Love’s New Bloom By Simone Hastings

Chapter 48 Ignorant 

“Punishment? What punishment?” In fact, Erin wanted to ask why she was being punished. 

Chandler looked at her and said rather suggestively, “Oh, you’ll find out soon.” With one hand, he clasped both her hands above her head and pressed his lips against hers. 

Erin finally realized that when he said punishment, he meant sex. She resisted him instinctively. Whenever Chandler wanted to have sex with her, she couldn’t help but think how low she had stooped, becoming his sex loy. 

Her resistance made Chandler furrow his brow. Their lips parted. He grabbed her by the chin with his other hand and said menacingly.” Don’t you see how useless it is resisting me? This game of yours should stop! Unless you like being forced upon?” 

Erin instantly blushed at what he said. She yelled, “How dare you! You know that I’m being forced by you. How could you say that about me?” She instantly felt aggrieved, and tears started to well up in her eyes. 

It was an eyesore to Chandler. The hotness of his gaze cooled down, and he let her go before getting up and leaving. He took a few steps before turning around and saying to her coldly, “Erin, you’re fucking ignorant! Don’t you know who rescued your mom and friend last night? 

Do you think I like to force myself upon you every time?” 

Erin could feel his disappointment and fury. She thought back about everything that had happened in King Midas Club the night before. 

She still understood right from wrong. She knew she wouldn’t have left Aunder safely if it weren’t for him. 

“I’m really grateful for you helping my mother…” That was all she could say before trailing off. 

Chandler looked at her and sneered before leaving the room. 

When Erin had finished washing up and was about to head to work, she realized that Chandler had already left for work. The butler told her 

that she could get the driver to send her to work if she needed it. 

She kindly rejected the butler’s kind offer and hailed a taxi to the nearest subway station. She had asked for another day of leave before 

she slept as she initially thought she would have no energy to work, but at that moment, she could only think of Chandler. 

She was so overcome by guilt that she thought going to work might make her feel better. 

She called her mother and Holly in the subway and was relieved to hear they were alright. 

Cherry even asked if the people that rescued her were lan’s men. Erin wanted to avoid her from asking further, so she just said yes. Cherry thanked lan profusely on the phone and said that Erin had married the right person! 

Erin found it ironic, but she didn’t offer Cherry any explanation either. As for her divorce from lan, she thought of returning home when she had the time to tell Cherry about it. She could already imagine the amount of ridicule she was going to receive from her relatives. 

Her father too. She hadn’t been in touch with him for a long time. After the divorce, Cherry got custody of Erin and married Grayson, while her father, Steven Lane, also remarried. They have an eight–year–old son who has just started elementary school. 

Erin was sure that if she were to tell Steven about her divorce, his wife, Daisy, would be delighted. Daisy had never liked Erin, just like how Erin equally disliked her. That was the reason Erin rarely contacted her father. 

On the way, Erin reminisced a lot about her childhood. She could not help but find it ironic that when her parents got divorced, she secretly swore that she wouldn’t grow up to be like them, but look at her at that moment. That was reality. 

Such was life–if she hadn’t gone through it herself, she wouldn’t have understood what the others were saying about life. 

She got off the subway and walked among the crowd. She thought about how she was in an ambiguous flirty relationship with her boss. and temporarily staying in a mansion that would never be hers. She wasn’t even considered his mistress, merely an undignified part–time lover. 

After going through life and divorce, her hopes lor love had almost vanished. 

“Erin!” 

She had just exited the turnstile when she turned around to see a man smiling widely at her. He was dressed in a white shirt and black suit pants, carrying a briefcase and looking gentle and scholarly. 

She called out his name in surprise. “Luke‘ 

Luke walked over to Erin with surprise in his gaze. He said with a smile, “How have you been? We haven’t seen each other since your wedding! It must have been more than a year, right?” 

Upon hearing him mention the wedding, Erin fell a little awkward. She covered it up with a smile. “Yes, it’s been a long while.” 

“How are you and lan? Ever since he got rich, he no longer stayed in touch with his old classmates!” Luke looked a little displeased. 

“Haha, we’re doing well.” Luke Grand was lan’s classmate. They even stayed in the same dorm during college. Bumping into him made Erin regret not taking a taxi to work. Luke continued saying, “I’m sorry, I would love to catch up with you, but I have to rush for an interview 

at Frost Corporation. Let’s get together next time.” 

Erin was a little surprised. She initially wanted to say that she was working in Frost Corporation too, but at the thought of her relationship with Chandler and if Luke happened to bump into them one day, it would be extremely awkward, so she decided not to tell him. After all, Luke might not get the job. 

Once Erin said goodbye, she pretended to head to a nearby restaurant for a meal as she didn’t want to enter the building together with him. She was famished ever since leaving Chandler’s mansion. If she weren’t ruminating on her life, she would not have been hungry for so long. 

Erin chose a restaurant and entered. It was almost three in the afternoon, so she decided to treat it as her dinner. She never would have thought she’d bump into Caleb in the restaurant during working hours. 

Caleb immediately got up and greeted her when he saw her, which gave Erin no choice but to walk over to him. By the time she was in front of him, he had already chivalrously pulled a chair for her. 

“Thank you.” 

Caleb smiled and said, “You’re welcome. I’m happy to bump into you here. I heard you’re on leave today. Why are you around the office area?” 

Erin replied. “I had just finished my errands, so I thought of putting in some hours at work.” 

“Haha! This is the first time I’ve heard that someone would actually like to work on an off day.” Caleb looked confused but soon thought about how he and her were in the same department. He hesitated for a while before asking. “A–are you here because of me?”