Sarah woke up at 3 AM, shivering from the cold. The house was too well-cooled, like an icebox in the summer. Maybe Holden preferred the cold.
Sarah shivered and hugged her shoulders, realizing she had Holden’s suit jacket draped over her.
His clothes were all custom-made, very finely crafted, and expensive, with a faint scent of his cologne that was both steady and pleasant, just like Holden himself.
Sarah knew Holden had kindly covered her to keep her from freezing. But one jacket wasn’t enough.
Sarah, wrapped in his jacket, stumbled upstairs, groggily opened a door, and collapsed onto the bed, falling into a deep sleep.
Holden sat up beside her. He always had trouble sleeping, and even this late, he couldn’t fall asleep.
If he hadn’t had insomnia, waking up to find a woman in his bed the next morning might have made him want to strangle her.
Seeing Sarah sleeping so soundly next to him suddenly made him feel sleepy. Just like that night at the Smith family estate when they shared a room, it was the earliest he had fallen asleep in years.
Holden’s eyes darkened slightly before he lay back down.
In the morning, Sarah finally woke up. She stretched, hugging the black blanket she was wrapped in.
Wait.
A black blanket?
She remembered her bedding was white.
Looking around, she noticed the room’s dark, minimalist decor-definitely a man’s room.
Sarah’s room was right next to Holden’s, and she realized she must have gone into the wrong room last night.
It looked like Holden hadn’t slept here.
Quietly, she sneaked out of his bedroom and back to her own.
If Holden misunderstood and thought she intentionally crawled into his bed in the middle of the night, she could kiss next month’s twenty million goodbye.
Sarah took a shower and changed her clothes before heading downstairs, her mind occupied with thoughts of what to have for breakfast. When she reached the kitchen, she was surprised to find Holden making breakfast.
The man, with his broad shoulders and long legs, wore a simple white shirt that looked exceptionally stylish on him. His entire presence exuded calm and control.
He was toasting some bread and sprinkling herbs on fried eggs, paired with roasted tomatoes and lettuce. Though simple, it looked very appetizing.
Sarah watched from the side, saying, “Mr. Holden, I didn’t know you could cook.”
Holden replied calmly, “I lived alone while studying abroad, so I learned how to cook.”
Before he could finish his breakfast, he received a call from the company, indicating something important required his attention.
Sarah, after finishing her breakfast, felt a bit sleepy and sat on the couch to study her character for a script. She stayed there until David called her.
“Sarah,” David said, “Nora asked me to arrange a job for her distant cousin. He doesn’t have much education. What kind of job should I arrange for him?”
Sarah, whose eyes were a bit sore from reading, finally snapped back to reality. “Distant cousin?”
Nora was the girl David was currently pursuing. Sarah remembered the name from the novel she read.
“Yeah, she said they are from the same place,” David sighed. “Nora is a strong and pitiful girl, struggling in the big city. She said her cousin is a really good guy, just unlucky. He lost his last job and now delivers food, but it’s too hard on him.”
Sarah’s guard went up immediately.
This so-called “distant cousin” might just be the bodyguard she remembered from the novel, the one Nora was having an affair with.
“What’s her cousin’s name? David, you should check things out first. Jobs aren’t that easy to arrange.”
“His name is William,” David replied after thinking for a moment. “Our company doesn’t have any suitable positions for him; they all require skills and education, which he lacks. If I make him a security guard, Nora might think I’m looking down on him.”
William… that was indeed Nora’s lover.
Many readers of the original novel even referred to them as the great couple, lamenting their love story plagued by obstacles.
Sarah felt a surge of anger. “So, what do you plan to do?”
“I was thinking of hiring him as my bodyguard. I need one anyway. I’ll pay him thirty thousand a month. What do you think, Sarah?”
“Aren’t you worried he might not actually be her cousin? What if he’s her lover?”
“Sarah, what are you talking about?” David sounded upset. “Nora is a really good girl. She wouldn’t lie!”
Sarah, “…”
It seemed that when someone was lovestruck, it made them blind, regardless of gender.
David was so sharp when it came to Ronald, seeing through all the pretenses of manipulative girls. Yet now, in his own situation, he was completely oblivious and not thinking straight.
Remembering how David had stood up for her against Ronald and Elisa, Sarah held back her frustration. “David, listen to me. The more you love her, the more careful you should be. Being a bodyguard doesn’t have much of a future. For Nora’s sake, you should encourage her cousin to go back to school. Help him get a student loan, let him further his education, and then find a better job.”
David thought for a moment, listening to what Sarah said and realizing it made sense.
“You’ve got a point, Sarah,” David said, feeling pleased. “Nora is a good girl, and she’d definitely want her cousin to further his education. Why not just sponsor him directly instead of dealing with a loan? It’s less hassle.”
“Don’t,” Sarah continued to persuade him. “If you just give him money, he might feel you look down on him.”
The more David thought about it, the more he felt Sarah was right.
“Nora said she wanted to have dinner with me tonight,” David hesitated. “I don’t know how to interact with girls very well. Sarah, can you come along? You two girls would have more to talk about. Nora is different from Elisa; she’s genuinely a good girl.”
Sarah thought about it for a moment. “Alright.”
She didn’t have any plans for the day and could use a bit of fresh air.
In the original novel, their villainous trio met a horrible end. If she could start saving people from the source, she definitely should.