Part 51

Antony woke up without opening his eyes and felt soreness in his upper right arm. Instantly, he realized that he was not in his own bedroom.

Startled, Antony opened his eyes and saw the side of the bed where Claire usually slept was empty.

"Claire?" he called out in a hoarse voice. Soon after, he saw Claire coming out of the bathroom with wet hair.

"Did you take a shower?" Antony asked, surprised. Claire touched her hair and nodded.

"Your body still isn't healthy. Has your fever gone down?" Antony approached to touch Claire's forehead, but she pulled her face back first, making Antony irritated, and he looked at her with a sharp gaze.

"The best remedy for a fever is a warm bath," the girl continued, now with a relaxed tone. Claire walked back into her room, but suddenly her body swayed. Fortunately, Antony was quick to catch her. He could feel that her body temperature hadn't actually gone down.

"A warm bath is good, but it doesn't have to be right now," Antony said, frustrated because Claire always ignored his words.

Claire tried to shake off Antony's arm, but he chose to support her back to the bed.

"My body is sticky with sweat since I didn't shower last night, and I don't like it," she replied tersely.

Claire lay back down on the bed, and Antony covered her with the blanket they had used the night before.

Hearing Claire's response, Antony chuckled. "You don't like it because your body is sticky, or are you embarrassed for me to see you looking bad?" he teased.

Instead of answering, Claire chose to pull the blanket higher to cover part of her face.

"Aren't you going to take a shower? Go ahead," she urged. Antony chuckled again and then left Claire to head to the bathroom.

When he finished, Antony returned to the bed and saw that Claire had closed her eyes again. "Are you sleeping?" he whispered. Claire opened her eyes and met Antony's gaze.

"Are you hungry? Do you want something to eat?" he asked again. Claire remained silent. "Do you want me to make you something?" Antony offered once more.

"Why don't you just go home, Sir? Aren't you going to the office?"

Antony frowned and looked at Claire flatly. This girl was really hard to read. They had seemed fine earlier, but now her demeanor had reverted to its cold mode.

"I'm the boss. Whether I go in or not, I don't have to report to anyone," Antony replied tersely. Claire looked back at him with a furrowed brow.

"Why? Are you bothered that I'm here?" Antony asked again.

Claire nodded. "Honestly, yes," she answered quietly.

"What makes you uncomfortable?" Antony asked, confused.

"Everything," Claire replied, equally puzzled. She tried to rise and leaned back against the headboard. "You'd be better off going home, Sir. Thank you for taking care of me last night," Claire said politely.

Instead of leaving, Antony chose to walk closer to the bed and sit in front of Claire. He reached out again and touched her forehead.

"Sir?" Claire tried to evade him, but he was quicker.

"I can see your face is flushed. I just wanted to make sure it's because of your fever and not because you're embarrassed," he replied indifferently.

"Embarrassed?" Claire asked, confused.

But instead of answering her, Antony slid his hand to the curve of Claire's neck. Then he took her hand and placed the back of it against her forehead.

"Okay. So your face is flushed because your fever has returned, not because you're embarrassed by my presence," Antony finally answered.

Claire momentarily gaped before huffing in an ungraceful manner.

"Has confidence really taken root in all of you Quirinos?" Claire mocked. Antony merely shrugged.

"So, what do you want for breakfast?" Antony asked next. Claire still looked at him, confused.

Why is it so hard to get Antony out of her house? she wondered to herself. Should she call security to kick him out? But then there would be more commotion, and Claire didn't like that.

"Claire?" Antony called her softly.

"I don't want anything to eat, Sir. My tongue is bitter," Claire replied honestly.

"But you still have medicine to take. Or do you want us to go to the hospital now?" Antony stood up, looking around for his jacket.

"The hospital?" Claire frowned. Even though Gladwin was a doctor, Claire really didn't like hospitals.

"Yes, the hospital." Antony turned his attention back to Claire. "Dr. Vincent already said you need a blood test, right?" He finally found his jacket and walked to get it. He reached into the pocket and searched for his phone. "I'm going to call Dr. Vincent and schedule you for a blood test."

"That's unnecessary!" Claire shot up, wanting to stop Antony from calling Dr. Vincent, but she winced due to the throbbing in her head and stomach.

"Claire!" Antony exclaimed in panic and hurried back to the bed. "What are you feeling?" he asked reflexively in his father's language. Claire, not understanding, frowned back at him; she wanted to lean back while sitting, but Antony urged her to lie down. "The doctor said you shouldn't move around too much. Why are you acting like this?" Antony scolded.

"It's because of you!" Claire replied angrily. "I already told you it would be better if you went home," she urged.

Instead of getting mad, Antony chuckled. "And I told you since last night that I'm not going home," he replied, just as stubborn. "Does your head hurt?" he asked gently.

Claire nodded slowly. Antony placed his phone on the nightstand and adjusted Claire's blanket.

Claire closed her eyes, trying to lessen the throbbing in her head. She not only felt a headache, but her body also felt incredibly weak right now. The ache in her body hadn't gone away since last night, and her skin even felt so sensitive. Whether it was touched by water, wind, or even skin to skin.