Tangled Temptations

Harvey's gaze was seriously intense.

He leaned close to her ear, his voice so low it was almost a whisper, "Should I give Marianna a six-month vacation? Then it'll be just us two in the apartment. We can do whatever we want whenever we want. Eloise, what do you think?"

"Stop fooling around, and we'll talk about it tonight!" Eloise tried to soothe him. Harvey gently took her hand.noveldrama

Eloise let out a soft sigh in his arms, then leaned her head on his shoulder, falling silent.

Harvey let her go, quickly getting ready to do, well, whatever he had in mind.

Outside the room, Marianna was busily doing the housework when she noticed the noise from the master bedroom. With her years of experience, it didn't take long to figure out what was going on. She felt super awkward.

Marianna thought to herself, Mr. Horigan hasn't had a girlfriend for a while, so with all this commotion, she hoped Ms. Laurent could handle it.

Inside the bedroom.

Due to work, Harvey hadn't had his fill.

After taking a shower, he put on a fresh suit, tying his tie as he walked towards the bed.

He'd been busy all night and almost forgot something important.

He leaned towards Eloise, "When you get a chance, could you pick out some dresses?"

Eloise was half-kneeling on the floor, adjusting his tie for him.

Wearing only a men's shirt, the one he had taken off the night before, she showed her beautiful back when she bent down, which made Harvey's gaze intensify.

He gently held her. Eloise was too tempting for him.

Her face blushed. She didn't refuse his affection. After some thought, she replied, "I bought a few dresses last time. They should be enough."

Harvey frowned, seemingly displeased but his voice was gentle, "I'll have Denise send them over."

Eloise could tell he was unhappy, guessing he might think her taste wasn't up to snuff. She knew this too. Coming from an average family, there was quite a gap between her and his status.

She felt uneasy, not wanting to refuse but not knowing how to respond.

Yet she knew Harvey didn't need always to consider her feelings.

After adjusting his tie, she lightly smoothed out the creases.

Silence fell in the room.

Harvey softly hugged her, "Are you upset? I just asked Denise to send the dresses over for you to save you the trouble of choosing. If you're not happy, you can ask Veronica to accompany you."

Eloise knew how important this banquet was to him and that her choices might not be good enough.

After some thought, she smiled and said, "Let Denise send them. Her taste is good."

Harvey didn't insist further.

He gently caressed her face, comforting her, "Don't be mad at me over little things like this, okay?"

Eloise was not naive, but his unintentional words made her realize one thing: their relationship was inherently unequal.

Harvey held the reins.

Whatever he wanted to do was justified.

Just like when Marianna came, if she didn't want to continue but Harvey did, she had to go along. If he was unsatisfied, she had to bear it.

Eloise was feeling mixed.

Their interactions could be unfair at times, but she couldn't express this unfairness. This was the nature of their relationship, and she was here to make him happy. How could she expect him to always give way to her?

Harvey knew she was really upset now.

He had been getting along well with her recently, and he did like her a lot. So, he tried to accommodate her as much as possible, "I'll bring you a necklace tonight, okay? Seems like your old necklace is missing. Why don't you wear it anymore?" Actually, he couldn't remember what Eloise's previous necklace looked like, and he was just trying to make conversation, given the tense atmosphere. Harvey made a concession, so Eloise didn't think too much about it.

She didn't tell him the truth, just vaguely said, "I lost it."

Taking the opportunity, Harvey whispered in her ear, "Why are you always losing things?"