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The door was locked.

For a moment, Harriet couldn’t describe how she felt inside.

This house was feeling less and less like her home.

Walking ahead of Harriet, Ellsworth heard themotion

behind him and turned around, only to see Harriet standing at

the guest room door, her eyes full of loneliness.

At this moment, Ellsworth didn’t even need to ask to know what

she was feeling.

She felt that Auburn Heights was no longer her home.

He stared at Harriet for a while, seeing her still standing at the

guest room door. Ellsworth walked over nonchntly, took her

suitcase, and said indifferently, “What, you thought with Mom

gone, there’d be no eyes in the house, no one watching you?”

With that, he pushed Harriet’s suitcase with one hand and

pressed her neck with the other, leading her into the master

bedroom.

Harriet said nothing, following him in silence.

Otherwise, she would have nowhere to sleep.

If she woke Jacquelyn and the others, his mother would

probablye over again tomorrow.

Back in the bedroom, when she came out of the bathroom after

her shower, Ellsworth had already finished his shower in the

other bathroom.

He hadn’t bothered to fasten his pajamas properly, his chest

muscles fully exposed to her.

At home, he was always this uninhibited.

Harriet didn’t look at him for long.

Seeing this, Ellsworth tossed the towel he was using to dry his

hair onto the cab and said nonchntly, “Come help me dry

my hair.”

Harriet nced at him and said quietly, “Dry it yourself.”

Ellsworth stared at her without moving.

When they went to the resort, he couldn’t order her around

anymore. Last time he asked her to tie his tie, she refused too.

He stared at Harriet for a while. As she walked past him, Ellsworth reached out, grabbed her wrist, and pulled her over.

Harriet looked up, and Ellsworth spoke first.

He said, “You’re being so distant now?”

Harriet frowned slightly, turned her face away, and didn’t want

to discuss the topic.

Ellsworth leaned down, about to kiss her, but Harriet raised her

hand to block him. “Sit down.”

He had taken care of her for several days when she had a cold

a few days ago, so she considered this a favor returned.

Harrietpromised, and Ellsworth smiled faintly, sitting down

on the edge of the bed.

Harriet turned to get the hair dryer, stood in front of him, and

gently ran her fingers through his hair with one hand while

holding the dryer with the other.

Harriet’s fingers were very soft, and the way her fingertips

moved through his hair felt veryfortable.

He looked up at Harriet. Her skin was fair, her corbones and

neck beautiful. Even from this upward angle, she was still so

pretty.

One standing, one sitting-the only sound in the room was the

hum of the hair dryer.

He kept looking up at Harriet, thinking about how she said she

wanted nothing, how she insisted on divorce. Suddenly,

Ellsworth raised his hands and wrapped them around her lower

back.

With a slight pull, he drew her very close.

His face was almost pressed against her chest.

With one hand gently ying with Ellsworth’s hair and the other

holding a hairdryer, Harriet suddenly paused, her fingers stilling

in his hair.

She nced down at Ellsworth, noticing he seemed a bit tired.

Bending over, Harriet set down the hairdryer and softly

reminded him, “Your hair is dry now.”

Hearing her reminder, Ellsworth slowly let go of her and then

stood up.

Seeing this, Harriet turned to leave with the hairdryer, but

Ellsworth grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

Harriet looked up at him as Ellsworth took the hairdryer from

her hand and set it aside.

Without meeting his eyes, Harriet struggled a bit to free her hand and reminded him in a calm voice, “It’ste. You should

get some rest.

Instead, Ellsworth leaned down and kissed her.

Harriet seemed prepared for this. She turned her face away to dodge him, pressing her other hand against his chest to keep

him at bay.

Seeing Harriet’s guardedness, Ellsworth couldn’t help but smile.

With a little force, he pulled her closer.

Stumbling, Harriet fell into his arms, her left hand still pressed

against his chest.

A silent standoff.

Seeing Harriet keep pushing him away, Ellsworth pinned both

her hands behind her back.

Unable to move, Harriet finally looked up at him and asked,

“Ellsworth, what exactly do you want?”

He had promised to take care of the paperwork after finishing

the project, but what was with his recent ambiguous behavior?

Ellsworth didn’t answer Harriet’s question. Instead, he kept her

hands restrained behind her and leaned down to kiss her.

Harriet didn’t want this. She turned her face away sharply,

refusing his kiss.