By now, the sky waspletely dark. Tiny specks of light flickered across the grassy field. Evelyn was already bouncing with excitement. "Mommy, look! There are so many of them!"


    Seeing her daughter so thrilled, Eleanor smiled. "Let''s go, then!"


    Under the guidance of the resort staff, they walked down a small path into the meadow. Evelyn tugged atn''s hand. "Daddy, help me catch them!"


    After about half an hour, everyone had caught a fair amount. On the ride back, Evelyn cradled her ss jar against her chest, a massive grin stered on her face.


    That night, mesmerized by the glowing jar hanging by her bed, the little girl happily drifted off to sleep. Eleanor, however, tossed and turned. Her long afternoon nap hadpletely chased away her exhaustion.


    Perhaps it was the running around earlier, but she suddenly felt incredibly thirsty. Without bothering to turn on the main lights, she slipped downstairs.


    The dim ent lights were on, but Eleanor didn''t pay them much mind. Just as she approached the water dispenser, she realized someone was sitting on the sofa. She jumped in fright, squinting into the gloom. d in his pajamas,n was sitting there swirling a ss of red wine.


    Clearly, he hadn''t been able to sleep either.


    Their eyes met. Ian smiled softly. "You can''t sleep either?"


    "I just came down for some water."


    Eleanor walked toward the dispenser. Ian stood up. d in a delicate, thin sleepwear set, her long hair cascading loosely down her back, Eleanor''s luminous skin seemed to glow in the dim light, making her look exceptionally soft and vulnerable.


    Just as Eleanor reached the water dispenser, an overwhelming sense of pressure closed in on her. She turned and looked up, instantly colliding with the man''s dark, fathomless eyes. A storm of chaotic emotions was swirling within them.


    The very air in the room crackled with a silent, heavy tension.


    Eleanor''s heart rate spiked uncontrobly. She instinctively took a step back, butn suddenly reached out and hauled her by the waist. She crashed straight into his chest. "Step back any further, and you''re going to knock over your ss," he warned, his voice incredibly hoarse.


    Eleanor nced behind her and saw the brimming ss of water teetering on the edge. She gently pushed against his arm. "Go back to sleep."


    The air in the room seemed to freeze entirely, leaving only the sound of the man''s ragged breathing.


    How could Eleanor not know what he wanted to do? Just as she moved to shove him away, the man''s Adam''s apple bobbed sharply. A As if fighting with everyst ounce of his self-control to suppress his urges, he slowly lowered his head. His scorching breath fanned across her forehead.


    They were agonizingly close to crossing the line.


    Suddenly, as if his strength hadpletely evaporated,n tore his arm away and took a massive step back. "Goodnight," he choked out, his voice tight and strained.


    Without another word, he spun around and practically fled up the stairs.


    Eleanor stood frozen in ce. The spot on her forehead where his breath had


    Inside the second-floor guest room, the man stood rigidly by the floor-to-ceiling window, staring blindly out at the dark mountain


    uncontroble ravenous desire threatened to consume him.


    He actually thought he could y the role of a well-behaved ex-husband.


    But as it turned out, it was nowhere near that easy.


    She didn''t even have to do anything. Just standing there was enough to throw his entire being intoplete chaos.


    In the end, he still lost control and crossed the line.


    The frigid night wind poured in through the window, but it did nothing to cool the raging fire in his chest.


    Defeated, he turned and headed for the bathroom. A freezing cold shower was his only option now.