Chapter 72

It was a small gesture, but Alexander noticed. He quickly raised the car's partition separating the driver's seat from the back. Without waiting for Lily's permission, he lifted her injured foot and placed it on his lap. The interior light revealed a red, swollen ankle.

Alexander frowned. "Why are you so easily injured?"

"How would I know?" Lily replied softly.

Her fragility seemed disproportionate to a simple sprain. Alexander felt responsible—or, more accurately, Edward's driving was to blame.

After examining her foot, he concluded, "Your bones are fine. Just apply some cream later and limit your walking for a few days."

Lily was surprised. "You know how to check for injuries?"

"Simple bruises and sprains are easy to assess," Alexander said, raising his head to look at her. His frown deepened. He hesitated, then said, "Your body"

He trailed off, but his expression spoke volumes.

Lily was stunned. Looking at herself, she asked, "Oh, you mean the scent?"

Alexander remained silent.

"I was in the lab, and the smell clung to me," Lily explained, pulling her clothes closer. "It's persistent; I've washed my hands repeatedly, but it won't go away." She was used to it, but others clearly weren't. Edward's hesitant glance when she entered the car made sense. "Lab?" Alexander's surprise was evident. "You're supposed to make perfumes, aren't you?" Lily almost laughed at his incredulous expression. It clearly said, "Are you kidding me?"

"Yes, I'm supposed to make nice perfumes! But there are thousands of complex ingredients. My task was to analyze forty-eight components of a particular mixture—useful work for the future."

Perfume making, she explained, was far more complicated than it seemed, requiring extensive chemistry expertise. Passion was essential for perseverance in the field.

Alexander remained silent for a while. Lily assumed he couldn't stand the smell, so she stopped explaining, moving away and lowering the window for fresh air. It was embarrassing. She hadn't expected him to pick her up and hadn't had time to deal with the odor. This was their awkward predicament.

Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder. Before she could react, she was pulled into a warm embrace.

"Why so far away? Afraid I'd eat you?" Alexander said, hugging her tighter. "I'm afraid I'll stink you up."

"It doesn't stink!" He leaned close to her hair, inhaling deeply. "This smellscoughcough"

His words were betrayed by his coughing fit.

"I-I'll shower when we get home."