"Luella."

After a long stretch of silence in the cabin, his voice suddenly pierced the quiet. "You haven't answered my question."

"Huh?"

She blinked at him in confusion. "What question?"

"Why are you hiding from me?"

She instinctively gripped the wheel tighter, swallowing hard.

She couldn't exactly confess that she had developed a massive crush on him and was terrified she'd lose control and throw herself at him, only to end up getting arrested and thrown in a cell for assault, right?!

"I'm not hiding."

She forced a bright smile, playing dumb. "I've just been swamped with the new partnership deal, so I haven't had time to visit. My bad, honestly."

"You absolutely are!"

His tone was heavy and filled with certainty. "You even deleted my contact!"

"Ah? Did I?"

She kept up the act, pulling out her phone and deliberately swiping through it. "Must have been an accident. So sorry about that."

"Are you telling me you accidentally opened your contacts, accidentally searched my name, and accidentally hit the delete button?"

Luella was speechless.

"Add me back." He held out his phone to her. "My leg still hasn't healed. If I suffer

any long-term complications, aren't you responsible?"

He made a fair point. She couldn't argue with that.

"Fine."

Defeated, she obediently added his number back.

Silence fell over the car once more.

Before long, the red sports car pulled up. Jimmie stepped out, his eyes darting around before he suddenly let out a sharp hiss. "Hss="

"What's wrong?"

Thinking his leg was acting up, she rushed over, her face etched with worry. "Are you okay?"

"My leg is throbbing."

He leaned into the lie, furrowing his brow in faux agony. "I can't walk. Help me up."

"Oh?"

Before she could process the request, his long arm draped heavily over her shoulders.

Jimmie kept himself in impeccable shape, but he was a tall, solid man. When his weight shifted onto her, she nearly buckled.

"Alright."

Terrified that his leg really was

injured and that it would just det

out therentanglement, she helped him all the way upstairs.

He unlocked the door with his fingerprint.

The two hobbled inside, and she carefully deposited him onto the sofa.

"Time for my medication." He stared at her, immediately putting her to work. "Ointment in the drawer, antiseptic on the table."

"? Okay."

She obediently fetched the supplies, crouched down, and gently lifted his pant leg, resting his foot on a stool.

Even though it was healing well, the scar was still swollen and looked pretty intimidating.

"If your leg is this bad, why are you going out to clubs?" she asked curiously while dabbing the antiseptic.

"Couldn't get out of work." He stared intensely at her ear, noticing the red stud was back in its place. "If I didn't show up, the project would stall. The damages would run into the hundreds of millions, and the opposing company can't afford that kind of payout."

"Oh."

She understood completely, and her guilt only deepened.

The accident really had wreaked havoc on his schedule.

"All done."

She finished applying the medication and stood up, only to find him staring at her, entirely motionless.

His eyes were as deep as the ocean, looking as if they were ready to swallow her whole.

She had absolutely zero immunity to that face. Especially now that she realized she had feelings for him.

"So, anyway..."

She frantically averted her gaze,

ta step backward "I've things to do so get going, Text me if you need anything."

She took another step back, her heel catching awkwardly on the edge of the rug,

and she lost her balance.

"Careful!"

His expression shifted instantly as he reached out to catch her waist.

The next second...

"Ah-"

She tumbled right into his arms, landing in a highly compromising position.