Love the Second Time Around Novel

Chapter 27

Chapter 27 Screwed Up

“Hey, there isn’t anything in the fridge, so what am I supposed to do?” I turned towards the living room and yelled.

Without even looking up from the screen, his slender fingers never stopped typing as if they were dancing across the keyboard. However, the words that left his lips the next second were unpleasant.

“Are you the caregiver, or am I the caregiver? All I care about is the food. You should take care of the rest.”

I…

Hearing that, I admitted defeated and decided to leave to get groceries at the supermarket nearby. But I looked down and noticed that I was still wearing the dress from yesterday. I would just be digging my own grave if I went out like this.

“Um… Can we skip breakfast today? I want to go home and change.”

As soon as I said that, he slammed his laptop shut and looked up at me, his eyes full of contempt.

“What? Should I let you go home and put on makeup too? Let me tell you, I have to have breakfast or I’ll be having gastric pain. If that happens, you’ll be having an even harder time returning your debt.”

I ignored his sarcastic words as all I could focus on were the words “gastric pain” he mentioned. Why would he have gastric pain? For all the yearly checkups we had previously, I recalled that he was always healthier than me.

My mind then wandered back to the fridge; there was nothing except bottles of beer in it. Well, how did you not die from gastric pain then?

Right then, a loud knocking came from the door, and I glanced at Dominic in confusion. Who could it be so early in the morning? It… It can’t be Camille, right?

“What are you standing around for? Go open the door!”

I glared at him upon hearing that. If it weren’t for his legs, I would have thought that he must be ordering me around on purpose. Huffing in frustration, I opened the door and saw that it was Calvin, who was holding a huge bag in his hands. Content from NôvelDr(a)ma.Org.

He nodded slightly at the sight of me before turning sideways to squeeze his way through the doorframe, keeping as much distance between us as he could.

I was perplexed to see him do that.

“Mr. Hartnell, I’ve brought the things you asked for.”

“Great. Give it to her. Or else she’s going to come up with another excuse to slack off.”

Hearing that, I glanced at the bag in Calvin’s hand, and he quickly handed it over to me. I opened the bag to look and found a light blue women’s suit.

Does this mean Dominic had called his assistant early in the morning to prepare this for me?

My lips twitched and curled into a smile. At least he’s got some conscience.

“Don’t smile just yet. The money used to buy the suit will be deducted from your pay. Also, I want to have my breakfast in half an hour, or you’ll bear the consequences.”

My smile instantly vanished, and I couldn’t even fight back. Annoyed, I ran to the room on the second floor to get changed.

By the time I was finally downstairs, Calvin was nowhere to be seen. I wasn’t sure what Dominic was busy with, but I couldn’t care less about him. I left the house after notifying him that I was going out.

Only when I got out did I realize that there wasn’t a single soul nearby. Besides the mansions and the luxury cars speeding along the road, I was the only person walking.

At that moment, I absolutely despised the rich. What was the point of living in such a high-class area? They were just making life difficult for themselves since there wasn’t even a place nearby to buy anything.

But it didn’t seem right after I gave it another thought. Normally, people would drive when they go out, so why would they think that it wasn’t convenient? Only a working-class person like me would walk to the place I needed to go.

I suddenly thought of the half-an-hour time limit Dominic gave me, so I started to run. Ten minutes later, I finally saw a grocer. I was so happy that I almost ran up to the shopkeeper to give him a kiss.

With that, I immediately rushed into the grocer and swept a bunch of food products into my basket as though I were a tornado. Earlier, I noticed that Dominic’s kitchen was there just as an extra space because I could see that he never cooked in it before.

After paying, I realized that twenty-five minutes had passed. There were only five minutes left, and there was no way I could get back in time. I wasn’t afraid of his harsh words but was worried that he would be having his gastric pain soon.

With the bags full of groceries in hand, I quickly ran back to the house. I was panting by the time I pushed the door open but was immediately met with Dominic wiping his mouth, with an empty plate and a cup of milk on the coffee table before him.

He looked up at me and shook his head in disdain. “Are you some kind of refugee? Why do you look like you just went to rob someone?”

Still panting, I let go of the bags I was holding and rushed toward him, thinking to give him a piece of my mind. Once I reached where he was, I stomped on the coffee table.

He shrunk his head unwittingly and stared at me in shock.

“So what if you’re my creditor? So what if you’re crippled? I was so worried that you would get gastric pain from not eating that I ran back here with those bags full of groceries. But look at you. You’re here enjoying your breakfast and milk. This is just outrageous!”

“Hey, I—” Dominic was about to say something but was interrupted when I slammed my fist on the table.

“Yes, I do owe you, and I might not be able to return everything no matter what I do. But I’m human too. Is it fun for you to trick me like that? Did you feel satisfied seeing me fooled by you all day long like an idiot? Or when I had to bear all your ridicules? Alright, let’s make things clear right this moment. There’s a deadline even when it’s a prisoner’s sentence. When do you plan to stop making a fool out of me? A month later? Half a year? Or maybe a year? I’ll leave once I’ve returned everything. I don’t even want to spend an extra minute with you!”

I couldn’t hold it in anymore and vented all my frustrations and anger right then. Honestly, I didn’t even care what he would do to me after this. All I wanted to do was scold him first.

“Your stomach won’t be able to stand it if you don’t eat, Mr. Hartnell. I— Oh, you’re back, Ms. Zanetti. Then should I bring both of your breakfast out now?”

My head snapped towards him when I heard Calvin’s voice, and I saw him walking out of the kitchen. He took a glance at me in puzzlement before going around me to take the empty plate and cup of milk, all while trying to keep as much distance between us as possible.

“Um, Calvin, what…” I swallowed hard before asking.

“Oh, that’s mine. Mr. Hartnell said you’re not familiar with the place around here, so he told me to go get breakfast. But he told me to eat first when I came back and said that he wanted to eat with you. I was worried that he would suffer from gastric pain again and was about to urge him to eat a little, but you’re back already.”

It was the first time Calvin had said so much to me, but for some reason, I wanted to dig a hole and bury myself right then and there.

With that, I quickly put down my leg as I chanted silently, “You can’t see me. You can’t see me.” Then, I turned and tried to leave, but a cold voice sounded from behind me.

“You may go now, Calvin. Head back to the office first. Remember to close the door when you head out.”

I could tell that the man was speaking through gritted teeth, and instantly, the temperature dropped by a few degrees. Thinking back to what I said to Dominic earlier, I knew that I would be dead meat soon.

Calvin seemed to notice that something was wrong, and he left after answering. He even shut the door close like he was told as he headed out.

I…

“You have three seconds to get here.”

His low and cold voice sounded from behind me, and I sighed dejectedly upon hearing it.