Chapter 325

My eye sockets ached, but no tears fell. I took a deep breath, tightened my down jacket's collar, and walked toward the parking lot. The street held few people and even fewer cars in the middle of the night.

Arriving at the parking lot, I pressed my car key, but the car didn't respond. I pressed it again, still no response. I wondered if the key was dead. I stood before the car door, lost in thought. My shadow, disheveled and ridiculous, was cast on the car window.

I stood there blankly for a long time, until my phone rang. It was Reynaldo, but I didn't answer. After the call ended, he texted: “Buy the medicine and come back quickly!” I tugged self-deprecatingly at my lips. He was clearly anxious about his "white moonlight." I didn't tell him the car wouldn't start; it was pointless—he'd only assume I'd deliberately damaged the key.

I pulled up my down jacket's hood. It was still cold, the wind biting through. I walked to the street, hugging myself, ready to hail a taxi. But few private cars, let alone taxis, were around. After waiting several minutes with no car in sight, Reynaldo called again. He was clearly in a hurry—not me, but him, the painkiller for his "white moonlight."

I closed my eyes and answered. His voice, filled with suppressed anger, barked, “Are you willing to answer the phone now?”

I remained silent for a few seconds, then asked lightly, “What’s the matter?”

“It takes so long to buy medicine? Hurry up and buy it and come back to me!”

I closed my eyes, chuckled self-deprecatingly, but bitter tears welled up. I said, “Are you suspecting I deliberately hung around, delaying, making Kimberly suffer?”

I sneered, “If you're in such a hurry, why don't you go buy it yourself? Are you afraid I'll take advantage of her?”

“Esmeralda!”

His voice grew colder, deeper, as if the tender, affectionate man from our bed was a stranger. Indeed, a man's words in bed are rarely trustworthy.

He said in a low voice, “Speak properly.”

I sneered, “How do you define ‘speaking properly,’ Mr. Humphrey?”

Reynaldo fell silent; his heavy breathing was audible. He was clearly suppressing his anger. Then, Kimberly's affected voice: “Reynaldo, don’t… don’t rush Ms. Duffy, it’s already late… Ms. Duffy, she…”

I detested her voice intensely. I hung up. Reynaldo didn't call back.

I tugged self-deprecatingly at my lips and looked around. The cold wind blew; no taxi was in sight. I opened my navigation and searched for the nearest 24-hour pharmacy. Even the closest was 18 kilometers away.

Chapter 325

I lowered my head and silently followed the navigation. My face and hands were numb with cold.