Captain lowered his head and smiled without saying another word. I lowered my gaze as well, and the moment he wasn't looking, all the weak fear in my eyes disappeared. I smirked, cunning light flashing beneath my lashes. Honestly, the country owed me a medal at this point.
Captain stared at my side profile, his gaze deep and burning. His grip tightened around my waist, and something in his eyes suddenly shifted an unhinged, feverish smile tugging at his lips. It lingered far too long.
Sensing danger, I immediately jumped up. "Mr. Anderson, I'm starving. You must be hungry too. Let's go eat first." Before he could react, I bolted to the door like a startled rabbit.
Captain stared after me for a few seconds before rising to follow. I clutched my chest as I walked ahead, relieved that the whole cobra-and-ribbon incident had somehow miraculously ended peacefully. I had been scared out of my soul earlier.
Hands clasped behind my back, I skipped lightly toward the hallway. But the moment I rounded the corner, I spotted Ronan standing in the middle of the foyer, staring up toward the second floor like he was waiting for an explosion. When he saw us come down safely, he quickly retracted his gaze, grinning mischievously. "Sister-in-law, Mr. Anderson, are you two okay?"
I blinked in confusion. "We're fine. Why wouldn't we be?"
Ronan shook his head at once right as Captain shot him a glacial look. He jerked his neck back like a frightened turtle, no longer daring to look around.
He had been watching everything from downstairs, fully expecting chaos to break loose. But instead of chaos, we walked down calmly as if nothing had happened. Even he found it strange. Apparently just moments ago, he thought my teary rabbit-eyes meant I was about to wage war. But somehow Captain had… resolved it? Terrifying.
Ronan watched us for a while longer. We sat and quietly began eating, and to his shock, there was even a faint trace of satisfaction on Captain's face. That was so bizarre it made Ronan's heart pound in fear. The Mr. Anderson he knew was not someone with a good temper. So he fled out the door like a man escaping doom.
I didn't notice any of that my entire focus was on the food. After all that stress and scheming, I was so hungry I felt hollow. I swallowed my shyness and devoured everything.
Captain put down his chopsticks and quietly watched me. "Ronan said you asked about the Anderson family today."
My heart jumped. My chopsticks froze. Damn it, big-mouth Ronan.
I grabbed a tissue to wipe the oil from my lips. "Mr. Anderson, I was only a little curious. You know the saying shared glory, shared loss. Now that I'm your wife, I have to understand things clearly, otherwise people will laugh at me."
I said it innocently, blinking with watery sincerity.
Captain narrowed his eyes, processing my words. When he heard the word wife, the cruelty in his expression melted, replaced by something like… satisfaction.
Since he didn't respond, I panicked. "Mr. Anderson, did I anger you? I won't ask anymore in the future."
He picked up his chopsticks again. "You can ask me."
My hand paused. Ask him directly?
Like hell I dared. If he didn't like the question he'd probably snap my neck.
"Yes," I answered sweetly anyway.
After dinner, he prepared to leave again. Seeing how exhausted he seemed, I asked, "Mr. Anderson, you're going out again? Is there that much work at the company?"
He looked down at me, silent. I assumed he wouldn't answer but then his low voice brushed against my ear. "I have a project."
I blinked. His complexion really didn't look good. After hesitating, I said, "Mr. Anderson… you should take care of your health. You look very tired."
The shadow between his brows suddenly softened. He nodded and left.
I watched his blurry silhouette fade completely, emotions tangling inside me. Honestly, if he stayed like this all the time, he wouldn't be so unbearable.
—
Monday.
Morning classes at school, and in the afternoon I went to the hospital with Hezze. Mondays weren't busy, so I started preparing some medication modern pharmaceuticals, of course. I compounded a topical anti-inflammatory cream for Nanny Alley, and even prepared a mild sedative formula for Captain.
His face last night had looked awful; he probably hadn't been sleeping well. I didn't have feelings for him, but he fed and clothed me so flattering him a bit wasn't a bad idea.
While chewing walnuts, Hezze leaned over. "Rosy, I heard yesterday was the Anderson family banquet. You went, right? How was it?"
I looked at her in disbelief. "What are you, Jonathan Strange? How do you know everything?"
"Oh please, I only heard it in passing." But her eyes shone with curiosity.
I paused from grinding the compounds and smiled faintly. "I went. Felt like an ugly duckling tossed into a flock of swans. Everyone looked down on me."
"Huh?" She stared at me like she couldn't believe it. "You're the precious wife of the Mr. Anderson, they dared look down on you?"
"A huge family like the Andersons cares a lot about pedigree." I shrugged. "But that's their business. Doesn't affect me."
Hezze patted my shoulder. "Exactly. You're the official wife of Mr. Anderson now. If they look down on you, they're insulting him."
I blushed awkwardly and went back to work.
Around 1 p.m., a well-dressed couple walked in both in their thirties, faces healthy but carrying a heavy gloom.
I studied them quietly. They didn't look physically ill, which meant the issue must be deeper. Only diagnostics would tell.
When they sat down, their melancholy deepened. I smiled politely. "Which one of you is here for an examination? And what symptoms are you concerned about?"
The man finally answered. "Dr. Bailey… we've been married for ten years but still have no children. We've been to countless hospitals, but nothing worked. We heard the new doctor here is highly skilled, so we wanted to try."