"So you did plan this with him!" Cline's cold, emotionless voice came from above Luana's head, making her pause for a moment.
"I didn't."
"Then how did he know you were here?"
"I'm not sure, maybe it's because..." Her explanation was cut short by Cline's cold interruption.
"Stop making excuses. Getting your bag back wasn't just to contact him, was it?"
Seeing Cline's stubborn and indifferent expression, Luana fell silent.
He had already made up his mind that she had contacted Calvert to pick her up. No amount of explanation would convince him; it was futile.
"He comes to pick you up as soon as you're recovering. If that's not premeditated, then what is it?" Cline's distrust and relentless questioning left Luana feeling exhausted.
She took a deep breath and replied indifferently, "Yes, I did arrange with him. The day I could walk again, I asked him to come and get me."
Hearing her admission, Cline's lips curled into a cold, mocking smile, his eyes filled with sarcasm.
"You really a bitch. You're not even fully recovered, and you're already eager to throw yourself at him!" Cline, who was usually calm and well-mannered, actually spoke such harsh words.
Luana snapped out of her shock, tilted her small face up, and provocatively smiled at him.
"Mr. Moriarty, you're right. I am eager to leave with him. So, could you please let me go and not waste my time?" She deliberately emphasized the last sentence.
As soon as the words left her mouth, Cline's body, which was holding her, stiffened.
Luana could feel that she had provoked him, but at this moment, she didn't know whether it was anger or newfound boldness that made her unwilling to let Cline have the upper hand.
She was like a rose with thorns, using her sharp barbs to fiercely prick Cline. "Mr. Moriarty, we've already broken up. You're getting married. Let's cut all ties completely. No more meetings, no more contact. Is that okay?"
Cline's body became even more rigid, his face darkening. "What did you say?"
His usually cool voice was now laced with barely restrained anger, becoming gritted through clenched teeth.
Luana met his cold, piercing gaze and said through gritted teeth, "I said stop bothering me. I don't want to see you anymore. Please let me go and let me leave with him..."
After they broke up, Cline had sporadically sought her out a few times, leading her to mistakenly think he couldn't let her go.
But when she heard him admit that his feelings for her were purely physical, Luana decided to cut all ties with him completely.
If she wanted a clean break, she had to be resolute in her words; otherwise, it would seem like she was just playing hard to get.
She thought her determination would make him let her go and leave his house.
But to her surprise, not only did he not let her go, he used one hand to grip her waist and pinned her tightly against the floor-to-ceiling window.
The moment Cline's lips suddenly pressed down, Luana was completely stunned...
He wasn't kissing her. It was more like he was gnawing, fiercely biting her upper and lower lips, grinding and tearing them as if he had too much pent-up anger inside, or as if he had endured her for too long and was finally venting in this way.
Luana's mind went blank, and it was only when the intense pain from her lips hit her that she realized what Cline was doing.
She struggled to push him away, but he used one hand to grab her wrist and raised it above her head, immobilizing her.
Luana's eyes widened as she looked at the magnified handsome face in front of her. For a moment, she thought he had completely lost his mind.
"Cline!" She tried to stop his madness by letting out a muffled cry during her struggles, but as soon as she opened her mouth, he bit her again.
This time, the gnawing turned into a wildly unrestrained kiss, completely disregarding her feelings.
Just as Luana was about to suffocate from the kiss, Ulrich's steady and strong voice came from downstairs, "Mr. Moriarty, Mr. Coburn has called the police, claiming you're illegally detaining Miss Hammond. The police are here now, waiting outside."
Cline paused for a moment, lifted his dazed and indifferent eyes. He glanced outside the window.
After just one look, he withdrew his gaze, looked down at the panting Luana in his arms.
He said coldly, "Your old lover is as unreasonable as you are." With that, he turned and instructed Ulrich, "Let him come up."
If he wanted to see Luana so badly, then let him see her, as long as he could handle it!
"Yes, Mr. Moriarty," Ulrich replied, went downstairs to brief the police, and then let Calvert in.
Soaked to the skin, Calvert climbed the stairs unsteadily, holding onto the railing.
The moment he saw Luana being forcefully kissed by Cline against the floor-to-ceiling window, his eyes turned bloodshot. Even his eyebrows and eyes turned red.
These past few days, he had gone from house to house, checking every property under Cline's name, searching for her one by one. He had finally found her, only to witness the most unbearable scene.
He stood there stunned, his face filled with disbelief, and soon, his emotions spiraled out of control in complete collapse.
"Luana!" He staggered forward, trying to pull them apart, but the bodyguard following him blocked his way.
Cline, with his back to him, couldn't see his expression, but he heard the desperation in his voice.
Cline curled his lips into a smile. He grabbed the back of Luana's head with one hand, and deepened the kiss once more.