Chapter 67
Chapter 67 Matthew Hitting Veronica
After failing several times to leave Veronica there, Matthew finally resigned himself to holding her up.
It wasn't until she had vomited so much she could no longer throw up that he wiped her mouth and carried her back to bed.
Since he found it hard to extinguish his anger after depositing her on the bed, he finally landed a heavy slap on her backside.
The snap rang loudly around the room.
In her sleep, Veronica sucked in a pained breath but continued to doze without any other reaction.
The truth was, Matthew had restrained himself during the slap. However, upon hearing her pained breath, he paused for a second before pulling up the hem of her dress.
It might not have mattered if he hadn't looked but now, he was discovering that he had left a clear, five-fingered imprint upon her fair skin.
The marks made his heart sink and after staring at them for a few seconds, he couldn't help lifting a hand and rubbing them gently.
Only after that did he cover her back up with the blankets and leave the bedroom.
In the living room, he picked up his cell phone and gave Thomas a call. “Go and look into Veronica Murphy at once. I want to know everything about her.”
“Understood, Young Master Matthew,” Thomas answered before asking, “What do I do with Miss Spencer?”
“Whatever you wish.”
Having no interest in anyone other than Veronica, Matthew simply said so before hanging up the phone.
After sleeping for a few hours, Veronica finally woke up in the afternoon and staggered out of bed with one hand clutched to her dizzy, aching head.
Upon opening the door of the bedroom and walking out, she found Matthew seated on the couch.
Long before she got up, he had already cleaned up and tidied the living room.
Rubbing her head and clutching onto her backside, she hobbled over to the couch where he was leaning back with his legs crossed and a laptop propped in his lap. He was hard at work.
As she stared down at him, she couldn't help asking, “Did I fall on my a*s after drinking? Why does it hurt so badly?”
Matthew's eyes flashed and he nodded guiltily. “Mmhmm."
“No wonder. It hurts so much.” She shuffled over to the couch opposite him and threw herself down in a lying position before studying him through squinted eyes.
Currently, he was wearing a black shirt with the collar slightly parted, exposing the muscles of his tanned chest. Even through the thin fabric, the definition of his pectorals could vaguely be seen.
Matthew's face that was framed by fluffy hair was so well-proportioned that it was as if he had been carved with precision. He was God's perfect specimen—utterly flawless and so handsome that it was hard not to fall for him.
It was said that men were at their most handsome when they were hard at work.
Sure enough, the saying was proving to be true.
Right now, as Veronica studied him, she only felt pleased and comfortable.
It was only a pity that such a stunning exterior hid such a black heart. Black-hearted b*stard of a man!
“Are you done looking?” Matthew suddenly asked teasingly, lifting his eyes to sweep her a glance.
Startled, she looked away immediately. “Pfft! Don't be so self-centered. Who's looking at you? I'm only looking at the painting on the wall behind you,” she hedged.
Gurgle—
The moment she said that, her stomach grumbled uncooperatively. Finishing up the last bit of his work, Matthew closed his laptop and looked down at her clutching her stomach pitifully. “Are you hungry?” Veronica hummed as she nodded rapidly, but this caused the room to spin so much that she froze.
“Do you want to eat?”
"Yes."
“Beg me, then. You never know; I might consider making you something to eat.”
“You—"
However, her stomach grumbled once again before she could say “wish’.
Finally giving in to her body, Veronica scowled before shooting him an obsequious grin. “Matthew—no. Darling brother, won't you make me some food? I'm so hungry...”
That was too disgusting.
The wheedling in her voice almost caused Veronica herself to throw up. Nonetheless, she would do anything for food.
On the other hand, Matthew was used to her stubborn temperament after having known her for so long, but had never seen her acting so... spoiled around him
Smugly, he raised his eyebrows and smiled before inclining his head. “What do you want?”
“My stomach is in a mess. I'd like some oatmeal. Later on, I'd like to visit your grandmother to thank her for sending you across the continent to rescue me.”
Naively, Veronica had assumed that Matthew showed up in time to rescue her during both the fire and the kidnapping due to Elizabeth's instructions.
Instantly, the smile on his lips vanished. Shooting her a cold glance, he got up and went toward the kitchen. Before he left, he didn't forget to add, "You're her god-granddaughter. I only saved you because I wanted her to be happy. You don't have to worry her now by thanking her.” “Does that mean she doesn't know what happened to me?” Veronica was somewhat surprised.
Pausing in his steps, Mathew turned his head back slightly and said, “She can't take any more excitement.”
His implication was that he had gone to save Veronica the moment he found out she was kidnapped because he didn't want to add to Elizabeth's worries, since the latter couldn't take any more excitement due to her intracerebral hemorrhage. Thus, there was no need for Veronica to let Elizabeth know now.
“Oh!” Coming to an abrupt realization, Veronica exclaimed, “You're such a good grandson!”
It was clearly a compliment and yet, it sounded like she was mocking him, but he couldn't find any proof of it.
Fed up, he entered the kitchen and emerged not long later with a bowl of oatmeal. Putting it down in front of her, he told her, “Get up and eat, then.”
“That was so quick.” She was even more astonished now.
After all, it hadn't taken more than two minutes for him to enter the kitchen and come back out again. That meant that the oatmeal had been prepared long ago.
"Did you make this?” Veronica asked incredulously, not having expected that Matthew could cook.
“Are you going to eat it or not?” His voice was somewhat cold.
"Yes, I am. I'm starving, so of course I'm going to eat it.”
Holding onto the bow! of warm oatmeal, Veronica scooped up a spoonful, thereafter blowing on it and eating it.
Though the nutty banana oatmeal looked quite good, she hadn't expected that its rich taste would explode on her tongue the moment she bit into it. It was truly delicious.
“Who made this? Why is it so delicious?”
Initially, she thought that Matthew had made it, but its taste and temperature alone could convince her that it came from somewhere else.
Without answering, he walked up to the bar and pulled out a box of medicine. Tossing it to her, he muttered, “Take your meds.”
“Meds? What meds? I'm not sick,” Veronica grumbled as she picked up the box and read it. It was medicine for the stomach.
Only then did she realize Matthew must have worried that her stomach would get upset because of how much alcohol she drank the previous night.
Bursting into laughter against her better judgment, she said, “There's no need. I have a great alcohol tolerance. You didn’t see me throw up once after drinking three or four bottles of wine, so I evidently don't need any medicine.”
How confident of her to say that!
As the image of her fouling up his bathroom with her vomit a short few hours ago floated through his mind, Matthew felt the sudden urge to strangle this woman to death.
In the end, however, he didn't argue with her.