Darkness surrounded the Anderson mansion. Hilla Holt was sitting on the bed with her legs crossed. She wore a thin, spaghetti strap dress. The windows on the balcony were closed. The room's air conditioner brought a cool breeze into the room.
She was holding a used lipstick in her hand, and she was moving it along Bruce Anderson's face.
The man on the bed did not move a muscle, which allowed the young lady to doodle on his face as she pleased.
"Here I thought that the days ahead of me would be hell after my family went bankrupt. That's why I couldn't bring myself to use this lipstick. Who would have thought I would be married into the Anderson family?"
After that, she suddenly leaned closer and brought her own face closer to his. Her breath was gentle as it landed on the man's ears and caressed his face. She chuckled and said, "Your mother gave me a debit card, and I bought ten of this lipstick."
That was why she could… play such a prank on him.
"I'd throw this out, but that'll be a waste. How about I use it on you?
"Mm… Your complexion is really bad. I'll put on some blush on you, followed by a little eye shadow!
"The lipstick will go on last. Perhaps, I'll draw a little turtle on your face!"
Hilla was playing with herself happily, and she was even staring seriously at the person under her. "I'm counting to three. If you don't say anything, I'll take your silence as consent!
"1… 2… 3! Alright! I'm going to draw a little turtle now!"
Even if she counted to three thousand, the man on the bed could not fight back against her, anyway. As she smiled because she had her way, she laid on the man, not caring if her actions would suffocate him.
There was no reason for her to be afraid of exposing her skin, anyway, and she also did not need to be worried about the man beneath her suddenly getting up and seeking retribution with her.
As she drew on his face, she continued rambling.
"So many people in my university laughed at me. The way they looked at me makes me sad.
"Did you know, Bruce? They thought that the Holt family fell, and I would live a very terrible life. That's why they were all waiting for the chance to make fun of me. But later, when your family sent someone to drive me back, everyone was so shocked that their jaws dropped to the floor.
"I wonder what their faces will look like when they see me tomorrow.
"If they knew about me marrying into the Anderson family by marrying someone half dead, I reckon the look in their eyes would be scarier.
"Bruce Anderson, will you or will you not wake up?"
The lady on the bed continued her rambling while she snuggled against the man's side. She was treating him like a huge bear that she could count on.
"I feel pretty good talking to you like this. I think you should just stay asleep.
"Have I stopped thinking that you're scary because we have been sleeping together for a long time?"
She wanted someone to be there to listen to her rants. Bruce's entrance into her life was perfect, and the timing of his ailment was also perfect.
From Hilla's perspective, a person who would never leak her secrets to anyone would be the perfect person to give her a sense of security.
That night, the weather remained quiet and warm. September was now around the corner, and the weather was dry, hot, and intolerable. But the two people in the room had the air-conditioner on at a comfortable temperature, and they slept soundly. Suddenly, the man who was bedridden for so long moved ever so slightly.
"Oh, my lord! Hilla, what have you done?!"
Hilla Holt was half-awake when she heard Orlenna Organa's shriek. She had even nearly had her voice crack, judging by the sound. Hilla felt a little discomfort as she stretched her body. She sat on the bed and rubbed her eyes while she greeted Orlenna Organa lazily, "Morning, Mother."
The woman had a dazed look on her face. The straps of her nightgown almost slid off her shoulders, revealing strips of skin, but still covering most of her body. Her long hair was messy as they spilled down her shoulders. It was supposed to be an alluring scene, but when Orlenna Organa saw it, she just felt discomfort in her heart.
She got angry and said, "Hilla, you… are you crazy?! How could you do this to Bruce?!"
...
There were clothes all around the floor in the room. The blanket was on the floor. It gave off a lewd air, but there was nothing charming about this.
Half of Bruce's body was on the floor while Hilla herself had taken more than half of the bed.
When Hilla saw it all, most the drowsiness she was still experiencing then instantly disappeared.
"Mother! I… It's my fault! I fell asleep! Please… Let me fix this!" Hilla Holt quickly got off the bed. She grabbed Bruce's arm and yanked him up.
WHAM! It was a loud bang. A certain comatose person banged his head against the bedside table.
Orlenna widened her eyes with terror. Her exquisitely made-up face could not hide the fact that she was about to lose her composure.
She rushed to Bruce and helped him up to the bed. Anxious and panicked, she examined him and asked, "Where did you hurt yourself? Bruce? Did it hurt?"
The man on the bed remained quiet and had his eyes shut. The look on his face was devoid of any emotion. Even if he was in pain, he could never express it.
"Oh heavens, it's swollen!"
Orlenna caressed his head and found the bump. She found herself feeling faint. She turned to Hilla and saw her stunned still.
Her eyes were bloodshot as she said, "Bruce is a person. He is not a toy! Just because he can't speak up for himself, that doesn't mean he doesn't feel pain!"
Orlenna's voice showed that she was clearly suppressing her wrath. Bruce Anderson was the limit of her tolerance, and Hilla had just stepped over that limit.
From the perspective of an outsider, Bruce Anderson was just a comatose patient with no feeling. In fact, he was just a joke. But to Orlenna, he was her son and the person she was the closest to in the world.
"I… I… It wasn't intentional."
Hilla's mind went blank. There was nothing else she could say even as Orlenna shouted at her. When she saw the little turtle on Bruce's face, she knew her words meant nothing then.
She knew she had done wrong.
Orlenna took in a few deep breaths. Her heart softened up when she saw that Hilla's eyes were starting to get misty, and she looked pitiful. She said coldly, "Call Horton Hutt to come over."
Hilla wanted to ask who Horton Hutt was and what his phone number was. She opened her mouth to speak, but she shut her mouth immediately. It was best to just
ask the servants downstairs.
When Hilla left, Orlenna immediately worked on the wet towel and wiped off the lipstick stains on Bruce's face. The tears that had been hanging to her eyelashes rolled down her face. She failed to stifle a sniff and laughed.
She looked at the bedridden Bruce Anderson on the bed and said in resignation, "Her drawing is really bad. If you saw this, you'll definitely be mad.
"You're such a clean and composed person, and yet she doodled on you like this."
As she talked to Bruce, a faint smile slowly formed on her face. At the end, she got upset and said, "Was I too fierce with Hilla just now? I think she's going to be afraid of me. From the looks of her face earlier, I reckon I've scared her really badly.
"If you're awake and back to your usual strict, stern self, you would probably scare her as well. Right now, this is good, she can get closer to you, and you won't be that bored every day.
"You're ten years older than her. I think we should just let her have her way since… she's just a little girl without her parents."
Orlenna finished wiping off all the lipstick on Bruce's face. She changed his clothes and sat beside him again to start talking.
"Madam Organa, Doctor Hutt is here."
Hilla was waiting downstairs, feeling uncertain because she did not dare go up. Then, she heard a commotion from outside. Hilla was stunned when she saw a servant escorting a young man inside.
The man was surely older than her by only a few years. How could such a young man be a private doctor?
Horton Hutt saw Hilla, and when he did, a glint of enchanting light refracted off his thin, golden-framed glasses.
Hilla had already changed into a set of clean and refreshing casual clothes, and it was in good taste. Her face was bare and without makeup, but there was a faint, rosy hue on her cheeks due to the blood circulating underneath. She looked like an enticing apple waiting to be plucked.