accept me, and then you put a lock on your phone. You're starting to be dishonest with me... You're starting to not appreciate my love even though I've been thinking about how to safely maintain our relationship until I dare to be honest with my parents."
Victoria sighed. "So, that's the problem?"
Brandon just remained silent, sulking and turning his face away.
Victoria chuckled, suddenly feeling amused by Brandon's behavior and his cute facial expressions, making her immediately approach him and sit astride both his legs. She immediately cupped both sides of his jaw, forcing him to look at her.
"Look... Look at me... Look at my eyes!" she exclaimed with a smile.
Brandon still sulked.
"I'm still the same as usual, loving you," Victoria said, then kissed Brandon's lips.
Brandon remained silent.
Victoria chuckled and pinched his cheek. "Hey! What's wrong with you? Don't you trust me?" She wondered.
"I trust you," Brandon replied, bending his face. "I just don't like it when you create distance between us."
Victoria sighed and fell silent as if she were thinking, but suddenly Brandon's mother's face flashed in her mind, her arrogant and cold attitude, making her so afraid that their relationship was found out, but when she looked at Brandon again, she also felt afraid to be apart from him.
"Okay, I'll go back to my room," Brandon said as he lifted Victoria from his lap but she refused.
"No no..." Victoria shook her head, then hugged Brandon. "I can't... I can't be without you. I can't!"
Brandon fell silent, slightly surprised.
"I also don't like there to be distance between us... I love you so much, I want to spend the rest of my life with you!" Victoria affirmed, and then Brandon released her hug and looked at her warmly.
"We will be together forever... I promise, I will marry you, then take you away from here," he said with a smile.
"Tell me your plan to make me not afraid anymore!"
"Now I am focusing on my new business, and you will also focus on your education. We will support each other, so don't create distance between us... Promise to always wait," Brandon said with a pleading look. "I believe my business will succeed in a few months, maybe right when you graduate. I have calculated everything. After that, I will marry you... I will announce to everyone that you are the only girl I love... And no one will be able to oppose me, not even my mother. She will be proud to have you because you are not just the daughter of a maid, but you are a future lawyer... You are high-class... She will like that!" He continued with confidence.
"Are you sure it will work?"
"Yes... I will make everything work out smoothly... Just never create distance between us!" Brandon affirmed with his soft voice, then caressed Victoria's lips. "I won't be able to sleep soundly until I've tasted these lips. I like making them swollen from wrestling with mine!"
Victoria blushed and smiled.
"Why do you like seeing my lips swollen?"
"Because it makes you even cuter, and it shows how wild I am when I'm with you... Only you can arouse my passion!" Brandon explained, immediately kissing Victoria aggressively.
She responded fiercely, even embracing his arms until he pushed her to lie down, continuing to kiss her as his hands slowly roamed over her chest still covered by the open-sleeved pajamas.
Flashback off