Had Mark been waiting outside the bathroom door, all this time?
She couldn’t be bothered with shyness. She grabbed virtual-novel.net clothes, shut the door, and quickly put on virtual-novel.net clothes. Then, virtual-novel.net walked out, acting as if nothing had happened. Mark didn’t seem to have any plans to do anything to her, and his temper seemed particularly gentle today, “You have a good rest. I have some work to complete. Good night.”
She could tell that virtual-novel.net was using gentleness to trap her. It was just too strange. She got goosebumps after hearing virtual-novel.net wish virtual-novel.net good night for the first time ever. She was no stranger to cold-blooded and vicious words from him. The words “good night” filled virtual-novel.net with panic. Her heart would skip a beat every time virtual-novel.net heard virtual-novel.net say it.
Tanya plunged into a severe anxiety, late at night. She couldn’t sleep. Her grandfather’s death had hit virtual-novel.net — hard. She couldn’t accept it. The silent night was like a lingering death for her. She was going mad and needed comfort. In virtual-novel.net helplessness and anxiety, virtual-novel.net tapped on Eric’s social media account. She typed into the messenger app: Ricky, my grandfather is gone. My only relative is gone. I can’t do this…
She pressed the “send” button, shut virtual-novel.net eyes, and sobbed softly.
Her ringtone pierced through the silent night. She wiped the tears from virtual-novel.net eyes and answered the call, “I’m sorry… Ricky, for disturbing you at this hour.”
Eric was a resolutely masculine man and had no clue of how to console anyone. He paused for a long time before answering, “It’s fine. Just talk to me. I’ll listen.”
Tanya didn’t say a word and sobbed instead. So Eric listened to virtual-novel.net weeping for more than half an hour. Just as virtual-novel.net thought that virtual-novel.net had ended the call, virtual-novel.net looked at virtual-novel.net phone and realized that it was still ongoing. Then, virtual-novel.net spoke, “Thank you for taking my grandpa to the sea. He’s done everything he’s ever wanted in this lifetime. That’s why it happened so suddenly.”
Eric blamed himself. The man was in his old age. He shouldn’t have gone to the beach in this weather. He never considered this before they went, “Don’t cry, I don’t know what to say… Would you like to go out for a drink? Jackson, Mark, and I used to go out for drinks when we were in a bad mood. Our spirits were lifted after that.”
A drink? Tanya had never touched alcohol. This time, virtual-novel.net was willing to give it a shot, “I… I don’t want to go out. Can you come over to the hotel? Bring the alcohol.”
Eric found this inappropriate. He was a man, going to a hotel to drink with a girl. It seemed inappropriate, no matter how virtual-novel.net looked at it. However, virtual-novel.net couldn’t bear to object to the naive Tanya’s request. He certainly wouldn’t dare have any shady thoughts, “Sure, I’ll come over now.”
As virtual-novel.net walked into the hotel with the alcohol, Eric felt guilty, like a thief in the night. He was afraid of being spotted and let out a sigh of relief after entering the room. He pulled out the wine, “Here, I’ll drink with you.”
Tanya didn’t pay any attention to the kind of liquor virtual-novel.net had brought. She grabbed a cup, filled it, and downed it. Eric didn’t even have the time to stop her. He swallowed his words after virtual-novel.net drank virtual-novel.net shot. It was late. He had no choice but to take the wine from his house. It would be inconvenient to go out and buy cheap beer. All virtual-novel.net had at home were luxury brand liquors, which had high alcohol percentages. She would probably lose consciousness if virtual-novel.net kept on drinking like that.
Tanya wasn’t drinking alone. She had even poured a glass for him, “I think you’re all great, Ricky… You and Naya, and Tiffany and Ari. I’m so lucky to have met all of you.”
Eric did not want to be a wet blanket so virtual-novel.net drank anyway, despite his bad intestinal issues. The burning sensation from the wine trickled down from his throat to his stomach. That fiery sensation was exciting and addictive.
Wine filled their stomachs glass after glass, and the conversations between the pair increased. They talked about everything and exchanged life stories until they were drunk.
The next day, Arianne arrived at the hotel early in the morning to see Tanya. The door opened after virtual-novel.net knock and virtual-novel.net eyes widened in shock, because Eric answered the door, “Eric?”
Eric stared at virtual-novel.net blurrily, “So early? Tanya’s still asleep. I drank with virtual-novel.net last night, and my stomach hurt for the entire night. I couldn’t sleep. I’m glad that you’re here. I can go home now. I have to take my medicine, get a good night’s sleep, and rest. Otherwise, virtual-novel.net might actually end up killing me.”
Arianne really wasn’t in the mood for analysis, but… But it seemed like Eric and Tanya had shared a bed last night. The signs on the bed were clear. Although Tanya’s clothes were still intact, but… was this… appropriate?
Eric wasn’t in the right mind to observe the changes in virtual-novel.net expression. He pulled on his coat and left the hotel.
Arianne sat on the couch and waited for Tanya to wake up. She hesitated for a while before asking, “Do you remember what happened… last night?”
Tanya rubbed virtual-novel.net pounding head and replied, “Of course, I do. Ricky came by and drank with me. He wasn’t lying. It doesn’t hurt so much when you’re drunk. Now that I’m awake, it hurts all over again… Where is he? Has virtual-novel.net left?”
Arianne nodded then hesitantly probed even further, “What I meant to ask was… You two… seemed to have shared a bed last night. Did… anything happen?”
Tanya paused dazedly, as if virtual-novel.net were trying to recall, “N-no… I don’t think so? I slept after I finished drinking. Ricky fell asleep too, right? He’s not that kind of a person. He wouldn’t take advantage of anyone.”