Chapter 2: I Want to Take Responsibility for You

"Reuben Morris, watch your mouth! What do you mean I took the bait for a little benefit? You chased me for two years—did I ever fall for it once?"

The slap left Reuben stunned.

After recovering, he looked at Matilda in front of him, his eyes red. "You actually hit me?"

"Yes, I hit you! And you deserved it!"

Reuben didn't want to hit back at first—he didn't hit women. But then, he saw his girlfriend, Adalyn watching from a distance.

If he didn't fight back, wouldn't Adalyn be upset?

Reuben raised his hand, about to reciprocate the slap..

However, before his hand could touch Matilda, someone suddenly grabbed it.

Reuben froze.

A tall, muscular man had appeared out of nowhere. He was now standing in front of Matilda, looking at him coldly.

That fierce, harsh look sent chills down his spine.

What was even more annoying was that the man was nearly 6 foot 3, at least half a head taller than him.

Reuben unconsciously took a step back.

Matilda opened her eyes at this moment.

She expected to be hit by Reuben, but instead, she only felt a gust of wind. When she opened her eyes again, she saw Wentworth standing in front of her.

"Why hit a woman?" Wentworth asked Reuben.

"She hit me first." Reuben pointed to his face, which was still red.

Wentworth said, "You slandered her first. I heard everything."

Reuben got angry. "Who are you?"

"I'm Dr. Spencer's friend. I have important matters to discuss with her and need to take her away now. If you have any objections, you can contact my lawyer."

Then Wentworth turned to Matilda. "Dr. Spencer, can we talk now?"

Matilda was eager to get away, so she said, "Yes."

"Where should we talk? You pick a place."

"How about the coffee shop at the corner up ahead?" Matilda said.

She meant for her to ride her scooter there and let Wentworth get there on his own.

Unexpectedly, Wentworth swung his long legs over the scooter and settled behind her.

Matilda glanced at his legs. They were so long they had to bend at nearly ninety degrees. She couldn’t help but ask, “Mr. Gonzaga, don’t you have a car?”

"No, I'm injured. I can't drive." Wentworth said.

Matilda fell silent.

She had no choice but to start the scooter.

But then Wentworth put his arms around her waist.

Matilda's handlebars went out of control, and she drove forward shakily.

...

"Ben, who's that guy?" Reuben was still standing there in a daze when his girlfriend Adalyn walked over, swaying her hips.

Reuben said, "Not sure. First time I've seen him. Probably her new lover."

Adalyn crossed her arms and looked at Reuben with a frown. "What was that just now? Matilda hit your car and you're just letting it go? Look at this dent—it’s going to cost at least two thousand dollars to fix!”

"Her man said if there's any problem, contact his lawyer."

"Do you have his lawyer's contact info?"

Reuben paused. "Didn't get a chance to ask."

Adalyn's face darkened. Without another word, she turned and walked away.

Reuben hurried after her.

...

At the coffee shop.

Matilda held a glass of iced lemon water in her hand and looked at Wentworth.

"Mr. Gonzaga, what did you want to talk to me about?" Matilda asked.

Wentworth downed a cup of iced Americano in one gulp, then said, "I want to take responsibility for what happened two months ago!"

"Take... responsibility?" Matilda sprayed tea all over Wentworth's face and choked for quite a while.

Wentworth quickly came over to pat her back while wiping his face with his sleeve.

After a while, Matilda finally caught her breath. She looked at Wentworth and said sincerely, "That night two months ago, although we slept in the same bed, nothing happened. You don't need to take responsibility."

"But I undressed you that night. I saw your body!"

Matilda choked again.

She couldn't help thinking back to that night.

That day, Reuben broke up with her . Frustrated and upset, she went to a bar.

It was her first time going to a bar in her whole life.

She had always been a conservative person. Even after dating Reuben for over a year, she hadn't slept with him. So even at the bar, she was still restrained. Worried about getting drunk, she only ordered one Margarita.

After experiencing the bright lights and wild atmosphere of the bar, she felt completely out of place. She finished her drink and left immediately.

On the way, she felt dizzy, like she was drunk, and then ran into two thugs.

Just as she was struggling with the thugs, Wentworth came and saved her.

Whether it was the alcohol or because Wentworth was just too handsome and charming, she felt attracted to him. She wanted to give him her virginity that she'd kept for 28 years, so she started making moves on Wentworth.

Wentworth stayed calm and didn't accept her advances. Then she threw up, and after that she didn't know what happened.

When she woke up, she found herself lying in the same bed as Wentworth. He was sleeping soundly, and she was naked.

As a doctor, she knew Wentworth hadn't done anything to her. The reason she was naked was probably because her clothes got dirty from vomiting.

Seeing that her clothes had been dry-cleaned and neatly folded by the bedside, she quietly got up and got dressed.

As she was leaving, she noticed a military ID lying on the table. She picked it up and glanced at it—it bore his name and photo.

He was actually in the military!

She didn't dare look any longer and quickly got out of there.

For the next week, she worried about getting arrested. Of all people to hit on, she had to hit on a military man!

But two months passed smoothly, until Wentworth appeared again.

...

"After that night, I wanted to find you to talk, but I got an emergency assignment the next day - so I'm only contacting you now." Wentworth sat beside her, patting her back while explaining.

Matilda had stopped coughing. She looked up and smiled awkwardly. "Really, it's not necessary.You just saw me naked—it’s not like I lost a limb. You don't need to take responsibility."

But Wentworth's expression changed. "Do you just let anyone see you naked?"

"I... of course not." She was 28 years old and still a virgin, okay?

"Wasn't it an accident?" Matilda said. "It was because I threw up on my clothes and you had to help me change. It's like how I'm a doctor—I saw you today too. Do I have to take responsibility for all my patients? I'm just one person—I can't marry them all, right? Besides..."

She took another sip of lemon water.

"Besides what?"