Harper's POVI went to the kitchen to make some saltwater. He had been sweating a lot, so he needed some salt to help with recovery.After placing the cup on the coffee table, I checked his temperature again. It had gone down from 102.2°F to 98.6°F, but I still needed to keep an eye on him. He hadn’t woken up yet, and my gaze lingered on the flushed skin of his neck.There, I noticed a small tattoo of an "H." It felt like fate—maybe it wasn't a coincidence that I ended up saving him.“Harper…” he murmured in his delirium.Strange. Did he know me?“Who are you calling?” After waiting for a bit without hearing more, I remembered he was probably just talking nonsense from the fever. Still, I leaned in to listen seriously.But just as I closed the door, his once-closed eyes suddenly opened.Marco's POVI knew perfectly well how dangerous this was. If Harper ignored me or if someone else found me, it would lead to more trouble. But I didn’t care—this was the only reckless way I had left to
Harper's POVHe nodded and agreed. I told him that I had to work the next day and that he still needed to rest at the hospital for now. He obediently nodded along.His docile demeanor gave me an oddly satisfying feeling, as if I could really help someone in need.“Oh, by the way, what's your name?”It suddenly occurred to me that I didn’t even know his name.“What’s yours?” His counter-question made me pause. He was more cautious than I expected.“I’m Harper, from the U.S.”“I’m Marco, from Italy.”Italy, huh—that makes sense.“Well, let me save your contact info then. If you have any problems at the hospital or back at home, just let me know.”An overwhelming sense of sympathy made me treat this grown man like he was a helpless kid who needed care.“Sure.” He accepted it easily, and nothing about it felt off to me.Marco's POVShe trusted me, I could tell. This wasn’t some act—she really didn’t remember me at all.But why did she remember Joseph, remember my father, yet completely fo
Harper's POVMarco was wearing a discounted hoodie we’d picked up at the supermarket yesterday. Oh, don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I wasn’t willing to spend more on him—it was him who refused.“Breakfast is ready, but it might be a bit tight on time,” he said, glancing at his watch. “Go wash up, I’ll pack it for you to eat on the way.”After leaving the house, he insisted on driving, so I sat in the backseat with the window open, nibbling on the sandwich he had made.“Is it good?” he asked, stopping at a red light and giving me a quick, handsome side profile.“It’s delicious,” I said with my mouth full, feeling like a chipmunk. I didn’t expect that dreaming could be so physically exhausting. But really, his sandwich was amazing.“Thank you,” I said, mimicking the actors in Japanese dramas, trying to speak in a not-so-fluent Japanese accent. He chuckled, clearly amused.“You’ve got great energy today, Harper. Give it your all at work too.”Ah, this guy! I had vented to him yesterday
Harper's POV“What the hell are you doing?!” A booming voice startled me awake, jolting me up so fast my eyelids, which were stuck from sleep, were suddenly exposed to bright light.The supervisor stood at the door, his face dark as thunder, and the poor door was left trembling from how hard he had slammed it open. Just the sight of his face made my stomach churn, but not wanting to mess up my job, I took a deep breath and stood up.“I was feeling a little tired. My assistant was helping me with work, so I took a short rest.”“Did I hire you to take naps here?” He slammed his hand down on the desk. Marco stood up, and I tugged on his sleeve to stop him.“Of course not, but I did request a sick day, which you didn’t approve. So, I came to work. When someone’s unwell, they need rest. If you expect me to work through illness, maybe you should replace me with an AI—at least it won’t need sick days.”I wasn’t going to take this kind of abuse anymore. I was done with this middle-aged man an
Marco's POVHarper seemed to sense something, turning around to look at me as she took the file from my hands. The meeting went smoothly, if you ignored the death stare the supervisor was giving me. But he won’t get the chance to act on it.Harper was in a hurry to head back to France, and I didn’t stop her. She looked apologetic, and that’s exactly what I wanted.Once she was gone, I casually organized the meeting materials and then called Elena.“Did you find out anything new?”I heard the sound of typing from the other end of the line. “I’ve sent the information to your email. And, do you remember Joseph?”“I don’t need you to remind me.”In my inbox there was a new file. I opened it and started reading from the beginning."Four years ago, Harper was transferred from an American hospital to a French one under the care of the Marco family. After that, she was taken care of by Joseph von. She regained consciousness about three months after being transferred. According to a nurse at t
Marco's POVThe fat man was taken away, and Elena, with a disgusted look, twisted open a bottle of water and rinsed off her shoes. "Next time, could you give me something with a bit more skill involved? You have no idea how gross that guy's stare was."Of course, I knew. That's why he’d be gone from the company by tomorrow.“What time is it now?”“Five in the morning.”“You guys can head back. I still have something to take care of.”Harper's POV“The flight from Tokyo to Paris is about to land.”I rubbed my sore neck. Since I booked the ticket on a whim, I couldn’t get a seat in business class, so I had to settle for economy. The long flight had left me exhausted.When I turned my phone back on, messages flooded in. With the vibration mode on, it was like my phone had turned into a mini massager.Most of the messages were from Marco. Joseph was probably still asleep, given that he wasn’t feeling well. Marco had sent me the meeting notes along with a few random updates.As I skimmed t
Joseph's POVHe twirled the glass of golden liquid, the ice cubes clinking softly under the dim, amber lighting. The atmosphere was heavy, suffocating almost.“Do you know why I wanted to meet you?” Marco's voice was deceptively calm, but the storm brewing in his eyes was undeniable. He slowly spun his chair around, his gaze piercing through me. The tension that had been building inside me suddenly snapped, loosening just a bit. It wasn't just me—Marco's emotions were just as affected by Harper as mine were.“You found out, didn't you?”Though my words sounded like a question, it was clear from the tone that I already knew the answer.“Bam!” In a flash, Marco kicked the chair aside and punched me square in the face. I wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth, feeling the familiar sting.I flexed my wrists, returning the favor by landing a punch right on his perfect face. "Are you doing this for Harper, or is it just your own selfishness?" I spat, gripping his collar. His knee drove
Harper’s POVI sat in the waiting room, growing more impatient with each passing hour. I had asked the staff multiple times when I could leave, but even when I threatened to file a complaint, no one gave me a straight answer.Biting my lip, I pulled out my phone. "Dad, I’m stuck at the airport in France... No, I don’t know why... Okay."I wasn’t sure if this had anything to do with the strange text message I’d received, but the uncertainty gnawed at me. I waited for what felt like an eternity before a staff member finally arrived."Ms., we apologize for the inconvenience. After our checks, you're free to leave."As they led me through the terminal, I started to notice something strange. The route wasn’t right. My heart pounded harder when I realized the woman in front of me wasn’t wearing an official badge.This isn’t right. Panic surged through me, making my legs weak. Stay calm! I dug my nails into my palm, using the sharp sting to focus.Ahead, there was a corner near the second do
"I don't know.""You don't know? Then how did you have a baby?"In Lydia's world, having a baby is something that requires two people to engage in. A man and a woman have s.ex, then the woman is conceived, and eventually gives birth to a baby. Only in mythology are there stories of young girls getting pregnant without having s.ex, which are usually miracles.So Gwen ......"Wait!" Gwen reached out and knocked Lydia on the head. She knew that Lydia, as a designer, had a rich imagination. "Don't fantasize too much. We live in the real world, not the supernatural world, OK? As a healthy adult woman, if I want to get pregnant, there are only two ways. Making love to a man or artificial insemination.""So Pearl is a Test Tube Baby?" Lydia had learned about IVF at a college orientation. While it's a technology that brings hope to many couples, it also puts women through a lot of pain. The size of the follicles is tested, ovulation is facilitated, eggs are retrieved with long syringes, and t
Countless questions filled Lydia's head.Gwen had never had a boyfriend since her parents died. She had to fight like a warrior woman every day against her uncle who tried to steal her property. As the first female CEO, many men approached Gwen with various intentions, but Gwen kept her head clear and never fell for men's rhetoric.Why is Gwen pregnant?Who is the father of the baby?Why did she choose to give birth to the baby alone in secret?There is no doubt that Gwen's disappearance was related to her pregnancy. She disappeared when she was pregnant, isolating all news related to her pregnancy, and only returned like a victorious queen when the baby was born.Gwen saw these doubts in Lydia's expression and she smiled faintly. "I'll explain to you slowly when I get back, it's complicated. Now can you please introduce these men?""Hello, beauty. Oh, if you don't mind me calling you that. I'm Cecil, the owner of Denve's Bar." Cecil held out a hand, didn't wait for Lydia to react bef
The two of them were so involved in making love that it seemed to meld their souls together and then break them up in half.Lydia was so tired that she closed her eyes and passed out. Vince also closed his eyes and enjoyed the afterglow of his o.rgasm, but he wasn't sleepy at all and his spirits were high.Vince held Lydia in his arms and kissed her. Reason told him that one lovemaking session was enough for her, but his body refused to let her go. He went along with the position of holding her from behind and thrust in, buried deep inside, moving tenderly and slowly. She woke up, half asleep in a thin, delicate hum. "Baby ......," Vince kissed her ear heavily, "come again ......, okay?"Lydia softly "mmm", with a strong nasal sound.Vince’s heart skipped a beat, his p.enis against her moving desperately, and finally in her long, soft cries to reach the climax ......The third time.Vince coaxed her to do it again, and how could Lydia refuse him? She slowly turned her face to kiss hi
Lydia almost jumped into the car that Vince had given her and shouted to the driver anxiously, "Please drive fast, I want to go back."When the driver saw Lydia's anxious look, he didn't delay anymore and drove in the direction of the hospital right away. But when she arrived at the hospital, Vince was not there."Vince went to inspect his property. Oh, that's a luxury hotel. Now that the mafia's leader has gone nowhere, those enemies have naturally retreated. As the CEO, Vince went to inspect the hotel to make sure everything was in order." Cecil answered Lydia while playing with his golden retriever on the hospital lawn, enjoying his last vacation in Europe.When he goes back home, what awaits him is a fiancée and a marriage that gives him a headache. Although Cecil hadn't thought of a way to cope with this, he decided to ditch these worries for now and enjoy the French sunshine."The driver knows the address of the hotel, so you can take a car and go straight there. Please remember
Over the next few days, Lydia moved to the lounge to sleep at night because she was worried about the wounds on Vince's body, but she found herself waking up in Vince's arms every morning.Apparently, Vince carried a sleeping Lydia to his bed every night, like a child obsessed with some kind of game. Lydia tried to protest, but Vince always said in a supplicating and sad tone, "I just want to hold you to sleep, or I'll lose sleep in the hospital. I won't do anything else, just hold you, okay?"Vince really didn't do anything excessive in bed, and Lydia felt a little impersonal if she had refused him. Besides, Vince is a sick man, and Lydia has always had an intolerance for him.Well, Vince is not really just holding Lydia.Every time Lydia woke up in the middle of the night or in the morning, Vince's hands were on her breasts.Vince's hands were so big that he could cover her breast with one hand and then rubbed it in her sleep, intentionally or unintentionally.Lydia took it as an un
Lydia did not sleep comfortably. In her dream, she felt that she was being watched by eyes all the time.Whether she was walking, eating or bathing, there was a pair of eyes watching her all the time, making her feel a hint of shame. Especially when she was taking a shower, those eyes were like big hands, their gaze caressing her body to the last detail, not sparing a single skin.Lydia couldn't keep her eyes open. In her dreams, she was naked, lying on the bed, feeling the gaze of those eyes. Slowly, a man came to the bed, hugged her from behind, and then caressed her while kissing her.This feeling ......Lydia squirmed restlessly, unable to tell if she was enjoying it or resisting it, as the man's body behind her grew hotter and hotter, and she knew what would happen next ......The clips of her lovemaking with Vince kept flashing into her mind: Vince's hot breath, the p.ennis stained with her bodily fluids, the shameful lovemaking positions, the shivering p.ussy, the ambiguous moa
The smell of alcohol from the hospital, the faint scent of jasmine in the room, mixed with Vince's hot breath and Lydia's scent, everything became misty.Vince's throat twitched, and he licked his lips, which were dry from the heat, and then kissed the lips of Lydia, whom he had been longing for.Lydia squirmed at first out of unease, and slowly, as Vince kissed her deeper and deeper, her breathing became unsteady, even whimpering like a cat.The two of them kissed passionately, and Lydia put both hands on Vince's shoulders, lying softly on the bed, close to him.Vince pushed her away slightly, leaving a palm's length, and quickly stripped her of her clothes.Vince reached out and pressed the curtain button. The curtains blocked out the light, and the room was dark, with only a few small lights emitting a dim, ambiguous glow. The "Do Not Disturb" sign on the door was lit up. No one would break in, and it was their time.Vince came out of the indulgent kiss in a ragged breath, looking
Lydia's eyes moistened as she recalled the events of the past on campus.God still favored her by allowing her to meet Vince again instead of letting her marry those hypocritical and lustful rich men.Although Vince is now a bit changed, tainted with some billionaire habits, such as arrogance and dominance, but his feelings for Lydia have not changed, nor has he become the kind of womanizer who indulges in one-night stands.More importantly, Lydia has always had feelings for him as well.Never mind, as long as they can live happily together, even if their second encounter is somewhat unhappy, so what?Lydia doesn't even care about that right now, she just prays that Vince will wake up.She took Vince's hand and put his hand on her face."Vince, you're a bad man. You said you'd be safe, and you broke your word.""Vince, you need to stop sleeping. I'll forgive you for what you did before if you wake up now.""If you wake up, I promise you. I will be your girlfriend, get married to you,
With Vince's handsome appearance and intelligence, even though he hid his family background, he was a hit on campus and was often courted by girls.He never wanted to fall in love because he thought women were a pain in the ass. And his mother was too strong a person, and he had a long way to go to pass the test to inherit the family fortune. During his college years, Vince was so full of how to become a stronger man that he didn't think about falling in love.Falling in love is a very troublesome thing, like a chewing gum which is being stuck on clothes. You remember what it tastes like, but it becomes a piece of junk that sticks to you.Vince is a cool guy. How can he be trapped by such a ridiculous thing?He didn't think that he would fall for this damn couple's activity. What pisses him off even more is that he was rejected!Vince, the heir of a famous American luxury hotel, a handsome man who was in the top 10 of the nation's golden bachelors at the age of 18, was rejected by a w