Chapter 64 What Is He Hinting at?

Chapter 64 What Is He Hinting at?

"Calm down, just let me finish!"

Penelope saw Sophia's expression shift and rushed to add more.

"It's really not that serious! That woman's crazy, sure, but how strong could she be? The doctor just wanted to be safe about infection, so he got a tetanus shot and some antibiotics. The main thing is... the wound is in a spot that makes it awkward to wear a suit, and Mr. Mitchell had to deal with the investigation and keep up with work at the same time, so he wore himself down, ran a low fever, and the doctor told him to rest at home for a few days. That's all. It's really not serious, I promise!"

"Not serious? He was bitten bad enough to bleed and that's not serious?"

Sophia's voice rose without her meaning it to.

"He got hurt — why didn't you tell me sooner?!"

She was worried and irritated at the same time, and the words just slipped out.

Penelope blinked at her reaction, then broke into a knowing little smile.

"Oh my~ Miss Sophia, why are you so worked up? Mr. Mitchell is your boss. He got a minor injury and is resting at home. I didn't say anything because you just went through a divorce and I figured your head might be in a... complicated place. Didn't want to pile on. But now — your divorce papers are barely dry and you're already this worried about another man?"

"What are you even talking about!" Sophia's face went red in an instant, embarrassed and flustered all at once.

"He only got dragged into this because of me, so of course I'm going to check on him! It's just... basic decency. Basic gratitude. Stop reading into it!"

"Oh~~ Basic decency. Basic gratitude~~" Penelope mimicked her tone, grinning ear to ear.

"Sure, sure, decency, gratitude. So tell me, Miss Taylor with all that overflowing gratitude — what are you planning to do for your poor injured boss exactly? Show up at his door in person? Maybe bring him some homemade soup?"

"Penelope! Keep this up and I'm not talking to you anymore!"

Sophia was so flustered her ears had gone red, and she made a move to swat her.

"Okay okay, I'll stop, I'll stop."

Penelope laughed and dodged, finally dropping the teasing, her face going more serious.

"But honestly, he really did get hurt because of you. And from what I can tell... he hasn't told anyone. He's just been holed up at home by himself. Andy's been tight-lipped about the whole thing — I only found out because I happened to catch Tyler mention it. If you feel bad about it, going to see him makes sense."

Sophia felt a little low.

He got hurt, didn't make a fuss about it, didn't tell a soul. That's a serious favor to owe someone. How was she ever supposed to pay that back...

"Got it." After a long pause, she said it quietly.

Penelope went with Sophia to pick up some health supplements, drove her back to her apartment building, reminded her a few more times to get some rest, then left.

Sophia headed straight for the top floor.

She rang the doorbell, and George opened the door almost immediately.

The moment he saw it was her, his eyes crinkled into a smile. "Ms. Taylor? What brings you here? Come in, come in!"

He stepped aside to let her in, looking her over with a warm, concerned eye.

"Ms. Taylor, are you feeling better? You've been discharged? Oh, I was so worried about you these past few days! And congratulations, by the way — you're finally free!"

"Thanks, George, I'm fine now, all better."

Sophia stepped inside, changed into slippers, set down what she'd brought for Arthur, and asked casually, "George, is Mr. Mitchell... home? I heard he wasn't feeling well the last few days?"

George could see she already knew, so he didn't try to hide it. "Yes, the boss did get hurt. Ran a low fever for a few days too — had everyone worried. But don't fret too much, the doctor's seen him and said it's nothing serious, just needs rest. He just took his medicine, so he's probably asleep in his room right now."

Hearing that he was asleep, Sophia immediately said, "Then I won't disturb him. I just... came to check in. Since he's resting, I'll head back and come by again later—"

"Wait!" George suddenly stepped in front of her. "He mentioned this morning he might have trouble sleeping tonight, so I'd bet he's already up by now!"

Sophia gave him a puzzled look.

Since when can you predict insomnia in advance?

And it's the middle of the day — what kind of sleep is he even losing?

But before she could say anything, George was already heading toward Arthur's room on his own.

"Let me go check for you."

"Hey—!" Sophia reached out but couldn't stop him.

George peeked in at the doorway, then came back out a moment later, waving her over with a cheerful smile.

"Ms. Taylor, go on in — Arthur's awake, reading a book, looking pretty good!"

Sophia watched George trying his hardest not to physically push her inside, feeling both helpless and a little amused.

But she was already here. Nothing to do but take a breath and go in.

She knocked. Arthur answered quickly from inside.

"Come in."

Sophia pushed the door open softly.

She stopped the moment she stepped inside.

He was wearing a black silk robe, the sash loosely tied, the collar slightly open. The way he was leaning back against the headboard had let the front of the robe fall open just a little, exposing a sliver of collarbone and, just below it, the faint suggestion of his chest.

Sophia's feet stopped at the doorway. Her eyes landed on that unexpected patch of skin for half a second before she could pull them away. Her brain went blank and she felt her face start to heat up.

Walking into her boss's bedroom was already strange enough.

What made it stranger was that her boss looked... entirely too good right now.

"Like what you see?"

Arthur's voice came with a hint of amusement.

Sophia snapped back to reality — only to realize she had just been caught staring at her boss's chest. The room seemed to tilt. She was so mortified she nearly got a nosebleed.

"Mr. Mitchell!" Sophia forced a smile onto her face.

"I — I heard from Penelope that you got hurt and had a fever... so I came to check on you. Are you feeling better? Does the wound still hurt? Has the fever gone down?"

Arthur closed the book in his hands and responded flatly.

"Much better." Just those two words, said without much feeling.

And then nothing. Like he had no interest in continuing the conversation.

Sophia was thrown off by the sudden distance in his manner. Something uneasy stirred in her chest.

He seemed... in a bad mood.

Was it the pain from the injury? Or something else?

Had she come at the wrong time and disturbed him?

Surely it wasn't because she'd been caught looking at his chest — right?!

"That's good, that's good..." Sophia said awkwardly, squeezing her fingers together, casting around for something else to say.

"George said you need to rest, so don't stress too much about work — your health comes first. And... thank you for what you did about Vivian. I've caused you so much trouble, and you even ended up getting hurt because of it..."

"Mm." Arthur gave the same flat one-syllable response, still not looking at her.

Sophia was completely at a loss now.

She had the feeling he was upset, but had no idea why.

Was he blaming her for bringing Vivian into his life and dragging him into the mess?

But that wasn't like him. He wasn't the type to take things out on people...

She didn't know whether to stay or go. She just felt deeply, thoroughly uncomfortable.

Fine. Maybe he really did just need to rest.

"Well... Mr. Mitchell, you get some rest — I won't keep you." Sophia pushed out a smile.

"Take care of yourself. I'll head out now, and come see you again another time."

With that, she turned and made for the door.

The atmosphere was unbearable. She couldn't take another second of it.

"Sophia."

Arthur spoke.

Sophia froze, her stomach tightening, and she slowly turned back around.

Arthur finally moved his gaze from wherever it had been and looked at her.

When he spoke, his tone had a pointed, almost barbed edge to it.

"A divorce really is something worth celebrating, I suppose. Nothing like good news to put a glow in your cheeks. Ms. Taylor does look radiant — almost beside yourself with joy, aren't you? So delighted you nearly forgot to come check on the boss who's laid up in bed because of you. And now you can barely manage a few words before rushing off. What's the matter — afraid that staying too long might cut into your celebration plans?"

Sophia: "...What exactly is your problem right now?"