Natalie reached out and poked one of the bruised spots on Marcus'' body. He immediately sucked in a sharp breath.


    "Does it hurt?" Natalie frowned, her concern growing. She had heard the crashing sounds outside the door, but she hadn''t expected Lincoln to be this rough.


    Marcus was about to say it didn''t hurt, but upon seeing Natalie''s furrowed brow, he quickly changed his answer. "Yeah, it hurts. It really hurts. I can''t stand up, can''t walk."


    As he spoke, he lifted the corner of his bathrobe to show Natalie his leg. "It seems like my knee is broken."


    Natalie''s eyes fell on Marcus'' leg, and her face flushed. She quickly looked away, embarrassed.


    "You deserve it, getting me drunk on purpose, then messing with me," she muttered, though her body acted honestly as she bent down to help him.


    "Lincoln was right. You could''ve taken me home after I got drunk, or at least let me share a room with Connie, or let me stay in the guest room I used to sleep in. But no, you had to carry me to your bedroom. Marcus, you did it on purpose."


    "It wasn''t on purpose," Marcus sighed. "After you got drunk, you insisted on


    crawling into my arms and asked me to hold you. You even touched my face, said


    I was the best-looking man you''d ever seen, and you said you wanted to build a golden birdcage to keep me in, so I could be your pet."


    Hearing this, Natalie''s face turned bright red. Did she really do and say all those things while drunk?


    Marcus, taking advantage of her drunken state, mixed some truth with lies to tease her. "You even straddled me and said you were going to tame me. And you said I wasn''t a pet bird but a big eagle."


    Natalie quickly pped her hand over Marcus'' mouth. "Stop talking!"


    Had she really said those things? Straddling him, taming him, the big eagle, the golden cage... Good heavens, was she really that wild when she was drunk? Marcus watched Natalie''s face turn from pale to bright red. The speed at which her face flushed made him want tough, though he held it in.


    "Nat," Marcus reached out and gently took her hand away from his mouth. "You don''t know how strong you are when you''re drunk. You''re right. I could''ve taken you home or handed you over to Ms. Sterling, but you wouldn''t let go of me.


    "I couldn''t just force you off and leave you behind. I didn''t resist because I was worried I''d hurt you. But from now on, don''t drink alcohol when you''re out, or I''ll worry."


    After saying that, Marcus tucked a loose strand of hair behind Natalie''s ear. "Let''s start over, okay? Let''s get to know each other again and start fresh. How about it?"


    Natalie''s head was buzzing, and she covered her face with both hands. She couldn''t even imagine the terrible things she''d done to Marcus when she was drunk.


    "It really hurts."


    "Let me put some medicine on it," Natalie said as she hurried to help him out of the bathroom. "You sit here for a moment. I''ll ask Connie for the first aid kit."


    She was rushing to leave, but Marcus grabbed her wrist. "Go wash up and


    change into something clean. I had Sheldon prepare clothes and toiletries for you. They''re in the bathroom."


    "Can you... endure the pain?"


    Natalie''s mind was in a whirl, and she had never been this flustered before. She had been calm earlier, but after hearing Marcus'' teasing words and seeing Lincoln''s rough handling, she just couldn''t calm down.


    "Yes." Marcus gently ruffled her hair. "Don''t worry."


    "I''m not worried about you," Natalie muttered before walking into the bathroom.


    On the vanity there was a set of new


    toiletries and a fresh outfit. The note


    left on top was written in bold,


    flowing handwriting, "The underwear


    was prepared by Ms. Sterling, dry-cleaned and sanitized, ready to wear."


    Natalie felt a wave of heat rise again, even though she had just managed to calm herself down.


    Should she thank Marcus for being so considerate?


    She looked at herself in the mirror, her cheeks burning so much it felt like they could bleed. She bent down and sshed cold water on her face several times. Once the warmth had subsided, she took a deep breath and steadied herself before washing up.


    Once she was done, she took a quick shower and changed into the clothes Marcus had prepared for her.


    When she emerged, Marcus was already applying medicine to the bruises on his body.


    "I''ll help you," Natalie said, recovering herposure. She walked over and silently began applying the medicine to his wounds.


    "It hurts."


    Hearing Marcus'' pained voice, Natalie pressed down on his injury with some force. "It''s good that it hurts, serves you right."


    Marcus stoppedining.


    During the time it took to finish applying the medicine, neither of them spoke. The air around them grew quiet.


    Lincoln had really gone all out, and aside from Marcus'' face, the rest of his body was covered in bruises.


    When Natalie had finished applying all the medicine, three tubes were emptied.


    "With your condition, are you really going toe with me to Amberton?" Natalie furrowed her brow. "Sorry, Lincoln was a bit too rough."


    "It''s fine. It doesn''t matter," Marcus took the clothes and put them on. "You must be hungry. Let''s go downstairs for breakfast."


    "Okay." Natalie packed away the first aid kit and watched Marcus walk toward the wardrobe.


    Before long, he emerged fully dressed in a suit. His tall frame and cold, refined appearance exuded an air of elegance and aloofness.


    He walked up to Natalie and took the first aid kit from her hands. "Let''s go."


    Natalie nodded, "Okay."


    Marcus stepped back a little, letting Natalie walk ahead of him. As they walked, the faint scent of jasmine clung to him, filling the air.


    Hadn''t Marcus always smelled of a cool fragrance before? When had he switched to this jasmine flower scent?


    Natalie''s mind wandered as they reached the first floor, where Charles, Sheldon,


    and Connie were busy checking through a pile of items.


    As soon as they saw Natalie and Marcus, Sheldon stepped forward, smiling. "Mr. Holden, these are the engagement gifts you instructed to prepare. Take a look."


    "Ms. Walker, did you sleep wellst night?" Sheldon turned to Natalie, his smile widening. "I hope Mr. Holden didn''t disappoint youst night!"


    Natalie was so startled by Sheldon''s words that she began coughing. Marcus calmly patted her back and shot Sheldon an annoyed look. "Sheldon, you scared


    Nat."