"Don't daydream too much or a ghost might possess you. Go to sleep already, it's late," Darren said while carrying the empty plates to the sink.
Elisabeth rolled her eyes lightly. "I still need to clean the kitchen first."
"There's Mrs. Lina for that," Darren replied casually.
Then he looked at her with a teasing smirk. "Now go upstairs before I change my mind and start seducing you instead."
Elisabeth's eyes widened immediately. "You're impossible."
A faint laugh escaped Darren.
Elisabeth shook her head while trying to hide the heat rising to her cheeks. "You're still as shameless as before."
"And you still blush too easily," Darren answered calmly.
Elisabeth immediately turned away before he could see her embarrassed expression more clearly.
"Good night," she muttered quickly before walking upstairs.
Darren watched her disappear toward the second floor with a small smile lingering on his lips.
Inside the bedroom, Aurora was still sleeping peacefully in the crib.
Elisabeth let out a quiet breath of relief before walking toward the bathroom.
Warm water flowed over her body, helping ease the exhaustion she had been carrying since morning.
But somehow… her mind kept replaying Darren's teasing words downstairs.
Especially the way he looked at her earlier.
Elisabeth closed her eyes briefly.
Stop thinking about him…
After finishing her shower, she changed into a loose long-sleeved sleep dress and dried her hair with a towel.
The room felt quiet and calm.
Carefully, she checked on Aurora one more time before finally lying down on the bed.
Her body was exhausted, yet her heart still felt restless.
Not long after, her eyes slowly began to close.
Click.
The soft sound of the bedroom door opening made Elisabeth stir slightly in her sleep.
Before she could fully wake up, she felt warmth beside her.
Strong arms slowly wrapped around her waist from behind.
Elisabeth's breath hitched faintly.
"Darren…" she whispered sleepily.
Without saying anything, Darren wrapped his arms around Elisabeth from behind, pulling her into his embrace.
"I missed you, Elisabeth…" he whispered softly near her ear.
His warm breath brushed against her neck before his lips gently kissed her skin, slowly trailing upward toward her ear. His hands moved possessively along her body.
"Nghh…"
Elisabeth instinctively closed her eyes as the touch made her body tense.
Darren smirked faintly. "You're still the same as before," he murmured huskily. "Always so responsive whenever I touch you."
He pressed another lingering kiss to her neck while his fingers slowly moved the fabric of her pajama aside.
Early in the morning, Elisabeth woke up because of Aurora's soft whimpers coming from the baby crib.
"Huek… oek…"
Elisabeth slowly opened her eyes, her head still feeling heavy from only getting a few hours of sleep.
"Hmm… Aurora is awake so early…" she murmured hoarsely.
She glanced at the clock beside the bed.
Five in the morning.
Elisabeth let out a soft sigh and tried to sit up.
But the moment she moved slightly, she suddenly froze.
"Wait… why does it feel so cold?" she whispered in confusion.
Her brows furrowed as her hand instinctively touched her body beneath the blanket.
A few seconds later, her eyes widened immediately.
"Where are my pajamas…?"
She quickly pulled the blanket higher to cover herself.
"How did they come off?"
Her heartbeat started racing.
Elisabeth immediately reached toward the other side of the bed.
Empty.
"Darren didn't sleep here…"
She swallowed nervously.
"Then… who came into this room?"
Aurora whimpered again from the crib.
"Huek…"
Elisabeth tried to calm herself while hurriedly picking up her pajamas from the floor beside the bed.
Her cheeks burned with embarrassment and confusion at the same time.
After quickly putting her pajamas back on, she walked straight into the bathroom.
She splashed cold water onto her face several times.
But when she accidentally looked at her reflection in the mirror, she froze again.
"Oh my God…"
Her eyes widened slowly.
There were several faint reddish marks along her neck and shoulder.
"This…"
Elisabeth touched one of the marks carefully with her fingertips.
"Why is my body covered in marks like this…?"
Her face instantly turned bright red.
"Who bit me last night?"
Fragments of last night slowly returned to her mind.
Darren's embrace… his warm breath… and the soft kisses against her neck…
Elisabeth immediately covered her face with both hands.
"Don't tell me…"
Her heartbeat became even more chaotic.
"Did Darren really come into my room last night?"
Outside the bathroom, Aurora started crying softly again, asking for attention.
But inside the bathroom, Elisabeth still stood frozen in front of the mirror, her face flushed while her thoughts spiraled into complete confusion.
Elisabeth took a deep breath before finally putting her pajamas back on properly.
Her face was still slightly red from what she had just seen in the mirror.
The marks on her neck… the missing pajamas… and the blurry memories from last night kept spinning inside her head.
Aurora's soft cries quickly pulled her back to reality.
"Huek… aaah…"
Elisabeth immediately walked toward the baby crib.
"Alright, alright… I'm here," she whispered softly.
She carefully picked Aurora up and sat on the edge of the bed before breastfeeding her again.
The little baby calmed down almost instantly in her arms.
Elisabeth looked down at Aurora quietly while gently stroking her tiny hair.
No matter how confused her heart felt right now, holding Aurora somehow always made her calmer.
A few minutes later, Aurora finally fell asleep again after feeding.
Elisabeth carefully placed her back into the crib and covered her with the blanket.
Then she slowly walked downstairs.
The smell of breakfast filled the house.
Mrs. Lina was arranging food on the dining table when she noticed Elisabeth coming down.
"Good morning, Ma'am," Mrs. Lina greeted politely.
"Good morning…" Elisabeth replied softly.
Her eyes immediately looked around the house.
"Where's Darren?"
Mrs. Lina looked slightly surprised. "Mr. Darren already left for the hospital earlier this morning."
Elisabeth blinked.
"This morning?"
Mrs. Lina nodded. "Yes. He left before dawn because there was an emergency surgery."
Elisabeth fell silent.
Then if it wasn't Darren… who was it? she thought nervously.
Her fingers unconsciously touched the faint marks on her neck again.
Her heart immediately became restless.
Fragments from last night flashed through her mind once more.
The warmth of someone's embrace… the familiar scent… that low voice whispering her name…
Elisabeth quickly shook her head lightly.
No… it had to be Darren.
There's no way someone else entered this room.
But then another question appeared in her mind.
If Darren really came into her room last night…
Why did he leave without saying anything this morning?