Harper bit her lip, feeling extremely wronged.
Why did he assume her like that?
She couldn't help but say, "When I was ordering food, Olivia was there too. She knew she couldn't eat but still did. She knows her body condition the best!"
Joseph frowned, suddenly intensifying his tone. "What do you mean?"
Harper lowered her eyes, swallowing back her words.
She was just momentarily angry and spoke without thinking. She didn't mean anything.
Joseph looked at the top of her head with a deep and ambiguous gaze.
Harper didn't speak anymore. She had already said what needed to be said, and now she didn't know what to say.
Just as they were at a standstill, the lights in the room suddenly went out, plunging them into darkness.
Harper instinctively screamed, then was embraced by Joseph.
They suddenly closed the distance. His cool breath wafted over toward her.
Harper's heart started racing. For a moment, the tension seemed to have never existed.
Her face slowly blushed.
Joseph's hand protected her head, gently stroking it.
Was he subconsciously protecting her?
In the pitch-black and quiet room, the sound of their breathing and heartbeats was audible.
Harper leaned against Joseph, avoiding thinking about what had happened in the past two days.
This was equally tormenting for Joseph.
He held her, and the thoughts he usually suppressed in his heart grew freely in the darkness.
But he also knew that the woman in his arms was always thinking about divorce, and separation, and drawing boundaries between them.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but hold her tighter.
Harper was afraid of the dark, feeling like something might crawl out from the corners.
She reflexively reached out and tightly grabbed Joseph's clothes.
Joseph sighed almost imperceptibly, softly reassuring, "It should be nothing, probably just a power outage."
"Why didn't they inform us in advance?"
At this moment, Harper's voice was completely different from the tough one when arguing with him earlier.
And the two of them were in such a position that Joseph could kiss her forehead just by looking down.
The familiar scent of her hair entered his nostrils. She, in his arms, held onto his waist tightly and leaned against him.
In the darkness, Joseph's pitch-black eyes darkened. He said with a hoarse voice, "It might be an emergency."
Harper felt his chin against her head, his hand on her waist tightening slightly. But she was no longer paying attention. The fear brought by the darkness gradually overwhelmed her, making it hard to breathe.
Not long after, footsteps could be heard in the corridor. She could faintly hear the hotel staff and the sound of the room door opening.
"Go check if the circuit breaker tripped," The hotel staff said.
"Hello. Please don't panic. It's just a minor issue and will be fixed soon."
But Harper blocked out the external sounds, feeling like the darkness in the room had substance. It seemed like it had turned into a strange beast slowly reaching out its claws toward her.
She never dared to walk alone at night or sleep without a night light.
This fear of darkness seemed strange to talk about, so she had never told Joseph.
At this moment, sweat beads appeared on Harper's forehead. She felt short of breath and trembled slightly.
She held onto Joseph tightly.
Joseph didn't notice her discomfort.
He suddenly remembered that Olivia, who had a stomach problem, was alone in the room.
She had difficulty getting up now, and it seemed she couldn't be alone.
Thinking of this, a hint of worry appeared on Joseph's face. His palm gently stroked Harper's head, comforting her. "It's okay. The power should be back on soon."
After saying that, he tried to pull Harper away, but she held onto his clothes tightly, refusing to let go.
Joseph patted her back, trying to speak softly, "Olivia is alone in the room. She's afraid of the dark and is not feeling well. I have to go back to take care of her.
"Stay in the room and don't move. Nothing will happen."
Upon hearing this, Harper felt extremely uncomfortable.
She wanted to say she was also afraid of the dark. But Joseph didn't give her a chance to speak, pushing her away and leaving.
The door opened and closed. Harper was alone in the darkness, overwhelmed by fear and confusion.
In the next room, Patrick waited for a while without the power coming back.
Hearing footsteps in the corridor, he suddenly felt worried about Harper.
He sent her a text but received no reply for a long time. So he decided to call her directly, but no one answered.
He opened the room door directly.
A passing staff member happened to be at the door, and he stopped them. "Could you please find out when the power will come back?"
"Sorry sir, we're not sure at the moment. Our electrician is working on it. Please be patient."
Patrick didn't say much more and walked toward Harper's room.
Inside the room, Harper shivered and curled up in a corner. Her tears silently fell to the ground, not daring to make a sound.
In this environment, scenes of her father's accident involuntarily flashed before her eyes.
The cold morgue was dim and lifeless, and her father's body lay motionless. The white cloth was particularly conspicuous in the darkness. Even when the doctor later turned on the light, all she saw was endless darkness and that white cloth.
She was extremely afraid of the dark, but now there was no one to protect her. Her father was gone, her brother was gone, and Joseph went to be with someone else.