*Knock, knock.*
The sound of knocking broke the warmth shared between them, this time more urgent. Paige pursed her lips, remaining silent. Enrico, lying there, closed his eyes briefly before angrily stating, “Let him in. I want to see what kind of genius Jaden has trained for me this time.”
Who would dare to knock after being told to get lost? They must not want to live.
Paige sat up, adjusted her clothes, and called out, “Come in.”
The door opened, revealing not one of Enrico’s men, but a doctor.
Upon entering, the doctor looked concerned and asked, “Excuse me, were you two… arguing?”
Before he could finish, Enrico shot him a cold glare, his voice chilling, “Is the hospital responsible for resolving arguments now?”
The doctor stood there, dumbfounded, feeling chills down his spine and fighting the urge to flee. Paige gave Enrico a sidelong glance, then addressed the doctor calmly, “Are you here to do a check-up?”
“Ah, no,” the doctor replied. “Someone outside asked me to pass a message. The elder of the Folsom family wishes to speak with Miss Paige.”
“Is this never going to end?” Enrico growled, his face darkening as he moved to sit up.
Paige quickly pressed down on the blanket, holding him back. “Stay down. I’ll handle it.”
Enrico furrowed his brows but said nothing. Paige turned her attention to the doctor, “Doctors usually don’t deliver messages, do they?”
Looking between them, the doctor felt a cold sweat form on his back. Both of them… didn’t seem like good people to him. “I was just helping. The person said the elder only wants to speak with Miss Paige once. After the conversation, they’ll leave. Otherwise, the Folsom family will continue waiting outside.”
“I understand,” Paige nodded.
“Then, I’ll leave you to rest,” the doctor said awkwardly, retreating quickly and closing the door behind him.
Once he was gone, Paige sat down beside the bed, running a hand through her hair. Her pale face was devoid of emotion.
“Lie down,” Enrico urged, tugging at her clothes.
Paige glanced at him and obediently lay down, resting her head on his arm while her hand naturally came to rest on his chest. He wrapped his arm around her and gently stroked her hair.
“Enrico, when are we going back to A country?” she asked softly.
“Tomorrow morning,” he had already decided. Eastdown was cold, remote, and there was no point staying longer.
“Your shoulder is still fractured. Are you sure you’re up for the journey?” Paige frowned, worried he wouldn’t be able to handle the bumps along the way.
Enrico turned to look at her, clearly dissatisfied. “You’re questioning whether your man can handle it? You want to try now and find out?”
What a thought…
Paige was speechless, but then she laughed. Even with a broken bone, he still had those ideas. She snuggled closer to him. “Alright, then tomorrow it is.”
“Mm.”
Enrico responded with a deep hum, his dark eyes fixated on her. “Now come here and let me kiss you.”
“No, my lips are numb,” she refused. They had kissed long enough.
“Not enough.”
“…”
“Hurry up.”
“Can’t you rest for a while?”
“I’ll rest after I kiss you.”
With no choice, Paige leaned down and kissed him again.
Satisfied, Enrico felt pleased and at ease.
…
Outside, a thick layer of snow covered the ground.
The Folsom family members had waited outside the hospital the entire night, their bodies frozen stiff. Inside the warm hospital room, Enrico, having tasted Paige’s affectionate kisses, wanted even more.
The next morning, before they left, they shared yet another kiss. By then, Paige had become numb to it, her tongue feeling like it no longer belonged to her, while Enrico never grew tired, clearly in high spirits.
Paige helped him sit up carefully from the bed, asking, “How are you feeling?”
“Nothing special,” Enrico replied casually.
“Don’t put any pressure on your shoulder or arm. Otherwise, you’ll need to get your sling adjusted again, understand?” Paige warned as she knelt down to help him put on his shoes.
“Mm.”
Enrico watched her from above, her movements gentle as she supported his foot into the shoe.
“Done,” Paige said after helping him, then looked up to find him gazing at her with a smile. “What are you smiling at?”
Enrico lifted her chin with a smirk. “How did I spot you right away back then?”
“How would I know?” It had been three years ago.
“You must have seduced me,” Enrico concluded.
“I didn’t even know why you were at Wind Island back then. How could I have seduced you?” Paige said, standing up. She didn’t even know how to seduce someone.
“You looked at me.”
“I swear, I didn’t.”
Back then, she had been trying to avoid getting killed and had done everything to lower her presence.
“Then you must have been sitting under that tree on purpose.”
He still remembered her sitting beneath that tree, wearing faded clothes, weak and disheveled, yet sitting with her back straight, making it impossible to ignore her.
“I wasn’t.”
“Then you seduced me by other means. Either way, you definitely seduced me.”
“…”
Good grief.
Paige looked at him. “Mr. Gustin, even if I did seduce you, so what?”
It had been years.
“It doesn’t matter,” Enrico said, feeling superior. “You can seduce me whenever you want. I’m easy to please.”
Unbelievable.
Paige sighed, helping him to his feet. “We should go.”
Enrico watched her closely, thinking back to how it all began. Back then, he had everything and treated life like a game, caring about nothing, simply waiting for his illness to strike.
But ever since he had taken her to Rose Estate, his life had started to get interesting.
No matter how much time passed, Enrico never got tired of looking at her. Feeling content, he bent down to kiss her on the cheek.
Paige frowned at him. Enrico, completely unbothered, said, “I didn’t strain my injury. I leaned all the way down to kiss you.”
Paige was speechless.
…
As the hospital doors opened, bodyguards led the way as Paige helped Enrico out.
Several cars were parked in front of the hospital, behind which stood a large group of Folsom family members. Blanca was at the front, her bright face bruised. When she saw them, she stepped forward but then froze, watching them from a distance.
Among the crowd, Kelsey jumped excitedly, waving her arms. “Sister! Sister! Are you feeling better?”