Drowning Him In Regret

hapter 45

Dorian took me to a quiet vegan restaurant, and I stared at him, a little surprised. "Why here?"

"You don't look like you've got much of an appetite," Dorian said as he pulled out

a chair for me and poured a cup of coffee. "Figured something light might go down easier."

After a sip, the warmth of the coffee did make me feel a little better, but my stomach still wasn't up for much.

I ended up just ordering a bowl of oatmeal, eating it slowly, one bite at a time.

Dorian didn't seem in any rush. He just sat there with a smile, watching me eat like I was the most fascinating thing in the world.

Suddenly, Dorian grabbed a napkin and reached out to wipe my mouth. I flinched instinctively, and he immediately pulled his hand back.

"You got it all over your mouth," Dorian said with a soft laugh. "Looks like you were hungrier than you thought."

I took the napkin from him, feeling embarrassed. Just then, a chill crept down my spine.

"Well, well, Ada." came Vivian's nauseatingly familiar voice, full of fake sweetness. "So this is why you didn't show up at work today? Out on a little date with your college crush?"

Hearing this, I rolled my eyes. Across from me, Dorian chuckled out loud.

Vivian clearly wasn't happy with my reaction. She made a show of wrapping her arm around Jude and walked right over to our table.

"Oatmeal, really?" Vivian said, her tone dripping with sarcasm. "Not feeling well? But hey, with Mr. Huxley here, we don't need to worry about you, do

we?

Vivian continued, "Still, you're technically a married woman. Going out like this? Pretty scandalous if you ask me."

Jude didn't say a word. He just stood there, staring at me while Vivian ran her mouth.

I wiped

usly. "Right. And yet here you two are, arm in arm, having lunch in broad daylight. big deal?"

shameless Vivian could be.

ve back then, maybe things with Jude wouldn't have turned out the way they did.

ude finally spoke when I clapped back at his precious little sweetheart.

Jude said impatiently, "Ada, watch your mouth. You're here on a date with Dorian, and you've got the nerve to call us names?"

Meeting his angry glare, I laughed. "What else should I call you? Adulterers?

"Sorry, I majored in design-my vocabulary is a little limited. Hope you can forgive that, Mr. Carson."

I grabbed my bag and looked at Dorian. "You dong eating? Let's get outta here.” Dorian stood up right away, but Vivian just had to block our path again.

Vivian spoke up. "Ada, you just had a scandal blow up online. People were talking all kinds of crap about you. Shouldn't you keep a low profile?

"You're still married to Jude, and now you're out here flirting with someone else? What, you think you're that irresistible? You think

I pointed a finger at her, about to shut her up, when I suddenly felt something warm running down my nose.

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I thought, 'Nosebleed. Of course. It always happened the day of my chemo sessions.'

I hurried to grab a tissue and held it to my nose, but the bleeding just wouldn't stop.

Dorian pushed past Vivian without a word and grabbed my arm. "Come on. Let's get you to the restroom. Don't worry, it's okay."

I glanced down and saw a huge red stain blooming across my chest. Instantly, I felt irritated.

This shirt was brand new-a gift from Casey-and it hadn't been cheap. If the blood didn't come out, that was money down the drain.

I was still thinking about how to get the stain out when, of all people, Jude stepped in front of me.

"What's going on with you?" Jude demanded. "Why are you always getting nosebleeds?"noveldrama

Jude looked like he wanted to come closer, maybe check on me or something, but Dorian stepped between us.

Dorian said, "Mr. Carson, since you're out with your girlfriend, maybe don't worry about your wife. It's pointless."

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Soon, Dorian didn't give him a chance to respond. He just pulled me straight toward the restroom. And Jude stayed where he was, held back by Vivian.

"Don't stress about it, Jude," Vivian said, her voice fake sweet. "Ada is probably just upset because I hit a nerve."

Vivian added, "I used to get nosebleeds all the time when I was little. It's nothing."

Hope you go back to getting nosebleeds all the time then,' I thought bitterly.

It took a while, but the bleeding finally stopped. By then, the whole room was spinning.

Instinctively, I touched the top of my head-and instantly snapped back to reality at the feel of hair falling out.

I opened my palm slowly and looked at the strands. My eyes stung.

I'd always been so vain. The thought of going bald-even if it was just patchy at first-was something I couldn't really accept.

It wasn't coming out in clumps yet, but still, way more than normal.

Luckily, Dorian hadn't noticed. He handed me a bottle of water. "Low blood sugar and a nosebleed? What did the doctor say?"

I quickly tossed the hair on the floor, whispering a silent apology to the cleaning lady, and took the bottle, forcing down a small sip.

"It's just heat and low blood sugar," I said. "I'll be fine after a bit of rest."

"You sure about that?" Dorian looked skeptical.

Yeah, I knew it sounded like total BS. But I still nodded with conviction.

"Wouldn't you be burning up if your husband had an affair?" I said, half joking. "I'm good."

Dorian actually nodded, like he believed it.

"Dorian, I wanna be alone for a while. You don't have to walk me out," I said,

starting to feel a little overwhelmed. I stepped out of the restroom on my

own.

As I walked past Vivian and Jude, I didn't:

n't spare them a glance. I just headed straight out the door and grabbed a cab

back to Casey's place.