As soon as Stephan finished speaking, Felicia felt a sharp smack on her backside. It wasn't playful; it had real force behind it. She yelped, jumping up in pain, nearly losing her balance on the massive boulder. Stephan quickly caught her before she tumbled.

Fuming, Felicia snapped, “Fine! Don’t marry me, then! Who cares about marrying you anyway? And now, you’re even hitting me!”

Stephan’s expression darkened. His arm still around her waist, he fixed her with an intense gaze, his usually charming eyes devoid of warmth. His deep, magnetic voice, carrying a hint of coarseness, enunciated each syllable of her name: “Felicia!” He added, “You sure are brave, huh? Wandering alone through the rainforest at night? Do you have any idea what could have happened to you?” Beneath his angry tone lay an unmistakable undercurrent of fear.

When he saw her nearly entangled in the python's deadly coil earlier, his heart had all but stopped. Without a second thought, he leaped sixty feet. The palms of his hands had nearly caught fire from the friction against the jagged rocks as he scrambled to reach her. His fury was palpable, his expression terrifyingly grim.

Felicia, equally angry, retorted, “And why did I come here in the first place? Because I was worried about you! Your men said you were seriously injured and missing! I was afraid something might happen to you, so I ran over here without thinking! I haven’t had a proper meal or a good night’s sleep, and my feet are covered in blisters from walking nonstop! I’m exhausted! Instead of being grateful, you’re scolding me and hitting me?”

Her voice cracked. Frustration, and perhaps a touch of grievance, surfaced. Her nose tingled, and her eyes began to water. She glared at Stephan, then turned to leave, only to stop short. The boulder was too high to jump down from safely, and below lay the python's corpse. There was no way down.

Hearing her words, Stephan felt his frustration melt away. His anger had never truly been directed at her; it was the thought of her risking her life that had shaken him. She had knowingly put herself in danger, all for his sake. Letting out a soft sigh, he extended his hand toward her. “Does it still hurt?”

With an audible smack, Felicia slapped his hand away. Her glare was sharp and piercing, tinged with frustration. “Idiot! Where do you think you were touching?”

She was speechless, on the verge of laughing from exasperation. He hit her, then offered to soothe it. Did he not know what basic respect was?

After his hand was slapped away, Stephan retracted it and casually stuffed it into his jacket pocket. The movement was unremarkable, but Felicia noticed something was off.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“Take it out. Let me see.”

“What for? Do you want me to massage your backside now?” Stephan’s lips curved into a faint, teasing smirk as his eyes gleamed mischievously. “I mean, I wouldn’t mind.”

Felicia turned her head away, ignoring him. But just as Stephan chuckled softly and let down his guard, Felicia suddenly grabbed his hands from his pockets. Her eyes narrowed in shock at what she saw.

“Bloodied and mangled” couldn’t begin to describe the state of his hands. Flesh and skin had been torn away in several places, leaving raw, exposed wounds. Two fingernails had peeled back completely. The injuries were fresh, clearly inflicted just before he had appeared.

Felicia’s gaze darted toward the cliff. She realized it was a sheer, rocky surface over sixty feet high. And Stephan had descended it without any climbing tools, sliding down with nothing but his hands to brace himself. He had literally torn his hands to shreds just to reach her in time, and now he was trying to hide them from her!