A cold gaze pulled her out of her slumber. Elena’s eyelashes fluttered, and the moment she opened her eyes, Michael’s peerless handsome face filled her sight.
She blinked, and her consciousness gradually returned.
She had dreamed about that man and his face. Was she still in that dream?
She was still in her fugue state as she reached out to touch his cheek.
However, before she could touch him, he caught her hand roughly and pinched the side of her head.
“Eldest Young Master Williams…”
“Who said that you could sleep in my bed?” Michael narrowed his eyes. It was a move that changed his expression into a dangerous one that people found it hard to maintain eye contact with him.
Not even a full night had passed, and he had turned even colder than before! The warm, welcoming eyes from her dream faded back into the unfeeling gaze that met hers.
Elena pursed her lips and pushed him lightly. “Eldest Young Master Williams, you were very ill last night, I just wanted to look after you.”
“Did you need to look after the bed as well?” Michael tilted his head as he looked past her. To her surprise, she felt a little cold.
When she looked down at herself, she realized that her clothes were all over the place!
Her skirt was torn in several places, and the barest of cloth remained on her body. She was practically uncovered. Panicked, she tried to cover her chest with her hands, but there was not much she could do.
“It wasn’t…”
“Are you going to tell me I did that?” He raised his eyebrows coldly.
Elena felt a strong urge to pick up a pillow and whack him over the head with it. Just because he was drunk and did not remember anything, did he think he could use that as an excuse to shirk responsibilities?
“No, I tore them myself.” She could not be bothered to argue with him. Instead, she tried to get up.
“Eldest Young Master Williams, your bed is too luxurious, and I can’t seem to get out of it. Could you help me up?”
“You’ve crawled into my bed, and you think you can get away just like that?” His face darkened, and his eyebrows tightened even further.
Elena wondered what he wanted to accomplish? She could stay, but he would accuse her of trying to seduce him. She could leave, but some people might call her irresponsible. It was a maddening conundrum!
“Eldest Young Master Williams, I honestly meant you no harm. If you don’t believe me, you can ask Ryan and Levi. You were very sick last night, and they were both around to witness it.”
Levi, who had just arrived at the threshold, immediately turned around and disappeared.
Elena barely caught the sight of his figure before he was gone. She could only stare at the empty doorway with dumbfoundedness.
That bastard! Would it kill him to lend her some credibility? How could he simply leave at such a crucial time, when she needed him the most?
“Did you really need a man that badly?” Michael’s words were rather crude that morning. Elena tried to think, but she could not figure out why he was so harsh to her.
He had been unenthusiastic before, yes, but he was never hostile. What was different that day? Why was he so unpredictable?
He had torn her skirt into ribbons, and she only had one hand to cover herself. The remnants of her clothes might even fall off if she were to make one wrong move.
“Eldest Young Master Williams, can you be reasonable? You drank so much last night, and you had a fever.”
“Did you really think I’d believe that?” A fever? In his body?
Elena felt like she would vomit blood! Why would he not admit it?
“You… You really did have a high fever! Also, I gave you a shot, right in the butt…”
She quickly bit her lip when he suddenly approached her. She did not dare speak further.
It was clear that he did not disbelieve her explanation; he just did not want to hear it!
If he did not want to listen to her, then she would be in the wrong no matter what she said!
“It is all my fault, Eldest Young Master Williams. Since you lost nothing anyway, could you help me up first?”
If he could not see reason, then all she could do was feign weakness. Regardless, it was clear that he did not want to get himself into a mess.
Michael gave her a cold glance. Then he let go of her hand and helped her to sit up on the bed. He wore loose pajamas, but he had no idea how he had put them on.
Elena turned around to collect the remaining scraps from her skirt before she hopped off the bed. Her dress was torn in multiple places, and each tear exposed a large area of her skin. She tried her best to cover herself, but she could only do so much.
She told him that she had torn it herself, but if she had done it to seduce him, could she not have taken them off normally?
How could she have had the strength to do that, with such small arms and hands?
Elena did not know what went through his mind, but as she finished wrapping herself with the rags that were her dress, she said, “Ryan will be back soon. I shall leave first.”
If she remembered correctly, she had a room upstairs.
In her previous life, Michael had never shared a room with her. She spent most of her time alone in that room. She also had Qin Ming, who attended to her every need.
She turned to leave.
Michael’s face fell, and he gloomily said, “You plan to go out like that?”
“What else am I supposed to do?” That was a guest room on the first floor, why would there be any replacements for her clothes there?
Eldest Young Master Williams was already so scornful of her, and she did not want to worsen the situation by drawing prying eyes and loose lips.
“Stay there!” Michael sat on the bed, but when he opened his mouth, it was with the commanding voice of a king.
He dialed a number on the bedside table and said, “Send some clothes for Young Madam.”
As he hung up, his eyes fell on Elena once again.
She subconsciously lowered her head in an attempt to minimize her presence. At that moment, all she wanted to do was to leave without saying anything else.
Michael’s icy-cold stare was incredibly uncomfortable.
“Did you know Henry?” he suddenly asked.
Stunned, she looked at him again.
If he could not remember anything else, why would he remember what happened with her and Henry outside the gazebo?
“As I said, he seemed familiar, but now that I think about it, I must have mistaken him for someone else.”
Michael did not say anything else, and Elena did not explain further.
Before long, a maid arrived with a set of clothes.
Elena went to the bathroom, changed into her new clothes as fast as she could, and then hurried out the door.
As she was about to leave, the man in the room said, “Elena, you think you’re very smart, don’t you?”
She turned around to look at him.
Michael’s thin lips were pale, and his eyes were cold. “If I find out that you’re using your little tricks on Henry, I will skin you alive.”
She slammed the door with all her might and hurried upstairs.
How ridiculous! He still thought of her as a sneaky and manipulative woman!
If that were true, why did he help her to meet Mia in private at all?
That man was so vain, conceited, arrogant, and immune to reason!
How could he trust her with Old Madam Williams, and then think that she would have ulterior motives to get close to Henry?
It was obvious that she had helped him, so why did he think she was a dirty woman who had crawled into his bed to seduce him?
She was fed up with that man!
“Eldest Young Master Williams…” After Elena had left, Levi accompanied Ryan into the room.
Ryan put his medical kit on the table, took out a thermometer, and looked at Michael. “Eldest Young Master, I would like to take your temperature now.”
Michael remained expressionless but gave a noise of reluctance.
Ryan explained, “You were burning up to 40 degrees last night. Even though you look fine now, it’s best to make sure that you’re okay.”
Michael frowned. Did he really have a high fever the previous night?
Levi knew what was in his mind. He had heard the exchange earlier, but he had been too scared to speak up.
As a man, he figured that it was wrong to let one woman face such a matter alone.
Finally, he gathered his courage and said, “Young Madam has been taking care of you all night long. You were also the one who tore her clothes into pieces, Eldest Young Master.”