A small milk cat, only two or three months old and no bigger than Elisa’s hands, was a round little thing. Elisa carefully cradled the kitten and leaned over to take a sniff, the scent of milk hitting her as she did so.
With this adorable little pet around, the usually quiet large villa became a lively place. Even the usually serious butler seemed to smile more, his gaze now warmly fixed on Elisa’s hands.
Mrs. Rugger and Mrs. Protich quickly tidied up the cat litter and toys. “Madam, do you think it’s meowing because it’s hungry?”
Elisa gently touched the kitten’s belly, then looked around and spotted a bag of sheep’s milk powder. “It must be hungry. Mrs. Rugger, take a look at that bag of milk powder and prepare half a cup for the kitten.”
Mrs. Rugger happily went to work. Having worked as a postpartum doula in wealthy households before, she was very skilled at preparing milk powder. After reading the instructions, she took the pet milk bottle and went to test the water temperature.
…
Elisa sat on the sofa, placing the small milk cat on her lap to feed it. As soon as the kitten smelled the milk, it eagerly latched onto the teat, drinking vigorously.
The kitten’s pink mouth was covered in milk, its fur damp. Mrs. Rugger, seeing this, promptly fetched a small blanket and placed it on Elisa’s lap.
“Mrs. Burns, does this cat have a name?”
“Yes.”
“What’s its name?”
After finishing feeding, Elisa teased the cat with a toy. “Its name is Mimi…”
“That’s a good name,” agreed Mrs. Rugger.
Elisa’s toy was a fish, and the curious kitten focused on it, reaching out with its front paws. Elisa was worried it might roll off her lap, so she placed it on the carpet and continued to play with it.
After finishing its meal, the kitten became unsteady on its feet. Finally managing to grab the toy, it then lost its balance and tumbled onto the carpet, exposing its round little belly.
With the cat in the house, Elisa was no longer bored. Whenever she had nothing to do, she would hold the cat and cuddle it.
The kitten loved to sleep, especially in warm weather. Elisa would sit on the balcony rocking chair, holding the kitten and reading a book.
Her phone, placed aside, vibrated. Elisa picked it up with one hand and unlocked it. It was a message from Hamish asking, “Did you receive it?”
Elisa smirked, took a photo of herself holding the cat, and sent it to Hamish, also inquiring about his injury: “Is your injury okay? Do you want me to apply medicine for you tonight?”
Holding her phone, Elisa typed slowly, “I’ll apply the medicine you sent with Mimi. I’ll apply it for you tonight. Once your injury heals, you can go control the remote.”
“…..”
Seeing the response from him, Elisa’s lips curved into a pleased smile as she cuddled with Mimi and took a nap on the bed.
…
Hamish returned home early in the afternoon. After dinner, the two of them took the cat for a walk.
Seeing the comfortable cat nestled in Elisa’s arms, Hamish suddenly felt a tinge of jealousy.
Thinking he was eyeing the cat, Elisa offered, “Would you like to hold it?”
Hamish, who never liked such furry animals due to their shedding and hassle, instinctively took a step back. However, after glancing at the kitten’s big blue eyes and then at Elisa’s equally clear cat-like eyes, he found himself wanting to hold her more than the cat.
“You should touch it.” Elisa held the adorable little creature lovingly, afraid of accidentally hurting it.
Almost against his will, Hamish reached out and placed his hand on the kitten’s head. Surprisingly, it didn’t bother him as much as he had imagined.
“Do you want to hold it for a while?”
“No, I don’t…”
As he watched Elisa retract her hand, Hamish found himself drawn to the scent of the kitten and, as her loose-fitting shirt dipped, he caught a glimpse of her fair neck. Her smiling expression accentuated the graceful curve of her chin.
Suddenly, Hamish felt a dryness in his throat and an intense desire to embrace this woman before him.
Elisa truly loved the cat, carrying it with her everywhere, even tucking it into bed when she slept.
After her shower, Hamish noticed that what used to be his pillow was now occupied by the tiny creature, and his expression twisted slightly.
“Don’t just focus on the cat. The hot water for your shower is ready,” he said.
Reluctantly, Elisa put downthe kitten and went to get ready for bed. As she began undressing, Hamish slipped in beside her.
Embracing Elisa, he sniffed at her like a dog, his nose brushing against her neck, a sensitive area for her. Her chin’s graceful curvature was visible due to her smiling expression.
Somehow, Hamish found himself parched and wished to sweep this woman off her feet.
“Do you smell something?” he asked.
“It’s the scent of the cat. I need to wash it off quickly.” It wasn’t unpleasant, just a faint milky fragrance, but Hamish was fastidious. He had even handed the kitten to Mrs. Rugger, changed the sheets, and rearranged the beddings.
When Elisa returned after her shower and didn’t see the cat, she couldn’t help but suppress a smile.
Hamish was truly a clean freak.
…
Hamish took out the medicine kit and asked Elisa to tend to his wounds. Although the pain had lessened compared to the previous day, his injuries looked even more ghastly, with large dark bruises spreading as if ink had been spilled over them.
After quickly applying the medicine, Elisa patted his shoulder. “That’s it, time for bed.”
Noticing the white pills, Elisa furrowed her brow. “I’m not so keen on regaining my memories now. Can I skip the medicine?”
“You don’t want to regain your memories?”
Elisa paused, explaining, “It’s not that I don’t want to regain my memories; it’s just that I’m not as eager as before. I now know that your past actions weren’t as good as I imagined.”
As for how exactly they weren’t good, she wasn’t curious and didn’t want to dwell on it.
“Can I skip the medicine?” She could endure the handful of pills she took at noon but found the nightly small pill unbearable.
Despite her pouting and irritation, Hamish insisted on giving her the medicine.
“I’m doing this for your own good,” Hamish emphasized. “This medicine isn’t for restoring your memory. When you had the accident and slept for three months, your mental state was poor. You need to take this medicine to recover slowly.”
He spoke with such conviction, his face showing no sign of deceit or nervousness.
“I feel even worse after taking the medicine,” Elisa grumbled as she lay on the bed, absentmindedly watching TV. She didn’t want to pay attention to Hamish.
It seemed she was truly angry about being “forced” to take the medicine.
Clutching the pill bottle tightly, Hamish’s heart clenched. Despite Elisa’s repeated insistence that she didn’t care about the past and that it should stay in the past, he didn’t dare to bet.
Their relationship was entangled in too many things, a series of events that had formed an insurmountable chasm between them.
If Elisa were to remember everything, knowing that he had caused her family’s ruin, her miscarriage, had used her to exchange for Lila, and had caused her finger disability and amnesia… Would she still stay with him?
Elisa had previously said that she wasn’t a saint and couldn’t pretend that nothing had happened and forgive him.
Moreover, he knew the principle of “the wolf is coming.” Once might be forgiven, but he had hurt Elisa many times-so many that he had lost count. If it were him, he wouldn’t be able to forgive either.
The TV played in the bedroom as Hamish sank into contemplation. When he came to, Elisa was already asleep, leaning against his shoulder.
He moved quietly, turning off the TV and greedily burying his face in her soft hair.
The next day was a weekend, and Hamish, having no work to rush to, lazily cuddled with Elisa for a while before getting up when the alarm sounded for the third time at different intervals.