Chapter 112
Alexander's POV
I looked at Elizabeth, who was so close to me, and something hard to put into words slowly rose in my chest.
I could feel that Elizabeth was worried about me.
She had been worried from the moment she stepped into this villa, or maybe even earlier than that.
Long before she realized it herself, Elizabeth had quietly tucked me away in her heart.
Whether she was paying special attention to me because of the baby in her belly or for some other reason, I still found myself more pleased about it than I had expected.
"Be good."
The woman in my arms was desperately trying to get an answer out of me, and the way she fussed and fretted for it somehow made me feel strangely light inside.
I deliberately curled my lips and spoke to her in a pampering tone, and I could not stop myself from reaching out to ruffle her hair again.
Elizabeth had absolutely no idea I had suddenly changed, all of her attention was still locked on those bloodstains.
With no other choice, I finally said, "It's not my blood. I'm not hurt. Can you stop worrying now?"
As soon as I finished, Elizabeth's expression went completely stiff, and she looked like a startled little white rabbit.
Her face was pale, with just the right hint of color on her cheeks, the kind of look that made you want to stare a little longer.
I could not help myself; I reached out and pinched the soft flesh of her cheek.
When I had first met Elizabeth, she had been so thin and frail that she had not looked healthy at all.
But now, I could actually feel a bit of softness in her cheeks, and she looked much healthier than before.
"You really didn't get hurt?" Elizabeth lowered her head, still trying to check me over.
I pressed my hand directly over my belt, and even though I knew she would get shy, I still used a teasing tone on purpose. "So, unless you strip me completely and check every inch, you're not going to be able to relax, is that it?"
The flush on her face deepened exactly as I expected, and I could not hold back a small laugh as I added, "Alright, I'm really not hurt. That blood belongs to someone else."
Elizabeth immediately pressed herself against me again. "Then whose blood is it? What happened after you got here? Did you really not get hurt at all? Can we leave this place now?"
Her questions came even faster than before, as if she had fallen straight back into panic.
I understood exactly what she was thinking. It was just because this was a strange place, so she was desperate to leave as soon as possible.
"With me here, I won't let you get hurt."
Thinking about how she had abruptly vanished from my sight two days ago, how every lead on her had disappeared like a stone sinking into the ocean, I had almost believed I would never see her again.
That gnawing sense of unease had swallowed me whole in an instant, and I pulled Elizabeth into my arms, holding her tight as I said in a low voice, "We'll leave now. I won't let anyone take you away again."
As I kept talking, Elizabeth suddenly stopped reacting.
Before, whenever I did something even slightly intimate, Elizabeth would struggle a little, but now she just stayed still in my arms, letting me hold her.
It was as if we had always been this close.
That tiny change kept getting magnified in my mind, and even my hands started to tremble, just barely, beyond my control.
I quickly let go of her, afraid she would notice how off I was.
Elizabeth did not look at me again; she was visibly shy, you could almost see it with the naked eye.
I narrowed my eyes, acutely aware of that small, irrepressible happiness rising inside me.
It was obvious Elizabeth was embarrassed.
"So, no one has been keeping you here, and no one has been restricting your freedom. You could leave whenever you wanted, right?"
Elizabeth finally lifted her head to look at me, her eyes full of the need for an answer.
I nodded at her and said, "There just wasn't a car, so I planned to stay here and rest for a bit. I didn't expect you to care about me this much."
I deliberately emphasized the last few words, and sure enough, Elizabeth's face flushed all over again.
With a faintly mean satisfaction, I loosened my arms around her. "What about you? If you're tired, you can rest here."
"I'm not tired. I just want to get out of here as soon as possible." After she finished, it was like something clicked for her. "Wait, you're saying you only stayed because there were no cars to leave in?"
"Yeah." I sat down on the couch and motioned for Elizabeth to sit too.
Elizabeth very naturally chose the spot right next to me, and those dark eyes of hers stayed fixed on me, full of a kind of quiet intimacy I could not ignore.
"Then at least tell me what this place actually is. You don't look that unfamiliar with it. Don't tell me there's something else I don't know about?"
Listening to her, I smiled. "There is, actually. This is a villa owned by the Windsor family. When I saw your location was here, I froze for a second."
Lately, I had realized I knew Elizabeth far better than I thought I did, especially all those little expressions she made.
Those tiny shifts in her face could not lie. She was watching me with open curiosity, like she absolutely had to get to the bottom of everything.
I could have explained what I was thinking outright, but looking at her like this, I suddenly wanted to do something else instead.
Just watching her expressions for a while seemed oddly entertaining.
"So there's no danger here? Then where did all that blood come from?"
Seeing how she still could not let go of the blood, I actually laughed out loud.
Her expression froze completely again, and she stared at me in disbelief. "Why are you laughing? Is what I'm asking really that weird?"
I shook my head. "It's just—you seem to care about me even more than I thought."
I did not use the word "worry" this time. I chose "care."
Elizabeth's face turned even redder, looking exactly like I had nailed the secret she was trying to hide.
Looking at that face that could not lie to save its life, I felt my own heartbeat pick up, louder and more insistent than I had expected.
The truth was, I was just like Elizabeth. Somewhere along the way, without my noticing, my whole heart had gone hot and restless, like some part of it no longer belonged to me at all.
"Elizabeth." I looked straight into her eyes, and my gaze slowly dropped to her bright red lips.
Her mouth looked soft, small, and tempting, like a piece of dessert.
Maybe it was because we were too close, but I could clearly catch the faint sweetness of her scent.
After a few days without seeing her, I wanted to be near her even more than I had imagined.
Almost without thinking, I caught her chin between my fingers and leaned in closer.
Our lips were nearly touching, and Elizabeth made no move to push me away.
I couldn't help but chuckle softly and kissed those red lips.
They were as soft as I had imagined, but sweeter, carrying Elizabeth's own scent, and that feeling kept echoing, over and over, in my mind.
"Elizabeth." Between our mingled breaths, I could not stop myself from saying her name.