Adrian slept longer than he expected and woke up later than he thought he would. And could feel a lot better than he did yesterday but there was still that pain on the lower side of his torso everytime he moves. With much effort, he used a washcloth to cleanse his body, ensuring the injured part stays dry and used the tub to wash his hair with the showerhead while sitting on the tiled bathroom floor.

What should only be thirty minutes of his usual time in the bathroom took an hour and a half and Adrian realized that instead of feeling refreshed, he could feel himself getting exhausted just for trying to clean himself up. He checked his bandage to make sure it is still dry.

Then frowned when he remembered why he didn’t even cleaned himself up last night just so it wouldn’t get wet. Why is he even listening to Daniella? Then sighed as he realized it is his stubbornness talking. Whether he hated Daniella or not, he knew she was right. You don’t let fresh deep wounds get wet. At least that’s what his mom used to tell him when he was younger.

He was already drying his hair with a towel and looking for a shirt to wear when he heard a soft knock on the door. Expecting it to be Nan to check on him since it’s already 9 in the morning and way past the time he gets up, he draped the towel around his neck and walked over to open it.

And found Daniella behind it with a smile on her face holding the first aid kit box.

“Good morning,” she greeted then her smile immediately fell when she noticed his wet hair. “You took a bath? You didn’t let your injury get wet, right?”

Ah. The mystery that had kept him up all night. “No,” he just answered curtly.

“Are you sure?”

“What do you want?”

Sandy tried not to scowl. He’s back to being… grouchy again. She lifted up the box. “Time to put some ointment on your wound and replace the bandage?” She ended it with a question mark to see if he would want her to. Honestly, she really doesn’t know why she’s taking pains to make sure he would heal fast.

Oh no. Yes, she do know.

She want to make sure he does because she never want to see him hurt or in pain.

Sometimes, her heart can be so hardheaded.

And just like last night, Adrian is yet again watching her face, thoughts running fast on his head, intently scanning for any signs of deception or trickery. Yes, he already decided to use himself as bait but he’s still not sure what type of bait he would be. Daniella wanted him to need her, wanted to own him like a piece of object, she wanted him to submit himself to her. Depend his entire person to her existence.

How the hell can he do that when the mere thought of even pretending to do it turns his stomach? The extent of his hate towards Daniella—the woman who had wrecked his friends’ life and everything and everyone he cares about—is indescribable.

“Adrian?”

He snapped out of his thoughts when she called him and he just nodded before opening the door wider for her to enter.

And this… this is what’s infuriating him. For so long that he had hated his wife, for so long that he had known his wife to be indisputably deceiving, he had known exactly what to see to make sure he wouldn’t get caught in her game. He puts an end to it before she can even start.

And within an instant, he can’t even say no to this… woman standing by his door looking at him with that wide bright eyes, emanating innocence and naivete. How the does she do it?!

Sandy strode over to the bed and placed the first aid kit box at the top of his blanket while she prattled, “I had Kelly buy a compression bandage this morning.” She showed him a thick rolled up cloth with a smile. “To wrap it around your torso to make sure the injured area is really protected. I don’t know why I never thought of it yesterday but you know….” She let out a whoosh of breath. “I guess my mind was fried.” She nodded as if she’s agreeing with herself.

Silence followed as Adrian stood by the open door holding the knob and Sandy standing by the bed holding the bandage she showed him. “Umm….” Sandy broke the silence. “Where do you want to sit?” She looked around the room as if she hasn’t gone here to “borrow” his clothes many times. His room is comparably smaller from hers. Or Daniella’s. Still bigger than the standard rooms though but it doesn’t have a terrace, or a lounge chair or anything. Just the queen size bed with bedside table, that one chair beside the bed, the wardrobe cabinet, TV bookcase and a book shelf and a large window with shutters. The kind of rooms rich people give to visitors who aren’t gonna stay long. Sandy had wondered why Adrian picked this room out of all the much bigger rooms in this house and she eventually realized it was probably because it was the farthest from Daniella’s.

Adrian took a minute to decide before finally closing the door and walking over to the bed in silence. He sat down on the mattress and looked up at her expectantly. Sandy thought nothing of it and sat down next to him while she snapped on the latex gloves. “I’m gonna start now, okay?” Sandy said in case he suddenly had his violent reaction of her touching him without permission. She started to carefully remove the one she did last night and she saw his stomach muscle clench. “Sorry,” she apologized as she tried to be as gentle as possible from removing the bandage. “Looks like it’s healing up fine,” she muttered when she saw the state of the injury then grinned to herself. “I’m so proud of myself.” She started cleaning the area and kept talking so he would be distracted and not focus on the pain. “It’s been so long since I stitched up someone but I guess it’s just something you couldn’t forget. Kind of like… an automatic thing that your body remembers. I mean it’s not a perfect stitch but I still did a good job.”

Adrian just listened and all the while watching her looking concentrated on what she’s doing. He had thought of it while he stood by the door as she entered his room.

He figured out what kind of bait he would be. But he’s just not sure if that would be a smart thing to do.

She’s parading herself as this innocent, harmless woman who lost her memories and pretending to be something she’s not. She already did this trickery before where Nan believed it but he had seen right through her. She just wasn’t as good before as she is now, that’s for sure.

Because now, even he is falling for it.

So the plan? Seduce Daniella Romero. Bring out the real her. Maybe he’s in over his head but that’s the only plan he could think of. Daniella wanted him. Her want is akin to her obsession with him and maybe if he would dangle himself to her, maybe he could see that crack he had been looking for.

Sandy kept on chattering as she finished sealing the gauze with the medical tape after putting ointment over the wounded area. “It’s going to leave an ugly scar but it’s not like it’s going to make a difference. I mean you’re still going to be hot.” It was too late to stop from saying what she was thinking. She bit her lip, turned to the box to pretend to be busy with the tools and hoped to god Adrian wasn’t listening to her useless chatters.

“What?” Adrian spoke.

“What?” Her tone sound defensive as she turned to him, her eyes wide in denial. “I didn’t say anything.” He was looking at her with a deep frown and Sandy grabbed the compression bandage. “I’ll wrap your torso now with this, okay?” Oh god, let me die!!

Is that the crack he was hoping for? Adrian watched her struggle with the compression bandage, her face looking beet red, avoiding looking at him.

It could be the crack of her pretend character but… she’s blushing. As if she’s embarrassed. He had never seen Daniella blush. The only time her face turn red is when she’s enraged. Adrian let out a long exasperated sigh, his frustration still growing.

Sandy mistook that for impatience. “I’m gonna make it really quick.” She finally unrolled the tip of the compression bandage and rolled it around Adrian’s torso.

Which Sandy realized is now a bad idea.

She didn’t count the proximity this little idea of hers is going to cause.

And by proximity, she means proximity. Her chin is practically on his chest as she leaned over to roll the bandage around his body which means both her arms went around him and when she froze over that realization, suddenly fully conscious of her inside the room with Adrian Lee half … his hair damp… she looked up to find him looking down at her, his frown still apparent. He is way too close that he could probably smell her breath.

She practically jumped out of the bed, dropping the bandage but she was already sitting on the edge so she ended up falling on her on the floor when she lost her balance. Owwww!! But before Adrian could ask her what the hell she is doing, she scrambled to her feet. “I’m okay! I’m okay,” she said rubbing her , unable to look at him in the eye. “Um… yeah I uh… I don’t think you need the uh… I mean… I just… i—i need to get something.” And she sprinted out of there before Adrian could even say a word.

She ran out of the room so fast it looked as if she’s being chased by someone while looking like her face is going to combust. And Adrian just sat there watching as confusion and amusement rolled into him. A smile tugged at the corner of his lips, followed by a chuckle. Then he immediately stopped. He threaded his hair through his wet hair as he knew he hasn’t gone anywhere with finding out Daniella’s game. .

Sandy had spent a good full hour inside her room as the utter embarrassment gradually turned into giddiness as she rolled over the wide bed trying to keep herself from squealing. That is the closest she had been with Adrian Lee. And the feeling of being that close to him is just doing things to her weak heart. She’s probably acting like a high school girl right now but after loving Adrian Lee from afar for so long, she couldn’t help it.

She stayed on her bed looking up at the ceiling with a sappy smile on her face as she replayed that scene over and over again. Why is he so damn cute? Even with that frown… yeah he might still hate me but he’s just too handsome for this own good! She wanted to tell Charleen about it immediately but she checked and she’s still not online yet. Sandy preferred to talk to her best friend in a video call about this or even in a continuous thread rather than leaving a chat message and wait for her response.

She only put a stop on her daydreaming when she felt her stomach rumbling. It’s her cue to eat breakfast. Did Adrian already left to go to work? I should’ve asked Nan to put the compression bandage on him. She let her personal feelings get in the way which is a big no no in the doctors’ rules during her volunteering days.

When you enter this tent, you’re no longer Sandy Parke. You don’t feel, you don’t think until you get the job done. If you can’t do that, you leave and go back home, do you understand?

That’s what one of the doctors had sternly told her when she couldn’t even perform first aid kit after the soldier that she was trying to save died. That was the first time she saw someone die. In her arms. And her inevitably blaming herself for the soldier’s death. She was held down by that guilt for almost a week until that doctor who was kind and harsh enough came to snap her out of it.

That was the most traumatic moment of her life but she had to admit, it made her stronger.

She had to remember those words the next time she tended Adrian. He’s a patient.

A very good looking, attractive and extremely appealing patient. Sandy pouted at her own thoughts as she trekked down the stairs to go to the dining room. Then stopped dead in her tracks.

Adrian was sitting on the dining table eating his breakfast. He only glanced at her before continuing to eat while looking at his phone.

“Oh you’re here.” Nan came out of the kitchen and spotted her. “I was beginning to worry. You are late with your breakfast.” She called out for Kelly to bring Sandy’s breakfast.

There are two things Sandy could do. Sit down and eat breakfast or just tell Nan she’ll eat later.

But she’s already hungry. And besides, why would she eat later? Because of what happened? Sandy casually glanced at Adrian eating as if she wasn’t even there. It’s not like he cared about what happened. He probably doesn’t even know why I reacted that way and probably thinking I’ve gone nuts.

Finally deciding, she went to the seat she usually sits in and settled herself down. She cleared and tried to make conversation to fill the uncomfortable silence. “You haven’t left for work yet?”

“No,” Adrian answered without looking at her, his eyes glued on his phone. “I’m not going to work today.”

“Really?” Sandy said skeptically.

“It’s a miracle, actually,” Nan chimed in putting a glass of milk in front of Sandy.

“I guess miracles do exist,” Sandy joked. “Thank you.” She thanked Nan for her glass of milk.

Andy looked up from his phone. “I seem to remember you specifically telling me not to go to work.”

Sandy paused from drinking her milk. “I… didn’t think you would listen.”

Adrian didn’t replied and just gave a narrowed gaze and Sandy just averted her eyes as she drank her milk. Nan’s forehead creased looking from Adrian to Sandy wondering what this weird exchange is but before she could comment, Kelly appeared with Sandy’s food.

Adrian was about to continue eating but stopped when Kelly put one, two, three, four plates of food with sandwiches, pasta, soup, eggs in front of her. His eyes went from the food to her face, her eyes lighting up at the sight.

Sandy’s mouth is salivating. She is sooo hungry. And Kelly is such a good cook that there is no question that this won’t be delicious and satisfying. It really seems like that one piece of bread for her is already gone for good, thank god! She was about to dig in when she glanced up and caught Adrian looking at the food then up at her, surprise on his face.

And she suddenly felt embarrassed to be caught eating this much. This is the first time that Adrian actually joined her for a meal so he had never really seen her eat like she’s gone through hard labor. “Ah haha.” She tried to sound nonchalant. “Why is there so much food? I don’t eat this much.”

Nan, who obviously didn’t get it, responded, “What do you mean? This is the same amount of breakfast you eat. Oh wait, Kelly forgot the pancake.” She called Kelly again for it.

And Sandy just had to bite her embarrassment. No, don’t bring the pancake. “Hahaha. Seriously Nan. You’re so funny.”

“What?” Nan asked looking really confused at what Sandy finds funny when she hasn’t said anything that is even intended to be funny.

Sandy used her hand to casu