Old Mr. Wyatt added, "Come back in two weeks to have the stitches removed."
"Thank you, Mr. Wyatt," Joshua said gratefully.
Old Mr. Wyatt let out a strangeugh. "No need to thank me. I''m just fulfilling a request."
Joshua''s gaze deepened, sensing something was off.
Just as he was about to ask more, Ste began to stir.
Joshua''s attention immediately shifted to her.
He went to her bedside and asked softly, "Star, are you okay?"
Ste''s eyes fluttered open, her mind still hazy and nk for a moment.
She thought she had dreamed of Leonard.
Ste didn''t know why she would dream of him.
After leaving Old Mr. Wyatt''s office that day, she hadn''t asked if Leonard was still alive. Whether he was dead or alive no longer mattered to her. The score between them had long been settled.
Ste blinked, her vision slowlying into focus as she shook off the confusion. She looked at the handsome, refined features of the man before her and softly called his name.
"Joshua."
Joshua wanted to take her hand but was afraid of identally touching her injured one. He seemed at a loss for a moment.
Seeing his hesitation, Ste lifted her uninjured hand and gently took his.
His fingers were cool, and she could feel the tension radiating from his fingertips. He must have been incredibly nervous during the hours she was in surgery.
At that moment, he wasn''t the master strategist who always had a n, but simply an ordinary man worried about the woman he loved.
"Joshua, don''t be nervous," Ste soothed. "I''m fine now, see?"
He instinctively tightened his grip on her hand, then immediately loosened it, afraid
of hurting her. The tension that had been gripping him finally eased now that she was awake.
Observing the scene, Old Mr. Wyatt sighed silently and shook his head.
It was clear that the young Leonard didn''t stand much of a chance.
Though he didn''t know what they had been through, their connection was obviously deeper than that of an ordinary couple. The moreplicated a rtionship was, the harder it was to forget.
***
After Ste was discharged, Joshua was extremely attentive to her recovery, personally taking care of her every day. In just two short weeks, he even managed to be an excellent cook.
At dinner, Ste looked at the dishes
on the table, her feelings a mix of admiration and something moreplex. The dishes were a masterpiece of presentation and
aroma, perfectly bnced in every way.
It had taken her years to master her own culinary skills, but Joshua had done it in just two weeks.
When Joshua set his mind to learning something, he could master itpletely. Was this the gap between people?
Joshua didn''t seem to notice what Ste was thinking and ced a piece of food on her te.
"Star, this is a new dish I learned. Try it and see if you like it."
Only Ste''s left hand had been operated on, so using her right hand for daily tasks wasn''t much of a problem.
She took a bite, and her feelings grew even moreplicated. Even the taste was wless.
Ste felt her own cooking skills were being put to shame.
If Joshua weren''t usually so busy, only having time to dabble in cooking during his leisure, she felt she would bepletely outssed.
"It''s delicious," Ste said.
Joshua smiled. "If there''s anything else you want to eat, just let me know. I have some free time to learn new recipestely."
Ste recalled how busy Joshua had been recently.
She asked, "Joshua, what were you so busy with before?"
Joshua answered honestly, "Busy nning how to kidnap Aurora."
Ste was stunned. "You''re going to kidnap Aurora?"
Joshua''s voice was clear and cold. "I had the idea, but Solmaris is the Williams family''s territory. With the ? Burton and Chapman families protecting her and how careful she is, it''s very difficult to pull off. But..."
Joshua''s dark eyes narrowed. "I can send her a special gift on her engagement day.
Let''s just say it''s a down payment on the interest she owes."