Lance looked at the outstretched hand, his face suddenly turning cold.
He grabbed the woman's hand and forcefully pushed it away.
It was then that he noticed Deanna standing not far away, looking somewhat nervous for some reason.
Deanna, observing the two of them, felt a strong sense of displeasure rising within her, as if her favorite toy was about to be taken away.
The blonde woman also noticed Lance's change in demeanor and instinctively turned to see Deanna, her expression becoming unnatural.
Just as she was about to say something, a low, cold voice from Lance reached her ears, "I'll say it again, I'm already married. If you continue to harass me, don't blame me for being rude."
After speaking, Lance strode over to Deanna and pulled her into his arms.
Deanna was a bit stunned at this moment.
She hadn't recovered from Lance's earlier statement about being married when she heard him whisper in her ear again.
"Help me out."
Lance finished speaking and gently tucked a stray lock of hair behind Deanna's ear, his voice softening, "Are the kids asleep?"
"... Yes, they're all asleep."
Deanna finally reacted and nodded in cooperation.
Seeing this, Lance's lips curved into a smile, his eyes shimmering, "Then let's go back to our room and rest."
With that, he led Deanna back to the room and closed the door behind them.
As for the blonde woman, he completely ignored her.
Once inside the room, Lance didn't immediately let go of Deanna, as if he had forgotten.
Deanna, feeling the heat radiating through his robe, couldn't help but feel her heart race.
A wave of heat began to spread across her cheeks.
Feeling uncomfortable, Deanna tried to pull away.
But just then, an unexpected incident occurred.
In her attempt to break free, Deanna didn't notice that one of her buttons had somehow gotten caught on the belt tied around Lance's waist.
As she moved away, Lance's robe came undone with a swish, revealing his well-toned body underneath.
Startled by the sudden turn of events, Deanna let out a gasp and instinctively turned away.
In her panic, she slipped and was about to fall to the ground.
Fortunately, Lance reacted quickly, catching her with his long arms and pulling her into his embrace.
Deanna found herself pressed against Lance's warm chest before she could even react.
Her mind went blank as her face flushed with an intense heat, turning an unnatural shade of red.
Lance noticed this and felt a strange sense of satisfaction but didn't show it. He asked with concern, "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," Deanna stammered, shaking her head repeatedly while trying to extricate herself from Lance's arms in a flustered manner.
She seemed to forget that she was dealing with a virile man.
"Don't move!"
Lance grabbed Deanna's restless hands, his breathing heavy and restrained.
Deanna froze instantly.
She could feel the change in Lance's body and became completely at a loss.
After a long moment, she stammered out, "Mr. Mercer, don't act recklessly. I was just helping you!"
Lance looked at the little woman in his arms. Despite her extreme fear, she was trying to maintain her composure. He couldn't help but want to tease her.
But he knew that if he made any moves beyond their current relationship, she would likely avoid him in the future.
In the end, he restrained himself and let her go, feigning a hurt expression.
"I didn't expect that in your eyes, I would be such an unprincipled person. This makes me very sad."
As he spoke, he re-tied his robe.
Deanna felt both embarrassed and guilty. She awkwardly said, "I misunderstood. Well then, if there's nothing else, I'll leave now."
Without giving Lance a chance to respond, she turned and left the room.
Outside, she stood by the door and took a deep breath to calm herself down.
That was incredibly awkward for her.
Thinking about it, she placed her hands on her burning cheeks in an attempt to cool down.
After a few minutes, Deanna finally calmed down and headed downstairs to the restaurant.
She hadn't forgotten why she had left the room in the first place.
"Hello, I left a handbag here at table eight during lunch. Did anyone find it?"
Deanna asked a restaurant staff member.
The staff member thought for a moment and seemed to recall something. "A guest did leave a handbag here. Our staff handed it over to a gentleman."
Hearing this, Deanna knew that the gentleman must be Lance.
Given the embarrassing situation earlier, she felt too awkward to go back to him now.
In the end, she decided to wait until the kids woke up and have them help her retrieve it.
With that plan in mind, she returned to her room for a nap.