Chapter 1457:
“How long do you intend to remain seated there?”
Karen’s head moved in a barely perceptible shake.
“Forgive me.”
Malcolm’s brow furrowed in disbelief. An apology from Karen’s lips struck him as impossible—where was the ostentatious woman who had once commanded every room she entered? Though her former arrogance had grated on his nerves, he found himself preferring it to this hollow shell of defeat.
He reached forward and tilted her chin upward, forcing her to meet his penetrating stare. Her eyes blazed crimson with unshed tears as he asked, “What has reduced you to this state?”
The question hung in the air between them for several heartbeats. Karen’s composure crumbled completely as memories crashed over her once more. The tears she had fought so desperately to contain burst forth in torrents.
Her sobs echoed through the confined space, raw and unrestrained, as though years of suppressed anguish had finally found their escape.
“I possess nothing now—no home, no sanctuary, nowhere I belong,” she wailed, her voice breaking with each word.
.
Karen’s tears splashed onto Malcolm’s hand, and the sight struck him motionless. He had barely loosened his grip on her chin when a damp head collapsed against his chest.
Karen clung to him, sobbing until her entire body trembled. Her muffled, raw cries resembled those of a wounded kitten seeking refuge in some forgotten corner.
Malcolm’s hand, poised to push her away, dropped to his side. He waited in silence for her tears to fade, but ten minutes crawled by with no relief in sight.
She showed no signs of stopping.
“All right. Stop crying now,” Malcolm said.
Karen suddenly realized what she had done, and her sobs cut off abruptly. How could she break down like this in front of Malcolm? Her eyes swollen and crimson, she released her grip on his fabric. She then noticed a wet patch darkening his shirt near his chest. She bit her lip hard.
𝐋𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐭 𝔤𝖺𝗅𝗇𝗈ν𝖊𝗅𝘀[.]𝖼𝗈𝗆
“I’ll pay for your shirt.”
Malcolm followed her gaze to his chest.
Karen yanked open the car door, ready to bolt, only to feel fingers grab the back of her neck.
Malcolm pulled her back.
“Where do you think you can go in this condition?”
His gaze swept over her frame. Karen looked down and discovered she was drenched, her white clothes plastered to her skin and revealing the clear outline of her undergarments beneath. Her face burned scarlet as she yanked her coat tighter around herself. Dirt streaked her coat from her earlier tumble.
Malcolm stepped out of the car and commanded, “Go shower and change your clothes.”
Karen trailed behind him obediently.
Malcolm guided her to the bathroom, snatched a white shirt from somewhere, and tossed it at her.
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