Filed to story: Healing My Disabled Husband Novel
She was angry with herself for not being able to handle the situation better. Why wasn’t she acting like herself?
For the first time ever, Averi wanted to run away from something.
Just as Averi was about to tell River that she didn’t want to talk about this anymore, he seemed to understand her thoughts and said, “I wouldn’t kiss a woman I don’t like. I’m not a bad guy.”
Hearing River say this caused Averi’s mind to wander off in an unexpected direction.
She couldn’t understand why her thoughts were so scattered at this moment and why they couldn’t be brought back into focus.
Averi couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
This made River a little confused.
He looked at Averi helplessly, and suddenly felt a little deflated.
Perhaps this was really the retribution for his years of reckless behavior.
Many women had thrown themselves at him before. When he was in a good mood, he could let them leave with some dignity. But when he was in a bad mood, these women probably didn’t even have the face to continue living in this country.
Now, for the first time, he confessed to this woman. But he didn’t know which funny bone of hers he had hit that made her laugh so hard that her shoulders were shaking.
However, River did not try to stop Averi’s laughter with his usual dominant attitude like before. He surprisingly had great patience and didn’t make any unnecessary movements as he quietly watched
Averi finish laughing.
But if people carefully looked into River’s eyes, they could easily see danger rising within them gradually.
Averi completely failed to notice this and continued laughing recklessly.
It wasn’t really fair to blame Averi though. It was just too strange hearing those words come from
River’s mouth considering all the rumors about him being such an awful person spread around town.
At this moment though, River spoke seriously and claimed that he wasn’t such a bad guy after all. It was difficult for Averi to accept these words.
Finally, Averi couldn’t control her laughter anymore. Her cheeks hurt and her stomach ached so much that she couldn’t even stand up straight. She managed to stifle her laughter, but then let out a small hiccup.
River’s eyes glinted dangerously at the sight of this woman who dared to laugh so freely in front of him.
If it were anyone else, they would have been scared off long ago.
At this moment, Averi finally noticed the dangerous gleam in River’s eyes and felt a twinge of fear.
For a moment, she didn’t know what to say.
River looked at her and lightly touched inside his cheek with his tongue before saying in a dangerous tone, “Done laughing?”
Averi didn’t dare speak up. She just looked at him with soft eyes full of tenderness.
River had wanted to scare her a little bit but seeing how soft she was being made him hesitate. He said instead, “Good job. Daring to be so bold in front of me, Averi.”
Averi adjusted her breathing secretly and still felt somewhat lost for words.
As soon as River finished speaking, she felt like the situation had become even more dangerous.
Averi unconsciously twisted her body, trying to wriggle out of River’s embrace. However, this action only seemed to ignite a fire within River’s arms.
River was at a loss for words. Did this woman not know that there were certain actions that should not be done casually with men?
River had already wrapped his arms tightly around Averi’s waist, and now he tightened his grip even more.
Averi was caught off guard by his sudden movement and almost felt like her waist was being crushed.
She let out a moan, which ignited an inexplicable flame in the room.
The sound was too suggestive.
River’s body stiffened and his Adam’s apple involuntarily bobbed up and down as he looked down at
Averi. His gaze fell on her rosy lips where traces of their previous kiss still lingered, making them even more tempting.
Feeling River’s intense gaze on her, Averi instinctively wanted to dodge it. But before she could make any move, she felt a dark shadow descending upon her once again – just like before – as River kissed her unexpectedly.
This time though, it was much gentler than before; something completely different from what Averi knew or had experienced with him thus far.
It left Averi feeling dizzy and confused about the man who held her so tightly in his arms.
To Averi, River should have been dominant and oppressive, giving off a strong sense of pressure.
However, at this moment, being so gentle with her was even more torturous. Averi couldn’t take it anymore, felt her legs give way and couldn’t stand steady.
Finally, Averi couldn’t help but push River away to make him let go of her. But River’s chest was as hard as a rock. Instead of pushing him away, it made Averi’s fingers hurt.
Averi couldn’t help but hiss in pain. How could this man be so hard? Finally letting go of Averi, River looked down at her fingers and wondered how she had poked him that caused her nails to split.
River was speechless and held onto Averi’s finger saying, “If other people know it, they’ll think I commit domestic violence.”
Astonished by what he said about domestic violence which seemed like he had just labeled their relationship for them both. “What’s wrong?” asked River when he saw that Averi was staring at him intently.
Shaking her head in disbelief, Averi replied, “Can you please let me go first?”
They were still tightly pressed together which made Averi feel very uncomfortable. River then turned around quickly and pinned Averi down on the sofa before asking, “Where is the nail clipper?”
“It’s in that drawer over there,” answered Averi.
Soon, River brought over the nail clipper and squatted down in front of Averi, taking her hand and clipping off the split nail.
Averi watched his actions, unsure how to react. No one had ever done something like this for her before. And it was River – kneeling in front of her and doing such a simple act.
It felt strange but wonderful at the same time. Something she never would have imagined happening to her.
After clipping off the broken nail, River looked at the other nails with a strange feeling inside him. He asked, “Do you want me to clip these too?”
Upon hearing River’s words, Averi immediately shook her head and said, “You better not touch my nails.”
Her nails were precious to her and she had taken great care of them. The nail polish on them was also specially matched by her.
Now that River had cut off one of them like this, it looked so ugly.
Averi looked at her hand and felt that it was somewhat out of place. It seemed that she needed to cut it off and reapply the nail polish.
She instantly became unhappy. She had just finished doing her nails two days ago, but now this guy ruined them.
River saw Averi’s changing expression and asked suspiciously, “What’s wrong? Why do you look so unhappy?”
Averi didn’t think she could explain this matter clearly to him. For a straight man like him, he couldn’t understand how important her nails were to her.
Unable to bear the ugliness of her own nails any longer, Averi picked up the nail clipper and prepared to trim them herself.
River’s gaze wandered between Averi’s hand and face before he suddenly tugged at the corner of his mouth with a hint of amusement in his eyes.
Was this woman really criticizing him for cutting her nail poorly?
This was quite a blow for River. He didn’t think he did such a bad job after all.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to help?” River asked.
Averi didn’t even lift her eyelids as she said, “No need, I can do it myself.” She slowly trimmed her nails and polished them meticulously. The nail polish wasn’t washed off, but Averi inexplicably felt that it was okay like this. It was barely within her acceptable range.
Averi had originally planned to redo the nail polish herself. However, with River here, there were many inconveniences. She couldn’t just leave River here while she spent several hours redoing her nails. Nor could she simply ask River to help her apply the polish.
After putting away the nail clipper, Averi finally looked at River and asked, “Aren’t you going back?”
River almost got angry when he heard this woman’s words. Was she trying to kick him out?
“What did I come here for? Did you forget?” River replied.
Averi adjusted her expression and said, “You said you came to pick me up, but I didn’t agree to go back with you.”
River wasn’t surprised by what she said and wasn’t in a rush to take her home either. After all, once they got back home and Beata started clinging onto Averi like a leech again, their relationship would become even more complicated than before.
“Okay, then don’t come home with me,” River said.
Averi was a little surprised and didn’t understand when River had become so easy to talk to. She always felt like there was some kind of conspiracy going on.
Averi stared at River for a while, but couldn’t tell that he wanted to leave. This made Averi even more confused.
“What is this guy up to?” she thought.
Suddenly, River chuckled and said, “Looking at me like that, did you figure something out?”
His gaze met Averi’s and he caught her slight panic perfectly.
Averi instinctively tried to look away but was firmly held by the chin by River. She couldn’t move and could only be held by him as their gazes intertwined.
This feeling was very strange and made Averi inexplicably sad.
After much hesitation, Averi finally seemed to have made a big decision and asked River, “River, do you like me?”
River didn’t speak for a while, and his gaze fixed on Averi as if to say, “Are you trying to tease me?”
Averi understood what he meant and knew that by saying this, she had angered River. But she just wanted a clear answer – a straightforward response from River.
River met her gaze and understood her stubbornness. Suddenly, he smiled and said, “Yes, I like you.”
He was not the type of person who beat around the bush. He always gave straight answers. He hadn’t said it before or made it clear because he didn’t think it was necessary.
But now that Averi wanted an answer like this one, he wouldn’t hesitate to give it to her. River’s smile faded as he continued speaking, “I’m not someone who beats around the bush. Since you asked me directly, I’ll be honest with you. I like you and want to take things further with you just like how you want them too. There’s no point in denying it. I know exactly how you feel about me.”
Averi was stunned by what River had said. His words weren’t explicit but still conveyed everything clearly enough for her to understand what “further” meant in this context. It was very much in line with
River’s personality – straightforward and direct without any unnecessary drama or games being played between them.
Averi burst into laughter for no apparent reason, turning away and leaving River with a view of the back of her head. She laughed so hard that her body was bent like a shrimp.