Chapter 15: Biting the Tongue Editor: Henyee Translations

Amid the swirling steam, Noelle Sutton turned in alarm, reaching for the bath towel on the hook. Her soaking wet hair clung to the porcelain white nape of her neck, droplets from the ends tracing a path down her scapulae to the small of her back.

She spun around, clutching the towel with both hands and pressing it against her collarbones. It hung down just far enough to cover the tops of her thighs.

Her long legs seemed to glow under the warm yellow light.

An image flashed through Tristan Lawson’s mind: those legs wrapped around his waist. His stomach tightened involuntarily.

Noelle’s almond-shaped eyes were misty, her wet lashes casting tiny shadows beneath them. Her knuckles, flushed pink, showed where she was wringing the edge of the towel into wrinkles.

The water from the showerhead pattered down on her, quickly soaking the towel. The drenched towel clung to her body, outlining the curve of her breasts.

Tristan’s cold gaze swept over the reddened corners of her tense eyes. His voice was husky. "What are you covering?"

Noelle gripped the towel tighter, unable to answer him.

Tristan had already changed into his pajamas and tossed his own towel into the laundry hamper. He turned and left the bathroom.

Noelle padded over barefoot and locked the bathroom door from the inside.

Tristan heard the click of the lock, and his brow furrowed slightly. But the image of those long, pale legs flashed before his eyes again.

It had been over a month since they’d last been intimate.

Tristan’s stomach clenched even tighter. He irritably lit a cigarette and walked out onto the balcony. He took a deep drag.

He smoked three in a row, but the heat in his gut was becoming hard to suppress.

Noelle emerged in her nightgown, revealing the lower half of her pale, perfectly straight calves.

The heat surged again.

Leaning against the balcony doorframe, he stepped inside and wrapped his arms around Noelle’s waist from behind. His hands clasped perfectly around her. His thin lips landed on her pristine neck, light as a dragonfly’s touch.

Noelle’s body went rigid. The faint scent of agarwood and tobacco filled her senses.

By the time she came to her senses and tried to struggle...

...the man’s kisses had become a dense flurry.

A jolt of electricity shot to the crown of her head, spreading through every inch of her body.

Tristan spun her around, giving her no time to resist before sealing her lips with his. She wasn’t like other mutes, who could at least hum or make some sort of sound. She couldn’t make a single sound at all.

Tristan could only gauge her body’s reaction from her ragged breaths. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Noelle pressed her hands firmly against his chest, trying to push him away. Her body’s already gone so soft, yet she’s still playing hard to get.

Decisively, Tristan enveloped her small hands in his large ones, pushed her against the wall, and pinned her hands to the wall above her head.

Noelle’s face burned crimson.

Tristan hadn’t felt this inflamed in a long time. Just now in the bathroom, he was a perfect gentleman, just dropping something off and leaving.

She had never imagined he would act like this. She raised a leg to kick him. But he pressed himself between her legs and lifted her hips with one hand.

Her legs were lifted off the ground and locked around his waist. Afraid of falling, she had no choice but to hook her legs around his waist for support.

She couldn’t even voice a single "no" or word of protest. She could only passively accept his advances.

But...

She doesn’t want this anymore. She doesn’t want to be infatuated with him anymore.

The moment he released her lips and buried his face in the hollow of her collarbone, she bit down hard on her own tongue.

Tristan’s kisses moved lower, landing on the light pink, heart-shaped birthmark above her left breast. When she was aroused, the birthmark would darken in color.

It was very alluring.

Suddenly, Tristan tasted something metallic and salty. He thought she was crying. He released her and lifted his head.

A trickle of crimson blood, like a bloody tear, snaked from the corner of her mouth, down her small chin, and onto her chest.

She’d never refused his advances before. They’d been married for seven years. Could it be... because of that man from tonight?

The darkness in Tristan’s ink-black pupils seemed to intensify. His dark eyes narrowed as he pinched her jaw, trying to make her open her mouth.

Noelle was forced to open her mouth.

"Are you trying to die?"

Tristan’s deep voice carried an indefinable, simmering anger. He saw that her delicate pink tongue was still bleeding. He walked to the nightstand, grabbed a few wet wipes, and came back to clean the bloodstains from her skin.

Blood was still trickling from the corner of her lips.

His brow tightly furrowed, he shoved the remaining wipes into her hand and swept her up into his arms.

They had just left the master bedroom and taken only a few steps when Sophie Hughes, holding a glass of water, walked out from the living room and ran right into them. "Tristan."

She saw the blood on Noelle’s lips and the dense cluster of hickeys on her neck. Even her nightgown was disheveled and slipping off, exposing a lovely shoulder.

Sophie pursed her lips, her voice filled with concern. "What happened to Noelle?"

"I’m taking her to the hospital first. We’ll talk later."

Tristan strode out quickly.

The glass tumbler fell from Sophie’s hand, shattering on the floor. Did they get so rough during sex that she started bleeding? Bleeding from the mouth... That means... That mute Noelle seems so prim and proper, but she’s that wild in bed.

No wonder she got pregnant with Tristan’s son so soon after they married. For Tristan to be able to tear her mouth open... one can only imagine how incredible he is.

If it weren’t for her being stuck with the title of his "aunt," how could that mute Noelle have gotten so lucky?

Tristan took Noelle to the emergency room.

The doctor prescribed some medication, stopped the bleeding, and advised her to avoid overly hot foods, stick to a liquid diet, and be careful.

Once her wound was treated, Tristan pulled Noelle into the car. He shut the door and glared at her coldly. "You made such a huge scene, forcing me to personally come and bring you back. And now that you’re back, you’re going to play the virtuous maiden?!"

Noelle didn’t understand what he was talking about. She slowly formed the words with her hands, "Tristan Lawson, let’s get a divorce."

Time seemed to stand still for a dozen seconds.

A mocking smile twisted Tristan’s lips. "You release our marriage certificate to the public during the day, and then ask me for a divorce at night? You’ve got some nerve. Are you deliberately testing the limits of my tolerance?"

Tolerance? Who exactly is tolerating whom here? He brought his beloved home, and he dares to talk about tolerance?

Noelle’s hands moved quickly. "I don’t know what you’re talking about. I didn’t release our marriage certificate. I wouldn’t easily break a promise I made to you."

Even if he had betrayed their marriage.

She had never thought of fighting with him, much less revealing their relationship to the public in the last six months of her life.

On the day of the parent-child event, she already knew he would never be willing to publicly acknowledge her as his wife.

She wouldn’t set herself up for that kind of humiliation.

"Married for seven years, and I never knew you were such a good actress."

Noelle’s hands fluttered helplessly for a few moments before falling to her lap. She turned her face to the window.

There was nothing more to say. He wouldn’t believe her anyway.

After all the chaos, the sky was gradually beginning to dawn.

Tristan’s phone rang. His phone was connected to the car, and Joshua Lawson’s name flashed on the large in-dash screen.

Tristan casually pressed the answer button on the multi-function steering wheel.

Joshua’s voice poured out from the car’s speakers.

"Dad, it’s... It’s bad! You have to come back! Sophie... Sophie, she..."

Joshua’s voice was a frantic, stuttering sob.

Tristan’s eyes instantly narrowed. "Slow down. What happened to Sophie?"

His voice was thick with an undeniable worry he couldn’t hide.