CHAPTER 15

ROHAN felt quite better when he woke up again. It seemed that his fever had subsided already, though his body still felt a little heavy and achy. That was what he got from dipping overnight in the pool after that interaction he had with Yvonne last night. He dipped himself until he felt cold all over because he was afraid that what he felt for her at that moment could push him to do something he shouldn’t be doing. Taking advantage of their situation was the last thing he’d want.

His train of thought was suddenly cut off when he heard a soft moan inside his room. When he turned to the other side of the bed, he saw Yvonne sleeping. However, she wasn’t lying beside him. She was sitting on the floor with her head leaning on the edge of the bed. His gaze then reverted to the digital clock on top of the bedside table, and he saw that it was already past midnight.

What was she doing inside his room? Did she stay there all night looking after him?

Rohan immediately felt moved by that thought, especially when he saw the basin of water beside Yvonne and the towel in her hand. She took care of him even though he didn’t ask her to.

And then, there was this feeling on his chest and the fluttering of his stomach. He knew what it meant, but he was afraid to give it a name.

Sighing, he got off his bed and crouched in front of Yvonne. She was sleeping so peacefully. He could only wonder how she could do that, given her position. Rohan picked her up, careful not to wake her, and gently put her down to bed. He then removed the towel from her grip and tucked her under the blanket. And what he did next amazed him. He lay down beside her and shared the same blanket as well.

Yvonne moved and shifted to his side afterward. He immediately panicked, thinking she’d open her eyes, so he closed his. After a few moments, Rohan slowly opened his eyes again and found her still sleeping peacefully. He could only let out a long sigh upon realizing he was acting like an idiot. If only Rohan wasn’t afraid that he’d wake her up, he could’ve laughed out loud at that.

And as though Rohan was compelled, he brought his palm to her cheek and gently caressed her.

Yvonne seemed to feel what he was doing. She wrapped an arm around his waist and pulled him closer to her body, which made him freeze for a moment.

“Bean… you greedy, honey cat…” she whispered in her sleep.

Rohan exhaled sharply and smiled afterward. She might’ve thought he was her cat.

“Fine… I’ll be your cat for tonight,” he whispered as he closed his eyes again. “Just this once.”

***

YVONNE had a very nice dream. She dreamt about her and Rohan lying in the same bed, hugging each other the whole night. She was pretty sure that dream would put her in a good mood that day. She wanted that dream to continue, but for now, she must leave the bed and go to the kitchen to cook breakfast for Rohan. He only had soup yesterday, and he needed to eat more to replenish his energy.

She stretched her arms and opened her eyes, only to be shocked when she realized where she was. Yvonne’s heart started beating like crazy after finding her and Rohan on the same bed. He was already awake and looking at her as though he wasn’t surprised.

She cupped her head and tried to remember what had happened last night.

“You don’t need to worry, Yvonne,” Rohan said nonchalantly as he sat up. “Nothing happened between us last night. You fell asleep on the floor while attending to me, so I brought you up here.”

She slowly pulled the blanket away from her body and saw she was still fully clothed. But now that she knew they’d spent the night on the same bed, she wondered if her dream was just a dream or if it did happen… for real.

“I-I didn’t do anything strange while I was sleeping, right?” Yvonne asked nervously.

He stared at her intently. “So… you don’t remember.”

Yvonne suddenly felt her head throb. “Y-you said nothing happened!” She sounded like she was about to cry.

“Yeah. Nothing.” Rohan got off the bed and headed to the bathroom.

“But why the heck do I feel like something happened?” Yvonne stared at the ceiling before letting out a long sigh. “Rohan isn’t the type of person to lie. He’d confront me if something strange happened. Right…”

After convincing herself, she finally left the bed. She was fixing the sheets when she suddenly noticed a red stain.

“Damn it.” She groaned as she removed it from the bed. Good thing Rohan had gone inside the bathroom already because if not, she’d probably die out of embarrassment. “Why does it have to be now?”

Yvonne quickly replaced the sheets with new ones and left the room to deal with her period.

***

HE didn’t wait for Yvonne to bring his meal upstairs again and headed to the kitchen after he finished in the bathroom. She was preparing the food on the tray when he arrived.

“Oh! Why did you leave your room when I can bring this to you—”

“I’ll just eat it here.” Yvonne immediately cupped his forehead when he sat on the stool across from her. “I-I’m feeling fine already,” he said as he gently pushed her hand away.

The warmth of her hand seemed to be hotter than his fever now.

“I think you still have a slight fever.”

“It’s manageable now.” Rohan cleared his throat, then picked the cup of coffee from the tray and took a sip. “Have a seat and join me for breakfast.”

She did what she was told.

“Thank you,” he told her as they both started eating.

“Why are you thanking me?” She gave him a side-way glance, and her attention was back to her food again.

“Well… you took care of me last night, so I’m thanking you for that.” He took a sip of his coffee again. “I’ll compensate you for—”

“Rohan…” Her tone suddenly changed. Yvonne scowled at him when she turned to him again.

“W-what?”

“Why are you going to compensate me for taking care of you? Do you think I did that because I needed money—”

“No! It’s not like that, Yvonne.” Rohan wagged his hands. “I just want to compensate you because I know you skipped work last night when you stayed in my room and—”

“Rohan.” She beckoned him to stop. “Don’t make me feel cheap.”

“Y-you’re not getting my point, Yvonne—”

“Well, you don’t understand my feeling right now either!” she snapped and left the stool.

“Where are you going? You’re not even finished—”

“I lost my appetite, just so you know.” Yvonne turned around and marched out of the kitchen.

Rohan propped a hand on his forehead and sighed. How come his good intentions turned into something like that? Ah, maybe Yvonne hated him because the wrong words came out of his mouth again. Yeah, for the second freaking time, it happened. He should’ve written a script first and memorized it well.

“Now I’ve lost my appetite.” Rohan heaved a sigh.

He stood up afterward and put the dishes in the sink.