"Don't... how strange..." Annabelle felt so embarrassed in the water.Kendrick gently brushed aside her damp long hair and kissed her fair and smooth back, trailing his kisses along her spine, gradually arousing her.Annabelle remembered the historical romance novel she had read, where the general had to leave on his wedding night and didn't even have time to unveil his bride's red veil. A year later, the bride braved the wind and snow to visit the military camp.On that snowy night, the general carried his young wife into the military tent and ordered someone to heat up water. He then placed the frozen young wife into a wooden tub to bathe and warm herself. Later on, the general also got into the bathtub, and as they continued washing... they proceeded with what was supposed to happen on their wedding night.When Annabelle watched that scene, she also wondered a little bit. How would the general and his wife in the barrel..."Don't want to give it a try?" Kendrick whispered.Annabell
"Ah!" Annabelle exclaimed; her entire body already being lifted out of the bathtub by him.He wiped the water stains off her body with a towel while kissing her lips, but because both of them were a little excited, the wiping was extremely perfunctory. Soon, Kendrick carried Annabelle to the bed.Kendrick, who had regained the initiative and control, almost swallowed her whole...Until the sound of knocking on the door came.Annabelle looked as if she finally saw the shore, opening her misty eyes, hoping Kendrick would stop. However, he seemed to not have heard the knocking sound.Annabelle just clenched her lips tightly, preventing herself from making any ambiguous sounds.Seeing her being so patient, Kendrick developed a mischievous interest, which almost made Annabelle unable to hold back.The sound of knocking on the door came again, persistently and tenaciously."Mr. Gregory, I am Wilson White. May I inquire about the current condition of Mrs. Gregory?"Outside the door, Wilson k
Wilson thought for a moment and said, "The young master is strong and healthy, so he doesn’t really need any supplements. But since he works so hard, taking some extra nourishment could help. This recipe is mainly to strengthen his body, boost his immunity, and keep both him and the young lady in good health—it won't harm their bodies."Trey took the prescription and promised to deliver it.After Annabelle fell asleep, Kendrick quietly left the suite. He went to his grandfather’s room.Staying up on New Year's Eve was a tradition for his grandfather, and with everything that had happened tonight, he certainly wouldn’t be going to sleep.When his grandfather saw Kendrick enter, he was holding a small set of polished rosewood prayer beads. He came into the living room of the suite.“How is Annabelle?”“She’s asleep. She’ll be fine.”“That’s good. Lisa is in the basement nanny’s room; her condition is stable for now.”After a pause, his grandfather looked at Kendrick and said, "What are y
Kendrick furrowed his brows and fell silent for a moment before replying, “Emilia was a girl I met during a difficult period in my life. We were never in a relationship, and I have no intention of breaking up with Annabelle.”As for the rest, Kendrick didn’t think it was necessary to explain further to his grandfather.“Alright. As long as you know your limits. My stance is simple—we men must be responsible. I admire Annabelle. If you ever think of doing anything foolish, I’ll be the first to break your legs.”“…"Kendrick almost wanted Annabelle to hear those words. Maybe it would make her feel more secure.After leaving his grandfather’s suite, Kendrick returned to his own room. Annabelle was curled up, looking cold. He climbed into bed and pulled her into his arms.He wasn’t sure if Lisa had mentioned Emilia to Annabelle, but no matter what, Kendrick was wondering if he should tell Annabelle about Emilia.Meanwhile, in another suite, Marvin spent a sleepless night. After rescuing An
“Mom, can we not bring that up again?”Talking about the night he got Annabelle drunk gave Marvin a headache. He regretted his moment of impulsiveness, which had completely wiped out all the goodwill he had painstakingly built with her.But Lydia insisted. She earnestly explained to her son that for women—especially conservative ones like Annabelle—once they had shared intimacy with a man, their perception of him would never be the same. Physical closeness created emotional ties, making it impossible for her to see him as just a friend again.And if he left behind some evidence, Annabelle would have no choice but to listen to him.The first time was always the hardest, but after that, things would naturally fall into place. The more time they spent together in such an intimate manner, the stronger their bond would become—so much so that even if she wanted to leave him, she wouldn’t be able to.And once her relationship with Kendrick fell apart, wouldn’t that mean she was his for the ta
The next morning, Annabelle woke up feeling sore all over. It was a struggle just to move her fingers, and her legs felt like jelly. This was partly due to falling into the water last night and, of course, partly due to the person responsible for it.She opened her eyes, turned her head, and shot a glare at the man lying next to her. But when she looked at him, her irritation softened. He’d seemed genuinely concerned last night, hadn’t he?She remembered the complicated look in his eyes when he carried her back to the room. He seemed both frustrated and self-blaming for not saving her in time. He always treated her like she was a child, constantly looking after her.Annabelle bit her lip, reaching out to gently touch his eyebrow bone. She had to admit—this guy was handsome, really handsome. He took after both his parents' best traits.But then she started getting irritated again. Being this handsome was a curse! He’d be attracting all sorts of attention!Just as she was lost in her tho
Annabelle thought to herself, *I've already given myself to you, and you're still asking me this question? You're really getting a bargain and still acting coy.* In the past, she had thought she shouldn't accept these red envelopes as a fake daughter-in-law, and she planned to return them all when they divorced. But after being so intimate with Kendrick, she had unknowingly accepted the role of the Gregory family's young mistress. Her mindset changed, and for issues that weren't major, she no longer cared too much. For example, the New Year red envelopes… "You did say that what’s mine is yours, and what’s yours is mine," Annabelle said with a smile. "Ugh—why didn’t I notice you’re such a little money grabber?" "I’m just curious," she replied. She still hadn’t told him that she really wanted to buy a little wooden box to store her favorite jewelry in. She was afraid that if she told him, he'd just buy it for her—after all, that amount of money meant nothing to him. But Annab
Annabelle fell into deep thought. While she hadn't learned music to please others, under the circumstances, she decided to bend a little for the big red envelope. "Well, when we get home today, how about I play you a song?" Kendrick curved his lips, lifting her chin, and said with a mischievous smile, "It better sound good." "Of course." Annabelle thought to herself, *Even though my physical skills are practically nonexistent, I can still play the piano!*Last time, when she played a piece for Kendrick during the school anniversary, his reaction showed that it was pretty good. Besides, she had plenty of pieces she was good at, so this wouldn’t be hard for her. Thinking that, she found herself looking forward to getting home sooner. However, Kendrick said they had to wait until after lunch on New Year's Day to head back, so Annabelle spent the morning with Trey in the little garden, trimming the plants as a way of ushering in the new year. Annabelle had never trimmed such
Annabelle felt ticklish and giggled, swatting his hand lightly. “Lie still for a while, or I won’t keep you company.”Only then did Mr. Gregory purse his lips and obediently stop moving.If Anna hadn’t just recovered from a serious illness, and if he himself weren’t still weak right now, otherwise…Sigh! Kendrick let out a gloomy sigh, burying his face in the crook of her neck.After a moment, he asked, “By the way, did your young master say what exactly caused your fainting and shock?”Annabelle glanced at him with amusement. Every time he said your young master, she could smell the thick scent of jealousy wafting off him—but it was kind of cute, his little petty streak.So she repeated everything Ryan had told her, word for word.Kendrick listened carefully and didn’t comment much afterward. He only said, “Looks like you just had bad luck and ran into a poisonous flower.”Annabelle then brought up the scene at the little beach cabin, saying she was curious about what kind of woman h
In Annabelle’s eyes, Kendrick had made the best possible decision at the time—he had put her safety above all else and didn’t let pride get in the way by refusing the young master’s help.It was this kind of maturity and rationality that had always drawn her to Kendrick, giving her a deep sense of grounded security by his side.Looking at the petite woman in front of him, Kendrick suddenly didn’t know what to say.The guilt that had been gnawing at him for the past two days… was completely dissolved by a few simple, gentle words from his little bunny.Especially the phrase “You’re my husband.” That alone was more healing than ten IV drips.Without warning, he rolled over and pinned Anna onto the bed, kissing her more assertively, expressing his feelings in a far more direct way.Annabelle started pounding on his chest with little muffled sounds of protest.This man was crazy! If he kept moving like this, the IV line would come loose!But even sick, Kendrick was much stronger than she
Annabelle looked like she'd been caught red-handed, flustered and wide-eyed, staring at Kendrick at such a close distance.He, too, had his eyes slightly open, emotions deep and complex pooling within them.The anxiety and torment he’d endured these past two days—it all seemed to be captured in that one gaze.Kendrick moved the hand that had been resting on her back up to cradle the back of her head, and kissed her even deeper.Annabelle slowly closed her eyes, not daring to move, afraid of tugging at his IV line and causing the needle to slip out.Of course, she didn’t want to pull away either…So, what started as Kendrick kissing her forcefully ended up with her being more proactive and passionate instead.Coco, lazily glancing at the two people locked in an intense kiss, yawned, jumped off the bed, and followed the scent of its cat food to go find Uncle Trey.The little white cat trotted to the door, jumped up at the handle, hooked its front paws around it just right, then used its
"I'm heading over now."Just as Annabelle was about to hang up the phone, she heard Uncle Trey call out again, “Young Madam, wait a moment!”She brought the phone back to her ear. “What is it?”“When you come from home, could you bring Coco’s food and litter box? Young Master brought the cat over the night before last, but he didn’t bring any of its stuff. I’ve been too busy to go pick them up myself. It’s not starving or anything, but the poor thing has nowhere to go to the bathroom. It’s been squatting in the big flower pot every day…”Annabelle: “…”A vivid image popped into her mind—Coco tucked awkwardly under Kendrick’s arm, eyes wide with panic, meowing nonstop in complaint the entire way.She could just imagine it—one big, one small, both of them looking lost and homeless, wandering around like pitiful strays.But no matter how disoriented they were, how could they forget the cat food and litter?!Annabelle quickly gathered Coco’s things and drove to the old Gu estate.Just as
Ryan gave a small nod, unbuttoned a few buttons on his shirt, and lay down on the bed, quickly falling asleep.Only after hearing his steady breathing did Seraphina return to his side. She carefully removed his outer shirt, then used a warm towel to wipe his face, and then his chest—where the alcohol had spilled. Sleeping like that would definitely be uncomfortable.Finally, she pulled the blanket over him.Seraphina stared at the man in bed for a long time. Then, for the first time, gathering all her courage, she leaned down and placed a light kiss on the lips of the man she loved.He didn’t love her. In his eyes, she probably lacked even a trace of a woman’s charm—perhaps she couldn’t even stir up a shred of desire.But he had given her the utmost respect. Could that be considered a form of caring?Seraphina gently touched his lips with her fingers, her heart full of bitterness, but in the end, she smiled softly.Maybe… that’s enough.…Annabelle had already arrived at the the Grego
The Young Master was drinking?Seraphina quickly set the breakfast tray on the foyer cabinet and rushed inside. Not seeing him in the outer living room, she headed toward the inner rooms.She paused as she passed through the dining area.The vase had been knocked over, shattered glass scattered all across the floor, and the flowers lay strewn in disarray.Seraphina’s heart pounded. She carefully stepped over the broken shards and headed toward the bedroom.The curtains were drawn tight, casting the room into darkness. The Young Master was sitting on the carpet at the foot of the bed, his head leaned back against the mattress, seemingly asleep.The top two buttons of his shirt were undone, a large alcohol stain spread across the front, and beside him sat an almost-empty bottle of strong liquor.Looking at him like this, Seraphina felt her heart shatter.The Young Master had endured so many blows in his life, but he had never fallen into despair like this. He had always gritted his teet
The taxi pulled away from the hotel entrance. Annabelle rolled the window up and gave the driver the address of the the Gregory Group headquarters.She turned back to look at Seraphina, who was still standing there at the entrance, gazing in her direction.When Seraphina had said, “Actually, I should be the one thanking you,” her expression had looked sorrowful—with a touch of self-mockery. That made Annabelle even more certain of one thing:Seraphina must have feelings for the Young Master.So she had thanked her… because Annabelle was leaving him.Annabelle suddenly wanted the driver to turn around. She wanted to personally tell Seraphina that she would never fight her for the Young Master. If possible, she’d even be willing to help them get together.But she couldn’t interfere in the Young Master’s love life anymore.That would only be rubbing salt into his wounds.Not willing to be with someone, yet still trying to introduce them to someone else?That wasn’t right. And Annabelle k
Annabelle’s pale face finally flushed with a hint of red. She covered her stomach in embarrassment and smiled.“I won’t eat—Kendrick must be really worried about me. I want to go back as soon as possible.”With that, she headed back to the bedroom, grabbed her own clean clothes from the bench at the end of the bed, and went into the walk-in closet.It was the summer outfit she had worn back in the small fishing village. Elfhedge’s weather was still far too cold for dresses, but she didn’t want to wait for the Young Master to find her something warmer.All she knew was—Kendrick must be worried sick.And knowing that she was here, with the Young Master… he was surely feeling awful.She had to get back—immediately.Annabelle changed into her clothes and stepped out of the closet. The light summer dress and linen sandals made her look fresh and airy as she walked up to the Young Master.“Young Master, I’m leaving now.”Ryan looked her up and down but didn’t say anything more. He simply re
The Young Master said it as if he were joking, but Annabelle couldn’t help taking it seriously.He had once given her the courage and will to live. He had spent years meticulously nursing her back to health, restoring her appearance. Even after they reunited, he had saved her life several times.The grace and kindness he had shown her weren’t things that could be repaid with just a few words.So before she met Kendrick, before she accepted his love, Annabelle had always thought—One day, she must repay the Young Master.How?Anything she had, anything he wanted.But now that she was with Kendrick, she could no longer say something like that so casually.She couldn’t betray her commitment to Kendrick just to repay the Young Master,Nor could she forget the Young Master’s kindness just because she had Kendrick now.Her only hope was that the Young Master would ask for something she could give—As long as it wasn’t something like, “Stay with me.”Caught in this internal struggle, Annabel