Chapter 19

“Liv?”

When no answer was heard to the knock on the door, Dane nervously pounded on the door. But there was no response.

Dane hurriedly turned the doorknob. But even the doorknob was locked and did not turn.

“Liv! Are you inside? Liv!”

“I’m inside!”

“What’s the matter? The door won’t open.”

“P, please don’t e in today.”

Liv said, standing at the door.

“Is there perhaps a problem?”

“Nothing happened! Just…… Please call someone to help me.”

“You can tell me now.”

“No! Don’t do that. Please call a maid. Please.”

The hand that was touching the doorknob stopped at the sound of pleading. Liv was reassured that he would soon call a maid.

Liv went into the bathroom attached to the bedroom this morning and was startled to see her own face.

Her hair was tangled and hardened with blood, and her face was bruised and blue. She couldn’t believe that she was standing in front of him with this look. It even seems to smell. Liv’s shocked face quickly turned to crying.

She could feel a scab when she touched her head carefully. It didn’t hurt even if she pressed it, so maybe she could wash it now. She didn’t want to stand in front of him like this anymore.

Click.

Then there was the sound of a key turning, and Dane opened the door and walked in.

Flustered, Liv showed signs of trying to escape, and he quickly grabbed her arm. Liv leaned back, wanting to get away from him even a little bit.

“Why on earth are you like this? Please let me know.”

Liv struggled to pull out her caught arm, but Dane wouldn’t let go. When he didn’t seem to want to let her go until she didn’t speak, Liv eventually opened her mouth obediently.

“I don’t want to show you this.”

Dane didn’t seem to understand.

“I don’t want to show you this dirty appearance of mine!”

Only then did Dane see Liv. Liv was so ashamed of the way he looked at her that her visible skin turned all red.

‘How can this woman be adorable in this situation?’

His heavy heart, wondering if something had happened, was relieved by the woman’s plaints.

“Wait for a moment.”

Dane raised his hand and traced Liv’s head. Liv frowned and closed her eyes because this situation was so terrible.

“Doesn’t it hurt?”

“…… Yes.”

“You’ve healed well. It’s okay to touch the water now as long as it doesn’t touch your wound.”

Liv said, covering her reddened face with her hands.

“Then call a maid.”

“Um……. I would like to do that, but unfortunately it’s impossible.”

“What?”

“There are no maids in this mansion. I didn’t bother to hire people because I was only staying here for a while.”

It seemed difficult to wash her hair by herself. While Liv was thinking about what to do, Dane said.

“Can I do it for you?”

“Huh?”

“Washing your hair. Let me help you.”

“No, it’s okay. I can do it myself.”

“But if you touch the wound, it might open up again.”

If the wounds were aggravated, she would have had to show him her dirty appearance for a longer time.

‘But…… I’m so embarrassed to go into the bathroom with him…….’

Liv, who was torn between embarrassment for different reasons, said in a small voice.

“Then…… Please.”

In the bathtub filled with hot water, Liv sat down, covering her body with her hands as much as possible. But the thin chemise was of no use as it was wet.

Her entire face was exposed in front of him when she was gently moistened with water on her head.

When she came back to her senses, Liv had shown him her scar at some point. He didn’t even look at her scar as if he were observing, nor did he look displeased, so she almost forgot that she had shown him her scar.

Today, as she was worried about her scar, she stuttered and touched the scar, but Dane pulled Liv’s hand away and kissed it. Liv smiled shyly and slipped her hand into the warm water.

Dane stroked Liv’s hair with a gentle touch. It was his first time washing someone else’s hair, so his hands were awkward. On top of that, Liv didn’t cooperate, crouching hard, making it even more difficult to wash her hair.

Bubbles entered Liv’s eyes, and the splashed water kept flooding her face. When Liv raised her hand for the fifth time and wiped the overflowing water from her face, the already tense atmosphere disappeared, and she somehow burst out laughing.

“I don’t think my touch is funny.”

“I just can’t help but laugh.”

Dane laughed along with the voice full of laughter.

The sound of rushing water and the steamy bathroom was unbelievably cozy. Liv’s shoulder, which had been very tense, slowly loosened up from fatigue.

Dane caught the back of Liv as he nodded. Seeing her leave her back to him in a defenseless state brought him indescribable emotions.

Dane looked at Liv’s back with trembling eyes, then took her hair and kissed her. The scent of fragrant soap filled his nose.

Spending a normal day with her in his space. This was all he wanted.

‘You never knew how much I wanted you.’

He’d rather not let her know anything. If she runs away because she feels overwhelmed by this, what should he do with himself who has already tasted the sweetness? He would do anything to catch her and put her back next to him at all costs.

Even he was disgusted by his grotesque sincerity that flowed out even in such a calm situation. So she should not know.

Spotting something, Dane pulled Liv’s hair aside. A different wound can be seen on her neck exposed above the chemise.

Dane raised his hand to caress the wound. Liv, who had been dozing off at the sudden touch, opened her eyes in surprise.

“Uh…….”

Liv was taken aback by his hand caressing her neck.

“D, Dane?”

Her loosened shoulders tensed again the longer his hand touched her.

“T…… There…….”

“I’m sorry.”

As Dane pulled her chemise down a bit, another wound was revealed. Scratches were also visible on her spine. It was a wound he hadn’t noticed because he was paying attention to her head and ears.

“Can you stand up for a moment?”

“Yes? Ah……”

“I won’t do anything. I just want to check something with my own eyes.”

Dane put his hand under Liv’s arm and raised her up. The water-soaked thin chemise clung to Liv’s body, revealing her skin.

Dane’s hand ran over Liv’s back. A faint mark can be seen over the chemise. Perhaps it will be clearer than it is now if she took off her clothes. Dane traced the marks with his fingertips.

Liv clasped her hands in front of her chest and closed her eyes. She was ashamed that the shape of her body was revealed because of the clothes that stuck to her body.

‘Why is he doing this all of a sudden?’

The hand that had been stroking her back grabbed Liv’s forearms and turned her to look at him. When he grabbed her crouched arm and slowly spread it to the side, Liv’s arm spread helplessly even though he did not use any force.

The tip of her chest that rose above her clothes was visible. As he passed through her flat stomach and lowered his gaze downwards, a dark triangle-shaped wound was vaguely seen.

Closing her eyes, Liv shuddered at her cooling body temperature.

It was as if she was naked now. She could feel his gaze all over her body without having to see it. She felt a strange thrilling sensation, and at the same time, a sense of shame.

Even though he let go of her arms, Liv was motionless because of his hands touching her collarbone. He rubbed his fingertips around her collarbone, slowly descending towards her chest.

‘I want to see his face.’

A shameful desire that she didn’t even know existed within her popped out of nowhere. She wondered what kind of face he was making while looking at her body. Was it the face immersed in pleasure he showed her in front of the fence? Or was he as embarrassed as she was and couldn’t even look at her properly?

Liv, who was in agony, opened her eyes hesitantly despite her shame.

Her anticipation cooled down as if it had been splashed with water when she looked at his face. There was only sadness on his face, and no desire.

The touch she thought was lust was not when she opened her eyes. The only place he touched was the spot with the black bruises. Dane did not even give an unnecessary touch in the first place.

Liv looked at him fondly as he looked at her body with a serious face.

‘How can I not love a man like this?’

He was so sweet and so lovable to the point of tears.

Thanks to her crouching, the front part of her body was not severely beaten by the book. Her back was probably worse than this. He was worried that he had not noticed this. Was it so bad that he had such a serious expression?

Dane rolled up the sleeves of Liv’s clothes. Her forearm was full of thin cuts from the books.

“Does it not hurt?”

“Yes. It doesn’t hurt.”

The wound, which had already formed a scab, did not hurt. It was so numb that if he didn’t press the wound, she wouldn’t even know it existed. Rather, it was Dane, not her, who looked hurt. His eyes continued to wander around her wounds.

Dane, who had been sweeping Liv’s arms, held her in his arms. A drenched chemise wets Dane’s clothes. Feeling his clothes getting wet, Dane thought.

‘I wish the wounds could be passed to me along the spreading waters…… If that were the case, I wouldn’t separate you from my body for a moment.’

He wanted to take all the wounds and not let her feel even a bit of pain. He was glad she was okay, but he always hoped that she wouldn’t get hurt anymore.

Man’s greed knows no bounds. Even more so if it is something related to love.

Dane forted himself by burying his face on Liv’s shoulder.