Milady's Fine Gentleman 271 It's Suffocating

"Don't look at me."
Teng Man Rui turned to lie on her side, back against Zhu Li Qiang and covered herself up with the blanket. She curled into a ball under it.
"Man Rui, don't be like this, please." Zhu Li Qiang pitifully begged.
"You're the last person I want to see." She retorted ruthlessly.
'You're the last person I would want to see me in this pitiable state.' She added in her mind as she pursed her lips together in a line.
"Don't you think it's so unfair? I saved you…" Zhu Li Qiang's whole visage reflected hurt and pain.
"Well, you shouldn't have. Don't you get it? I want to die." She was full of angst.
"Man Rui…"
Zhu Li Qiang was standing at the doorway of the room where Teng Man Rui was staying. They were still situated in his penthouse.
The lady had recovered her voice and had been recuperating well, except that her mood had not improved even in the slightest.
"You can tell me what really happened. I will understand. I'm on your side. I will protect you." Zhu Li Qiang uttered promises in the hopes that it will loosen Teng Man Rui's walls.
Well, it didn't. It p.i.s.sed her off more.
'What should I tell him? That I was forced to sleep with the devil?'
'That I got so much dirtier just after a few hours we've been apart? Is that it? Will he understand?'
'How humiliating. But, he already knew it somehow. Chichi said he yanked me from the tub. He must have seen the disgraceful evidence on my body. It's not something I would want to talk about anytime.' She closed her eyes as her brows furrowed in a deep scowl. She hunched her body forward, curving more into a ball.
"Please leave. It gives me the creeps just knowing that you're still standing there probably looking at me."
Under the blankets, she cringed at the harrowing memory of the days past. Although her body had already fully recovered, she was still tired, as all her slumber turned into nightmares. 'He's not here but he still manages to haunt me.'
'I cannot run from him.'
'I'm safe with Zhu Li Qiang, but his mere presence is suffocating. I cannot breathe here.'
'I need to leave.'
As soon as Zhu Li Qiang left, she packed whatever belongings she had. She was left on her own for now, since her maid, Chichi was at the kitchen preparing some nutritional soup.
'She turned her bedroom's doork.n.o.b open carrying her duffle bag of personal belongings. Chichi had not brought much of the clothes, but Zhu Li Qiang bought what was lacking. She only packed her own set of clothes and left the brand new ones in the closet. 'Those are not mine. If I take it, it's like taking a part of Zhu Li Qiang with me.'
'I need a girl-friend.'
'I need Jinxu.'
Her eyes flickered with the need and urge to get out of that penthouse as soon as possible.
Teng Man Rui met the owner of the penthouse by the living room. "Where are you going?" He asked as his eyes roamed from her eyes towards the duffel bag she was carrying. He was scanning it, a.s.sessing it. Panic was written all over his face, mixed with pain.

"Zhu Li Qiang, I thank you for saving me, but you know, you shouldn't have. I'm sorry to say this… but I cannot stay here with you anymore. I am not worthy of you. Find another girl who matches your caliber. I am not that girl…" She declaimed monotonously as if reciting a prayer, her face as blank as paper could be.
Zhu Li Qiang grabbed her by the arm. His features transformed into something crumpled and contorted. "If you don't want to be with me, I'll leave. Just stay here. You're safer here. Please, Man Rui, don't make it difficult for both of us. You scared the h.e.l.l out of me. I know I cannot and should not block your way or hinder you from doing what you want, but Man Rui, just please listen to me… For your own safety."
"Stay here. I'll leave."
"Zhu Li Qiang…"Teng Man Rui's voice softened a notch. "It's you that's making it difficult for us…"
"You've known, haven't you? What happened to me?" She gingerly asked but then again, she realized that this confrontation would have to happen somehow. It's better to let it out of her chest and get it over with.
Unintentionally, his grip around her elbow tightened. "I could deduce, connect the dots…" He trailed off, his eyes darted everywhere except her. He was as uncomfortable to talk about it as she had been.
"It's difficult for me to live with you like this, or even be around you. I cannot even bear to see you care for me so much, the way you have been doing it. It's a slap on my face! I cannot look at you in the eyes because I'm scared of what those beautiful deep eyes will reflect and tell me. I cannot endure being in your presence, living in your house, breathing the same air as you, wearing the clothes you bought for me, and eating the food you had prepared for me."
"Every good deed you performed for me only acted like a hammer that kept on hitting the protruding nail that was my shame. It's burying in me deeper into quicksand I would never be able to escape if I stay here longer."
"And… I think..." After a moment of pause, she continued, "I think we have to end everything between us now, Zhu Li Qiang."