Unfortunately for Shirley, she happened to grab Zacharias’ wound, but she quickly released her grip. However, by then, the man had already finished reading the message. She snatched her phone back and asserted, “Even if you’re my boss, you’re not allowed to peek at my messages.”
“Ouch! That hurts.” He winced, covering the spot where she had grabbed him.
Concerned, she immediately put down her phone and checked on him. A subtle smile played on his lips, suggesting he was more significant than she’d thought. After confirming that his arm was okay, she picked up her phone and headed outside.
Zacharias sighed, realizing that Shirley was deliberately avoiding him.
A sense of urgency gripped her heart. She hoped Cole wouldn’t misunderstand her relationship with Zacharias. She glanced at his message and noticed that he hadn’t mentioned Zacharias, indicating that Cole wasn’t aware of the person she cared for. She sent Cole a message. ‘Cole, I’m taking care of a friend in the hospital.
Okay. Take care of yourself, too, he replied. ‘I will. You too, Shirley replied with a warm smile, feeling a sweet warmth in her heart.
I’m about to go on a mission. We’ll chat when I have some free time, Cole responded. She understood his work demands and replied with a smiling face, saying, ‘Stay safe.”
At that moment, a new message appeared from her difficult-to-please boss inside the room.
‘Come in. I have something to discuss. Shirley hadn’t had a chance to savor the sweetness of love and quickly got up to enter the hospital room. Zacharias was lying in bed and said to her, “Check if I still have a fever.”
She promptly approached him and placed her hand on his forehead, reporting, “You still have a high fever!”
“Help me wipe my body. I’m feeling uncomfortable,” he requested. She pressed the call bell, and the nurse brought alcohol and a towel. The doctor also came and prescribed a fever-reducing medicine for Zacharias. Shirley then helped him with physical cooling.
Zacharias obediently took the medicine. After everyone left, he unbuttoned his hospital gown with his long fingers. Shirley reached out to help him take it off.
His eyes were a bit red from the fever, and even his normally rosy lips now appeared deeper in color, giving him an alluring, almost demonic appearance. He exuded an even more devilish aura.
“Does he know that you’re taking care of me?” he asked while tilting his long neck to allow her to wipe him. Shirley furrowed her delicate eyebrows. “He doesn’t know.”
“What if he finds out?”
“Cole won’t misunderstand us,” she replied calmly. The coolness of the alcohol on Zacharias” skin and her proximity ignited a warm desire in his heart. He asked, “Why?”
“Because we trust each other,” she replied firmly. “You wouldn’t understand.”
Zacharias, already hurt, felt more wounded by Shirley’s words. He remained silent and reached out to hold her hand. “No need to wipe me anymore.”
She had only wiped him for a short while and wondered why he was acting strange. “You still need to cool your back down,” she said.
“Your words have already cooled me down,” he said gloomily, clearly sulking. Shirley had never seen a man in his late twenties behave so childishly. “Zacharias, don’t mess around,’ she said, biting her lip in frustration.
Exhausted, he mumbled, “I want to rest for a while. You should rest, too.”
She found him difficult to deal with and watched as he lay down, apparently needing to close his eyes and rest. She reluctantly left the room and sat in a chair outside. However, she couldn’t stop worrying about him. So, every half an hour, she went in to check on him, and before she knew it, it was already 2.00AM.
Seeing that the man’s fever had finally subsided, Shirley still couldn’t fall asleep. Even though she was drowsy, her mind was filled with worry that he might have another high fever. It was as if she had a child she was concerned about. She hadn’t realized that her care for Zacharias had surpassed their relationship.
