Ste pressed her lips together and said hesitantly, "Maybe... maybe I should just make do on the sofa in the study..."
Remington raised an eyebrow. "What''s wrong? Afraid of having nightmares? Joy has a beautiful soul. Whenever I miss her, I rest in that room, and I always dream of her."
"Really? Ha... why would I have nightmares? It''s just that the room hasn''t been
tidied up."
"It doesn''t need tidying. The bed is perfectly clean. Just pull off the white cloth, and you can sleep on it. Didn''t you say you were worried about Ron waking up and crying in the middle of the night? That room is the closest to the master bedroom."
Since Remington had already put it that way, declining again would make her look undeniably guilty and cowardly. Ste forced a smile and nodded. "Alright then. As long as you don''t mind me spending the night in Joy''s room."
Remington withdrew his gaze and turned to leave. But suddenly, Ste took a step forward and grabbed his arm.
"Remington, I came here in such a rush that I didn''t bring any pajamas. Could I..... borrow one of your shirts to wear?"
Remington''s gaze slowly dropped, finallynding on Ste''s hand gripping his sleeve. The look in his eyes was as sharp as a de, brimming with such intense disgust it was as though she were something filthy.
Ste reflexively loosened her fingers, biting her lip in resentment. "I..."
Before she could finish, Remington interrupted with a cold voice, "Ste West, put away your petty schemes. If it weren''t for Ron, you wouldn''t have even set foot in Oakridge Heights today. A woman should have some self-respect."
Hisst sentence dripped with mocking disdain, echoing the very words she had thrown at Liz.
Ste''s face flushed bright red. He had definitely overheard what she had said earlier. Tears welled up in her eyes as she opened her mouth to argue, but Remington ruthlessly shook off her hand and strode away.
Staring at his incredibly aloof silhouette, Ste clenched her fists tightly, her heart burning with overwhelming anxiety With him
acting this repulsed and guard
she couldn''t even get close
to him, let alone aplish anything else.
Frowning deeply, she turned and headed downstairs.
Remington went into the adjacent bedroom. After finishing his shower, he was
toweling his hair dry when a soft knock sounded at the door.
He walked over and asked deeply, "Who is it?"
Outside, holding a ss of hot milk, Ste tried the handle, intending to
let herself in. But to her shot
the
.n
door was deadbolted from the inside The handle wouldn''t budge. The loud, metallic click-ck of the locked handle echoed clearly through the quiet hallway, feeling like a resounding p across Ste''s face. It was painfully obvious who this locked door was meant to keep out.
Gripping the handle so tightly she wanted to snap it off in a fit of rage, Ste softened her voice into a gentle hum. "Remington, I couldn''t sleep, so I warmed up some milk. I brought a ss up for you. You..."
Before she could finish, the door clicked open.
The man stood in the doorway, wrapped loosely in a bathrobe. The cor was slightly parted, revealing a glimpse of his corbone and the sharp contours of his chest muscles.
Ste''s heart skipped a beat, and her face instantly flushed. Pushing the ss of milk forward, she took a step toward him.
"The milk is at the perfect temperature..."
She pretended her foot caught on
the edge of the doorway rug and let herself stumble forward. In her
mind, the scene was perfectly scripted: she would fall forward, milk ss in hand, right into his embrace. A little milk would spill onto his bathrobe, and she would hurriedly frantically wipe it off. As her fingers slipped against the fabric over his chest, she didn''t believe she couldn''t spark a fire. After all, Remington was a healthy, vigorous man in his prime, and ever since his divorce from Liz, there hadn''t been a single woman by his side. The fact that he and Liz had showered in separate rooms tonight only proved that they hadn''t truly reconciled yet.