Rain gulped, feeling the weight of her own words crashing down on her. Alexander remained silent, and the longer the pause stretched, the more she wished she could take it all back. Her heart pounded, and she cursed herself inwardly. ’I shouldn’t have said that!’
The silence between them was defeaning, and just as Rain was about to glance over at him, the lights dimd, casting the room in a soft glow. Alexander walked to his bed without addressing her bold comnt.
"I cleared my schedule for tomorrow," he said, his tone casual, changing the subject entirely.
Rain frowned, feeling irritated. ’Why is he talking about his schedule now?’ She mused in frustration.
Alexander continued, "You should also take the day off if you want to visit your Aunt lanie. We can go to the Clayton residence early so you can spend the whole day with her."
Rain jolted upright, suddenly more alert. "Really?"
Alexander, who had been lying down, sat up and looked at her. "Yes. If tomorrow doesn’t work for you, we can reschedule. But I thought it might be good to go early."
Rain blinked in surprise. "Of course I want to go! I’m just shocked you planned it so soon—and for the whole day?"
Rain couldn’t help but wonder, ’Why would Alexander offer to spend the whole day with her and her aunt? He could have easily just made a brief visit during dinner and then left. It didn’t make sense—unless there was more to his intentions.’
"Why are you willing to spend the entire day with and Aunt lanie? You could’ve just stopped by for a quick visit," she voiced out.
Alexander’s expression softened as he explained. "Well... I have access to all information about the Clayton family, but I didn’t go through everything. I only looked into your background after discovering our marriage, and after the hospital incident, I checked about your Aunt lanie because she seems important to you. So I found out how your father beca her legal guardian."
Rain’s face hardened. "My Aunt lanie is perfectly normal! My father fabricated that story to keep her under his control. Yes, she’s sick, but not ntally unstable like he claims. He’s just using that lie to stay in power over her."
Alexander nodded, his eyes steady on her. "Tell everything. I want to know what happened."
Rain took a deep breath, recounting her childhood mories of when she was seven, the ti her Aunt lanie tried to run away with her, and how their father manipulated the situation. "He made sure she couldn’t escape his grasp again," Rain finished, her voice laced with anger and frustration.
Alexander listened intently, his jaw tightening as he processed her story. "So they’re blackmailing you, using her," he remarked. Rain sighed heavily in response.
"Aunt lanie never wanted to give in to my father’s manipulations," Rain said with disdain, her voice tight with emotion. She clenched her fists, her frustration boiling over. "But I’ll do whatever it takes to get her out of that hell," she growled.
"I’ll help you with it," Alexander suddenly offered. Rain’s face brightened in the dim light. "You will?!" she burst out, unable to hide her surprise.
"I will," he replied, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips, "but I’ll add it to your debts."
Rain gulped, wondering how Alexander planned to collect on all these debts he was tallying. Still, none of that mattered at the mont. The fact that he was willing to help her aunt was all she needed right now.
Overwheld with gratitude, Rain smiled at him. Without thinking, she got up from her sofa bed and walked over to him.
"What are you doing?" Alexander looked startled as she sat on the edge of his bed, facing him. Rain didn’t answer. Instead, she threw her arms around him in a tight hug.
"Thank you so much for everything," she murmured against his chest. It felt incredibly comforting to be close to him like this. She smiled when she felt Alexander’s arms wrap around her. ’He’s not pulling away!’ she thought, feeling a surge of joy at the sign of his growing affection.
Her face reddened as she rembered how he had initiated the kiss in his study this morning. It was clear he was warming up to her, and Rain felt that they were genuinely becoming closer. Their interactions now seed natural, as if they were truly developing a aningful relationship.
Alexander chuckled softly. "Isn’t this a little early? Besides, your Aunt lanie isn’t free yet," he teased.
"I know," Rain said, pulling back slightly, "but I’m just grateful that you’re making ti to help her, and as early as tomorrow. I’ve been so worried about her, and I’ve been wanting to see her for so long."
Without thinking, she leaned in and quickly kissed his cheek. "Thank you so much!" she repeated with a grin, before swiftly retreating to her sofa bed. She pulled the quilt over herself, facing away from him, while her heart raced from the spontaneous gesture.
Alexander sat there for a mont, surprised by her boldness, before shaking his head with a smile. "You’re welco, Rain," he muttered, barely audible.
Earlier, when Rain was crying, Alexander felt a tug in his heart. He didn’t like seeing her so sad and wanted to do sothing to lift her spirits. He decided to fulfill her requests, including sharing a bedroom with her, hoping it would overshadow her disappointnt from the day.
He also intentionally cleared his schedule so she could visit her Aunt as early as tomorrow, hoping it would brighten her days ahead.
Subconsciously, Alexander touched his cheek where Rain had kissed him, a smile spreading across his face. "I guess it’s all worth the trouble..." he mumbled to himself, grinning like a fool.
He took a deep breath to steady his erratic heart, feeling a mix of satisfaction and nervous excitent. Although he had never experienced anything quite like this before, he felt oddly content and fulfilled. The unfamiliar emotions were strange to him, but he embraced the feeling, knowing it was a sign of sothing aningful.
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