CHAPTER 88: CHAPTER 87: MAKING DO FOR ONE NIGHT

"Hmm..." Sienna Thornton took a deep breath, "Let me smell if there’s a scent of another woman."

Simon Forrester: "..."

Sienna continued sniffing around Simon’s body for a while. Once she had gathered the scent she was looking for, she backed away, satisfied.

She giggled, "I like your scent."

Simon raised an eyebrow at her, "The scent of a man?"

Sienna burst into laughter, playfully slapping his arm, and said seriously, "It’s the scent of your skincare! It’s quite unique, I really like it."

"When the brand releases a women’s line, I’ll get you a set."

"You say that, but that’s probably because this brand really will never release a women’s line, right?"

Sienna wasn’t fooled; anything Simon used on his face must be from a reputable brand with a hundred-year history, tried and tested by time. Such brands never ventured into women’s products, focusing solely on men’s skincare.

Realizing Simon was teasing her, Sienna stopped joking around. She jumped off the sofa, limping back to the big bed.

As she covered herself with the soft, luxurious silk quilt, she sighed comfortably, "The bed is still the best. I feel like all my scattered bones are back in place."

It was early November.

In the northern city of Brimfield, one already needed a heavy quilt to sleep at night; but in the always pleasant Norport, the nighttime temperature was still around twenty degrees. A heavy quilt wasn’t necessary, but having nothing to cover yourself while sleeping would surely make it uncomfortable.

Seeing Simon wearing just thin loungewear on the sofa, Sienna suddenly recalled his last episode of a sudden high fever, collapsing and unable to get up, feeling uneasy about it.

If he happened to catch a cold tonight and fall sick again, wouldn’t it be troublesome? It would not only delay his work but also ruin her plans to have fun.

After thinking for a moment, Sienna got out of bed, opened the room’s only large wardrobe, but there were just a few robes hanging inside, nothing more.

"What are you looking for?"

"There are no extra blankets here?" Sienna simply took down a bathrobe from the hanger and walked over to Simon, comparing it against him, "How about you just cover yourself with a bathrobe tonight?"

Simon was disdainful, "Are you okay with covering yourself with a bathrobe that you don’t know who wore it before?"

"But the duvet was covered by someone else too?"

"The duvet cover was brought over by Harrison and changed."

Sienna glanced at the beige sheet, obviously different from the usual white duvet cover, feeling all the more guilty that she had seized the clean big bed belonging to Simon, exposing him to the risk of illness, it was quite unethical.

She softly asked, "Don’t know if we can get extra blankets here?"

"The villa manager must have left, and even if there are blankets, who knows if they’re clean."

"This..." Hesitating for a moment, Sienna gritted her teeth, "You can have the bed; I’ll make do on the sofa for one night."

Simon looked up from his tablet at her face for a few seconds and then asked, "Are you sure?"

"I’m sure!"

Sienna stood up, went to the nightstand to grab her phone and crutch. Before she could turn around, Simon had already lifted her by her armpits, leaving her feet dangling in the air, and set her down on the bed.

Simon walked to the other side of the bed, lifted the quilt, lay down, switched off the lights, all in one smooth motion.

Sienna was still in a daze when the room was already in complete darkness. Coming back to her senses, she pushed the Simon lying next to her based on feel, "What are you doing? Turn on the lights! I want to go sleep on the sofa."

"The sofa doesn’t have a blanket; if you get sick, you can forget about going out to play."

"..." Sienna was conflicted.

Simon added, "If you want to spend the next week cooped up in the room recovering, go ahead and sleep on the sofa, I won’t stop you."

Sienna almost visualized herself miserably sick, feeling weak all over, with the melody of "The Moon Reflected on the Second Spring" playing in the background.

It couldn’t get more miserable.

Steeling herself, she said, "Fine, but I need to remind you of something."

"Hmm?"

"Don’t forget what I do for a living."

Simon chuckled, "And what do you do?"

"I’m a lawyer!" Sienna edged closer to the edge of the bed, creating a clear separation from Simon, only then feeling at ease lying down.

"Yes, you lawyers have great rhetoric. I’m afraid you’ll talk me to death, so I won’t bully you."

Detecting his teasing, Sienna retorted, "When it comes to rhetoric, even you, not being a lawyer, aren’t bad at all."

Simon silently chuckled, not responding to her. Unconvinced, she clarified, "Lawyers aren’t just about talking; arguments related to opposition are based on clear legal rules and legal evidence, grounded in facts and law!"

Seeing her look as if she were in court ready for a legal battle, Simon said helplessly, "I got it, you’re tired, sleep early."

In the dark, there was the rustling sound of adjusting the quilt.

Sienna was alert.

Simon sat up, propped up the pillows behind him, and picked up the phone on the nightstand. The room, once dark, was now illuminated.

The blue light made Sienna squint slightly, having adapted to the dark. She instinctively looked towards the light and saw Simon’s phone scrolling through some 3D renderings of what seemed like homestay designs.

Interested, she leaned towards him, peering curiously, "May I see too?"

"Sure." Simon turned his head slightly and placed the phone between the two of them.

In that instant, due to some serendipitous posture, the two of their lips met...

The touch of mucosa against mucosa, moist and soft.

Simon was the first to come to his senses, instinctively pulling away from Sienna’s lips.

In the dark, neither said a word; they only heard each other’s erratic breathing and heartbeat.

After a few seconds, Simon leaned back in, gently placing a hand on Sienna’s back, moving his jaw to resume kissing her, softly and tenderly enveloping her lips.