Chapter 14 She's Afraid of the Dark

• "Denise? Denise!"
• Picking her up into his arms, Alex patted her face. "Are you alright? Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?"
• With a frown, Denise seemed to be muttering to herself or Alex, "It's so dark… Don't leave… Please…"
• Dark?
• So, she's afraid of the dark!
• Alex felt his heart instantly soften and he suddenly remembered the young girl from before. It was also dark back then and her face was ashen as she curled beside him.
• A sense of pity arose inside him as he gently coaxed, "Don't be afraid. It's okay now. I'll bring you home."
• Hearing his voice, Denise was not trembling as much as before, but she was still muttering something under her breath, which Alex could not make out. At that moment, it was more important that he brought her away from here.
• While walking, he comforted her by saying, "It's alright. Don't be afraid. I'm here."
• When he sat her down on the passenger seat, she was still clutching tightly onto his shirt, so he decisively took off his coat and covered her body with it.
• Seeing her weakened state, which was completely different from this morning, he felt guilt gradually rising inside him.
• If he had added her contact number to his phone and called her immediately after he received the message, everything would have been different.
• Fortunately, he realized the situation and came to her rescue. Otherwise, no one could be sure what consequences there would be if she stayed here all night.
• In the end, Alex carried Denise back into her room, wiped the sweat from her forehead, and was just about to leave when he felt a tug at his pants.
• Turning around, he saw her sleeping restlessly. Although she had recovered a little, she still looked very pale.
• He raised his hand and wanted to pull her hand away, but she grabbed it and hugged it to her chest.
• "Don't go… Stay with me, please…"
• When he heard the tremble in her voice, he thought it did not sound as cold as how she usually spoke. Instead, it sounded like a child cutely begging to an adult.
• As he looked at her, the face of the young girl appeared in his mind.
• Since the first day he saw her, he thought that she looked like the girl he once knew and it only intensified now that he saw her under a different light.
• After hesitating for a moment, he did not retract his hand but sat down beside her bed instead.
• He looked at her with a gentle gaze as he suddenly began to think how good it would be if his fiancé were the young girl back then. He would cherish her for eternity and accompany her on every dark night. Unfortunately…
• …
• When Denise woke up the next day, the sun was already high in the sky.
• She dazedly looked around her surroundings and was confused about how she got home when she met Alex's eyes. At the same time, she also realized that she was holding his hand.
• Then, she immediately let go of his hand and sat up. "Why are you here?"
• As soon as she asked that, she could already guess the answer.
• Right before her phone died last night, her condition was so bad that she was nearly fainting, so she could not even make a call. Instead, she used the last of her consciousness to send him a message.
• Seeing Alex's tired face and eyes that were filled with red veins, she knew he did not rest well. She tried hard to remember what happened when she fainted and embarrassedly touched her head.
• "So, it was you who brought me home. Thank you… But why are you still in my room?"
• Even if he brought me back, he could have left after. There's no need to stay the whole night, right?
• Alex had returned to his usual cold behavior. "Who was the one holding my hand and refusing to let me leave? Did you forget that?"
• Denise was so embarrassed that she did not know what to say. "B-But I was unconscious and you were awake. You could have broken out of my grip after I fell asleep."
• "So, now it's my fault for taking care of you the whole night?"
• "I-I didn't mean that." It was just strange for him to do that as it was not like his usual behavior.
• Meanwhile, Alex's face fell as he felt that he should not have been so kind as to stay and accompany her the whole night.
• With a cold expression, he said, "Don't think too much about it. I just didn't want anything else to happen to you. Otherwise, it'd be hard for me to explain it to Grandpa. I didn't do it for you, so don't get ahead of yourself."
• Although his words were not the most pleasant, they made her sigh in relief. These were the words that should have come out of his mouth.
• Rolling her eyes at him, she retorted, "It's you who's getting ahead of yourself. I know I'm not one of them."