Chapter 113: Bound by his tie
Paige felt a shiver under his intense gaze and was about to speak when Enrico suddenly reached out and touched her face. His fingertips were warm and burning as he caressed her chin, his eyes unreadable.
‘Is he angry? What does he want to do?’ Paige furrowed her brow.
Enrico slowly leaned in, moving closer to her soft face.
The smell of smoke spread between them, and the smoke began to sting her eyes. Just as the red glow of the cigarette was about to touch her face, Enrico pulled it away, his eyes dark and his voice low and deliberate. “Paige, do you still want to…”
“Here.” Paige, feeling a bit tired from holding the item behind her, brought it out and held it up to him.
Enrico looked down. In her hands was a small, transparent gift box containing a neatly cut piece of cream cake, tied with a pink ribbon.
“Today Peak Club was established, so I ordered a cake to celebrate with the members. This is the first piece, and I brought it back. I wasn’t sure if you’d want some,” Paige explained calmly as she crouched in front of him.
Enrico paused, his voice a bit hoarse. “You want to share your success with me?”
Paige was momentarily taken aback. She was just worried he might be upset about the earlier events and she wasn’t sure what else to bring… The cake was bought by Nick, so she just… took a piece.
Enrico extinguished the cigarette in the nearby ashtray and looked at the cake in her hands, suddenly smiling. “It seems I misunderstood.” She was so eager to share her success with him; how could she want to escape him? She loved him, which is why she didn’t mind his AS schizophrenia gene, didn’t want to kill him, and even took a bullet for him. A woman who loved him so much could hardly bear to leave him. He had misunderstood her once; he couldn’t afford to make the same mistake again. That wouldn’t be fair to her, and wasn’t she the one who hated unfairness the most?
“What did you misunderstand?” Paige was puzzled.
Enrico didn’t answer and looked disdainfully at the cake in her hands. “Do I look like someone who shares cake?”
“Well then, I’ll take it to Olivia,” Paige said.
“Feed me.”
“…” Paige looked at his face, unsure of what to say.
Enrico unwrapped the ribbon, and Paige removed the transparent cover. She scooped a spoonful of cream and brought it to his lips. “I heard this is made with imported French cream. It should taste pretty good.”
Enrico stared at her as he took the cream into his mouth. “Haven’t you tried it?”
“No.” She hadn’t had a chance; as soon as she turned around, Nick and that chubby guy were each eating three pieces, leaving nothing behind.
“Do you want to come back and eat it with me?”
“What?” Paige was momentarily stunned but then scooped another spoonful of cream to feed him.
This time, Enrico didn’t eat it but let the pure white cream linger on his lips. He placed his hand on the back of her neck and leaned in slowly, closing the distance between them.
He tilted his head and kissed her lips, delivering the cream into her mouth while his tongue teasingly brushed over her lips.
Enrico’s kissing skills were superb, leaving Paige feeling weak. Crouching on the floor, her legs numb and her hands too shaky to hold the cake properly, she was overwhelmed by the intensity of his kiss.
Seeing her state, Enrico pulled back with a satisfied smile, licking his lips and saying, “You little thing, you’re really useless.”
Paige managed a faint smile, “Yeah, I’m nothing compared to you; you’re so experienced.”
Enrico’s smile grew even wider. “Feeling jealous?”
He gave her another kiss, “I don’t need to be experienced. I’m a self-taught expert.”
Paige fed him another spoonful of cream. “Just eat it.”
Enrico guided her to sit on the sofa and said, “From now on, if you need anything, come to me. Cut off contact with Kevin.”
Paige didn’t respond but fed him another bite.
“Look at the sponsors he found for you. They’re all second-rate investment companies that just follow my team to make money.” Enrico said disdainfully.
“Do you have a problem with these companies?” Paige asked cautiously.
Enrico gave her an unexpected answer. “Not really. Any company that can keep up with me must have some investment acumen, though it might just be luck.”
“Anyway, from now on, you’re only allowed to come to me for everything, understood?” Enrico placed his hand on her head, commanding.
“Got it.” Paige planned to handle everything herself from now on, even cutting ties with Kevin.
“Good girl.” Enrico patted her head approvingly and moved closer. “As long as you stay by my side like this, I can give you anything.” Except for a child, he silently added in his mind.
Paige had lost count of how many times she’d heard similar statements from him. He always seemed to emphasize that she needed to stay with him.
“Keep feeding me. What are you thinking about?” Enrico said, noticing her distraction with displeasure.
“Nothing.” Paige resumed feeding him.
As she continued, Enrico’s gaze grew more intense, and he pushed her down on the sofa…
“Mr. Gustin, don’t do this.”
“Call me by my name.” He held her hands, breathing heavily as he kissed her lips.
“Enrico…” She struggled.
But her hands were soon bound by his tie…
…
Three major competitions were scheduled right after the Student Assembly. So, as soon as the Peak Club was established, Carrie and two others had to participate in their respective events.
The school had always reserved these competition qualifications exclusively for the Elite Club. However, since the Peak Club was defined similarly to the Elite Club, Paige demanded fairness, and the school had no choice but to grant these three opportunities. If the Peak Club didn’t perform well in these competitions, the school would have an excuse to deny them any future qualifications.Content © provided by NôvelDrama.Org.
Before the competitions, everyone returned to the Peak Club. Compared to the Elite Club’s standalone building with a fountain, the Peak Club’s facilities were quite shabby. The school had assigned them an abandoned warehouse in the northeast under the pretext of limited resources. Nick and his friends had spent two days cleaning it up.
At a conference table, Paige sat at the head, playing on her phone, listening to the others chat.
“I went to check out the competition venue early and realized those so-called elite competitions are a joke. I used to think winning the international FS Award was impressive, but it turns out it’s all rigged for Elite Club members. Other than them, it’s just similar student organizations from abroad,” Rey, a chubby guy, said indignantly.
Nick, sitting with his legs crossed, added, “Paige has said it before, those events are just to polish the Elite Club members’ resumes.”
“There’s no such thing as absolute fairness in this world,” Paige said, still looking at her phone. “But challenging unfairness is quite exciting.”
Everyone laughed at that. Indeed, challenging unfairness was fun.
Carrie, frowning, looked at Paige. “Paige, given the influence of those conglomerates, it’s possible they might manipulate the competitions. I’m worried…”
“Worried about what? It’s impossible to stop them from meddling,” Paige continued, “I’ll take care of everything. You just focus on preparing for the competitions.”
Everyone nodded, showing their determination.
Paige stood up to leave, but Carrie called her back. “Paige, I have one more question.”
Paige looked down at her, signaling her to ask.
“Why did you start the Peak Club?” Carrie asked seriously. “If you just wanted to make a name for yourself, with your abilities, you didn’t need to involve us.”