Chapter 226

Alice couldn't understand what was happening, but her lips had already met his. Their mouths moved instinctively, tongues intertwining as if it were the most natural thing. The sensation felt intensely real. Alice wondered if she was in the afterlife.

Caden took sips of water, gently offering it to her, repeatedly. Soon her lips went numb, her face aching. Only then did she pull away, eliciting a playful, but displeased, nip from Caden. A small moan escaped her lips. He realized then she wasn't dead; his earlier memories were a dream.

Once the glass was empty, Caden wiped his lips and looked at her. "Do you want more?" he asked. Alice shook her head, feeling satisfied. She accepted she was alive, but a question lingered. “How did you know about my dream?” she asked. How did he know about her dream of hell?

Caden set down his glass, smirking. “Because you were talking in your sleep,” he replied. Alice was stunned. Seriously? Was she talking in her sleep? The revelation surprised her. “That can’t be true,” she muttered.

Without a word, Caden produced his phone and played a recording. His voice filled the room. “I like you… a lot. You’re handsome, fit, and exceptionally skilled in bed.” Alice felt mortified. The voice was unmistakable, too clear to be sleep talk. Worse, Caden wasn't just listening; he was conversing with her. "I love sleeping with you. It makes me feel amazing," the recording continued. Alice's heart sank as the words played on. A surge of adrenaline coursed through her as she realized what was happening. She stood, searching for her phone, but Caden deftly kept it out of reach. "I love being in your arms. I love the way you—" Before she could finish, panic seized Alice. "Caden! Caden! Turn it off now!" she shouted. Caden didn't comply, but his scream drowned out the recording's end. It stopped abruptly.

Alice blushed, glaring at him. “How could you do this to me?”

Caden smiled slyly. “Did I force you to say those things with a knife to your throat?”

Alice had no answer. He wanted to reply but found nothing to say. Without another word, he closed his eyes, feigning sleep. He then casually fiddled with his phone. “Looks like I have more of an advantage over you now, Alicia.”

Instead of losing composure, Alice found a strange calm amidst her embarrassment. She collected herself. “Power? I was just being honest, though. You’re good in bed, aren’t you?”

Caden’s smile widened. “And you just admitted that you like me.”

Alice fell silent. Acknowledging her feelings felt more humiliating than discussing their physical intimacy. She didn't want to give him that satisfaction.

After they finished eating, the innkeeper arrived to change Alice's bandages. Removing her clothes, she discovered dark bruises scattered across her body from her fall. His shoulder was fractured, and back pain suggested possible spinal injuries.

As Caden left the room, Alice turned to the innkeeper. “Was he badly hurt?” she asked.

The innkeeper raised an eyebrow, amused. “You mean that man? Isn’t he your boyfriend?”

Alice looked down, shaking her head. “No, he isn’t.”

“Oh, yeah? Then why did you go to all that trouble to save him? When I found you, he was on top of you, practically suffocating you in the snow. You were barely breathing. How far did you carry him? Your bones are broken.”

Alice paused, piecing together her vague memories of the moments before losing consciousness. At the time, nothing else mattered. Her only thought had been to save him. She'd acted purely on instinct, but now, it seemed foolish. In a low voice, she whispered, “Please don’t tell him any of this.”

Before the innkeeper could respond, the door creaked open and Caden entered, carrying clean clothes. He looked between them. “Don’t tell me what?”

Alice looked surprised. “It’s nothing.”

Sensing the tension, the innkeeper smiled knowingly and left. Caden handed Alice a freshly laundered shirt. “Here, put this on.”

Without a word, she put it on. Caden had borrowed the clothes from the innkeeper's absent husband. The three of them were alone in the small, quiet inn.

Alice looked up at the pitch-black sky as the snow continued to fall. “Did you manage to get through to the rescue team?”

"Yes. They know we are safe, but the snow has blocked the road. It will take them a week to get here."

Alice blinked. “A whole week?”

However, given their injuries, resting for so long didn't seem so bad. As the night progressed, Caden bathed, the effort nearly exhausting him. Emerging, he went straight to Alice's bed and settled in without hesitation.

“Are you staying here?” Alice asked, feeling tense.

Caden saw no reason to complicate things. “There’s no room anywhere else. Unless you don’t want me here,” he replied.

Alice placed her hands firmly on his chest, creating space. “We shouldn’t share a bed. I’m a woman, you’re a man. It’s better if we sleep separately to avoid unnecessary situations.”

He easily understood her hesitation. Ignoring her protest, he pulled her into his arms. “Have you ever heard of the Moss family of Averibon?”

Alice, still in pain, could barely respond. “Yes,” she mumbled.

“The Wards and the Mosses have known each other for a long time. For generations we have been linked, both by friendship and by business. More than twenty years ago, Dorian Moss was at the top of the scientific world, and his daughter, Yolanda, inherited that brilliance. I need his knowledge for something important.”

Alicia paused, remembering Yolanda’s business card. Yolanda has nothing to do with me emotionally. She only works for me. Do you understand?