9. A Racing Heart

“I’m so thirsty.”

Martina woke up feeling thirsty. As she passed through the hallway, her steps stopped in front of her daughter-in-law’s room. Liora’s bedroom door was open.

“Why is it open?” she murmured in confusion.

She peeked inside. The room was empty, the bed neatly made. Martina glanced at the wall clock.

“Not home yet?” Her assumption quickly led to one conclusion. “She must be with Daren.”

Martina shook her head lightly and closed the bedroom door again, not suspecting anything at all.

She continued walking. When she reached downstairs, she met Nancy, the housemaid.

“Not asleep yet, Nancy?”

“Not yet, Ma’am. I was just about to sleep. What do you need, Ma’am? I can get it for you,” Nancy offered quickly.

“No need. I just want to drink some water.”

“Oh … then I’ll excuse myself, Ma’am,” Nancy said politely.

“Hm.” Martina suddenly remembered Liora and turned back. “Nancy, wait!”

“Y-yes, Ma’am, what is it?”

“Do you know where Liora is? I saw her room open and the bed still neat. Has she gone out since this afternoon and not come back yet?”

“I haven’t seen Miss Liora return at all, Ma’am.”

“Oh, alright then. You can go to sleep.”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

After Nancy left, Martina assumed that Liora must have gone out with Daren, her son.

“What an inconsiderate daughter-in-law. She knows her husband is busy, yet she still bothers him,” Martina grumbled before returning to her room to continue the sleep that had been interrupted.

Meanwhile, the luxurious apartment fell silent again after Ethan made sure the door was tightly locked. Only Liora’s soft breathing could be heard as she slept on the living room sofa.

“Huft … it smells so bad. I’d better take a shower first.”

Ethan walked quickly toward his bedroom while taking off his suit jacket, shirt, and all the clothes clinging to his body.

“Ah … it’s so cold! But this is better to cool my head and keep me sane after this.”

Ethan showered quickly. When he was done, he grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his waist.

“I need to change clothes quickly. After that, I have to take care of her,” Ethan reminded himself, thinking about Liora outside.

Just as he reached for a shirt, he suddenly heard something fall from the front.

Bruk!

“Agrhh …,” someone groaned, snapping Ethan out of his thoughts.

Immediately, Ethan threw the shirt to the floor.

Deh!

He was shocked when he saw Liora had fallen off the sofa. “H-hei … are you okay? Come here, I’ll help you sit back on the sofa,” Ethan said as he prepared to lift her.

But as Ethan stood beside her, Liora suddenly opened her eyes.

“H-help me stand up, quickly!” Liora pleaded, then immediately pulled on the towel Ethan was wearing.

“Aah—hey, you!” Ethan snapped irritably as he hurriedly grabbed the fallen towel and wrapped it back around himself.

Ethan’s face turned red, a mix of anger and embarrassment. His bare body had just been seen by Liora, yet instead of being embarrassed or covering her face, the woman in front of him kept babbling incoherently.

“Hey, why are you staring like that? Come on, help me stand up, hurry!” Liora muttered continuously in a drunk voice.

“Stand up by yourself!” Ethan snapped.

He turned around and quickly walked back to his bedroom.

Blam!

The door closed. Ethan leaned against it, his heart pounding wildly.

“W-what is this? Why am I the one feeling embarrassed? It should be her ….” He sighed heavily. “So annoying.”

Even while grumbling, Ethan moved quickly to the wardrobe and changed his clothes in a hurry.

“She fell earlier. Is she really okay? Is she hurt?” Ethan worried about Liora’s condition.

After finishing changing, he remembered that Liora still needed attention. He went out and approached Liora, who was now leaning her head against the side of the sofa.

“So annoying … why can’t I just ignore her?” he muttered.

With gentle movements, Ethan lifted Liora’s small body and carried her into his bedroom.

“Wait here for a moment. I’ll get you some warm water,” Ethan said softly as he looked at Liora’s face.

Less than five minutes later, Ethan returned with a basin and a small towel, along with a glass of warm water.

The dim light made her face look pale. A thin layer of sweat still dampened her temples.

Ethan stood by the bed, his hands resting on his waist.

His gaze fell on Liora’s wrinkled clothes, partially wet from the vomit earlier.

“Shitt! What should I do now?” Ethan had just finished wiping Liora’s face and hands.

But when he thought about changing her clothes, he hesitated. That night, he almost woke Liora.

Ethan ruffled his hair in frustration. He had slept with that woman before, felt the same body beneath his touch—but this situation was clearly different. Liora was unconscious. And just thinking about it made Ethan feel guilty.

“I’m not a bastard,” he muttered softly, as if reassuring himself.

“Huft … what a truly annoying situation. Should I wake her up so she can change her clothes herself? That way I wouldn’t have to do it for her,” Ethan raised his hand, almost waking Liora.

But he stopped when he saw her sleeping peacefully. “Ah, I’d better not disturb her. I’ll do it myself. At least her sleep won’t be interrupted.”

Ethan walked to the wardrobe and took one of his clean shirts. The size was clearly too big for Liora’s body. Then he returned to the bed, pulled the blanket, and covered Liora’s body up to her neck.

“Okay … I’ll do this quickly. I can do this,” Ethan said as he slid both hands under the blanket to remove Liora’s clothes.

He turned his face away, groping slowly beneath the blanket. His hands trembled slightly.

“Why are women’s buttons so hard to deal with?” he complained softly when his fingers went the wrong way several times, grabbing something soft instead.

Degh!

“Oh, shitt!”

Ethan’s eyes widened. He panicked and quickly pulled his hands back—especially when Liora mumbled incoherently and suddenly pulled the blanket.

“Hey—don’t touch me!”

“I-I’m just helping you. Stay still, this will only take a moment,” Ethan reflexively said, panicking slightly.

Liora curled up, her face wincing, then went still again. Ethan let out a sigh of relief.

Half crouching, his eyes tightly shut as if afraid to see something he shouldn’t, Ethan finally managed to change Liora’s clothes. His shirt now clung to her body, hanging loosely down to her thighs.

Once finished, Ethan immediately stood up and turned away, his face flushed.

“That’s it. Now I’ll take these dirty clothes to the bathroom. While I’m at it—oh, no…!” Ethan panicked when he noticed something below, his body reacting just from changing Liora’s clothes.

“I’d better take another shower!”

Ethan swallowed hard. He covered Liora with the blanket again, his hand unconsciously almost touching her cheek—but he stopped himself.

“Enough,” he muttered, afraid of losing control, before heading straight to the bathroom as he had said.