Way Back Into Love (Essie) novel Chapter 158

Hanson looked at Essie's puzzled face and smiled bitterly. "I still remember that day," he began, putting emphasis on every word he was saying. "It was the first day of the new school year. A young girl wearing a white bubble skirt ran up to me and stared at me for a full five minutes. With her big backpack on her back, she honestly looked ridiculous." At this point, he paused for a chuckle. "Apparently, she wanted to ask me a question. She said, 'How can I find the place for the new students?' She was stuttering—it was so cute. At that moment, I immediately knew that she was the one. I fell in love with that interesting little girl." He sighed. "But then the Dean wanted me to become the second class' counselor. I usually would just say yes to whatever he asked of me, but that time, I somehow found the courage to request him to transfer me to the first because the girl that I liked was in the first class."

He paused and caressed Essie's face. "Do you know why I was always there whenever you were in the classroom, the library, or the playground? That was because I always waiting for you. Everyday. Back then, I considered every moment we were alone together as a date," he said smiling softly. But then his smile quickly faded away. "If it wasn't for my family, I would never go to Milan. I have no interest in that place. I would have preferred to just stay in K City, find a job, and marry you after you graduated." Again, a deep sigh escaped his lips. "Unfortunately, that isn't happening."

Tears starting gushing out of Essie's eyes. For her, it felt like a floodgate had been opened inside of her. The feelings she had inside were just flowing out of her freely. "How... how did we end up like this?" she asked through her sobs.

"It's all my fault," Hanson said somberly. "Through the years, my family had broken my spirit down so much, making me into the mess that I am today." At that, he held Essie tighter in his arms. "I've already told my father that I will not be marrying Sunny no matter what happens," he said comfortingly. "He can do everything in his power to try and change my mind, but he won't be able to. I am free now, and I am making all my decisions."

Tears from Essie's eyes continued to stream onto Hanson's chest. "But I'm tainted now!" she cried out. "I have nothing left to offer you. I don't deserve you. I don't deserve you anymore!"

"That is not true, Essie," Hanson whispered. "You know that that is not true. Besides, I really do not care about all of that." He could not get himself to loosen his arms around Essie because he felt that if he did, he would lose her again. "I'll take you away, I promise. We'll leave this cursed place and live somewhere else, somewhere where no one knows who we are. A place where we can start again and build a new life," he said.

Essie raised her head and looked straight into Hanson's eyes. "Will... you really be able to let go of Bella?" she asked, her voice shaky.

Hanson let out a little chuckle. "No one will ever compare to you, Essie," he said softly. "I love you, Essie. You are my true love." He planted a gentle kiss on her forehead, and then her teary eyes. "Do you love me as much as I love you?" he then asked quietly.

"I..." For a short while, Essie felt hesitation in her heart. She didn’t understand why it was there, but she quickly chalked it up to her drunkenness. But worse than that, she was starting to see another face the longer she stared at Hanson. She violently shook her head, trying to get rid of the man she was starting to see. ‘Stop it, Essie!’ she thought. ‘For him, you were only a burden that made his life more difficult! Aside from that, he never saw you as a person—you were only a device he used so that he could get Valery back! The moment Valery gave birth to her child, you became useless to him, and he began treating you like garbage!’

Hatred was starting to swell and take over her chest, making her clench her teeth.

"Essie? Are you okay? Why aren’t you responding?" Hanson asked, his voice tinged with the slightest bit of concern and confusion. His voice quickly pulled Essie back to reality. She quickly opened her eyes wide and once again saw Hanson clearly. "I love you, too, Hanson!" she proclaimed, relieved. After that, she took a deep breath to steady herself.

Not far away from them, a man concealing behind a big tree was recording everything that was happening with his camera. He believed that his employer would be more than interested to see the reunion of these two lovebirds.

It was a beautiful day in Dragon City.

The moment the doctor confirmed that there was nothing wrong with Valery, Zac immediately took her back to the house.

After making sure that she was all settled in and okay, he took out his phone and dialed Essie's number. However, before he was able to call it, he noticed that an unknown number messaged him. He immediately read it and watched the video that came with it.

As the video went on, he felt his chest become tighter and tighter with fury. His hands began to shake, and he started to see red. With clenched fists and knitted brows, he stormed out and departed.

Valery saw everything that transpired in the comfort of her bedroom. The moment she saw Zac head out, an insidious smile appeared on her lips.

'I finally got you now, dear Essie,' she thought, feeling elated. 'You're finished!"

Essie and her classmates had already finished their activities for the day: they were done with mountain climbing, and they already had a successful outdoor barbecue. Because of that, they decided to go to a KTV bar.

Hanson was extremely good at singing. That wasn't surprising because everyone knew how much he loved karaoke. But what surprised people was just how incredible he was: every song he performed, he sounded extremely manly and very attractive. In Essie's eyes, he was a karaoke master.

The two of them sang a few songs together and it felt like they had gone back to the days when they were still carefree.

It was already late at night when they left the karaoke bar.

As she and Hanson were waving goodbye to their friends, a Lamborghini sports car suddenly drove roaring towards them. It caught the two of them by surprise, but fortunately, it halted even before it could hit them.

The door opened and a tall, handsome man stepped out of the car. The moment Essie laid her eyes on him, she felt her heart stop. She felt so petrified that she started trembling.

The man came towards her without a care in the stunned expressions from people around them. Then, the moment he was in front of her, he pulled her into his arms, like a knight would a princess, and kissed her on the lips. Essie's face turned ruby red in an instant due to embarrassment, panic, and anger. Immediately, she tried her hardest to push him away, but her strength was no match for the man's iron arms.

Despite that, she still tried to wriggle herself free from his grasp. Unfortunately, the man did not care one bit—worse, he even tightened his grip on her and kissed her even harder. She felt like he was trying to swallow her whole.

Everyone's mouths were agape. They were confused at what was happening.

"What the fuck are you doing? Let her go!" Hanson's voice suddenly rang out. His face was contorted by an expression of extreme jealousy and anguish. The next moment, he was rushing towards the man, his fist aimed at his face.

Zac was not to be outdone, however. At that same moment, he also sent a punch towards Hanson's direction. Their fists collided violently midair, creating a muffled sound.

Hanson was, of course, no match for Zac. Upon collision, he immediately felt piercing pain, stemming from his knuckles and gradually making their way down to his arm. It felt as if all of his bones broke!

When Zac let go of Essie, he noticed how swollen her lips were. An unfathomable expression then washed over his face, and when he turned to his gaze to Hanson, it was sharp and cold.

"I kissed my wife," he said silently, his voice silky yet deadly. "I believe it's none of your business!" He said every word with so much power that no one—not even Hanson—dared to interrupt him. After a few moments, he led Essie to his car.

"Wife?"

Zac's sudden appearance and statement had already begun creating a buzz within the crowd.

At that moment, Essie hated no one else as much as she hated Zac. 'He did this on purpose,' she thought, breathing heavily. 'I knew he did!'

Before Zac was able to drive away, she put her head out of the window to have one last look at Hanson. "I'm sorry, Hanson, but I have to go now!" she said apologetically. "Thank you for a fun night!"

Upon hearing those words Zac's eyes pulsed with anger and jealousy. He quickly stepped on the accelerator and sped away before Essie could say anything else.

Daly rushed to Hanson and asked, "What's going on? Is Essie married?

Are you two not together?" Queeny still couldn't believe her ears.

Hanson did not answer Daly's questions. Instead, he just stared into space, at the direction Zac's car had gone, quietly, as if all his spirit had been siphoned from him.

He hated the way Zac just came in and took Essie away from her. But what he hated more was how he just let it happen.

Zac was driving way past the speed limit.

They arrived at the hotel in record time, and as soon as they did, Zac almost dragged Essie out of the car and into the elevator. He did not care about the weird stares they were getting from everyone at the lobby.

"Zac, you bastard!" Essie cursed loudly, struggling to free herself from his grip by punching and kicking him. Her emotions were at an all-time high that she, too, stopped caring about everyone else's opinion of them.

Zac stayed silent until they got their suite, but the moment they entered the room, he immediately threw her on the bed and pinned her to it, him on top. His face was ghostly pale and his breath was labored due to anger. The atmosphere quickly became tense and dangerous.

Essie's previously fiery attitude became extinguished. In one swift movement, Zac put his hand behind her neck and lifted her head with it. He then pinched her chin roughly and forcefully raised her head so that her gaze met his. "Do you really love Hanson that much?" he asked, his eyes full of fury.

"It's none of you fucking business," Essie answered defiantly.

In the past, even if he was just using her, she knew that deep in her heart, she was living in their fantasy. Because of that, even if he did not love her, he would treat her in a way a man would treat his wife.

As for Essie, it was only after hearing the words from Zac's mouth did she completely realize that he really had no romantic feelings for her at all. She learned that acting invested in her every single day and winning her over had annoyed him and made him hate her even more. When that happened, everything became easier for her, since she didn't have to work so hard for him to like her.

Zac's handsome face was distorted in anger. He hated to have seen Essie with Hanson.

"Who am I to you?" Zac asked in anguish. His voice was extremely hoarse, as if his anger was literal fire and had burned his throat.

"Business partner," Essie said matter-of-factly. It was a cold, firm, and ruthless answer. "We are just business partners. A fake couple. I never meddle in your business, and you have no right to meddle in mine."

Hints of sadness suddenly became evident in the corners of Zac's mouth. "If you don't know how to be a good wife," he hissed, tightening his grip on Essie's wrists. "I'll teach you!" Without any warning, he yanked Essie's dress off of her slender body.

"What are you doing!" Essie shouted, alarmed. "Don't fucking touch me!" She aimed her foot at Zac's crotch and kicked it with all her might. Zac's reflexes allowed him to dodge the attack, but it became an opening for her—she was able to jumped off of the bed. When she saw a fruit knife on the bedside table, she rushed over to grab it and put it on her neck. "If you dare touch me again, I swear I will kill myself in front of you!" Her eyes were ablaze with fury, and her tone full of desperation and sadness.

Zac stumbled back two steps back.

His face became paler than before, and his body became stiff with tension.

His heart felt like it had been pulverized—he was utterly crushed.

He fully believed that even if she didn't fall in love with him, she would, at least, still have feelings for him. Unfortunately, it turned out that he was wrong. She did not only had no feelings for him, but she also hated him!

His black eyes mellowed. The anger that was previously in them all turned into silent pain.

The pain was so clear and strong that Essie could not believe what she was witnessing.

'What is happening? Why does he look like this?' she thought.

She couldn't understand the change that happened within Zac. For her, he should feel happy because he wouldn't have to work so hard to act like he liked her anymore!

In her bewilderment, she put down her hand subconsciously.

The moment that happened, Zac rushed over and grabbed the knife in her hand. Before she had time to resist, he had already pinned her on the ground.

"Zac, I hate you! I fucking hate you!" she screamed out loud, tears welling in her eyes.

"I don't fucking care!" Zac shouted back. "Hate me all you want!" He looked into her soul with his cold, piercing eyes, as if he was trying to punish her for her rash actions.

After a long while, Zac let go of Essie. He straightened up, tucked the knife away in his pocket, and gave her a cold gaze. "From now on, we are only business partners."

He walked out of the room and slammed the door, making the whole wall tremble. She felt her heart shake as well.

After leaving the hotel, Essie did not return to Dragon City, but went straight to Yang City.

She didn't want to see Zac anymore.

On her way, she decided that she would ask her lawyer to draft their divorce agreement the following day.

Finney had already moved out of the Legendary and was living in an apartment provided by her company.

Essie had also decided that she didn't want to live there anymore. After all, it wasn't her house.

Ever since what happened at the hotel, she had yearned for the time in her life when she didn't know Zac.

Hanson had been calling her every day since that fateful day. When he heard that she was back to Yang City, he immediately rushed over to meet her.

"Did he hurt you?" he asked. He was so worried that he himself wasn't able to fall asleep for several nights.

"I'm fine. Don't worry about me," Essie replied, smiling slightly so that Hanson would stop worrying.

"If he doesn't want to divorce you, I will go find him and make him. I don't care what he does to me—as long as you're free, I can take anything!" His beautiful eyebrows were knitted tightly. After knowing that Essie had a fake marriage with Zac, it tortured him every minute of every single day. It made him nervous, uneasy, and even desperate. He was afraid of losing Essie again.

"I told you, you should stop worrying about it," Essie replied. "I will send him the divorce agreement in a couple of days. He will sign it," she spoke in a very reassuring tone, though she didn't know whether she was comforting Hanson or herself.