Chapter 196 Prayers
Caroline sat up wet from the bathtub, wiped the water off her face, and said, "Are you awake or just pretending? My pajamas are all wet."
At that moment, her pale pink nightgown was soaked through, clinging to her body and outlining her graceful curves.
The fabric was as thin as a cicada's wing, incredibly alluring. Leopold was completely awakened by the sight before him.
A shadow of desire fell beneath his wet lashes. His Adam's apple bobbed as he grabbed her shoulders without giving Caroline a chance to react, pulling her into his arms and kissing her frantically.
He was clearly exhausted, yet holding her filled him with an energy that demanded release.
His kisses slid from her cheek to her fragrant shoulder, slipping down the delicate strap. His burning lips moved from light pecks to sucking, while his well-defined hands roamed greedily over her body, igniting a consuming fire wherever they touched.
She went from being forced to endure, to a compliant response. In just moments, the water in the bathtub began to ripple.
Outside the window, the moonlight was silver, the moon's shadow like a hook. The city bathed in light and shadow seemed unreal. In the invisible darkness, an intimate entanglement was taking place, so shameful that the clouds covered the window, so shameful they hid the moon.
Caroline was forced to take another bath. When she came out, her face was flushed, and she said weakly, "Liar! You weren't asleep at all."
"Which one of us is the liar?" Leopold looked at Caroline walking ahead, his large hand gripping the back of her neck and giving it a gentle squeeze. Her legs went weak. She covered the back of her neck and hurried toward the bedroom. Leopold said, "You're clearly not on your period, where's this red alert coming from?"
Caroline burrowed into the covers and didn't want to move. Exhausted and tired, she had no energy to banter with him anymore, though she couldn't fall asleep that quickly either.
Leopold lifted her head, slipped his arm under her neck, and only closed his eyes contentedly after pulling her into his embrace.
"Honey."
Caroline kept her eyes closed. "What?"
"The company promoted me to senior partner. My salary increased, I'm establishing an independent team, I have a voice and decision-making power on the board, they gave me shares, and I'll continue managing the hotels I was already handling."
The more you gain, the more you have to give.
Caroline said, "So you'll be even busier from now on?"
Leopold stroked her hair gently and tenderly. "Yes. The new team needs to gel, and I need to fix the stock price that keeps dropping. If the stock market opens on Monday and Celestial Waters Hotel's stock soars, I'll have a fifty percent chance of success."
Hearing the suppression in his tone, Caroline raised her head. Through the darkness, she could only see his outline. She cupped his face in her hands and kissed his lips.
"I believe it will definitely soar."
He smiled.
"My words are very accurate. Whatever I say comes true."
"No wonder."
"No wonder what?"
"No wonder kissing..."
Before he could finish, Caroline moved her hand to his waist. "Think carefully before you speak."
At that moment, his survival instinct made Leopold's brain work so fast it was practically smoking.
He said, "Do you believe in miracles?"
Caroline opened her mouth and bit his chest muscle. "Stop joking around with me."
He frowned in pain, both hurting and wanting to laugh. "You actually bit me."
She rubbed the spot she'd just bitten, soothing it. "Just do your best with everything."
Leopold's delighted laughter spread through the room. He grabbed her wrist and lifted it, using his teeth to gently bite her fingertip.
His bite didn't hurt; he barely used any force. It was more like teasing.
He put her hand down, holding it against his heart. "Honey, you said it would soar, so it definitely will."
Caroline reached her other hand around to his back, patting gently. "Sleep now, you're too tired."
Before long, a long, steady breathing sound came from above her head. Caroline didn't believe in such things, but for Leopold's sake, she wanted to go pray at the church on the nearby mountain.
Monday.
Caroline wanted to go to the church early. Leopold worried it would be dangerous for her to go up the mountain alone, so he said he also wanted to pray for peace of mind.
When they arrived at the church, dawn was just breaking. The priest inside came out to clean. The mountain air was fresh, with white misty morning fog rising all around. The warm sunlight pierced through the fog, creating a mysterious Tyndall effect.
Caroline walked into the church and suddenly stopped. She slowly turned her face. "Does praying for stocks to rise actually work?"
Leopold fell silent.
Seeing his equally confused expression, Caroline sighed. "Forget it, I'll ask my mom."
Leopold saw her pull out her phone and quickly stopped her. "Don't, don't call, it's too early, Mom's not up yet."
"She is, she's definitely up at this hour." Caroline didn't want to disturb others' peace, so she walked to a quiet corner and dialed Elysia's number.
A long ringtone came through the receiver. After seven or eight rings, it was answered.
"Caroline, what's wrong so early?" Elysia's voice was anxious, thinking Caroline was in trouble.
"Nothing, I just wanted to ask if you can pray at church for stocks to rise?" After Caroline asked, the receiver was quiet for a few seconds. This was the first time Elysia had heard her mention stocks. "Did you buy stocks?"
Caroline: "No, I'm at the church now."
Elysia remembered hearing from her friend that this church on the mountain was very effective for praying for children. "I heard that—"
"Mom, listen to me first," Caroline explained. "Praying at church works, right? The stock god should be able to handle this too, shouldn't he?"
Elijah came out of the bathroom and saw Elysia looking troubled while on the phone. He asked, "Who is it?"
She couldn't discuss this with a man, so Elysia didn't tell him.
Elysia casually mentioned someone else's name and walked to the balcony to get further away.
She covered the phone. "You're at the church now?"
Caroline made a sound of agreement.
"It should work. Oh, by the way," Elysia glanced back at Elijah walking into the bedroom, "while you're praying, also pray to get pregnant quickly. I heard this church is very effective. Her daughter went and got pregnant within two months."
"Stop," Caroline frowned. "Mom, having children is something the gods don't handle. That's crossing the line."
Elysia raised an eyebrow. "Well, the stock god has never bought stocks either. He doesn't have a phone or computer, how would he know if they're rising or falling?"
"Stop making trouble. I shouldn't have asked you." Caroline was about to hang up when Elysia urged, "Don't forget to pray for it, you hear me?"
Caroline hung up directly. Before returning to the church, she didn't see Leopold anywhere.
"Where did he go?" Caroline looked left and right but didn't see Leopold. Worried about being late for work, she stepped into the church.
Caroline put her hands together, closed her eyes, and silently recited in her heart, "God, I don't know if you understand stocks, but please bless Celestial Waters Hotel's stock price to soar. If it rises, I'll come back to fulfill my vow."
She walked out of the church. This was a mountain, and the environment was quiet. When people are quiet, their hearts are quiet too. But this place, meant to be removed from the mundane world, was visited by people bringing their worldly troubles to disturb the gods' peace.
She turned around again and saw Leopold coming out of the church. Caroline asked him where he'd been. Leopold smiled, shook his head, and said in a low voice:
"I'm not telling."