Chapter 319
Annabel tried to mimic Effie’s delicate gestures, but quickly realized it was hopeless-gracefulness wasn’t something you could just fake.
Fenton couldn’t help himself; he burst out laughing. “Nice try, Annabel. You look like a clown at a royal ball.”
Annabel’s eyes flashed with fire. “Shut up, Fenton!”
He just laughed harder, refusing to let her save face. But in the middle of his laughter, he inhaled a lungful of spicy pepper fumes and started coughing so violently he nearly choked.
This time, Annabel got her revenge, giggling as he struggled to recover.
“You guys are so boring. I’d rather read comics than sit here with you.”
She peeled off her disposable gloves, pulled out her phone, and started scrolling through a comic. She’d never been that interested in comics before-could take them or leave them—but lately, all the younger folks at her office had been obsessed with a certain author. They claimed the comics were hilarious and addictive.
The stories were wild, full of drama, and there was always this unlucky villain who got repeatedly humiliated. The author’s last series had just wrapped up, and a new one had dropped earlier this month. Annabel had been too busy to check it out, but now, with nothing better to do, she dove right in.
A few pages in, Annabel froze.
She glanced up from her phone, staring at Effie, then at Lyman, then back at her phone, her expression growing more incredulous by the second.
“Annabel, what are you doing?” Lyman grumbled, clearly annoyed. It was hard to enjoy your food with someone staring at you like that.
Effie, too, gave Annabel a puzzled look. Something was definitely off.
Annabel finally said, “I’m reading this comic and the main characters look just like you two! The heroine’s boyfriend cheats on her with her sister, so she marries some guy she barely knows, and-surprise-they fall in love after the wedding.” Effie’s cheeks turned pink. Cheating boyfriends, revenge marriages, accidental romance-it was hard not to see herself in that setup.
“And even though it’s drawn as a comic, everything about it feels like the two of you.”
“Let me see,” Fenton said, craning his neck to peek at her phone.
Annabel shoved him away, nearly knocking him off his chair.
Fenton glared at her. “What’s your problem?”
Annabel shot back, “You’re the problem! Who said you could look at my phone?”
He snorted. “It’s not like I haven’t seen worse.”
Something sly flickered in Annabel’s eyes. “Well, you’re not touching my phone, got it?”
“Even if you begged me, I wouldn’t want to,” Fenton huffed, refusing to back down.
Effie leaned in, genuinely curious. “Annabel, can I see it?”
Annabel hesitated. She leaned in close and whispered, “Uh… it’s kind of… not really for all audiences.”
Truth was, this author specialized in rather risqué comics-gorgeous art, gripping storylines, but also scenes that were anything but PG. The series had become a sensation overseas, partly because of the beautiful, sometimes explicit, content.
The main couple couldn’t keep their hands off each other-shower, balcony, kitchen table, even the washing machine. There wasn’t a single place the hero hadn’t, well,
“tested the limits.”
Sometimes, late at night, Annabel would find her mouth dry, a certain thirst
building inside her. And the way she wanted to quench it… well, that took two people.
Effie flushed, her gaze flickering away. “Maybe I’ll pass, then…”
“Oh, come on, you have to look!” Annabel insisted, nudging her. “Honestly, women can be just as naughty as men. We just like our eye candy classy and good-looking. The hero in this comic is insanely handsome-the only guy I’ve ever seen who could compare is my brother. Seriously, real life doesn’t stand a chance.”