Chapter 13 I Need To Bathe First

• Hannah had already given up trying to figure out what Calvin was thinking; it was impossible to
• fathom what went on in his mind. She could only go with the flow for now. Once the truth came to light, she would be able to leave him and resume her life without worrying about all of this.
• …
• Calvin's split-level penthouse had been purchased early on, and the units in that development phase had the best layout of all the condominiums in the area. Furthermore, the location was very scenic. In the past, when Liam disciplined her for doing anything wrong, Hannah had always threatened to run away from home, but she had always ended up seeking sanctuary here.
• The thought of Liam was like a dagger to the heart, and the discomfiture was reflected in her face.
• "What's the matter? Are you afraid Jay will misunderstand you if you stay here with me?"
• "Jay…"
• "Don't talk about him." Calvin parked the car, then undid his tie and pulled it off. "It's annoying."
• Hannah did not even know what to say to this. Calvin had not bothered to listen to her explanation before jumping to the conclusion that she was having an affair behind his back. Yet, now when she wanted to explain, he refused to listen to her and claimed it was annoying. The implication was that reality consisted only of the things that he believed were true. This was exactly the same as his belief that she had watched Liam die without lifting a finger to save him, and his conviction that she was scheming and calculative.
• Hannah glanced at him with a slight frown. His gaze was distant and aloof; it looked as if he was extremely displeased. Unfortunately, if Calvin was displeased, everyone else would usually suffer as well.
• Once they got into the house, Calvin glanced askance at her. "So after using everything at your disposal to bait me into marrying you, you're trying to hook Jay as your next target now that he's back?"
• "How many times do I need to say this? I wasn't the one who leaked that picture!" Hannah felt as if she was arguing with a brick wall; it suddenly felt even more futile than usual. "That being said, Jay is a very good friend of mine. Stop slandering him all the time…"
• Her indignation amused Calvin; he could see she was clearly on the verge of losing her temper. With a lazy smile, he settled onto the couch. "Are you going to yell at me now, hmm?"
• As far as Hannah was concerned, Jay was the only one who had supported her unhesitatingly in her bleakest moment. Not only that, he had told her that he did not believe she was capable of such treachery. As a result, she could not stand Calvin constantly badmouthing him.
• "Yes!" Hannah was furious enough to want to air all her grievances in one fell swoop. Her slightly chubby face was scarlet with rage, yet somehow, she managed to look adorable despite her anger.
• Calvin merely stared at her, his dark eyes glittering.
• His well-cut suit fitted him perfectly, accentuating his wide shoulders and slim waist. The top two buttons of his shirt were undone, revealing a glimpse of delicate collarbones that even a woman might envy. His hands rested on his lap, his fingers long, slender, and well-manicured.
• Hannah took in all these details as she defiantly stared right back at him. As she became aware of how handsome he was, she suddenly lost all desire to argue with him. She did not know why, and it vexed her.
• Right at that moment, Mrs. Wright came out of the kitchen at the sound of their voices and was astounded to see Hannah there. In the past, Hannah had been the only female visitor to this apartment, and Mrs. Wright had doted on her as if she were her own daughter. In Mrs. Wright's opinion, Hannah was both beautiful and well-spoken. After Liam's death, however, she had not expected to see the girl here again.
• No wonder Calvin wanted her to cook pasta; Hannah had come to visit.
• "Ms. Parker?" Mrs. Wright gasped.
• "Yes, it's me!" Hannah whirled around and greeted her, just like in the old days. "Hello, Mrs. Wright!"
• Mrs. Wright nodded in acknowledgment. She could never think of Hannah as being evil or ungrateful. After all, the girl was well-bred and beautiful, and had not kicked up any distressing scandals over the last few years. How could someone like her possibly harbor any ill intentions?
• Nevertheless, Mrs. Wright was employed by Calvin and had his interests at heart in everything she did. This meant that she did not dare to fully trust Hannah. Since it was still unclear what Calvin's attitude toward the girl was, Mrs. Wright could only wait and see.
• She firmly suppressed her desire to baby Hannah like she would her own child and contented herself with scrutinizing the girl carefully. Noticing how thin Hannah was, she said kindly, "Why don't you go and change first? I'll serve dinner after that."
• "Alright," Hannah replied. "Let me go change, then I'll come and help you in the kitchen!" After all, she still had a set of her own personal items and toiletries left here from when she used to visit in the past.
• Mrs. Wright's heart melted. Really, this girl was too sweet for words!
• Calvin remained seated on the couch, but the difference in Hannah's tone when she spoke to Mrs. Wright made his expression darken.
• Mrs. Wright sensed that something was off and stole a glance at Calvin. Does Mr. Fullerton dislike Ms. Parker that much now? Could she really have been involved in Mr. Liam's death somehow? By nature, she was an easy-going soul and seldom let anything bother her, but right now, she felt worried.
• "We'll eat in about an hour. I want to take a shower first."
• Calvin had initially wanted to ask Mrs. Wright to bring some soothing cream for his rashes but noticed that she seemed a little preoccupied. He changed his mind and decided to look for it himself.
• Mrs. Wright nodded respectfully. "Very well, Mr. Fullerton."
• Calvin was about to go upstairs when he met Hannah, who had just changed into comfortable loungewear. "Dinner will be served later. I need to bathe first. You should shower too; that motel wasn't very clean. I don't want any germs or bacteria dirtying this place," he informed her curtly.
• Calvin had always been very particular about the cleanliness of his home. The bedsheets were changed every day and his room was disinfected daily as well. He could not fathom how anyone could stay in the unhygienic environment of a motel. It was like a foreign world to him.
• Hannah suppressed the desire to roll her eyes. Instead, she contented herself with mumbling under her breath, "It's not as bad as you think." At the very least, the motel provided her with a safe place to lay her head. As someone with practically nothing to call her own, anywhere that could offer her shelter was practically heaven.
• Calvin did not catch what she said. "What?"
• "Nothing, don't worry about it." Hannah shrugged. As she glanced down, his arm caught her attention. He had rolled up his sleeve, revealing the red, angry rash on his skin. Curiously, she took a step forward and peered at it. "What's that?"
• For the first time, Calvin's expression faltered and a slight trace of panic crossed his features. Hurriedly, he took a step back. "Don't touch me if you haven't taken a bath." As he spoke, he pulled his sleeve back down and headed straight to his bedroom.
• Hannah almost got hit in the face as the door slammed behind him.
• She took out her phone and looked up the term "rashes" on Google. After hunting for pictures that more or less matched the rashes she had seen on his arm, she discovered that they were allergy symptoms.
• Now that she thought about it, she remembered that Calvin had been scratching at his arm on and off from the time he entered the motel. Did that mean he had allergic reactions to less-than-clean environments? If that was so, why had he still gone to the motel in the first place?
• He had not called his family doctor to come over and examine him, which meant that it was not a very serious reaction.
• Hannah looked around the spotlessly clean condominium and recalled the motel, with its dark, dingy corridors and yellowed bed sheets. Despite herself, she felt a touch of pity stirring in her heart.
• It could not have been easy for Calvin to bring an alleged "murderer" back to his home.
• Quickly, she went to her bedroom and scrubbed herself thoroughly in the shower, then hurried downstairs. "Mrs. Wright, is the first-aid kit still in the store room?" she called.
• "Yes, it is, Ms. Parker. Did you hurt yourself?" Mrs. Wright came out of the kitchen, looking surprised.
• "No, no, I'm fine!" Hannah hastily replied.
• A look of worry appeared on Mrs. Wright's face. "Oh dear, is Mr. Fullerton not feeling well?"
• "No, it's not that either," Hannah answered quickly. Not wanting Mrs. Wright to worry, she continued, "My period is due any time now, so I just wanted to see if there were any painkillers left from the last time I was here."
• "Oh, I see!" Mrs. Wright exclaimed. "Yes, please check. The first-aid kit hasn't been replenished though, so if there aren't any painkillers, I'll call up the pharmacy and have someone send some over."
• Hannah searched for a while, but could not find anything in the first-aid kit that could help with allergies.
• Calvin always took at least an hour to bathe, because he needed to do it in three stages. Hannah did not want to inconvenience Mrs. Wright, so after glancing at the time and making sure that Calvin was still bathing, she put on her coat and went out on her own.