Chapter 20

After dinner, it was only natural that Kenneth and I would share a room. He wanted to go to the guest room but was scolded back to our room by his grandpa. And so, I...
The two of them looked at each other in the room, feeling extremely awkward.
"Aren't you afraid of defying your grandpa?" I said, a little annoyed.
"Yeah, he's really strict. You saw it too," he replied with a forced expression on his face.
"How did you sleep that night?"
Just thinking about the last time at the hotel, when he tortured me... I still remembered. Especially the next morning, when he treated me coldly and sarcastically, I didn't want to think about it anymore. Tonight, I will definitely control myself and not do anything difficult and unrewarding.
"You sleep on the sofa, I'll sleep on the bed," he said, holding his clothes.
"Why?"
"Because it's my room," he pointed to the layout of the room, "and the sofa is too short for me to sleep on."
"Are you even a man?"
He actually wants me to sleep on the sofa while he sleeps on the bed? He laughed and looked at me, "You already know the answer."
I’m dumbfounded by his actions.
Get lost! I took my clothes and went to the bathroom. After taking a shower, I lay on the sofa and suddenly felt nauseous, as if I was about to rush into the toilet to throw up. Kenneth was still taking a shower inside. I couldn't care less and knocked on the door forcefully.
"Open the door, open it now."
"What's wrong?"
"I feel like throwing up, can you open the door first?"
I covered my mouth, unable to speak clearly.
"Grace, I'm showering, can you not do this right now..."
"I'm not doing this to see you, I'm really uncomfortable."
"Are you sure? Come in now."
"Sure!"
Then the door opened. I rushed to the sink and started vomiting uncontrollably. But I could only spit out saliva, nothing else. As I raised my head, I saw Kenneth standing behind me, wrapped in only a towel, his hair covered in foam, staring at me meaningfully.
"I wasn't lying, I really felt sick just now."
"Mhm, and then?"
He obviously didn't believe me, and I obviously couldn't explain it clearly. Bad luck.
"Forget it, you can continue..." I blushed and walked out, consciously closing the door behind me.
I stood at the door for a few seconds, feeling nauseous again, and started knocking on the door again. This time, he instantly opened the door.
"Come in."
He walked over generously, continued washing his hair, as if he had given up struggling.
"I..." I felt a little embarrassed because I didn't feel like throwing up anymore.
"Is it that you feel nauseous as soon as you go out? Then stay inside, don't go out," he said.
I was surprised. This is a good idea but I’m not sure it’s appropriate. After a few minutes, probably because the steam was too hot, I started to have a nosebleed. I panicked and tried to stop the bleeding.
"Lie back." Kenneth walked over, gently supporting my head, and then used a towel dipped in cold water to apply it to the back of my head. "Don't move."
He remained calm as ever. But I just wanted to find a hole to hide in. It's so embarrassing.
"Has this happened before?" he asked me while helping me stop bleeding.
"Huh? What?"
"Seeing a handsome guy and getting a nosebleed."
My face turned crimson from embarrassment.
"No... it hasn't."
"Maybe you ate too many potato chips today, which caused your body to heat up," I explained.
He lowered his eyes, staring at me, "Heating up? Need my help?"
"No, I don't need it!" I covered my nose and ran outside.
However, my body suddenly felt weak, and I was lifted up by a strong embrace.
"Don't sleep on the sofa," he said.
He placed me by the bedside. Then, after finishing his own preparations, he lay down with me. I felt nervous, and my heart was beating fast. Later, things naturally progressed. He held my face tenderly and kissed me. I did not refuse.
"When are you going home?" he asked softly while kissing me.
"Huh? You're not going home, so why should I go back?" I complained.
"This is my grandfather's house," he stopped and looked at me. "Do you plan on living here forever?"
"It's quite nice here, with someone to keep me company, and the mall is just across the street, making shopping convenient."
In fact, the most important thing is that Kenneth's grandfather really likes me, and I'm quite happy here.
He stared at me without saying anything, then sighed, lowering his voice. “It’s inconvenient here.”
“What’s inconvenient? I find life here quite convenient,” I replied.
He glanced at me, hesitated, and then stopped speaking.
"How do you feel about kids randomly barging in?"
Suddenly realizing what he meant, my mind went blank, and I couldn't find the words to say.
Finally, he hugged me tightly and kissed my forehead.
"Let's go home tomorrow, hm?" he coaxed me.
I was about to say yes, but his phone rang. Originally, he didn't want to answer, but after glancing at the screen, he picked it up.
"What's the matter? It's late," he said. "If you're drunk, have someone take you home. Don't do anything stupid."
Listening to him taking the phone call, I had a vague idea of who it might be, and my heart sank. It was Katie. After hanging up, he absentmindedly looked at me.
"Aren't you going out?" I asked him.
From the conversation, I could guess what had happened. It was probably that Katie had gotten drunk at a bar and couldn't walk, so she asked him to pick her up.
"I'm not going," he replied. He seemed disinterested and distanced himself from me, lying down without showing any emotions.
"What if something happens to her?" I asked him.
"She brought it upon herself," he sighed. "Can I take care of her for the rest of my life?"
Discussing another woman with my husband was truly awkward. I hesitated, not knowing how to continue the conversation.
"Do you really like her that much?" I asked him.
I had heard about his history with Katie. I heard that Kenneth had liked Katie for many years, and if it weren't for marrying me, they probably would have been together and had kids by now. He turned his face to me, looked at me for a moment, got out of bed, and went to the balcony to smoke.
"Not really," he said, feeling somewhat helpless.
My heart skipped a beat.
He continued, "Grace, you can't expect me to have had no one I liked before you. It's not something I can control, especially considering that I met her first."
"And then? Why didn't you get together before?" I stood there stunned, feeling like I was the other woman who had come between them.
"We grew up together, went to school together every day, she pursued me and asked me to be her boyfriend. We dated for a week, and then she broke up with me. She said she liked me because I looked like my brother, but she couldn't continue lying to herself anymore. Isn't it ironic? Is it that all you women are like this, shameless once you get what you want? You're the same way too," he self-mockingly said.
"How did this become about me? I haven't done anything to wrong you," I replied.
"You haven't done anything? You act all high and mighty one moment and then ignore me if I don't buy you a bag or a house. Do you really think you're that great?" he retorted.
I was shocked. In his eyes, had I been reduced to a terrible woman?
After a long pause, I finally spoke up, "What about now? Do you still love her?"
If he still loved her, I could turn a blind eye, but if not, I would step aside.
"I don't love her," he replied.
"I'm tired," he said, and in that moment, I saw the disappointment in his eyes.
Later, he spoke to me about many things from his childhood. Most of the time, it was me asking questions and him giving brief answers.
"Don't bring her up," he said.
"Does it hurt?" I asked.
He looked down at me, his eyes fixed on mine. "I'm afraid it hurts you."
"I don't care, really," I assured him.
"You don't feel anything? You're not jealous?" he looked at me with confusion.
"Why should I be jealous?" I countered.
I must have said something that upset him because he started to become distant again.
"You're right, in your eyes, there's nothing besides money," he sneered.
"Why are we talking about this again?" I was truly at a loss for words. Weren't we discussing him and Katie's situation? I was prepared to console him. But suddenly, the conversation turned back to me.
"Do you really love money that much?" he asked.
"Who doesn't love money?" I replied with a smile.
His face contorted, becoming even more unattractive. "Then why don't you marry the world's richest man? He has more money than me."
"Kenneth, you...you're just being unreasonable," I pondered for a moment. "I don't even know him, do I?"
"Seems like you never had the chance to know him," he coldly retorted.
"Alright, let's stop talking," I couldn't understand why every conversation with him ended up in an argument. I had to intervene before it escalated further. He ignored me.
"Do you still want a kiss? If not, I'm going to sleep," he said, difficult to please.
"Forget it," he replied coldly.
I was speechless. We both remained stubborn for a few minutes. It was unbearable...
I turned my face and tried to coax him, "Kenneth, I truly feel that you are even more difficult to handle than my younger brother, but you're only three days younger than me."
"Who's younger? I was born two weeks after the due date!" he protested.
"Well, we'll go by when you were actually born then. I'll call you my little brother from now on."
"Little brother?" he burst into laughter. Before I could react, he pinned me down and punished me with a kiss. "You really are something."
"No, you're the one who's something. So what if I'm older? Is it a problem if you call me sister?"
"Say it again and see what happens," he threatened.
I chuckled, Grace was never one to be intimidated.
"Little brother."
"What do you want?" his expression immediately changed. He held my hand above my head.
"Little brother...I'll serve you." I said being coy.