Chapter 20 Stay the Night
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Daniel's breath was hot against her ear, close enough to make her thoughts scatter.
"You're blind. Always have been. Figure it out." His tone was sharp, and then his hands shoved her back.
Scarlett staggered, catching herself before she hit the floor. She threw him a glance, forcing her voice steady. "I'll get your meds."
She returned with a glass of warm water and a neat line of pills, helping him sit up. "Did you already take the fever reducer?"
Daniel gave a short nod.
She frowned, sifting through the blister packs. "You can't take it again yet." She set the fever pill aside, watching him swallow the antibiotics instead. Her palm pressed to his forehead. "You're still burning... even after the medicine?"
Daniel's eyes dropped, silent.
He hadn't taken anything at all. He'd lied--afraid that if the fever broke, she'd leave again. Cold. Ungrateful. Gone.
"Lie down. I'll get an ice pack."
She started to rise, but his hand closed around her wrist. One tug, and she fell onto the bed, his arm locking around her waist. His forehead rested in the curve of her neck from behind, voice low and almost gentle.
"No need. You're icy enough inside to cool me down. Just stay here."
Scarlett said nothing.
Her skin had always been cool to the touch, even in summer--like warmth never fully reached her. When they were younger, Daniel would grip her hand when he had a fever, using her as his own cooling pad. In winter, she used to curl into him for warmth, his body better than any hot-water bottle.
Now, lying still beside him, the minutes stretched long and quiet.
His earlier words echoed in her head, pulling up a memory she had tried to bury--the flash of a blade in the hospital, her eyes shutting just before impact. "You took that hit for me... didn't you?"
She held her breath. After a pause, his answer came in a proud, almost dismissive hum. "Yeah."
Relief loosened something in her chest, and the corner of her mouth lifted. That day had been chaos, and she hadn't expected Alice--reckless, venomous Alice--to spit poison in front of Daniel.
"Knowing you've been ungrateful... no gesture in return?" His lips brushed the back of her neck, slow and deliberate. The touch was both irritating and electric, sending a shiver through her.
She bit her lip, fighting the heat curling through her.
"But you spent Alice's birthday with her... gave her gifts..." The words snagged in her throat. She stopped herself before they could spill out. Jealousy was petty, and she hated the way it made her sound.
Daniel's tone was patient, almost weary. "What did I give her? That night, didn't I come home to you? You're too young to have a memory this bad. The gift is still here--you just haven't bothered to find it."
Scarlett froze. Then something clicked. She pushed against him, ready to get up, but his arms tightened, pulling her closer as if he could fold her into himself.
"Don't move. It's not going anywhere. Stay with me. I feel awful."
Her eyes prickled. So he had prepared something for her, not just Alice. The thought lit a fragile warmth in her chest... until she remembered Alice's pregnancy. The sweetness soured instantly.
Her voice was hoarse when it came. "I know you don't love me. You were forced to marry me. I've swallowed the cold, the anger, the bitterness for two years without complaint. I can take a divorce. But you didn't have to humiliate me with an affair--didn't have to grind what's left of this marriage into the dirt."
She waited, still clinging to a sliver of hope--that he would tell her Alice's child wasn't his.
Silence.
Tears slid down her cheeks. She pried his hands off her and sat up. He was asleep. Whether he'd heard her or simply had nothing to say, she couldn't tell.
She pulled the blanket over him and left the bedroom, heading for the third-floor recreation room.
The moment she pushed the door open, the massive claw machine greeted her. Its colors had faded over the years, out of place among the polished elegance of the room.
Daniel had brought it home when she was nine. She couldn't remember why she'd been upset that day, only that he'd taken her to a game arcade. They'd spent over two hundred tokens without catching a single prize. She had teased him for being terrible at it; he'd argued the machine was rigged.
The next day, driven by stubborn pride, he'd bought one outright--set to a hundred percent win rate. Within minutes, he'd dropped a plush toy into her hands. She'd pretended to be annoyed, saying he'd ruined her favorite game.
Later, he'd installed a probability program on his phone, able to change the win rate whenever he wanted. The machine became hers alone.
When she was sad, it might give her a small comfort. When she was happy, it might drop a surprise. Before her birthday, she would circle it daily, waiting for the gift she knew would appear.
When they moved from The Wilson Mansion to Regal Estate after their wedding, she'd brought nothing but the claw machine.
Four years ago, after their relationship fractured, she stopped retrieving anything from it. So she hadn't expected him to hide this year's gift there.
She dropped to her knees, reaching under the machine until her fingertips brushed the cool edge of something... coins. Custom tokens, made just for her.
Half an hour later, the floor was covered in opened boxes. Only four contained anything. A wedding ring. A pair of earrings--probably placed there in the last two days. The other two were her birthday and anniversary gifts: a diamond-studded watch worth a small fortune, and a miniature camera. Inside the camera, a video played--a birthday message from Cash Foster, the legendary musician of Arcturus.
Cash was seventy-eight now, long absent from the public eye. Daniel must have gone to great lengths to get this. Scarlett hugged the camera to her chest, feeling the thrill of being noticed by her idol mix with a deep, aching gratitude.
It was like a spark catching in the dark--small, but impossible to ignore. She decided, for the sake of the gift, to forget his sins for now and take care of him.
Her steps were light as she returned to the bedroom, ready to check his fever. But a faint sound came from the walk-in closet.
A burglar? Unlikely. Regal Estate's security was airtight.
Maybe Jane had come, finding Daniel sick?
Scarlett picked up a baseball bat from the low cabinet and pushed the closet door open.
Alice stood there.
She had a drawer open, a pair of men's underwear in her hand. Hearing the door, she turned, surprise flickering across her face. "Scarlett? Daniel said you'd moved out. He asked me to take care of him. I'm sorry--if I'd known you were back, I wouldn't have come."
Scarlett felt her pulse hammering, the bat slick in her trembling grip.
Alice was here. In her house. In Daniel's space. The sight of her was like being slammed with ice water, shocking away the fragile warmth Scarlett had been clinging to… ripping open wounds she'd prayed had healed.
"How did you get in?" Scarlett's voice was tight, sharp.
Alice's smile curled, slow and smug. "Someone gave me the code. Funny thing—today's my birthday."
A cold knot twisted in Scarlett's gut. This was their home. She'd believed the code was her birthday, their anniversary. Now she saw how easily it could have been Alice's.
Alice tilted her head, eyes glinting. "By the way, Daniel's not a fan of this brand of condoms. Says they're too thick, not the right feel. But you two… you've been using them for a while, haven't you? Got yourself a nice little stockpile."
She reached into the drawer, plucked out a box, and waved it like a prize.