Chapter 69: Ungrateful Fool
Through the door, I could hear the howling wind.
Upon closer thought, I vaguely remembered seeing a vent not far from the stall when I first entered.
If I wasn’t mistaken, the wind was likely pouring in from there.
The temperature on the mountain was already several degrees lower than on the ground, and in no time, I was trembling all over from the cold.
I had nothing but the thin swimsuit on my body, and the shirt I’d discarded beside me was far too flimsy to offer any real warmth.
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any longer, so
slapped the door, calling out for help.
But no matter how loudly I yelled, there was no response–just the relentless sound of the wind howling in my ears.
It made sense, I suppose. The entire Lucky B&B belonged to Silvia. If she wanted to get at me, how could I possibly expect her to let me off so easily?
I had been too careless.
But I figured her intent wasn’t to truly harm me. She probably just wanted to teach me a lesson, not take my life. Maybe someone would come soon.
At worst, if I stayed missing for too long, Fletcher and Duke would eventually notice, right?
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Silvia, wanting to maintain her magnanimous image, surely wouldn’t risk causing a scene in her own hotel.
With this thought, I started to feel
less panicked. Still, my body had been deteriorating ever since that incident, and the cold winter air was too much for me to
handle.
It hadn’t been long before my limbs stiffened, my body growing numb with the cold.
If there had been a mirror in front of me, I was sure I would have seen my face ashen, lips turning pale, and my body frozen stiff like a block of ice.
I was on the verge of collapsing. The only thing I could do was lean against the wall, trying to find some support.
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As my consciousness waned, I suddenly thought of Fletcher.
Thanks to him, what was supposed to be a trip to Mezeth for my own interests had now turned into a near–death experience.
But maybe, at this very moment, he was soaking in a warm spring, flirting with Silvia.
The thought of it stirred a deep resentment inside me.
I was desperate to curse him out.
But just at that moment, a wave of warmth pressed against my chest. I barely managed to open my eyes, and the next second, I was pulled into a broad, comforting embrace.
It was like a fish, on the brink of death,
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Nestled into this warm, familiar hold.
For some reason, this embrace reminded me of Fletcher, the man who stood at 6‘ 17“.
Unlike his naturally aloof nature, his embrace had an unexpected sense of security, as though with every hug, I could believe, with certainty, that we could be together forever.
But the reality… was far from that.
A sudden sense of grievance washed over me. I thought, maybe only in moments like this, when my mind was clouded, could I recall those fleeting moments of tenderness from the past.
But strangely, this embrace was stronger and more intense than I had imagined. So much so that when I reached out, I
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accidentally touched something unusual.
A soft, strangled sound echoed in my ear. I could distinctly feel the muscles in the man’s arm tighten, followed by the unmistakable sound of him swallowing.
No, this didn’t feel like a dream.
I weakly opened my eyes, and when I looked up, my heart skipped a beat.
Fletcher. How… how would he end up here?
And the space between us was far too close. Close enough that I could feel his breath, close enough that I could see the desire burning in his eyes.
After a brief moment of eye contact, I shifted slightly, but the next second, the man pulled me even closer.
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“Just how stupid are you, getting locked in here while changing clothes?” he murmured.
I bit my lip, the grievance in my chest now stronger than before. I replied, more harshly than I intended, “Well, I guess I should thank you for this, Mr. Lynton.”
My tone was sharp, but after enduring the cold, my voice trembled slightly, carrying an inexplicable sense of vulnerability.
A faint sigh reached my ears, and Fletcher responded, “The latch was closed from the outside. It’s not your fault.”
Of course, I knew it wasn’t my fault. After all, the one responsible for it was right in front of
- me.
“I’ll take you to the hospital,” Fletcher added
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quickly, his voice suddenly urgent.
I thought I had misheard him, but when I looked up, I found him quietly staring at me.
Our gazes locked, and suddenly, my heart lurched. In an instant, I found myself pinned against the door by the man.
I noticed Fletcher’s eyes lingering on the neckline of my swimsuit.
Kisses rained down on my ear, my neck- his scorching breath, carrying a heat unlike any I’d ever known, enveloping me like an immense furnace, burning and consuming.
Perhaps it was the cold that had numbed me for too long, or maybe this was just a dream. Without realizing it, my hand moved on its own, and I pressed a kiss to the man’s neck.
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The kiss spiraled out of control, and my body slowly began to warm.
Just as things were getting out of control, Silvia’s voice pierced through the haze in my ears. “Don’t worry, I’ll see if Ms. Grande is even here.”
Her words snapped my senses back into place. In a panic, I broke free from the man’s embrace and stepped aside, gasping for air.
“Ms. Grande? Charlene? Are you there?”
Hearing Silvia’s call, I looked at Fletcher in a panic, my mind racing.
I couldn’t let Silvia see this.
Absolutely not.
Frantically, I motioned for Fletcher to stay
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still, and after a deep breath, I opened the changing room door.
As I looked up, I saw Silvia standing just a meter away.
She wore a bathrobe, beneath which was a stylish bikini that highlighted her hourglass figure.
Clearly, she’d put in some effort to catch Fletcher’s attention.
Our gazes collided, and Silvia smirked, her voice casual as she asked, “Ms. Grande, it’s been half an hour, why are you still in the changing room?”
It was a question she already knew the answer to.
She swept her eyes across the entire room
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and then turned back to me. “Is Mr. Lynton not with you?”
Well, so she was just looking for him.
I forced a tight smile. “Ms. Connery, you must be joking. This is the women’s changing room. If you’re looking for Mr. Lynton, shouldn’t you check the men’s side?”
My tone was stiff, knowing I had been frozen for half an hour.
Silvia glanced at me, unfazed, and said, “Well, I’m just a bit flustered. Ms. Grande, get ready, and we’ll head to the hot spring pool soon.”
With that, she turned to leave, as if locking me in the changing room never happened at all.
I couldn’t take it anymore. “So, Ms. Connery,
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is this your way of letting things slide?”
Silvia stopped, glancing at me with a cold, detached expression. “What exactly do you mean, Ms. Grande?”
“There’s no one else here,” I said, straight to the point since Silvia didn’t know Fletcher was hiding in the stall. “If you think I’m affecting your plans, just let me know. I pride myself on being perceptive, but locking someone in a changing room like this… well, it’s really quite…”
It’s really quite beneath you.
I hadn’t finished my sentence, but Silvia, being as sharp as she was, must have understood my meaning.
Sure enough, the woman, who had been all smiles, suddenly wiped her expression clean
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and took a step forward. “Ms. Grande, you’re far more clever than I thought.”
“Thank you for the compliment, Ms. Connery” I replied, meeting her gaze with quiet dignity. “But unfortunately, I must disappoint you. There’s nothing going on between Mr. Lynton and me. The one he truly cares about… is her.”
“Oh? Is that so?”
“As for me,” I said, a bitter smile curving my lips, “I’m nothing more than a puppet Fletcher uses to deal with you.”
I wanted Silvia to realize how foolish she had been to target me.
Silvia caught my meaning, and with a light chuckle, she responded casually, “It’s fine. The ones I set my sights on never escape.”
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She was confident–too confident, as if she didn’t even consider me a threat.
And why would she? After all, I was nothing more than a shield.
Duke’s voice broke the tension between us.
“Ms. Connery, are you in there? Mr. Lynton messaged me. He’s feeling unwell and is in the restroom.”
Silvia looked up at the mention of Fletcher and quickly reverted to her warm, approachable demeanor. “Alright, Duke. I’ve found Ms. Grande. She’ll be heading to the hot springs soon.”
With that, Silvia left, but not before shooting me a smug glance.
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reveal a word of what had just happened.
She was right, but that also meant there was no chance of any cooperation between us.
The sound of the stall door opening interrupted my thoughts. I looked up to see Fletcher standing at the door, his expression unreadable.
After a brief exchange of glances, I awkwardly lowered my head.
In my mind, I could still see the image of him holding me, kissing me with such intensity.
I must be out of my mind.
Then, Fletcher’s low voice reached my ears. “Is that really what you think?”
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I looked up at him, confused. “What do you mean?”
“To use you… to deal with Silvia.” Fletcher’s words were short and to the point.
What else could it be? He had already admitted it in front of Duke, hadn’t he?
Seeing that I didn’t respond, Fletcher scoffed coldly and said, “You really are an ungrateful fool.”
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