The call ended not long ago, and Celine's phone 'dinged' with a new message.
It was a location sent by Mateo, nearby in the suburbs.
He had already arranged for someone to drive the car over.
That was efficient.
Celine opened the location, and the car's navigation system immediately planned the route.
She started the engine, and the small truck smoothly merged into traffic.
However, as soon as the truck drove onto the elevated road leading to the suburbs, her phone suddenly rang loudly.
The screen showed a name that made her eyes feel dirty just by looking — Lorenzo.
The ringing echoed inside the relatively closed cabin, sounding especially noisy.
Celine's fingers gripping the steering wheel tightened slightly, her brows and eyes full of annoyance.
She took a deep breath, then slowly put on her Bluetooth earpiece.
Her slender fingers swiped lightly on the screen, answering the call, starting the carefully arranged act.
"Celine! Where have you been? You haven't answered your phone for ages!!"
As soon as the call connected, Lorenzo's familiar voice, full of impatience and entitlement, blasted through, making Celine's eardrums buzz.
Shenan, sitting in the passenger seat, instantly grew cold and sharp eyes.
Celine quickly shook her head, signaling her brother to stay silent.
"Didn't have time," Celine whispered.
Lorenzo didn't listen or care. He only kept asking, "Why aren't you at the rental house?!"
Oh?
Looks like Lorenzo has come back.
Celine raised her eyebrows knowingly.
He moved fast, even running to their old small rental place to find her first?
Is he looking for her, or for her money?
The answer was obvious.
She hid all her real feelings, switching her voice into a strong nasal, pitiful tone:
"Lorenzo, I'm with my brother… at the hospital."
"Hiring caregivers costs money, and money should be spent wisely, so I'm here keeping watch myself…"
She lowered her voice, tired and helpless, every word soaked in bitterness.
Sure enough, Lorenzo on the other end showed no interest in her "seriously injured" brother.
To him, Celine's family's life or death was less important than a dog by the roadside.
His mind was full of only one thing , money!
"I don't care what your brother is like!"
Lorenzo cut her off roughly, his voice full of disgust and impatience.
"You come back right now! Immediately! Do you hear me?"
He paused, then added even more harshly, as if squeezing Celine's weakest point:
"If you don't come back soon, if you keep dawdling, we're breaking up!"
Breaking up?
Those two words were like a poisoned dagger, once the sharpest blade that pierced Celine's heart in her past life.
But now, hearing them, she only felt it was ridiculous.
Her voice suddenly rose, full of shocked disbelief and fragile, near-breaking panic:
"Br-break up?!"
"Lorenzo! How can you say that?!"
"Aren't we fine? Why do you want to break up with me?"
"Please… I beg you, don't break up with me… What did I do wrong?"
"Tell me, I'll change. I'll change right now, isn't that enough?"
Her voice trembled, heavy with tears.
She acted out the image of a frightened woman, scared out of her mind by the threat of "breaking up," begging for love in the dust with utter humility, perfectly and deeply.
Sitting in the passenger seat, Shenan's eyes stayed fixed on the road ahead, showing no change, but his hands clenched quietly on his knees, veins showing on the backs of his hands.
If he didn't know his little sister was just acting, if he didn't hold back the anger in his heart, he would have snatched the phone and torn that bastard apart!
On the other end of the line, hearing Celine's tearful, nearly desperate pleading, Lorenzo was silent for two seconds.
Then a feeling of indescribable pride and control filled his chest, making him feel like he was floating.
See? He knew it!
This Celine was just a cheap woman!
She loved him so madly, she couldn't live without him!
The moment he gave any sign he wanted to leave, she would immediately be terrified, wagging her tail like a dog begging for mercy.
Breaking up?
That was just his way to control her.
But... Lorenzo had a dark thought in his mind — maybe there was no need to really break up for now.
Using "breaking up" as a threat would be more convenient, letting him squeeze more money out of her for a long time.
He just needed to give her a little "sweetness" sometimes, and she would be completely devoted, emptying everything for him.