Marcus had no choice but to take off her right sleeve first, then carefully remove the left one.
The down jacket and cardigan sweater were easy to take off, but if he took off her undershirt, she'd be completely exposed. Marcus looked at her and said, "I'm gonna have to tear your sleeve off."
Cornelia blinked, "Can you really do that?"
Marcus steadied her wounded arm with one hand while the other tugged harshly, ripping the sleeve at its seam. He displayed a strength far greater than Cornelia had anticipated.
In an instant, the wound on her fair arm was exposed. It was about the size of a fist, her skin all smashed up, and blood kept flowing out.
Marcus was shocked, but Cornelia was still smiling, like a fool, as if she didn't know pain. "President Hartley, you're quite strong."
Without hesitation, Marcus tore open his white shirt and wrapped her wound round and round.
Cornelia clenched her teeth in pain, and tears began to flow because of the pain...
Marcus said, "If it hurts, just scream. No one will laugh at you."
Cornelia's lips were bitten red, but she still tried to smile. "This pain is nothing. I can bear it."
Ever since he met her, she always seemed to be smiling, rarely showing any other expressions. She was very suitable to be his assistant.
But at this moment, Marcus found her smile very irritating. "Why do you have to endure it?"
Why endure it?
It seemed that no one had ever asked Cornelia this question. She vaguely remembered that after her father died in a car accident, people around her often mocked her as a jinx. That's when she learned to endure, she guessed.
Her grandmother had been taking care of her, in addition to her own son, and it had been tough. She didn't want to cause her grandmother any trouble, so she learned to endure.
Cornelia just smiled and didn't answer.
Marcus asked again, "Are there any other injuries?"
Marcus stopped in his tracks. He just wanted to get her back to the hotel quickly so a doctor could treat her wounds, but he hadn't thought about all that.
He reluctantly put her down. "Can you walk on your own?"
Cornelia smiled and said, "I hurt my arm, not my legs. I can walk just fine."
Marcus reached out to help her, but she immediately dodged to the side, still wanting to keep her distance from him.
Marcus was a little angry. "Cornelia, am I really that scary to you?"
"President Hartley, I'm not scared of you. I'm scared of my husband getting jealous." Mentioning her husband at this time was a smart move. That way, she wouldn't have to come up with any other excuses.
In fact, Cornelia was scared - scared of gossip behind her back, scared of people around him warning her again not to have unrealistic thoughts about him.
Initially, she harbored no sentiments for Marcus, but as tongues wagged, some might accept the rumors as truth. This would unjustly paint her as a woman lacking integrity.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Impulsive Vow to an Enigmatic Husband
Beautiful novel. Can we have a continuation of Zavier and Skyler's story? Them getting back together? Short story.......