Cassianâs breathing was strange.
It was also hot.
Yernia pushed his wet hair back and touched his forehead.
Cassian had a fever.
âDo you have a fever because you got rained on? You didnât have any fever earlier. Whatâs wrong with you all of a sudden? Youâre as hot as a fireball.â
ââ¦â¦.â
Cassian buried his forehead on Yerniaâs shoulder and hugged her waist tightly in his arms.
Surprised, the bouquet she was holding slipped out between the two of them.
She had chosen to throw away the flowers.
These tulips wouldnât die in the rain, but she had no idea whether Cassian would be the same.
âWhere did you go, Yernia?â He asked weakly.
âI went to the flower shop. You look tired these days, so I bought you some flowers to cheer you up. Do you want to see them?â
âWhere did you go before that?â
âWhat?â
âBefore you went to the flower shop.â
Yernia tilted her head.
âI didnât go anywhere.â
ââ¦â¦.â
âLetâs go home instead. I canât stay in the rain this whole time.â
The flower shop ownerâs friend was right.
One umbrella wouldnât be enough to avoid the rain.
Even if she leaned the umbrella at him, Cassian would still get wet.
Raindrops continued pitter-pattering on his shoulder.
âDidnât you go to the Opera House?â
âI didnât go there. Why would I be when youâre sick like this?â
âI heard that you went there. Are you sure you didnât?â
Yernia frowned.
Opera House?
She usually went to the opera house often, but she really didnât want to go there today.
Where did this misunderstanding come from?
Oh.
When the butler asked her where she was going earlier, she was too embarrassed to admit she was going to buy flowers for Cassian so she simply brushed him off and didnât say anything.
Was this the reason why the misunderstanding happened?
âWho said that? I really didnât go.â
âThatâs fine.â
Yernia gently pushed Cassianâs shoulder to see if he still had any strength left but his response was to gaze at Yernia heatedly.
If she left him here like this, things might blow out of proportion.
âLetâs go home for now.â
***
âCassian! Cassian!â
Yernia shook Cassianâs body and his closed eyes started to open.
He stared blankly at her.
âIâm going to take off your clothes. You have to get up, take it off, and wash up or else your fever will rise.â
âI donât want to. Itâs annoying.â
âYou still have to do it even if itâs annoying. Youâve never been sick, have you? I know that youâre having a really hard time right now.â
Cassian shook his head in refusal.
âI canât even move. Donât bother me anymore.â
He was really sick, huh?
Yernia checked his fever again and his forehead felt hotter than before.
Cassianâs assistant had helped her lay him back on the bed, but the problem was after that.
Now that the assistant had vanished in the blink-of-an-eye, Yernia woke up Cassian from dozing off like a sick chicken and called out his name.
âTake it off, Yernia. Please.â Â He said slowly.
âItâs hard, isnât it?â
He exhaled a hot breath.
âYes.â
Yernia had no choice but to undress Cassian.
She took off his shirt without a thought.
Her eyes landed on his bare chest when it shouldnât have been.
Not in a situation like that.
Now, she was troubled.
Should she take off his pants herself?
Shouldnât she?
âIsnât it too much to wear slightly wet pants when youâre sick?â
However, Yernia couldnât tell him to take it off because Cassian wasnât strong enough to control his limbs and finish the job.
Yernia used her brain.
After covering his lower body with a blanket, she put both of her hands underneath and unbuckled his pants.
After groping blindly for a long time, she heard Cassianâs breathy moan the instant she unzipped his fly.
That didnât stop her though.
Yernia tried to pull down his pants regardless.
âLift your back, Cassian.â
âI told you to leave my pants alone.â
âYou have to wash up.â
âThatâs enough.â
At that point, Yernia had given up trying to force his pants off.
Instead, she brought a dry towel and dried his limbs.
She wiped the moisture out of his hair, wiped his chest and abdominal muscles thoroughly.
It was impossible to take Cassian to the bathroom and wash him up.
This was the only thing he could do to alleviate his illness.
âYernia, Iâm not a lovesick because of some other woman.â Cassian whispered as she rubbed the towel against his chest. âYouâre the one who made me like this.â
âMe?â
âYes, Yernia. You. You hurt me.â
She had never seen such an ungrateful fellow in her life.
Who dragged his arse back to his bedroom and wiped his rain-soaked form?
Yernia wiped at his chest even harder.
âSo, is it my fault now? Just know that Iâm cutting you some slack because youâre sick.â
If he had been sick because of her, then she would let Cassian blame her for now.
She wanted to understand him for his sake.
It wasnât good to be mad at the patient.
âI donât want you to see him often and Iâm already annoyed by this ridiculous misunderstanding from earlier.â
âWho are you talking about? I never met someoneâ-â
âJennan.â
Yernia lost her speech.
Something diabolical had crossed her mind and she couldnât quite believe it.