CHAPTER 533: CHAPTER 533: JUST TRY ME

Paige Sterling couldn’t be bothered to bicker with Henry Hale. She wrapped her coat tightly around herself and left the villa.

Henry Hale watched her leave without saying anything.

He had already said that Paige was a smart person, and smart people wouldn’t do anything detrimental to themselves at times like this.

So Paige wouldn’t run away; she would come back.

As Paige stepped out of the villa, she found a pair of fur-lined women’s boots at the doorstep.

She immediately put them on, and indeed, they were much warmer, making the damp sand underfoot feel not so cold.

Paige didn’t walk far, but went to a spot out of Henry’s sight. She sat down on a rock, staring blankly at the rolling waves on the sea.

It had been a long time since she had seen Julian Hawthorne. She wondered what Julian was doing.

She found that whenever she was away from him, the longing multiplied, doubling over and over.

Paige sighed.

At this moment, she suddenly felt an itch on her leg, as if something had crawled over it.

Looking down, Paige saw a small turtle slowly climbing up her leg.

Paige didn’t move, just watched the little turtle climb and climb until it reached her clothing and, finding no grip, fell off.

The small turtle rolled on the ground for a moment, then quickly resumed its persistent climb up Paige’s leg, undeterred. She wondered why it was so insistent on climbing onto her.

Reaching her clothes, it fell off once more.

Then it continued climbing.

Paige picked it up and held it in her palm, making eye contact with it.

"Can’t you be a bit smarter? This path isn’t working; you should try a different route."

Of course, the turtle didn’t respond to Paige’s question. It started crawling along Paige’s wrist.

Paige said, "You’re really too dumb."

The words had barely left her lips when a burst of laughter rang out.

It wasn’t Henry Hale’s voice, but a female voice, soft and crisp, mingling with the sound of the waves, inexplicably pleasant.

Paige looked over, and sure enough, she saw a girl of seventeen or eighteen—a foreign girl.

She was thinly dressed, her clothes somewhat dirty, and in this cold weather, she was barefoot in the sand.

Her face was also dirty, but her exposed blue eyes were indescribably beautiful, like the blue sea, ethereal and lovely.

Paige knew that this area was often plagued by armed conflict, leading to many homeless orphans.

Many people, to escape the war, would even hide in the jungle.

This girl, seeing the scratch marks from brambles on her body, must have emerged from the grove by the sea, Paige speculated.

She smiled at Paige, saying, "Turtles won’t listen."

She spoke a foreign language, but Paige, under Julian Hawthorne’s guidance, had learned several foreign languages, and this was one she happened to know.

Paige said to the girl, "I know, I just wanted to talk to it."

The girl tilted her head, responding with an "oh," as Paige reached into her coat pocket and took out some chocolates, offering them to the girl. "Do you want some?"

The girl’s eyes brightened as she cautiously approached Paige, tentatively reaching out to take the candy from her hand, her movements careful, as if afraid Paige might suddenly change her mind.

Finally, she got the chocolates, peeled one, and put it in her mouth, her eyes narrowing in delight at the sweetness.

"It’s delicious," she said. "Thank you."

After sharing a few chocolates, the girl grew quite fond of Paige, chattering away. Through her, Paige finally identified the location.

When it was time for the girl to leave, Paige generously gave her the coat and boots she was wearing.

The girl was embarrassed and hesitant to accept them. Paige pointed to the villa, saying, "I have plenty more inside."

Only then did the girl don the coat and boots, clearly overjoyed. "Thank you..."

She said to Paige, then suddenly darted over and planted a quick kiss on Paige’s cheek before running off with a flushed face.

Paige watched her departing figure, smiling wryly.

Not long after the girl left, Henry Hale arrived, seeing Paige shivering in her thin clothes by the sea breeze, his expression turning somber.

He quickly took off his coat and wrapped it around Paige. "Are you crazy? Are you trying to get sick on purpose?"

Paige, in her current state, wasn’t nearly as robust as before. Exposing herself to the sea wind like this, she might easily fall ill.

Paige said nothing, making Henry even angrier. "Can’t you take care of yourself while caring about others? If you get sick, you’ll just have to wait for death, you know?"

Paige glanced at Henry. Seeing her indifference, Henry found himself at a loss.

"Let’s go inside."

Back at the villa, Paige ate the meal Henry prepared.

Henry eagerly watched her, asking, "How is it? Does it suit your taste?"

Paige didn’t speak, so Henry asked again, "How does it compare to what Julian Hawthorne makes?"

Paige shot him a look. "Where do you get the confidence to think your cooking could compare to Julian’s?"

Henry said nothing, left speechless.

After speaking, Paige put down her chopsticks and went into one of the rooms, locking the door behind her before lying down to sleep.

The sky slowly darkened, and only the sound of waves crashing against the shore could be heard outside, a somewhat frightening noise in the night’s darkness.

As Paige drifted towards sleep, unexpectedly, the locked door opened.

Paige saw Henry’s silhouette in the darkness.

She immediately sat up, watching him warily.

"Henry Hale, what are you trying to do?"

Henry, seeing her on edge, laughed, "What are you afraid of? I’m just coming in to sleep."

Paige’s gaze was cold. "There are other rooms."

Henry retorted, "But only this room has a bed, and only this room is air-conditioned."

With that, he moved towards the bed, intending to climb up.

Paige’s expression darkened. "If you dare climb up, I dare to cripple you. Try if you don’t believe me."

Henry paused, then said, "There’s really only one bed."

"You could sleep on the couch in the living room; there’s air conditioning there too."

Henry felt a little hurt. "This villa is mine, the bed is mine, the air conditioning is mine, so why should I sleep on the couch?"

Paige offered, "Then you sleep in the bed, and I’ll go to the couch."

Henry fell silent for a moment. "Fine, I’ll go. You rest well."

He left after speaking.

At the door, he turned back to look at Paige, "You don’t need to lock the door; it won’t help. If I want to do something, I can get in regardless."

Paige sneered, "Try it, and I’ll show you what pain a man cannot bear."

Henry fell silent.

He couldn’t admit that, for a moment, Paige’s threat hit home, sending a chill somewhere below.