Chapter 69

+15 BONOS Violet gradually relaxed. When she turned around, she confirmed that it was Lucius who had been holding her.

Struggling to speak, she asked faintly, “G–Grandma, is she…?”

Her voice trailed off, lacking strength.

Lucius let go of her, and massaged his temples. He assured her, “Grandma’s fine. She’s just resting.”

“So, Grandma wasn’t taken away?”

Lucius made no attempt to answer.

Instead, he briskly walked out to confront the doctor nursing a sore cheek. “Make sure she’s thoroughly checked for any potential aftereffects.”

Howard had struck hard. Violet was lucky to have survived it.

Watching Lucius walk away, Violet gingerly touched her throbbing head.

“How did I end up back here?” she asked, lying down.

Despite his irritation at being slapped earlier, the doctor replied truthfully, “Master Lucius brought you back.”

“Lucius brought me back?” Violet asked, doubtful. She wondered if there were problems with her hearing, or perhaps there was something wrong with the doctor’s eyes.

Surprisingly, the next morning, Lucius appeared in her room.

“Turn your head here,” he said sharply.

Violet slowly turned her head toward him, feeling his cool fingers soothe her neck.

“What are you doing?” she asked, startled.

“Applying medicine. Can’t you tell?” Lucius replied, his voice still cold.

“Why are you doing it?” Violet asked, confused.

Lucius shot her a glance that suggested she was asking the obvious.

She had meant that, with a doctor available, Lucius’s personal attention seemed unnecessary.

Despite his best efforts to be gentle, he was a brute man and his touch was painfully firm. Violet endured silently, biting back any sounds of discomfort.

“Feeling hot?” he suddenly inquired, noting the sweat on her forehead. He adjusted the air conditioning, making it cooler.

Shivering, Violet protested, “It’s not heat. It’s pain causing the discomfort.”

Lucius’s face darkened with displeasure. Shadows quickly veiled his features; he seemed greatly displeased.

1/3:

+15 BONOS Violet buried her head deep, avoiding further eye contact. She knew being too honest could be risky.

Lucius withdrew his hand without hurting her, grumbling inwardly. Many others desired his attention, but this woman didn’t appreciate it.

“By the way, did you carry me back yesterday?” Violet asked, still finding it hard to believe.

Given Lucius’s dislike for her, she assumed he would have asked a servant to drag her back if she had fainted.

“Do you have a problem with that?” he snapped.

His reply carried an unsettling tone. While he didn’t explicitly confirm it, the underlying message was evident.

Violet abruptly raised her head to look at him; her disbelief was obvious.

Feeling uneasy under her scrutiny, Lucius scowled and said, “Who would care for Grandma if you were gone?”

With those words, he left arrogantly.

Accepting his logic, Violet nodded silently in agreement. Once feeling somewhat better, she visited Regina’s room.

Regina, now awake, gestured eagerly for Violet. “Come here, come over.”

Violet approached as requested.

“How are you feeling after the incident?” Regina asked.

“I’m managing. It’s not too severe.”

Regina expressed her regret, “I’m sorry, he’s habitually rough.”

Her apology only added to Violet’s discomfort.

“I’m really okay. See, it doesn’t hurt much,” Violet said, wincing as she tried to hide her discomfort.

Regina let out a sigh of relief, then said, “Lucius was truly frightened yesterday. He thought you were dead, and he almost confronted that man. Oh, those two…“.

Was the scenario overly dramatic? Violet suspected Regina was just trying to make her feel better.

“I’ll bring you some porridge,” she offered, heading downstairs.

“Do you think Ms. Agatha will win back Master Lucius’s favor?”

“It’s unlikely.”

“You weren’t there to see it, but yesterday, when Ms. Agatha was injured, Master Lucius held her in such a worried manner, almost as if her life was in danger. I’ve never seen him this disturbed over anyone, except for Madam Davis.”

Hearing the servants‘ chatter, Violet stopped in her tracks, deep in thought.

2/3:

+15 BONOS Was Regina’s account accurate? Why was Lucius so deeply concerned about her? Was his worry simply about who would look after his grandmother?

Later that day, George arrived with a nurse, saying, “The nurse will take care of Madam Davis while she sleeps. Ms. Agatha, you can rest in the adjoining room.”

He gestured towards a small bed recently added to the room, placed there in his direction.

Violet felt uneasy accepting this arrangement. “I’m not sure if this is right.”

George, sensing her hesitation, reassured her, “This is Master Lucius’s directive.”

Had Lucius become unexpectedly thoughtful? The realization that it was his idea sparked a warmth within her.

That evening, Lucius visited Regina’s room. Violet was feeding Regina porridge, gently cooling each spoonful before giving it to her.

Lucius stood by silently, observing. The way Violet’s lips delicately touched the spoon, looking sweet and delicate, resembled the soft petals of a flower.

His throat tightened unexpectedly.

“Have you just arrived?” Regina was the first to notice Lucius’s presence, breaking the silence.

Then Lucius came forward, and asked, “Grandma, how are you feeling today?”

Where only one chair was available, Lucius took a seat next to Violet. This resulted in their proximity, with their bodies almost touching.

Feeling his firm waist muscles, Violet instinctively recoiled, as though she had come into contact with something scorching.

Inwardly, she grumbled about Lucius’s authoritative nature; he didn’t even ask her to move over. Jerk!