Chapter 4 In that instant , a completely out - of - place thought struck Cordelia - Declan must have worked out regularly . Why else would he have such toned abs ? But the thought vanished immediately , replaced by overwhelming awkwardness . She clutched the edge of the blanket and buried her head deep , cursing herself inwardly for being so foolish . Why couldn't she have just pretended to be asleep ? Why did she have to hog the blanket ? Now look at the trouble she'd gotten herself into . What if ... What if Declan's desire got the better of him ? Then she'd be left in a helpless , vulnerable position . The room was utterly quiet , their soft breathing almost deafening . Feeling Cordelia's warm , soft body in his arms , Declan stiffened instinctively . E Her heart was beating so fast . So was his . At that moment , Declan was overwhelmed by mixed feelings . Since their marriage , they had gradually pushed their lives into chaos , ruining what they once had . He had never actually experienced such nervous moments with her before . To make matters worse , his desire - long suppressed - was now stirring , threatening to break through his control . Cordelia cleared her throat , hoping to break the awkward silence . " I ... " But before she could finish , Declan sprang up from behind her like a released spring . " I'm going to take a shower , " he said . Then he walked into the bathroom once more under her bewildered gaze . A wave of frustration washed over Cordelia as she watched him turn away so decisively . Was she really that repulsive ? They had only been in contact for a second , yet he seemed so disgusted that he had to rush off to shower again ? 0.0 % 09:32 288 iVouchers Chapter 4 Fuming , she switched on the light , sat down at the dresser , and studied her reflection carefully . Time hadn't been particularly kind to her , but her beauty was still undeniable . How dare he find her disgusting ! After calming down , she gave some serious thought to her relationship with Declan . They were sworn enemies , yet they ended up married - even having three children together . She remembered back in their student days , Declan had always seemed to get along better with another girl . He would stroll with her under the trees , chatting and laughing happily . But with Cordelia , it was always lecturing or tattling . He was ... practically acting like a second father to her in this regard . 1288 ¡ Vouchers All of a sudden , a bold guess popped into her mind . Could it be ... Declan had been forced by her in the past ? Was that why they had three children ? She was astonished by her own suspicion . What a twisted love story between two sworn enemies . Declan stayed in the bathroom for over half an hour . It took three cold showers before he finally calmed down . After drying off , he stepped back into the bedroom , only to find Cordelia sitting motionless in front of the dresser , lost in thought . He had no idea what was going through her mind . Just as Cordelia was zoning out , a tall figure suddenly loomed over her . She looked up and saw Declan , freshly showered after thirty long minutes . She snapped , " What ? " " Your eyes are crossed , " he remarked flatly . Furious , she rolled her eyes so hard her eyelids nearly twitched . " Shut up ! " Just the sight of you annoys me ! " After venting , she instantly felt better . But then , Darrell - still locked in his room - came to her mind , and she sighed heavily . While Declan was in the shower , she had scrolled through her messages with Susanne . 22.7 % 09:32 Chapter 4 1288 Vouchers Most of them were Susanne's complaints - Darrell had kicked his deskmate into the pool again , or torn up some straight - A student's papers .... Each incident seemed worse than the last . She didn't get it . How could a fifteen - year - old be so difficult ? " Hey , do you think I can still get Darry back on track ? " she asked Declan . She blinked , her eyes full of hope , waiting for some small word of encouragement . To her disappointment , he replied without hesitation , " No. " Furious , she snatched a pillow and hurled it at him . " You're sleeping on the floor tonight ! " Declan picked up the pillow , walked to the corner sofa , and lay down without a word of protest . After switching off the light , Cordelia found herself unable to sleep . As she stared at Declan's sleeping face , it seemed to overlap with that rigid one from her memories . Once again , she recalled how he had always gone against her when they were young , getting her scolded by her fami- ly . And now , he actually cheated on her , leaving her with all the problems at home alone . Damn ! The more she thought about it , the angrier she grew . Slipping quietly out of bed , she picked up her eyeliner from the dresser , tiptoed over to Declan , and crouched beside him . Carefully , she drew a dunce cap on his forehead . That was for being such a jerk ! Declan valued his pride above all else . When he woke up in the morning and saw this , he would definitely be furious . Covering her mouth , Cordelia giggled . Then she crept back into bed and finally drifted off to sleep , thoroughly pleased with herself . Darrell , locked in his room , wasn't sleepy at all . Smoking and playing video games were indeed his favorite hobbies . But now that they'd become a forced assignment , they felt like torture . Trapped and restless , he had no appetite and couldn't sleep . 47.4 % 09:32 Chapter 4 Frustrated , he pressed his face against the door , peering out through the narrow gap . Just then , Conrad walked past carrying a book . Darrell's eyes instantly lit up with hope . " Conrad ! Conrad , help me ! " But Conrad remained completely absorbed in his book , eyes glazed over , as though he hadn't heard a thing . It seemed he didn't care about Darrell at all . Helpless , Darrell could only watch as Conrad wandered past like a sleepwalker . He slammed his fist against the door in frustration , cursing under his breath , " Damn it ! " He refused to admit defeat like this . Instead , he made up his mind to get out as soon as possible . 288 ¡ Vouchers He wanted to climb out of the window , yet as he looked down , he saw the man sent by Declan still stationed below , even in the dead of night . Crouching in the corner , Darrell ran his hands irritably through his red hair . " Fuck me ! " Just then , his phone rang . # 2 It was his buddy , Marvin Melton . " Darry , where are you ? Hurry up! Jordan and his crew are waiting for you at the dock . He said if you don't show an hour , he's gonna tell the whole school you're a coward ! " Being reminded , Darrell remembered he had plans with Marvin to teach Jordan Blake a lesson . But now he was trapped ... As he scrambled for a way out , his eyes landed on the cigarettes scattered all over the room . " You said I could smoke as much as I wanted , right ? As you wish ! " He grabbed the lighter , a wicked grin spreading across his face . In seconds , the room was filled with thick smoke . He had lit every single cigarette Declan had given him . " Yeah , that's right ! Burn ! " up in Down below , the man on watch was almost dozing off when he noticed dense smoke billowing from Darrell's win- dow . He panicked , and the cigarette fell from his lips . 72.4 % 09:32 Chapter 4 Immediately , he bolted upstairs . Nothing could happen to Darrell ! He fumbled for the key and unlocked the door as quickly as he could . In the very next second , he saw the words - slashed across the wall in huge , bold marker . " Bye , suckers ! " E 1288