Chapter 320
When Thorn saw it was Eleanor, he paused in drying his hair, his expression turning even colder. “What are you doing here?” he asked, his tone icy.
Eleanor swayed her hips as she walked over to him, reaching out to touch him, but Thorn quickly sidestepped, avoiding her hand.
Eleanor didn’t get upset. Instead, she sat down on the sofa and curled her lips into a smile, her bright red lips making her teeth look even more striking. “Thorn, I’ve missed you. It’s been ages. How about we have a drink together?”
Eleanor’s eyes stayed glued to Thorn, full of longing. If Hazel had never shown up back then, maybe we would have been together already, Eleanor thought to herself.
Thorn’s expression didn’t change; he didn’t even bother to look at her. “I’m busy. Get out. Now,” he said.
Eleanor felt a stab in her heart. “Thorn, why are you always so heartless to me? You know how I feel. I’ve loved you for so long. If you just wanted, I’d do anything for you,” she said, her voice trembling with emotion.
Thorn was hit with a crawling sense of revulsion, so intense it made him want to gag. He shot her a look of open, undisguised contempt, the kind that made Eleanor’s hands ball into tight fists.
“Get out. Don’t make me repeat myself,” Thorn snapped, his voice icy and full of warning.
Eleanor suddenly sprang to her feet, her face a mix of anger and hurt. “Thorn, what am I to you? I’ve never done anything to hurt you, so why do you have to look at me with such disgust? Don’t you realize you’re trampling all over my feelings? And you know what? Someone’s trampling all over your heart, too.”
Eleanor knew perfectly well that Thorn was hopelessly in love with Hazel, but Hazel didn’t feel the same way about him.
“Just being here is already the worst thing you could do to me, Eleanor. Get out. And don’t you ever say you love me again, or I swear I won’t let you off,” Thorn growled, his voice cold and threatening.
Eleanor burst out laughing, her smile both bitter and tinged with disappointment. “Thorn, at least hear my terms before you rush to throw me out,” she said, her voice laced with sarcasm.
Thorn already knew exactly what Eleanor was getting at. He casually tossed the towel onto the coffee table and replied coldly, “I don’t need it.”
Eleanor wasn’t about to give up. She moved toward him slowly, but with every step she took, Thorn retreated, as if she were some kind of wild beast that might pounce on him at any moment.
“Thorn, I heard from Victor that you want to take back the Noir family. Just say the word, and I’ll stand with you, no questions asked. Hazel? She’s nothing–just some outsider with a murky background, and she actually dares to lay her hands on the Noir family,” Eleanor sneered, her tone full of contempt.
Deep down, Eleanor looked down on Hazel. A stray orphan picked up off the streets–what right does she have to become the heir of the Noir family, the oldest royal bloodline in all of Mendu? Who does she think she is? Eleanor thought bitterly.
If it weren’t for Hazel, Eleanor wouldn’t be in this mess today.
“Thorn, you…” Eleanor stammered, her voice trembling with shock.
Thorn’s eyes went bloodshot with killing intent as he suddenly clamped his hand around Eleanor’s neck, choking her hard.
He didn’t let go until Eleanor was gasping, her face turning purple from lack of air. Then he flung her onto the sofa, her hand clutching her throat and desperately gulping for breath.
“You want to kill me?” Eleanor cried, truly terrified now, staring at Thorn with wide, panicked eyes.
Thorn slowly wiped his eyes, detached and cold. “I told you to get out,” he said, his voice low and full of warning.
But Eleanor still refused to give up. She was obsessed with Thorn–even the way he choked her just now sent a twisted thrill through her. And right now, she was convinced he needed her. There was no way she was leaving.
“Thorn, please don’t be angry. It was my fault just now. But you need me now, and I can help you. Just say the word, and the Lynch family will do anything you ask,” Eleanor pleaded, her voice soft and coaxing.
Money and influence were the last things Eleanor lacked now; she was no longer the naive girl she used to be. The whole Lynch family belonged to her now.