Tangled Temptations

Chapter 169

Back at Eloise's tiny apartment, Milo scampered over, tail wagging in delight...

Eloise took off her coat and petted his head, "Good boy!"

Milo wagged his tail vigorously as if wanting to go out and play.

"Why don't you take him for a walk? I'll make sfood for you." Eloise handed the leash to Harvey.

Harvey cast her a longing look, his desire evident in his gaze.

He then crouched down to leash the dog and headed out for a stroll.

From the small kitchen of the apartment, Eloise could see Harvey outside as she chopped up the vegetables.

He was tall, well-dressed, and incredibly attractive.

Eloise watched him for a while...

When he cback, the heating in the room was cranked up a notch. It was warm in the room.

Harvey took off his coat, rolled up his shirt sleeves, and sat at the small dining table eating the pasta.

Despite the simplicity of the scene, he still emanated an extraordinary aura. Eloise picked up a newspaper and

sat next to him, reading.

But she didn't really focus on the news, instead, her eyes were drawn to the multiple needle marks on his arm.

His skin was a little bruised from the frequent pricking.

Eloise felt a lump formed in her throat.

She touched his skin, then looked at him and asked, "How many times have you had your blood drawn?"

Harvey followed her gaze and nodded.

The mess Joan had created had caused quite a stir recently. The Lynch and the Horigan families were both worn

out, but the one who had it the hardest was Harvey. As Max predicted, the hospital was running low on blood

supply, and every tJoan made a move, Harvey had to go and donate blood.

Eloise didn't say anything. She just gently stroked him.

She felt a pang of sympathy.

She thought that Joan didn't truly love Harvey. Even if there had been love at one point, it was twisted and

selfish!

But she couldn't voice these thoughts.

Nor could she gauge how deeply Harvey felt for Joan.

After finishing his food, Harvey reached for a cigarette, but Eloise snatched it away.

"Cut down a bit, will ya?"

He looked up at her.

Eloise lowered her head to clear his dishes, but he stopped her.

"Leave it for tomorrow."

Harvey scooped her up and headed straight for the bedroom, seemingly with something in mind.

"No!" Eloise clung to his neck tightly.

Harvey halted, looking down at her and asked in a husky voice, "What's wrong?"

Eloise reached out a hand, caressing the collar of his shirt, whispering, "You've just had your blood drawn

multiple times, so you should rest."

Harvey was staring at her.

Eloise was also looking at him, her eyes filled with complex emotions.

After a moment, Harvey softly said, "I'm okay."

He was always assertive, and Eloise couldn't resist, she was pinned down on the bed...

Maybe due to his physical condition, he wasn't as vigorous as before.

Harvey only managed to do it once.

He was panting lightly into her ear, their clothes scattered on the floor beneath the bed.

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He held her down, "Don't move. Stay with me."

Eloise stopped moving, her face buried in his neck, feeling his warmth.

Half an hour later, Harvey had recovered, he carried Eloise to the bathroom for a shower.

Eloise fell asleep, exhausted.

When she woke up at night, she found Harvey was not in bed.

She got up, throwing on a coat, and went to the living room. She found the

window slightly ajar, Harvey was standing by it, smoking, seven or eight cigarette butts in the ashtray beside

him.

Seeing Eloise, he immediately put out his cigarette.

"Did | wake you?"

Eloise went over, wrapping her arms around him, asking, "Why aren't you

sleeping? Anything bothering you?"

Women are easily moved, so she was more lenient with him.

She thought, if he told her about Joan now, she'd be willing to discuss it with him. After all, Joan was like a chasm

between them that they couldn't avoid.

Harvey stroked her head, saying, "It's work-related."

He held her as they went back to the room. As they lay in bed together, he kissed her behind her ear for a long

time.

Later on, Eloise and Harvey got along pretty well.

Even though Harvey was busy, they would still see each other two or three times a week.

Sometimes he would spend the night at her place, and if he cback early, he would specially pick her up to

his apartment.

And there were always needle marks on his arm.

Eloise didn't ask him where he went when they weren't together, she didn't ask whether Joan had been

discharged from the hospital, whether she was still causing trouble, whether she was still thinking about him...

She just prepared stonics for him when he came.

Harvey always wanted to get intimate with her, but Eloise always kept him in check, rarely giving in.

His health was always rather poor.

Of course, there were occasional nights when he would get a call from Griffin, and

then he would get dressed in the middle of the night to go to the hospital.

On such nights, Eloise would often stay up, sitting in the living room waiting for him...

But she never saw him cback.

Days went by, and the Lynch and Horigan families, being social elites, were always the talk of the town,

especially with Joan's antics.

Eloise's father, Angus, was very protective of her and didn't approve of her being with Harvey. He believed that

while the wealthy had money, it was pointless to be in a marriage where the husband wasn't entirely hers, they

would always accompanying someone else.

Michelle, being a woman, knew how hard Eloise had it so she didn't say much.

Eloise's life was riddled with difficulties.

She left the Laurent family's house and got into her car, heading to the hospital to pick up Angus's medicine.

Michelle chased after her from the house.

"Michelle!" Eloise got out of the car.

Michelle cup to her, speaking softly, "Angus is a straight shooter, don't take his words to heart. As for your

love life, you do what you think is best. But, | feel

that no matter how exceptional Harvey is, if you're not happy...what's the point?"

Eloise nodded, her head bowed.

Her eyes started to glisten and her nose reddened.

Seeing Eloise like this, Michelle felt a pang in her heart.

She reached out to straighten Eloise's coat, whispering softly, "If you like him,

then take a leap of faith and go for it! If in the end he lets you down, don't be sad

for too long... Life's too short to waste on heartbreak."

Eloise nodded.

Michelle patted her shoulder, saying, "Off you go! Drive safe."

Eloise gave Michelle a hug, then turned around and got into her car.

Eloise drove to the hospital to pick up her medication.

She didn't expect to bump into Joan at the hospital.

Joan was being pushed around in a wheelchair by a nurse, out for a walk.

Joan looked dreadful, her face was pale, her already petite body now skinny, and

her hospital gown looked too big on her.

Eloise looked at Joan, and Joan was also looking at her.

Although Joan looked exhausted, her spirit was far from broken.

There were plenty of hallways in a hospital, plenty of ways to avoid her. Eloise

didn't want to confront her, so she decided to take a detour.

However, Joan stopped her, "Eloise, can we talk?"

Eloise looked at her.

Joan signaled the nurse to push her over and raised her hand in a gesture that

suggested she wanted to be alone.

The nurse understood and left.

Joan stared at the calm Eloise, a wave of jealousy washing over her.

She had been tormenting herself these days, but Harvey had not agreed to get

back together with her, all because of this ordinary woman in front of her.

But it didn't matter...

Based purely on their past, Harvey couldn't possibly ignore her!

Just as Joan was about to speak, her eyes fell on the diamond ring on Eloise's

middle finger.

The diamond ring was beautiful, but it was on the middle finger.

Joan smirked. She thought Harvey placed importance on the woman in front of her, but it seemed he had only

given a half-hearted commitment!

Joan looked up, a cold and sarcastic smile on her face, "I heard you want to marry Harvey?"

Eloise followed her gaze to her own diamond ring... she felt a pang of panic.

She had been enduring these days, partly because she really liked Harvey and didn't want to give up easily, and

partly because the romance Harvey brought her was truly touching.

Joan gave a small chuckle, her head lowered, playing with her own nails.

"Ms. Laurent, all | need to do is make a single phone call, all | need to do is hurt myself, and Harvey will come

running, no matter what he's doing, he'll drop everything and rush to the hospital to givea blood

transfusion... even if you two are in bed!"

Eloise was stunned by Joan's shamelessness!

She said coldly, "Joan, what's the point of doing all this? You clearly know that you

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two can't be together anymore!"

Joan's face changed.

Then, she glared at Eloise, her eyes venomous, saying word by word, "But | get pleasure from tormenting you

two! Especially you, Eloise, what makes you deserving of Harvey, of his body, and now you want his marriage?

Lettell you... you're not worthy!"

Eloise didn't want to think according to Joan's logic.

Joan was just a madwoman.

Now she just wanted to provoke her, to make her react impulsively...

Eloise calmed down, speaking evenly, "The one who's not worthy in this world is

you, Joan! And me, whether Harvey and | have a future or not, | have a clear

conscience. Even if we break up in the end, | won't cling onto him!"

After saying all this, Eloise felt much better!

She turned around and left...

Behind her, Joan started to cry and scream, completely out of control!

When she got home, Eloise felt down for a long time.

Is this how Harvey always dealt with Joan?

She took Milo and drove to his apartment.

Harvey wasn't hyet, so Eloise cooked a meal and then started working on

sreports while waiting for him to chfor dinner.

Milo was playing happily beside her, curling up next to her when he got tired.

The little dog's eyes were bright.

Eloise took out a packet of snacks and fed Milo. After eating, Milo closed his eyes contentedly and fell asleep.

Eloise looked at the clock, it was already half past ten!

Harvey seemed surprised to see Eloise when he walked in.

He took off his coat, walked towards her, kissed her, and said vaguely, "Why did

you cover by yourself today?"

Eloise wrapped her arms around his neck and said, "I wanted to cook something nice for you!"

She noticed that he looked a bit off.

Harvey hardly ever talked to her about these things, and Eloise hardly ever asked

him about it, mainly because Griffin owed the Horigan family a favor, which made her feel awkward to ask.

But today, after meeting Joan and seeing how crazy she was, Eloise's mood had shifted.

She said gently, "Have ssoup first, it'll warm you up."

Harvey was reluctant to let her go. He flirted with her, teasing her, "Do you like

playing the dutiful wife and loving mother?"

Eloise blushed, "When did | want to play the dutiful wife and loving mother? I'm

still young!"

Harvey kissed her neck, making Eloise feel a bit fuzzy.

Harvey whispered, "I'm not young anymore, I'll be 30 next year."

Eloise turned her head to look at his handsface, her heart beating faster.

Harvey wanted to kiss her again. He pressed against her forehead and

whispered, "We haven't been intimate in a while, Eloise. Stay for the night." That night, his movements were

gentle.

In the throes of passion, she couldn't help but draw closer to him, whispering his

nin his ear, "Harvey!"

Harvey was startled by her sudden move...