CHAPTER 27: DAZZLED BY MY BEAUTY

Hilla carefully removed her coat. The part where her back was stuck to the cloth stung in pain when she tugged at the coat.

"Hiss..." Hilla could not help but sucked in a sharp breath. The cold air hitting her wound made the pain even more distinct.

Those men might not be skilled in fighting, but they had a lot of brute force. She was lucky that the bat only hit her back. If it had landed on her arm, she might have been the one who ended up with a broken arm today.

The terrifying shade of red looked as if it was bleeding. Hilla trembled as she removed her shirt. She picked up a medicine box and tried to reach for her back.

"Oh no... What should I do? I can’t reach it... Oww..."

Hilla soon lowered her arm. The cotton bud that was stained with antiseptic fluid was discarded into the trash can. She huffed and puffed as she went to bed. She did not care that she was not wearing anything on her upper body as she held Bruce’s hand tightly and said in an aggrieved tone, "Bruce, I’m in so much pain."

The man in bed remained quiet and unmoving.

Hilla got angry and said, "Bruce, I’m injured! I was beaten. I’ve taken care of you for so long, could you at least open your eyes to make me feel better?"

She looked at the man in bed, and she felt even worse than before. Even the pain on her back became worse.

She was afraid of Halle Holt knowing about this, but she was even more afraid of Orlenna Organa finding out. She did not even want the servants to know about it. All in all, she could not tell a single person who was close to her about this. But now, she could not apply medicine on her own.

She sniffed, feeling aggrieved. The hit she took on her back was worse than the injuries she sustained during martial arts training.

"Bruce, I feel really horrible."

Her nose was dripping mucus as she wiped her tears. She lay on the bed pitifully. Once she relaxed, her body started to ache all over. The pain on her back felt like needles sticking into her.

She knew that her back was starting to swell as she could feel the skin around it tightening and warming up like fire. Even her cold was getting worse by the minute. Not only did she feel dizzy and weak, but her entire body was also starting to feel really uncomfortable.

She could not help but hold his hands tightly. It was as if the tighter she held on, the lesser the pain on her body.

"How are you my husband...? You’re failing in every aspect."

With eyes red with aggrievance, she grumbled. She knew that the man in bed could

not reply to her, so she pulled the blanket over her body gently, but when the sheets touched her wound, she would be assaulted by a wave of stinging pain.

She bit down on her lip, but sweat was starting to bead up on her forehead.

She opened the medicine box beside her. A faint medicinal aroma came out and spread around the room.

"Say, if I go out and look for someone to help me apply the medicine now, will they find it curious?"

How could a girl like her sustain such a wound?

First, it was the fall of the Holt family. After that, she stood on thin ice when living with the Andersons. Bruce was still sleeping in bed. Bad things kept happening to her one after another. Sooner or later, someone would start labeling her as a vixen who went around flirting with men. After all, she was very beautiful.

Hilla sighed. She had no idea why she wanted to protect the Andersons and Bruce’s honor while she suffered.

"I wonder who is the bastard who hired them. When I find out who the culprit is, I’ll break all of his limbs!"

Hilla continued to rant angrily on the bed. She was without any clothes, yet she continued to lay on the bed completely unbothered, because she was not worried that the man beside her would wake up and see her.

After all, even if he were to wake up, he would not wake up right now, because it would be too much of a coincidence. After all, she was half-naked from the waist up now.

With great difficulty, she applied medicine on her own but after doing it for a while, she started to sweat all over her head. Hilla sighed again and decided to stop struggling. She hugged Bruce Anderson instead and continued to rant beside his ears.

"Since you won’t help me, you’re also a bad guy...

"Right now, anyone can bully me, and I don’t even know who the bastards who bully me are.

"Bruce, you’re already so old, and you’re at the age where I can call you uncle! Do you not feel ashamed for having me take care of you?

"Bruce, I feel so sleepy! Being sick is so unbearable! But why do I feel like crying so much?"

Her voice gradually became softer and, in the end, she started to sob, though she tried to stifle her cries as hard as she could.

Even in front of her husband, the comatose patient, she could not let him see her cry.

In the past, Hilla was so prideful and now, she was so helpless and filled with aggrievance.

She was afraid of bullies and afraid of those people who harbored malicious thoughts toward her. She was even more afraid of the day she could not even protect herself.

A lonely woman was like a duckweed floating adrift in the vast open sea. The Andersons might have given her refuge, but it was like driftwood that just made her continue drifting in the vast ocean. However, the wood was just too small and fragile. It would never survive the stormy weather and the unforgiving waves.

The marriage contract she had with the Andersons was something she knew would disappear at any moment. When that happened, where would she drift to? Would she be swallowed by the waves?

"Bruce, I’m so scared. Would you please wake up? If you wake up, you could hold my hands and protect me.

"Mother said that you will protect us. If you wake up, I will never be hurt anymore. I won’t have to worry about being bullied.

"Bruce, would you pamper me and protect me? Bruce, would you please wake up?!" Her feeble voice became so soft in the end that it was inaudible.

The night was quiet. Hilla subconsciously hugged the man’s arm, as if only that could bring her a sense of security.

Crystalline tears drenched her long lashes and under the light of the crystal chandelier, her face was flushed with a feverish red hue.

The night sky was beautiful that night. The moon at the horizon was very bright. The soft moonlight snuck through the window and gently shone on the girl’s red, naked back.

Her head felt heavy. It was as if all the bones on her back were all broken. She could not move, but she kept on uttering Bruce’s name.

An unknown amount of time later, the searing pain on her back started to fade. Something cool and refreshing replaced it. The comfort instantly chased away the searing pain on her back.

Hilla felt so comfortable that she moaned a little. She turned her head.

The night illuminated by the lights caused it to be very easy for the human mind to run wild with imagination. Hilla tried hard and forced her eyes to open a little. The light that shone into her eyes allowed her to see the silhouette of a dark figure.

The figure was tall and blocked most of the light in her vision. Somehow, the figure felt familiar. It even smelled familiar.

The figure gradually got closer to her, revealing a sharp, handsome face. There was a slight frown on his face, and his profound eyes shone with gentle heartache.

She could feel a faint wave of gentleness spread on her back. Cold fingers were carefully spreading about her back as they cared for her wounds.

"Bruce, is that you? Are you awake?"

The woman’s voice was weak and dry. She lay on the bed pitifully and obediently like an injured little kitten.

The man on the bed was shocked, and his fingers froze as he spread ointment on her back. His thin, red lips pursed together before they finally parted, and he said, "Mhm."

On the bed, Hilla smiled. Her cheeks were flushed red, and her smile looked so good that it caused a pang in one’s heart. In a daze, she said, "How could that be? How could you be awake? I must be dreaming."

After that, she reached out and tightly held the hand against her bosom. Quietly, she mumbled, "It’s so good that you’re here with me. It’s so nice that I could even dream of you. Bruce, you have such beautiful eyes. They are as beautiful as I thought they were. They’re just like the stars in the sky!"

...

What did the stars in the night skies look like?

Unblinding, yet profound and beautiful. That was how Hilla thought of Bruce’s eyes.

Sadly, she was only dreaming.

The man only managed to sit upright after much struggle. He looked at the little lady sleeping soundly in front of him. She was beautiful. Her skin was flushed with red. Even though she was suffering from a fever right now, she was still grumbling about him.

So, the woman who had been constantly blabbing into his ears and struck him hard looked like that.

However, when his eyes landed on the streak of red on her fair, smooth back, his originally calm eyes instantly turned dark with violence.

From his hours of listening to her rant, he got to know this girl. She was sometimes cunning, yet occasionally fragile and filled with sadness. Now, she was like an injured little kitten that was curled up in a fetal position beside him.

The ointment spread all over his fingers gave off a faint, cool sensation. When he spread them over her wounds, Hilla shuddered under him. Her red lips parted as she whispered, "Hurts."

"Aren’t you usually very skilled? Why are you hurt now?"

Bruce’s deep voice echoed in the quiet room. It was like the gentle sound of a cello, and even though it was calm, there was a light tremor that could not be hidden in it as well.

That was his first time... talking to her.

Hilla had a bad fever, and she was barely lucid. She was clearly asleep, yet she seemed to be able to hear the sound of the person beside her. She quietly said, "Bruce, please avenge me."

He had been in bed for half a year. How on earth could she think that he would have the energy to take revenge for her?

Bruce laughed lightly. His red lips pursed on his thin and angular face. He looked at the woman breathing faintly in bed. "Very well. I will avenge you."

When he thought Hilla had fallen back to sleep, she suddenly replied and said, "Okay."

A smile formed on her lips before she mumbled, "I’m cold."

Bruce was stunned a little. His hands stopped moving. Since he had finished applying medicine on her back, he slowly pulled the blanket by the side and tucked her in gently.

Hilla was in a much greater state of comfort after she gained warmth. Although every bit of movement hurt her, she fell into a peaceful sleep.

On the large bed, the man leaned against the headboard. He no longer had any strength in him after lying in bed for more than half a year. He looked around the room, taking it in before his eyes landed back on the girl’s face. Slowly, the look on his face turned gentle.

Was this still his room?

The original grayscale theme in his room was gone after the woman decorated it, causing it to look livelier. There were fresh lilies in the room, and he could see that those flowers were taken care of daily.

His curtains had been black, but now, they were replaced by curtains that were semi-translucent and white. As they hung down, they covered half of the night sky outside. It was still his room. His belongings did not seem to have been touched and yet, because of the girl sleeping next to him, things were not the same anymore.

His hand was still in Hilla’s firm grip. The expensive silk sleeve was stained with drool! This girl was a slob!

He frowned and tried to wrestle his hand away from her but soon realized there was no way for him to free his hand from her bosom. The sensation of something soft and warm against the back of his hand immediately made his eyes darken.

How could a grown lady such as herself be so unguarded toward a man! This was pure torture.

"Don’t move!"

Hilla suddenly mumbled when she felt the hand in her embrace trying to wrestle for freedom.

Not only did she not grant the hand its wish, she only tightened her grip.

Bruce let out a deep, heavy sigh and actually stopped moving his arm. He laid back quietly on the bed. With his other hand, he touched her forehead.

The burning sensation on her forehead still remained, and she was burning so hotly that even her cheeks were red.

"If you’re sick, then rest."

The man’s deep, husky voice rang in her ear. It was like a comforting requiem. The little lady next to him moved closer to him, and she had a peaceful look on her as she slept.

Hilla’s body constituency was better than others as she had been through martial arts training. Her recovery speed was better than others.

By the morning of the next day, her cold had mostly subsided. She opened her eyes in a daze and looked at the man sleeping next to her. Her thoughts started to waver.

Her mind might have been confused because of the fever last night? Otherwise, why did she see Bruce Anderson looking straight at her with his own eyes? She even heard him talk to her and apply medicine on her back...

With that thought in mind, Hilla froze. The wound on her back did not hurt as much

as the night before. Perhaps, after a night’s worth of rest, the wound had started to scab up. Sadly, since the wound was behind her, she could not see it on her own.

Hilla looked at the man on the bed and recalled the familiar, angular, and handsome face. She recalled his gentle breath in her ear. At that moment, Hilla looked shy, just like a girl. After that, she planted a kiss on Bruce’s cheeks.

"Good morning, darling!"

That was her first time calling Bruce "darling". Even though she knew the man on the bed would not make fun of her, Hilla blushed anyway. She sat on the bed and quickly turned around while she placed her hands over her racing heart. She faced the clear French windows and breathed deeply.

With a sweet voice, Hilla had shyly uttered a "good morning" into his ears. Before Bruce could even open his eyes, his cheeks were touched by a gentle, humid warmth.

He felt as if his soul had been cleansed by a refreshing breeze and as if grass had swiped at his heart. He felt like a cello string that had just been plucked, because he was trembling due to the morning kiss. The man instantly saw a beautiful face in his mind.

The man opened his eyes suddenly and subconsciously looked to his side.

What he saw was a fully nude woman and her long slender back. There, he saw a fresh, red wound that extended from her shoulder joint to her thin shoulder and back.

Her round shoulder joint shone with a gentle light, and it looked so tender that it was dazzling.

This was a back with a wound. He should find it unpleasant, and yet, Bruce was enticed to keep watching.

His profound eyes were like a well with a bottom that could not be seen. His gaze was locked on the woman’s naked back. The more he looked, the darker his eyes became.

Hilla sat for a long time to calm her mind. Then, she remembered something and turned around to look at Bruce.

The moment Hilla turned, Bruce quickly squeezed his eyes shut.

Hilla pinched the bridge of her nose and walked toward the wardrobe fully naked before she picked her clothes and got dressed.

When the door closed shut, the man on the bed opened his eyes again. He looked at the chandelier light above his head and after a long time, he frowned and sighed a breath of relief.

Even though he was now awake, his body was still weak. Even so... he was still at the age where he was easily given to passion.

As Hilla was having her breakfast, Orlenna noticed how Hilla looked a little sickly.

Orlenna pestered her about it, and it was only then she learned that Hilla was sick.

Orlenna immediately sent someone to fetch her cold medicine. After watching her take her medicine, Orlenna ordered her to go back to her room and rest.

"Bruce, did you know that it’s your fault that I got sick?"

Hilla scoffed coldly and angrily at the man in bed. After that, she went to the bed and said with an aggrieved face, "Bruce, last night, you appeared in my dream. I wonder if I appear in your dreams.

"I wonder how I look in your dream. You’re not allowed to imagine me as an ugly woman! I’m very beautiful, you know?"

After saying that, Hilla blushed. However, she continued on shamelessly, "If you wake up now and open your eyes, I’m sure you will be surprised by how beautiful I am!"

Perhaps it was her "sincerity" that touched the Gods, but when she stopped talking, the man who had been sleeping for more than half a year actually opened his eyes!