Chapter 21: No One Wants to Touch You

At 9:30 p.m. most of the canteen workers were gone, only two were there preparing midnight snacks for those working overtime. Kate still didn't know if she could leave, so she sat in the lunchroom, playing games on her cell phone.

Lisa called, and after a few minutes of talking, she said, "It is so late, why are you still at work? Do you need me to come to pick you up? What on earth is wrong with you? Don't you need to try to get pregnant?"

Knowing that Kate was at work so late, worried Lisa a lot, so Kate didn't tell her that she had to clean hundreds of cups. She calmly said, "Don't worry, Lisa. I am okay, just a little bored right now. How are things with you? If everything good at the shop?"

"Everything is okay," Lisa muttered.

…

They talked for another half an hour, after which, Kate still hadn't got permission from Joseph to go home.

"Lady Kate, how about calling Mr. Smith? Maybe he forgot that you're still here," One of the on-duty workers commented.

"Don't worry; I can wait…"

A few minutes later, Kate's phone rang again. It was Henry, "Mr. Smith asked me to pick you up; I will wait for you at the front gate of Smith Group."

"Fine."

Kate finally arrived home at 11 p.m. The big house was empty and quiet; Ricky was waiting for her in the dining room.

Kate thought Joseph was at home until Ricky asked, "Lady, did Mr. Smith come home with you?"

"No," Kate answered, confused, and then went upstairs. She didn't care much about Joseph. Without love, their marriage was vulnerable. Kate had been used to it. She was even a little happy that Joseph wasn't home.

After a long day's hard work, Kate laid back on the bed, still dressed. She fell asleep quickly, then woke up at 2 a.m. and noticed that Joseph still wasn't home; she wondered if he would come home. She decided to get up to get a shower, then go back to bed.

Just as she was almost asleep, Kate saw a tall, familiar figure stagger into the room. She knew who it was, it was Joseph, but she didn't understand why he was stumbling.

Suddenly, he fell to the floor. Kate rushed to him and could smell the alcohol on his breath from a few feet away.

Is he drunk?

There was no way that Kate was able to lift a tall, drunk man, so she yelled and pushed him, "Wake up, Joseph, wake up!"

"Don't touch me." Joseph pushed her away and murmured.

"No one wants to touch you." Kate immediately moved her hands away from him. She decided to leave him lying on the floor.

"Why should I care about him? He doesn't care about me." Kate mumbled to herself and was about to walk away. The room was quiet, and only the smell of wine fluttered in the air.

Kate was confused, she wasn't sure what was going on, but a few moments later he said, "Anna, I am sorry…"

Joseph was apologizing to Anna; Joseph got drunk because of Anna.

Kate thought that she would care, but her heart was broken.

Joseph couldn't forget Anna! Joseph still loved Anna, even two years later.

Looking at the drunk and hurt face, Kate was deeply bothered. She reached out her hand to touch his face as if she could erase his sadness as well.

As expected, Joseph relaxed, but the name he mumbled became clearer and clearer, making Kate's heart hurt even more.

**

The next day, Joseph woke up to a beautiful face in front of him. He was still lying on the carpet, but the air was filled with the pleasant smell of shampoo and aged wine. He moaned and remembered that he had gotten drunk the night before.

Joseph pushed Kate away from him immediately; she woke up and looked at the angry man beside her. She realized that she had slept on the floor next to him all night.

I was asking for it. Even if he held my hand, I could have stopped it and slept in the bed. Why didn't I? It is not easy to give up on my love for him.

"Don't touch me except for getting pregnant!" Joseph said to Kate with resentment.

Funny, it's you who held my hand last night, why did you blame me for getting close to you?

Kate was angry with Joseph's words and actions. She said, "Joseph Smith, I don't care about what you did when drunk last night. You have been cold and mean to me all the time, and I'll never show excessive passion to you anymore. Just leave me alone."

She got up and walked to the bathroom. A bang echoed through the room; Joseph kicked the door open. He stepped forward, reached out his hand to grab her jaw, and slammed her into the corner of the wall.

Standing naked in front of Joseph, Kate was both embarrassed and frightened. Living with his mood swings was a challenge; she never knew what would happen from one moment to the next.

When she caught her breath, she asked him nervously, "What do you want?"

"You should do something to reduce your guilt." Joseph sneered and continue,

"You're Lady Kate in Smith family now; you'd better not get in the Whites family business."

"What do you mean?"

"Anna's mother will take charge of the White Group business. You are not going to stop her," Joseph commanded.

It turned out that he was shouting at her because of Dora White.

When she found out that it was because of Dora, Kate had no intention of listening to him. She said, "Joseph Smith, this is my business. Don't forget that my father promised…"

"If you were not the reason for Anna's death, I would never have gotten involved in it. But, Anna passed away, you must do something to repay her," Joseph interrupted; his eyes were full of anger.

"You should be thankful that you are still alive while you have made such a big mistake. If you do not learn from this lesson, I will do something to your grandma."

"You're…" Kate was angry too, but her grandma was her weakness, and Joseph always used it to his advantage.

"And don't threaten me by your mother's last words." Joseph continued saying, with ridicule. "I could destroy the company, and then just make another Smith Group."