"Karen, we still can't..." After a long while, Nathaniel Cooper finally said some words, but he struggled to finish his sentence.
"Brother Lionel, it's okay. You don't have to say anything. I understand." Karen Joy Kyle smiled to cover up the sadness in her eyes. "You just need to hug me for a while."
She needed him to hold her in his arms, to assure that this was Brother Lionel, and that she was not in a dream. That would be enough!
"Karen, I'm sorry!" Nathaniel pulled her into his arms desperately.
"Brother Lionel, you don't have to say sorry! Because you are my Brother Lionel," she said in a soft voice.
She was willing to respect all his decisions, to support him, and wait for the day when he will be willing to reconcile with her publicly.
"Brother Lionel..." Karen Joy took out a new mobile phone from her pocket and asked, "Brother Lionel, can you give me your phone number?"
Nathaniel stared at her. She was clearly very sad, but she tried to make herself look fine.
She was obviously the apple of everyone's eye. She could just cause a scene, yet she acted so sensibly.
Nathaniel's heart ached for every compromise she was willing to take!
Nathaniel didn't respond to her, and he didn't reach out to take the phone either. Karen Joy was a little flustered.
"Brother Lionel, don't worry. Usually, I won't disturb you much. I will only send you a text message when I miss you very much. If you have time, you can choose to reply to me..." She spoke very softly. She was afraid that her request might be too much for him.
"Silly child!" He took over her mobile phone and keyed in his number. He saved the number under 'Brother Lionel'.
Karen Joy looked at the digits on her phone and recited the number over and over again. She needed to remember it firmly so she could remember his number even if she lost this piece of information.
"Brother Lionel..." She carefully put away the phone and looked at him. "If I miss you too much, can I call you?"
Earlier, she said that she would not disturb him. Now, after she got the phone number, she asked if she could call him.
If he agreed to her request, she would definitely push it further and ask him to call her whenever he was free.
Even though he knew the dire consequences from this, Nathaniel could not bear to turn her down. He nodded and he said, "Alright."
"I knew it. Brother Lionel always treats me the best." Since she was little, he had always been like this. No matter what kind of requests she demanded, Brother Lionel would not reject her.
Nathaniel chuckled and looked at her bright and beautiful face with her pair of shining eyes. He smiled as he touched the mark on her forehead. "I will call you in the future, but you need to stay safe with the Lesley family."
"Alright, I will remember that." Karen Joy nodded hard. Then, she leaned close to Lionel. "Brother Lionel, can you take off your mask and let me have a look at you?"
"No!" He refused immediately, destroying the rapport between them.
"Oh, I'm sorry!" She lowered her head and felt very bad.
"It's okay." He rubbed her head. "It's getting late. Go back as soon as possible. There are many bad people out here, and it's dangerous for women to stay outside."
"Can you send me back?" She immediately said, "Since you said that it's getting late and it's dangerous. It's not safe for a girl like me to go home myself, so can you send me back?"
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: My Husband, Warm The Bed