Chapter 18: This is Not My Home

Her hands couldn't help but tremble a little. She stuttered, "Who are you? What do you want? Do you know that trespassing on private property is a crime and I can call the police!" She thought that the person would feel scared or have some other reaction, but the person remained still. From some details, it seemed that the person didn't have any malicious intent. Martina tried to muster up her courage and slowly walked towards the figure. She still tightly held onto the wooden stick, ready to use it as a weapon if necessary. As she got closer, she finally saw the person's face. Her pupils shrank, and she dropped the stick to the ground. Her eyebrows were tightly knit together. There was no joy in seeing the person. Martina asked with impatience, "Why is it you? Who allowed you to come here?" The man was none other than Benjamin, the man whom Martina had been thinking about all the time. To be honest, Martina didn't quite understand Benjamin's thought process. He used to be indifferent to her, but now he kept appearing in front of her one after another, as if he was trying to make his presence known. What did Benjamin want? Did he think it was worth being happy and eager to see her embarrassed and in trouble? Benjamin naturally noticed Martina's emotional changes towards him. He thought Martina would be happy to see him, or perhaps like before, she would be coquettish and express her inner thoughts. But he never expected her to be so impatient. Benjamin could clearly feel that he didn't like Martina's attitude towards him now. "Martina, why are you still living here? Is there anything worth staying for?" Once he opened his mouth, it was as if Benjamin was interrogating her. Martina was stunned for a moment, but quickly understood his meaning. So he deliberately used his authority to find out her address and came straight to her door without his permission? Look, no matter when, Benjamin always cared more about his own feelings and thoughts. Was it really important what others thought? She expressed her attitude without hesitation, and her expression on her pretty face became increasingly indifferent, "If you came to make me go back, then I advise you to give up. I am not going back, and your home was never my home anyway." Benjamin did not fail to detect Martina's ambiguous attitude, even though he had already said before he came that he would bring this girl back directly, no matter what. Otherwise, indulging too much could indeed make this girl's temper even worse, and she might not even listen anymore. But now, seeing Martina's tired and aggrieved face, full of personal emotions, Benjamin's heart softened. He didn't make any overly harsh moves, just stared at Martina with a slightly puzzled look and asked, "If you don't want to go back with me, you have to tell me why." Since they had already talked so much, Martina didn't want to hide it anymore. Benjamin's long legs were crossed together, giving off an intimidating aura that was both enticing and daunting. His eyes constantly showed his dissatisfaction, and Martina knew that he was angry. If it were any other time, Martina could give Benjamin a hug, and maybe she could calm his anger. But not now, Martina didn't want to. Previously, Martina also thought about whether Benjamin would really come here in order to find her. But when all of this became a reality, she still felt somewhat uncomfortable. The apartment she rented was not big, and it felt even more cramped with Benjamin's presence. Martina stubbornly bit her lip, thinking about Elizabeth's favoritism towards Amy and her disgust towards Martina. A relationship that couldn't get support from family would never have a good outcome. Martina should have understood this long ago. Martina didn't want to look into Benjamin's eyes, as it would easily expose her true thoughts. She could only look down at her toes, trying to make herself feel more relaxed. Perhaps because her head was too low, her voice was a bit muffled, "There's no reason, I just simply don't want to go back." What else could she say? Should she say that nobody in Benjamin's family welcomed her and even wanted her to leave as soon as possible? If they had already decided to part ways, then why didn't they leave each other some dignity? Even if it was just a little bit. But Benjamin was a little angry and said, "I've told you before, if there's anything you're unhappy with or if you want compensation, just let me know and I'll satisfy you." It was the same old line, and to be honest, Martina was tired of it even if Benjamin wasn't. At this moment, she could no longer tolerate it and suddenly met Benjamin's inscrutable gaze. "Benjamin, look, you never knew what I really wanted. I don't want any compensation, and I don't need you to satisfy me," she said loudly. Feeling the increasingly cold aura emanating from Benjamin, Martina still bravely stood up to him and said, "All I want is basic respect. Can you give that to me?" Benjamin didn't understand. Respect? He never thought he had disrespected her before. He said, "If that's all you want, I can give it to you. Come back with me." As he spoke, Benjamin suddenly stood up, his almost 6.3ft frame nearly touching the ceiling. He looked aggrieved, and he shouldn't have been here in the first place. This was the difference between her and him. He was meant to stand tall in the clouds, while she was nothing more than a speck of dust in the dirt. Martina subconsciously took two steps back and said, "I don't want to go back." Even though Benjamin said so, Martina still didn't want to go back, not because she was being pretentious. It was because she understood that Benjamin never really understood what true respect meant, even though he said so. She had said before that she wanted Benjamin to marry her and hold a wedding with her, so that she wouldn't be looked down upon by anyone else, or be called a duck trying to become a swan. However, Benjamin had never made any promises to her. Why? Wasn't it because his love for her was not that deep? If he didn't have that strong feeling towards her, then why should he try to force himself to love her? Six years of living had already left her with bruises all over her body. If she had to live like this for the rest of her life, she felt that it would be too miserable. Whether it was due to absent-mindedness or something else, one of Martina's high heels suddenly broke. The sudden height difference frightened her, and she looked like she was about to fall to the ground. Martina closed her eyes in a panic. At that critical moment, Benjamin reached out and pulled her into his arms, preventing a tragedy from happening.