The next day.
In a luxuriously decorated bedroom, Wanda bit her lower lip, her eyes fluttering open with a pained grimace.
The first thing she saw was an ornate crystal chandelier.
Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, the bright midday sun beat down on the estate, the light reflecting off the polished floor tiles like sunlight dancing on a serene lake.
“Ugh…
it hurts!” A brutal, full-body ache washed over her, making her feel as though she had been repeatedly run over by a heavy Mack truck.
Even her jaw was slightly sore.
Wanda stared at her unfamiliar surroundings, completely disoriented.
‘Where am I?’ She patted her chest, suddenly realizing her scarlet uniform was gone.
In its place was an oversized men’s dress shirt that smelled faintly of sandalwood cologne.
Her brain short-circuited.
‘I went out drinking yesterday afternoon…
and after that, I think I bumped into a car…’ ‘Ugh!’ Her head throbbed as she tried to force herself to remember the details of last night.
She squeezed her eyes shut, but her memory completely flatlined right after she hit the car hood.
Catching another whiff of the masculine cologne clinging to the shirt, the pieces horrifyingly began to click together.
‘Did I…?’ Panic seized her chest.
Combined with the intense soreness pulsing through her lower half, she knew exactly what had happened!
Thump, thump, thump…
The sound of footsteps echoing down the wooden hallway outside sent her already panicked brain into a full meltdown.
She instantly dove under the covers, hiding her entire body until only a tiny slit remained.
A moment later, the handsome young man from the road strolled in wearing a plush bathrobe.
He was carrying an aluminum tray loaded with a buttered sandwich, a fried egg, and a glass of milk.
The warm, savory scent of melted butter drifted straight through the gap in the blankets.
Seeing the large, quivering lump huddled under the duvet, the corner of Holden’s mouth twitched up.
“You awake?” he asked gently.
Even though they hadn’t known each other long, he already knew Wanda wasn’t exactly a fan of being completely covered up.
After he had brought her inside around noon, she had kicked the blankets off every single time he tried to tuck her in.
So, seeing her purposely hiding under them was a dead giveaway.
“Did you do this?!” Wanda puffed her cheeks, peering out through the small gap.
Her memory was a hazy mess, but she vaguely recognized his face from last night.
“I sure did!” Holden gave a shameless, roguish smirk.
That did it.
A wave of sheer embarrassment and fury washed over Wanda, turning her face as red as a boiling kettle.
“You—!” Enraged, she violently threw off the soft duvet, fully intending to leap out of bed and storm over to him.
But the moment she moved, a sharp, tearing pain shot through her.
“Ah!” The color drained from her face, and she immediately collapsed to her knees on the mattress, clutching her stomach and drawing in a sharp breath of cold air.
“Whoa, take it easy!” Holden quickly set the breakfast tray aside and rushed over to sit on the edge of the bed.
“You were pretty wild last night.
You probably pulled something!” To be fair, they had been at it from yesterday evening all the way until almost noon today.
It was completely understandable that she was sore—especially since he had tested out his reward theory with another ‘experiment’ early this morning.
Unfortunately, it seemed the system had a cooldown.
Just like his coffee check-ins, he couldn’t farm the same reward multiple times in a row.
The system clearly didn’t want him getting too greedy.
“Me?!” Wanda pointed a trembling finger at herself, choking out the rest of the sentence.
“Wild?!” She had fragmented, blurry flashes of last night, but none of the actual details.
Hearing him say that right now made her want to die of shame and strangle him at the same time.
“Does it hurt a lot?” Holden ignored her outrage, looking at her with genuine sympathy.
If he hadn’t asked, she might have held it together.
But the moment the words left his mouth, Wanda completely lost it.
“What do you think?!” she snapped, crystalline tears of frustration welling up in her eyes.
Her breathing turned rapid and heavy.
It felt like being impaled by a spear!
How could it not hurt?!
She genuinely suspected this infuriating man was secretly a mutant human pile driver.
He clearly didn’t know the first thing about being gentle!
“How about you eat something first?
Get your strength back,” Holden said, pressing his lips together with an apologetic expression.
Even though she had been the one to initiate things, the damage was done.
The least he could do was play the role of a sweet, caring guy.
After all, being a perfect gentleman was one of his best qualities.
He reached out, intending to gently lift her back onto the pillows.
VMMMM!!!
“Get your hands off me!” A low hum vibrated through the air, and suddenly, a tide of scarlet energy erupted into the room.
The surrounding furniture rattled violently against the floorboards.
Wanda’s eyes flashed a brilliant, glowing red as she threw her slender arm forward.
Boom!
A fierce beam of scarlet light, fueled by her raw indignation and panic, blasted straight toward Holden.
But in that split second, a flicker of softness crossed Wanda’s eyes.
The incoming scarlet beam instantly lost some of its lethal edge, though it still roared forward like a raging tide!