Suddenly, a hand caressed her cheek, wiping away the tears that gathered at the corner of her eye. “Did you have a nightmare?”
Elisa, her voice trembling, murmured, “Yes,” then threw herself into Hamish’s arms, clutching the bedsheets tightly, seeking warmth from his body.
She trembled uneasily, leaving Hamish momentarily at a loss. “What kind of nightmare did you have to cry like this?”
“I dreamt that I went to the hospital for a check-up, and the doctor told me I had stomach cancer.”
Fortunately, it was still dark at this hour, the surroundings pitch black, preventing Elisa from seeing the unusual expression on his face.
“Dreams and reality are opposite. You had such a nightmare because you had an endoscopy today.”
Elisa nodded, preoccupied.
Wanting to divert her attention, Hamish asked, “Was the endoscopy today uncomfortable?”
“It was. It hurt. I had an anesthetic endoscopy, but I still ended up vomiting.” She didn’t tell him about the blood she had coughed up.
Hamish held Elisa’s hand to reassure her, his other hand gently massaging her stomach. “It’s still early; why don’t you try to sleep a bit more?”
“Okay,” Elisa replied, but she couldn’t sleep. She was covered in cold sweat, mentally and physically fragile. Her mind was in turmoil, and she didn’t dare sleep for fear of returning to that dreadful dream.
“Hamish, I want to go home.”
“This is your home.”
Listening to Hamish’s steady heartbeat, Elisa’s composure gradually returned.
In the morning, Elisa went to take a hot bath first… It was 8 o’clock now, and usually, Hamish would have already gone to work at this time.
Mrs. Rugger usually woke her up to eat at nine, so no one would disturb her bathing at this hour.
Elisa didn’t bring a change of clothes, so after her bath, she went out wrapped in a towel, which was short enough to either cover her top or bottom, but not both.
Luckily, at this time, she was alone in her own bedroom, so Elisa went out like that.
Suddenly, the bedroom door pushed open. Elisa froze, her steps faltering, her hand gripping the door handle trembling.
The morning light was faint; the man was neatly dressed, holding a tray with breakfast, slowly emitting warmth.
Hearing the movement, Hamish calmly looked over, first locking onto Elisa’s face and then looking her up and down.
She was like a lotus emerging from water, with dewdrops on her fair skin from the bath. Her face was slightly flushed, her eyes shimmering. This was more tempting than being naked.
Hamish pressed his thin lips together, his jaw tense. He casually averted his gaze. “I was just about to wake you up for breakfast. You’re already awake.”
Elisa was very uncomfortable. Clearly, they were a married couple, and they had been so open with each other many times. Even when she bathed, Hamish had helped her, but she was still easily embarrassed.
She awkwardly walked in and then hastily changed into a nightgown.
Hamish placed the breakfast on the small table in front of the sofa, watching Elisa blush as she approached. He teased, “You were so bold last night; I didn’t expect to see you so shy this morning.”
“The lighting was bad last night, and you couldn’t see whether I was shy or not.”
Elisa sat down and, holding the bowl, tested the porridge’s temperature with a spoon before starting to eat.
The warm porridge slid down her throat, causing her stomach to gently stir. Elisa had a thought; she didn’t know if she could get pregnant.
She was eager to have a child, yet at the same time, she hesitated.
If she did get pregnant, it would mean that Hamish had been deceiving her, and behind this deception lay… It was like facing Pandora’s box.
“What time is it? Why haven’t you gone to work yet?”
“I’m the boss; I can go whenever I want. Are you bored at home? Do you want to come with me? You can bring Mimi along.”
“I can bring it?”
“Why not? The cat is yours. You can bring it if you want.”
Elisa secretly chuckled. Did he really think she didn’t know how much he disliked Mimi? He wouldn’t touch any place in the house that had cat hair.
As she ate the porridge, she glanced at the man sitting next to her, reading the morning paper.
Hamish favored white shirts, and from her angle, she could take in all his striking features. The sunlight outside gradually shone in, casting him in a heavenly light. Some people were born as heaven’s darlings, having everything they wanted, with the heavens not only opening doors for them but also opening all the windows, almost as if they had broken through walls.
To receive such abundant favor from the heavens was rare indeed.
Even while reading the newspaper, Hamish’s attention was divided, often shifting to Elisa. When he noticed her staring at him, he raised his eyes. “What are you looking at? Is there something on my face?”
Elisa shook her head, smiling faintly with narrowed eyes. “You are handsome.”
She paused and, looking at his white shirt, added, “You look good in a white shirt.”
The man in her dreams, wearing a white shirt, seemed to overlap with Hamish. Perhaps the man who had said he would carry her home in her dreams was actually Hamish.