In the Lap of Luxury

Grace was in Xander's arms. Tears shimmered in her eyes from his kiss. Her body stiffened for a moment at his words. Suddenly, she asked, "What if... one day you find out that I'm too close to another man?"

With eyes filled with desire, Xander wiped the moisture from her lips. "I'll make him disappear."

Grace opened her eyes slightly.

"Are you that serious? What about me?"

"A naughty girl deserves punishment." As he spoke, he pinched her waist as if warning her.

In reality, he spoke with a smile in his eyes and wasn't entirely serious.

But Grace felt a hint of fear. She pursed her lips.

Some subtle clues from before had made her realize that Xander was not as gentle and calm as he appeared on the surface.

Inside, he was like a bomb, ready to ignite at any moment if someone dared to provoke him.

He could be mad.

Xander adjusted his posture, allowing Grace to straddle his lap. Suddenly, she hissed in pain.

"What's wrong?" He frowned, his desire dissipating by half.

"My ankle hurts."

A large area of her left foot was red. Xander leaned in, frowning. "Your foot injury hasn't fully healed yet. How could you wear high heels?" "I thought it had almost healed-"

"Nonsense!"

Grace cowered, shrinking back. Seizing the opportunity, she said, "Shawn's method was very effective. It's hardly painful anymore."

At the mention of Shawn, Xander's eyes became more alert. "What?"

"On the day I sprained my ankle, after I hung up the phone with you, Shawn informed me that your tea shipment had arrived.

"He heard that something was wrong from my voice and happened to be nearby, so he came to help me with my ankle."

Grace altered the timeline, adding a known element to make Xander believe her. Despite her outward calmness, her heart was pounding.

She watched Xander's expression, afraid that he might detect something.

"He helped you?" His tone was devoid of emotion.

"Yeah."

She needed to tell him about this, but she couldn't reveal the details. Grace kept her guard up.

"That's quite kind of him."

The car came to a stop just then. Xander carried Grace out of the car and into Summitview Manor.

"Yeah, he even reminded me of

many precautions. It seems he has a

lot of life experience." GraceCcontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

wrapped her arms around his neck.

She wasn't entirely lying.

Without answering, Xander put her on the bed and went to get an ice pack for her feet.

He remained silent the whole time, and Grace was anxious. "Xander, are you angry?"

"No. He helped you when you were helpless. I should thank him."

Xander attentively applied the ice pack to her feet, but his face was inscrutable.

Grace was easy to read. He could

easily tell whether she had any

romantic feelings for Shawn.

Obviously, she didn't. However, Shawn was a familiar yet mysterious man.

He raised an eyebrow.

"Lucky that you're not angry." Grace breathed a sigh of relief.

Even if Jake gave those photos to Xander in the future, she would have a chance to explain things. At least there would be no misunderstanding between them.

Shawn was right. She couldn't confront things head-on. Quietly resolving them was the safest option.

"I'm not angry." Leaning in, Xander brought his face close to hers. "What will you compensate me with?"

Grace blinked. "Compensate?"

"For what happened at the ball, you haven't explained it to me yet." As he spoke, his hand moved downward. His expression was soft but possessive.

Grace blushed immediately. "I compensated you in the elevator."

"What did you compensate me with?" He teased her deliberately.

"A kiss."

"I want more than that."