Chapter 28 Sleeping Arrangement
Natalie stood under the shower, washing the dirt and blood off her body. The smell of blood permeated the air as the steam rose. However, as the water continued to pour down, the smell eventually dissipated.
'I've just narrowly escaped death tonight...' she thought.
***
After leaving the bathroom, Oliver finally realized the state he was in. Because he carried Natalie all the way back, his shirt was also stained with the snake's blood. Feeling disgusted, he quickly turned to the bathroom to take a shower. However, he immediately remembered that he had just left the bathroom, and Natalie was in the shower.
Annoyed, he chided himself for his earlier actions.But he had done so many foolish acts, including carrying her back, allowing her to use his bathroom, and even helping her to wash her face.
He thought angrily, 'To think she even complained that I was hurting her face...'
Following this thought, Oliver recalled how Natalie's checks became slightly red after the wash. He stared at his hands and saw the light calluses from years of shooting and martial arts practice.
'Her skin is very delicate... I probably left marks on her skin...' Oliver mused.
All of a sudden, there was a knock on the door.
Oliver opened the door and asked the maid standing outside, "What's it?"
The maid replied, "Mr. Windsor, these are clothes for Mrs. Windsor."
"Bring them in," Oliver said. He glanced around the room and ordered, "Clean the floor."
"Yes," the maid replied with a nod.
***
Although Oliver rarely returned to the mansion, he had a full closet of clothes. He brought a set of clean clothes out of the closet and went to another bathroom for a shower.
As Oliver under the shower, he thought about the crazy acts he had done earlier.
He thought, 'It's because Natalie was lost in the woods and nearly eaten by a python. And she was there in the first place because she went out to look for me...'
Oliver ran his fingers through his hair as Hailey's beautiful face appeared in his mind. With a dark expression, he had to admit that his former fiancée was obviously much more intelligent than Natalie, who was a complete fool.
***
The servant prepared a white chiffon nightgown for Natalie. It was simple and beautiful. After putting it on, she looked like a fairy from the fairy tales.
"Mrs. Windsor, you look so beautiful!" The maid could not help but exclaim when she saw Natalie.
Natalie smiled and thanked her before asking, "Can you get me an extra blanket?"
The maid looked at the huge bed in the center of the room and asked in confusion, "Why... Isn't this blanket big enough?"
The bed could accommodate four or five people, and the blanket's size matched the bed. It was clearly big enough for Natalie and Oliver.
"Well, I tend to hog the blanket when I sleep at night," Natalie answered. After all, she could not tell the maid that she and Oliver hadn't even shared a room, let alone a bed.
The maid nodded and left. Soon, she returned with a thin blanket.
Oliver walked in on the maid handing the blanket to Natalie, frowning slightly.
The maid left, leaving the two of them in the room, Natalie brought the blanket to the couch. When she turned around, she was met with Oliver's indifferent face. Although the room was spacious, she felt suffocated due to Oliver's overwhelming presence.
Oliver's gaze landed on her arm. The short sleeves of the nightgown couldn't cover the cuts on her arms. The cuts were shallow and had already stopped bleeding. But the red marks looked alarming against her fair arms.
Oliver shifted his gaze to the blanket on the couch and asked, "What is the meaning of this?"
"I'll take the couch," Natalie replied. "You can have the bed."
Oliver inexplicably felt a little angry. When they were in the woods, she clung to him to seek refuge in his arms. Once she was safe, she seemed eager to distance herself from him.
He wondered if she was playing hard to get, or if she really did not want to be near him, feeling frustrated for the latter.
"Switch the lights off," Oliver said without looking at her as he walked toward the bed.
In fact, there was something Natalie wanted to say, but seeing that he was in a bad mood, she obediently switched the lights off.
The bright moonlight shone through the French windows, but the room was still dark.
Oliver lay quietly on the huge bed and covered himself with the blanket.
Natalie curled up on the couch. Wrapping in a cocoon, she still felt a bone-chilling cold. She did not dare to close her eyes at all. Every time she closed her eyes, the scenes from earlier tonight would flash in her mind again.
The dark forest, the sounds of the birds and the beasts, the constant fear of encountering fatal predators and poisonous creatures, the anxiety of being unable to find her way out, the fear of death when she met the python, and the persistent cold she felt since she came back. Everything was haunting her and she didn't know how to make them stop.
Oliver hadn't fallen asleep either. With his keen senses, he heard the rustling noises of the cotton blanket rubbing against the blanket, and he could feel a pair of eyes staring at him in the dark.
He tried to ignore it. After a while, he got up and turned the lights on, only to see a pair of watery eyes staring at him, gaze filled with pleading and fear.
Natalie was cocooned in the blanket and curled up into a ball, leaving only her eyes out. And she was staring at him silently.
The sight of this extinguished Oliver's anger like a bucket of water.
"Shouldn't you be sleeping?"
However, Natalie was frightened by his aloofness. She could not help but recall the ruthless way he had dealt with the Windsor family. He had shot the snake's head off without thinking. Remembering what a dangerous man Oliver was, she stiffened in fear.
"I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to disturb you," Natalie stammered. She lowered her head and whispered, "I'm scared and have trouble sleeping."
"What scares you?"
Perhaps because it was late at night, Natalie was a little impulsive.
She raised her head and pouted. "T-the woods... I went into the woods...because of you. I got lost and ran into a python..."
"What a fool!" Oliver said harshly. At the same time, he thought, 'No wonder she gets bullied by Hailey. She isn't acting dumb. She really is an idiot.'
"You're not much better," Natalie retorted in a small voice.
"What did you say?" Oliver shot her a dark look.
Natalie quickly corrected herself. "I said thank you for saving me!"
Oliver sat up on the bed, bending one leg. He propped himself up with one hand and placed the other on his knee. The collar of his black silk robe was wide open because of his posture. Most women would have swooned, but Natalie remained oblivious to his charm.
Oliver looked at her and said in a flat tone, "You're such a liar."
He was clad in a black silk robe, which gaped open with the movement, revealing a sight that would make any other woman scream with excitement. But Natalie wasn't the least bit fazed by the allure of masculinity.
"So you heard me..." Natalie muttered. She chided inwardly, 'Since you heard me, why bother asking?'
"Anyway, thank you for saving me tonight, Mr. Oliver. I'll remember your kindness tonight. Please go to sleep. I'll try not to disturb you," Natalie said and turned to the other side.
"Hey, you fool," Oliver suddenly called out.
Natalie rolled her eyes and bit her tongue. Not wanting to argue with him, she only scoffed in discontent.
Oliver continued to say, "Remember this. If I really wanted to mess with you, I'd just use a gun."
Natalie thought about it for two seconds before realization dawned on her. She sat up abruptly.
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