Chapter 14

The cold edge in Nelson's tone contrasted with his warm breath that tickled Sabrina's neck. She shuddered. He fumbled awkwardly with her hair, clearly unused to the task. She was distracted by the heat from his chest, nearly pressing against her back. With a sigh, she removed her gloves, sticky with glutinous rice. "I'll do it myself." He glanced away from her flushed neck. "Why? Are you not used to being treated nicely?" She stared at him in the eye. "Not really. Just don't cross your boundary next time." She had given up on him. Hence, she'd never flirt with him or cross a line. Frustration welled up in him. He fell silent but couldn't look away from her. Meanwhile, she was busy placing the glutinous rice into glass jars. The fragments of light that illuminated her face heightened her beauty. "Sabrina, I'll help you. I want to learn." Gerald poked his head into the kitchen. "Sure." Nelson walked away, but he could still hear them chatting away. She instructed Gerald to press down on the glutinous rice in the jars, poke a hole in the lids, and place them on the shelves for fermentation. She even remarked to Gerald that the batch of tangerine wine produced at this time would taste best by the next New Year. Justin noticed Nelson looking distracted when Nelson got back to the hall. However, he did not pity his friend at all. "Cool. Are you going to watch Gerald and your wife get cozy?" "They're making tangerine wine." "Ooh! I'll tell Sabrina to keep two bottles of wine for me. One is simply not enough!" Hearing that, Ronaldo immediately ran to the kitchen. Justin yelled at him from behind, "Two boxes of tangerine candies for me!" Nelson sipped on his wine bitterly. He had thought Sabrina was making tangerine cake, but it turned out she was making alcoholic tangerine candies. In the past, she'd always place some homemade food in his luggage when he came home for New Year, but he'd never bring them abroad or taste them. Little did he know that the homemade food he dismissed was in high demand. … The party at the Tucker manor was a blast, as the nicely dressed guests shuffled around, exchanging toast. The party ended up becoming Nelson's welcome home party due to Sabrina's deliberate absence throughout the night. Nelson had had a lot to drink. He returned to the main house at 10:30 pm. Taking off his tie, he lazed on the couch. A plate of alcoholic tangerine candies rested on the table, looking delectable. He tasted a piece of the candy. It was chewy and fragrant, sweet, yet not overpowering. He finally discovered her cooking skills. If Pamela hadn't shown up in his life, he wouldn't have shown such aversion toward Sabrina. Such was life. The timing of one's presence was important, and Sabrina showed up late. He put aside the candies and retired to his room. He heard a knock on the door after taking a shower. Bridget Mitchell, the maid, stood at the door with a glass of honey water. Bridget said, "Ms. Wyatt prepared a drink for you because you had too much to drink. It'll help with the hangover tomorrow." Surprised, he asked, "Is she still up?" "Yes. Would you like to take the drink?" Staring at the glass of honey water for a while, he finally accepted it. He wouldn't want to turn down her kindness, not when they had agreed on a divorce. … Sabrina was roused from her sleep by the knock on her door. Waking up, she got out of bed and found Bridget outside her room. "What's the matter?" "Mr. Tucker is looking for you." Sabrina's eyelids were heavy from sleepiness. "Why is he looking for me at this hour?" "I think he must have something important to discuss." Although Sabrina looked fine in her sleepwear, she still draped a shawl across her shoulders just to be safe. She went to the third floor, but she was puzzled to find Nelson's door shut. She thought, "Isn't he looking for me?" She gently knocked on the door, but no one answered. Refusing to accidentally walk in on Nelson like last time, she knocked once more. "Nelson, are you in there?" Nelson finally answered the door with a crazed, piercing look in his eyes. Sabrina sensed that something was amiss, but she was dragged into his room before she could escape.