Chapter 8
William's body suddenly stiffened. He instinctively reached out to push her away, but his palm touched warm, soft skin instead.
There was that familiar scent with a hint of gardenia, mixed with the smell of alcohol, seeping into his nostrils bit by bit, making his heart tremble.
"Why is this blanket so warm?" Emily buried her head in the crook of his neck, her voice thick and lazy with drunkenness, her fingers restlessly wandering across his chest. "Much more comfortable than my bed, so warm and cozy."
She was usually ice-cold when first getting into bed.
Her fingertips accidentally brushed past William's Adam's apple, slipping through the gap of his unbuttoned shirt, carrying a slight coolness like a feather gently stroking his nerves.
William's breathing suddenly became heavy. He gripped her wrist hard, trying to push her away.
Unfortunately, his body was weak now, his legs couldn't help, relying entirely on his arms. For the moment, he couldn't push away Emily, who was clinging to him.
But as soon as he moved, the distance between them only got closer, and Emily's lips nearly brushed against his jaw.
"Stop it." His Adam's apple bobbed, his voice cold as ice, carrying a suppressed hoarseness.
Emily groggily opened her eyes, looking at the handsome face right in front of her. "This is my bed. I can touch however I want."
As she spoke, her hand slid down and down, until it touched a scar on William's waist.
The scar was very faint—if you weren't paying attention, no one would notice it.
He had almost forgotten this scar existed.
But now, suddenly touched by her fingertips, William felt like he'd been burned, his body instantly tensing.
Memory was torn open like that, and surging images crashed into his mind.
It was also a night like this, when a woman whose face he couldn't remember clearly, carrying the scent of gardenia flowers, threw herself into his arms, her fingertips randomly wandering across his chest, her voice soft and sweet.
Was it her?
William suddenly had a guess, and his eyes under the gauze, pupils unable to see, suddenly contracted.
This feeling was too familiar.
And as Emily fumbled around on his body, she also ignited her own fire.
In her hazy consciousness, memories seemed to pull her back to that night, and even her body seemed to respond the same way.
In countless dreams, she had also thrown herself so passionately into that man's arms, exploring his body up and down, and then they had merged together.
A soft moan escaped from her lips, and her restless hand yanked down his shirt.
William's shirt had already been unbuttoned but not completely removed. Now with Emily's pull, it came off entirely.
His chest rose and fell powerfully, and the muscles on his body felt irresistible to touch.
"Do you know what you're doing?" William's voice grew even more muffled, and Emily seemed annoyed by him, directly biting his chest.
A tingling, numbing pain came from his chest, everything overlapping with that night in his memory.
If it was just a guess before, now there was a voice constantly shouting in his heart.
That woman was her!
Muffled groans mixed with the woman's occasional soft gasps. The two people in the room were like tinder meeting a spark, catching fire at the slightest touch.
William couldn't see, but he accurately reached out and wrapped his arm around Emily's waist.
He domineeringly pulled her into his arms, bringing them even closer together.
"Hot..."
It seemed the coldness she'd brought in from outside had gradually faded. Emily restlessly pushed William.
With such a furnace beside her, she couldn't sleep well even if she wanted to.
Seeing she was already starting to find him annoying, William was so angry he laughed.
This woman really hadn't changed from before—using him and then running away.
William fumbled to pull up the blanket and cover Emily with it.
Unfortunately, she still wouldn't stay still, kicking the blanket away with one foot.
William was helpless and let out a long sigh.
He was still a patient; his body hadn't fully recovered, and even his eyes and legs weren't working properly. Even if he wanted to restrain Emily, it was extremely difficult.
Just as he was trying every way to pull the blanket up again, preparing to cover Emily with it, footsteps sounded from outside.
Based on his observations these past two days, it should be Nina's footsteps.
"Mommy, I'm scared."
Before William could react, Nina's sweet little voice got closer and closer.
He didn't have time to do anything, and, afraid Nina would misunderstand, he simply tried to hide.
But he couldn't move well now, and his movements were too hasty. He ended up falling off the bed, heavily hitting the floor beside it.
Pain came from his legs—clearly, his earlier movement had pulled at his wounds.
Fortunately, the commotion on his side didn't seem to be noticed.
Nina hugged her little pillow and climbed onto the bed by pulling on the bedsheet at the edge.
She curled herself into a ball and buried herself in Emily's arms.
Disturbed by this, Emily also groggily woke up.
Looking at Nina sleeping sweetly in her arms, she couldn't help but laugh softly.
She mumbled incoherently, "So that was a dream just now. Suddenly having a child. This child is really cute."
As soon as she finished speaking, she hugged Nina tighter and fell back into a deep sleep.
William grabbed the edge of the bed with one hand, veins bulging on his hand, using the strength of his arm to struggle into a sitting position.
"Mr. Brown..."
Nina hadn't closed the door when she came in, and now his subordinate caught him in this sorry state.
The two looked at each other, momentarily speechless.
William's face was cold. Fortunately, his subordinate had some sense and quickly helped him out.
"What is it?"
Sitting on a stone bench in the courtyard, William coughed lightly, uncomfortably, covering his embarrassment.
"Mr. Brown, Aiden is making quite a fuss." The subordinate lowered his voice, his expression carrying the same embarrassment.
As if afraid William would blame him, he quickly added, "Today is Aiden's birthday."
Hearing him mention this, William's cold face suddenly warmed a bit.
"Where is he?"
Based on William's understanding of his son, he knew he wouldn't wait obediently outside.
Sure enough, the next moment, a long black car quietly stopped outside the courtyard gate.
The car door slowly opened, and a boy in a little suit stepped out.
He looked only about five or six years old, with delicate features, bearing a good seventy percent resemblance to William, but with a composure on his face that didn't match his age.
The moment he saw William, those beautiful eyes instantly filled with tears.