"Hey, you're fine. It's all over now."
Harry's soothing tone comforted Lola and pulled her back to reality. She unconsciously wrapped her arms around his neck.
"You are Harry, aren't you?" She urged for an answer and her pale face was full of anxiety.
The man wiped away her tears and gazed at her pretty face with sadness. "Yes, it's me." "Be still..."
Her stiff body slowly relaxed under his words.
She had only been with one man. That was Harry. Harry was the only person who had touched her.
But this evening, her body was groped by other men. She could still feel their phantom hands on her body.
"I feel dirty... I need to shower... They... Touched me... Ugh!" The repulsive scene came back to her and she started retching again.
Harry watched her with concern. She must feel really sick about the incident. Silly girl, it's not as serious as she thought. But how could he comfort her?
Harry stood up and fetched a bottle of water for her. He helped her sit up and held the bottle to her mouth.
She felt much more comfortable as he held her in his arms.
He took the water bottle from her hands, and put it aside. Leaning over, he whispered softly in her ear, "Let me help you forget it."
His deep and alluring masculine voice captivated her.
She gazed back into his intense eyes and felt him slowly push her down.
It was getting dark.
Lola's clothes were in disarray. Fortunately, she still had her brother's coat to cover herself up.
She coldly turned down Harry's proposal to check in to a hotel. Harry berated her, saying she used him before ruthlessly ditching him.
Lola was still upset with Harry on her way back to the villa. For her, Harry was just a second choice! He was just a man at her disposal, ready whenever she asked for him. Apart from that, there were no strings attached.
She quietly sneaked upstairs and returned to her bedroom.
The whole incident must be kept secret. She couldn't let her family find out about it. She didn't want them to worry about her.
The first thing she did was to take off her clothes and throw them into the bin. Then she prepared a bath.
In the bathtub, Lola scrubbed her body roughly. She cursed Yolanda numerous times in her head.
But she did feel better when Harry came to comfort her.
She spent almost two hours in the bathtub, staying until dawn.
She climbed out of the cold water and dried herself up. Then she went to check on Nicole. When she returned, Lola closed her eyes and rested for a while. Harry didn't believe her at all. She couldn't count on him, so he had to leave him out of it and confront Yolanda herself.
The next day, Lola came downstairs with bloodshot eyes. Her whole family approached her in concern and asked her about her swollen eyes.
She was deeply moved. Her family was her sunshine. They always gave her unconditional warmth.
Lola beamed at them and pretended that nothing had happened. "Good morning! I was quite busy with company work lately. I stayed up late last night working on it. I woke up like this because of sleep deprivation."
Jordan, who was eating by the breakfast table, paused at her words. But he kept silent. It might be a good idea that the family didn't know the truth as they would get worried. But he needed to talk to his sister when the time was right.
Landon Li looked at Lola fondly and said, "Lola, if the job is too difficult, just quit. We can afford to support you!"
Lola smiled back, her heart was filled with gratitude. "Grandpa, I am fine. I'll balance work and leisure from now on. I want to provide Nicole with better things. How can I not work?" She helped her grandfather to sit more comfortably to enjoy his breakfast.
Her father, Harold spoke, "Something horrible happened on the crossroad you usually pass by after work. Some men were found lying there with their eyes gouged out. They were put in jail, where someone also sliced their arms and legs off. They must have crossed someone powerful. This thing is huge, Lola. How about you let your brother pick you up from work from now on?" He observed his son's face as he said this. Rumor has that it was carried out by Jordan's soldiers. But no tangible evidence could be found.
Jordan's face remained calmly blank. Harold couldn't read his mind at all.
Even if their children are all grown up, they should still tell their parents the truth if something had happened!
Lola quickly turned to her father and said, "Dad, no need for that. Brother is busy all day himself. I will finish work early and come home straightaway from now on. No more overtime." Right, no more overtime! There was no way for Yolanda to attack her at the crossroads anymore!
But it wasn't good enough. She should ask her brother for a weapon later. If Yolanda crossed her again, she would deal with her permanently.
Harold looked at his daughter and noticed her expression. She seemed different lately. Judging by her expressions, she looked quite indifferent these days.
"Lola, if something has happened to you, you need to tell us. Don't hide your feelings." Angie Gong put some food onto Nicole's plate. She studied her daughter thoughtfully.
Last night, she caught her daughter sneaking back home in Jordan's military coat. When she woke up at the midnight to go to the bathroom, she heard a noise downstairs. Curious, she went down to find out what was going on. She saw her daughter in the dim lights.
She was wearing Jordan's coat and looked quite disheveled. After what she witnessed the night before, there was no way she'd believe Lola's words that nothing had happened.
She watched the morning news on TV. It was hard for her to not piece the two incidents together.
But she felt quite relieved that her son was there. If her daughter did not wish to talk about it, it was fine with her. As long as they were alright, there was no need for her to question too much.
Feeling a bit guilty, Lola buried her face in the congee bowl. She didn't want her family to worry about her. "Mom, I'm fine. I have loving elder and young brothers. I won't cause you any trouble"
She meant that should anything happen to her, she had her brothers to depend on. There was no need to turn to her parents.
"Alright boys, you need to look after my precious daughter. If anything happened to her, I will definitely hold you responsible." Angie glanced at her children and thought to herself that Lola was her favorite. She was so lucky that she gave her a sweet grandchild.
However, her eldest child was already in his thirties and had just found himself a fiancee. It might take another several years until he gave her a grandchild.
As for the third child... All he did was play around! Two days ago, he got a luxury car out of nowhere. The Li family was known to have strict discipline and rigorous education. Otherwise, she would have come to the conclusion that he obtained the car through underhanded means.
"Mom, you really favor sister over us!" Joseph protested in frustration, while Jordan nodded in agreement.
There you go. They were both her sons, but they behaved in completely different ways. "Shut up! Why don't you go and give me a grandchild as well? My sweet Nicole is so adorable." With these words, Angie bent down and lovingly pecked Nicole's chubby cheek.
Nicole happily grinned. "Granny, Nicole loves you so much!"
Angie quickly put down her chopsticks and hugged Nicole tightly. "Of course, my little sweetheart. Granny loves you very much as well!"
Joseph watched the two giggling girls and pulled on his brother's sleeves. "Brother, why don't you marry your fiancee already? That will get mom's attention off me!"
Lola nodded in agreement. Yes! He really needed to marry Wendy soon. She craved for more companionship.
Jordan calmly wiped his mouth with the napkin and said, "Soon." Turning to his parents, he said, "Mother, Father, why don't you set a date for us?"
"Of course. I will discuss with your father and let you know tomorrow." Angie nodded with great satisfaction. They met his fiancee a couple of days ago. She was a nice girl. They didn't care about her family background.
Their eldest son was an introvert. To be honest, they would already be greatly satisfied should he actually get married and give them some grandchildren.