CHAPTER 54: BODY PROXIMITY

The loud bang on the door made Daisy’s eyes snap open. For a terrifying second, she couldn’t remember where she was. Then it hit her—she’d fallen asleep in the bathtub. Thank God she hadn’t slipped under.

"Are you okay? Answer me! Or else I’m slamming this door open!" Elias’s voice barked from the other side. "Daisy!"

She jolted upright, water sloshing. "I’m fine! Stop yelling, you idiot!"

There was a pause.

"I’m not the idiot who took a bath for freaking two hours," he retorted.

"Go away!" she groaned, dragging herself out of the bath.

"I won’t," he said smugly. "I’ll wait right here. I need to see what the hell takes two hours to wash. You must be sparkling by now. Glowing. Maybe even polished like a diamond."

She chuckled, at least this Elias managed to make her smile. Taking a towel, she wiped herself and took the pyjamas to wear it only to be stiff.

The pyjamas on her hand were usually worn by a woman who wanted to seduce her husband or whoever the partner was.

She blinked profusely, still in disbelief.

"Elias!" She suddenly called for him, thinking of another solution, "Are you still there?"

He perked up at the sound of his name, voice way too eager. "Still here. Missed me already?"

"I need clothes," she said flatly.

"You already have pyjamas, don’t you?"

"I can’t wear this!" she hissed, holding the silky, lacy thing up like it might burn her.

There was a pause. Then, a laugh. Loud and shameless. "Wait, wait—let me guess, must be too daring for you to come out?"

"I’m not joking!" she snapped. "Find me something else. A T-shirt, anything!"

"Say please first..."

Silence stretched for a moment.

Then Daisy’s voice finally came, low and begrudging.

"Please."

He grinned. "On my way!"

A soft knock tapped at the bathroom door.

"Delivery for Miss Modesty," Elias announced theatrically. "One plain white T-shirt and a pair of whatever-I-could-find jumpsuit. You’re welcome."

Daisy cracked the door open just enough to snatch the clothes from his hand, not even showing her face. "Thanks," she mumbled.

He chuckled. "No need to sound so grateful."

She shut the door with a thud and looked at what she got—an oversized T-shirt and an even baggier dark grey jumpsuit that looked like it belonged to someone twice her size. The sleeves dangled past her wrists, and the pants bunched up around her ankles.

Still, it was better than the seductive satin thing.

Five minutes later, she stepped out, drowning in the outfit but chin held high.

Elias, lounging just outside, took one look and burst out laughing. "You look like you borrowed your dad’s clothes."

"My husband’s clothes," she muttered, walking past him, trying to ignore how the jumpsuit sagged off one shoulder no matter how many times she adjusted it.

"Ah... I suddenly remembered the first time we met."

His words made Daisy pause and glance over her shoulder.

"You told me you two were a loving couple. Married out of love and all that."

Daisy blinked, but didn’t say anything.

Elias chuckled at her silence. "It was kind of cute, honestly. The way you looked so determined to protect that story, like it actually mattered if he remembered or not."

She stared at him, a faint frown forming. "And you still believe that?"

He looked confused. "Why wouldn’t I? I mean, sure, he forgot a lot of things, but the way you acted... it didn’t seem fake."

Her lips parted, but she didn’t bother correcting him. What was the point?

She turned away, muttering under her breath, "It wasn’t for you."

"Huh?"

"Nothing," she said quickly, tugging at the oversized sleeve again. "This jumpsuit’s about to swallow me whole."

"You’re still glowing, though," Elias teased. "Maybe that two-hour bath really did polish you up."

Daisy rolled her eyes, but a faint smile tugged at her lips.

As she sat at the edge of the bed, she looked up to see Elias strolling toward her.

"You sleep on the couch," she said, pointing lazily.

Then, scrunching her nose and sticking out her tongue, she added, "Good night."

Elias raised a brow. "You’re kicking me out of my own bed?"

She lay back on the mattress, arms stretched like a starfish. "Your bed? This is my husband’s bed. Give him back and you can sleep here..."

Obviously, she lied. Even when Theo was being Theo, they never actually slept together—why would they?

Elias narrowed his eyes. "Hah. Is that so? Then technically, to get him to return to himself, shouldn’t we stick together more? You know... like... snuggling while sleeping."

Daisy let out a short laugh. "Dream on."

"I mean it. What if body proximity helps trigger him? Worth a try."

"You want to be my therapy dog now?" Daisy already closed her eyes, feeling sleepy already.

He grinned. "Woof."

She stared at him, unimpressed. "No."

Elias sighed and flopped onto the couch with a loud, pitiful groan. "Fine."

But his fine was not really fine, he kept on making noise and Daisy huffed in annoyance as it disturbed her from going to dreamland.

"Can you stay still...?" She jerked up in anger.

"This couch was too small for me," Elias sat up too, "Can I like...sleep at the edge of the bed? I promise..." he raised his fingers as a promise, "I won’t do anything..."

She sighed, too sleepy to argue, "Whatever..." She lay back on the bed and pulled the blanket, covering up her whole body.

Elias lit up like a kid getting an early Christmas. He practically ran to the bed, flinging the couch cushion aside like it was garbage and diving under the blanket with a victorious sigh.

The mattress dipped slightly as he settled at the very edge, just like he promised. He stayed quiet for a beat, glancing over at Daisy. She was already half-asleep, buried under the blanket like a grumpy cocoon.

A little rustle. A soft shuffle.

He tried adjusting the pillow without moving too much, but the mattress still gave a small bounce.

No response from Daisy.

Silence returned until his breathing slowed. He stared at the ceiling, the faint light casting shadows across his face.

His eyes, once relaxed and careless, grew cold and focused.

And for a moment, the playful curve of Elias’s mouth disappeared,