lanie looked at herself one last ti in the mirror and sighed. How on earth was she supposed to convince anyone she had been sick when her face was glowing like this? Her face was too flushed and her eyes too bright, thanks to Adam! No one would believe a word of it.
Grabbing a small makeup brush, she carefully touched up her face, softening the healthy glow with duller shades, adding the faintest shadows under her eyes. Anything to make her look pale and worn out instead of well-rested or rather well fuc*ed. When she was finally satisfied, she stepped away from the mirror and went to sit on the couch, her hands resting in her lap as she waited for the man who had already left the hospital, according to her sources.
Cadence Sint.
Even the thought of his na made her pause. A man so obsessively in love with lody that he had taken her to an isolated island, locked her away from the world, and kept her close- but had never once tried to touch her. Not in the way lanie would have expected from soone with that kind of control and power.
It had struck her as strange from the start. If nothing else, when she had suggested this plan-the one where she would return here and try to convince her parents-Cadence should have demanded sothing in return. More intimacy. More of the closeness she was offering, even if only for show.
But he hadn’t.
It was only after turning things over in her head, that lanie had realized the truth. Cadence’s feelings for lody weren’t simple. He didn’t just like her. It was part of whatever twisted, complicated thing was going on in his head. Sothing broken and bruised inside him had latched onto lody, and that was why he kept her close but never crossed the line. Maybe it was like recognising like.
lanie let out another sigh.
She wasn’t an expert in love or psychology. Half the ti, she didn’t even understand her own feelings, let alone soone else’s. So she didn’t know whether pushing Cadence toward Dr. Jung was the right thing to do. Maybe it was wrong. Maybe it would only make things worse. But the man had been looking after Cadence for years without giving up on him. That had to an sothing. Devotion like that didn’t co easily.
And if it ant getting Cadence off her back and out of her life, then lanie was willing to make that sacrifice. To hand him over to Dr. Jung completely.
So here she was. Waiting.
Waiting for Cadence Sint to return so she could play her part. Just then, the door bell rang. lanie’s heart jumped.
She rose slowly, smoothed down the front of her clothes, opened the door and looked at Cadence who looked exactly like she was aiming to look. Pale and tired. Poor guy.
Before she could even think twice, lanie threw herself into his arms with such force that the air left his lungs in a sharp breath, and he staggered back two whole steps before steadying them both.
"Cadence! You’re back! Do you know how sad I was that because I could not go explorign with you, you went out on your own, leaving behind"
She stepped away from him just as his hands ca around her and she smiled up at him,"But you ca back. Halfway through, you actually turned around and ca back to . That makes so happy, Cadence. I can’t believe you ditched Dr. Jung just to return."
She looked up at the bruise at the corner of the man’s mouth and widened her eyes. It seed Dr Jung really had punched Cadence.
With a perfect concerned scowl on her face, she held his chin and carefully touched the red spot," What happened to you? How did you get hurt?"
Cadence shifted slightly under her touch, his jaw tensing for a mont before he answered, "Oh... this?" He glanced toward the bruise as though only now rembering it was there. "I, uh... walked into a door."
lanie blinked. "A door?"
"Yes," he said firmly, eyes perfectly serious. "It was... very aggressive."
For a second, lanie simply stared at him, caught between disbelief and laughter. Of all the excuses he could have co up with, he chose that. A door. An aggressive one, at that. She bit the inside of her cheek to keep her lips from curving, but she could feel the amusent bubbling up anyway.
She let her hand fall from his chin, tilting her head slightly. "Well," she said slowly, her voice carefully even, "if the door attacked you, then it only seems fair that soone helps you feel better."
He looked confused, opening his mouth to ask what she ant, but she was already stepping closer.
"I should kiss it better," she announced with a small smile, rising up on her toes.
The words landed between them like a spark, and she could see the shift in his expression the sudden stiffness in his shoulders, the way his hand twitched as though unsure whether to stop her or let her continue.
lanie leaned in slowly, deliberately, giving him ti to move if he wanted to. Just as she was about to brush her lips against the corner of his mouth, Cadence suddenly stepped back and pushed her away with more force than she expected.
She stumbled, catching herself against the edge of the table nearby. Her eyes snapped to his, and she let hurt show on her face and asked in a poor voice," Cadence?"
He looked at her, guilt flickering briefly before he shook his head. "I... I’m not well," he said abruptly, his tone rough. "I shouldn’t... I can’t—" He cut himself off, ran a hand through his hair like a man cornered, and then muttered, "I have to go."
And before she could say another word, he turned sharply and strode toward the door, movents stiff and hurried, as though staying even one more second might cost him sothing he couldn’t na.
lanie watched him leave, the corners of her lips slowly curving upward.
Not well, huh?
She grinned to herself, the sound of the door closing behind him leaving the room quiet once again. Lol.. Taking out her phone, she ssaged Adam," Ha! Didn’t even near his lips. so you can stop pouting about kissing him."
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