Jasiah slowly turned his head.
He looked at Noe, his eyes filled with sympathy.
But Noe was like a powder keg ready to explode, "Why are you looking at me? I, Noe, promise to keep my word!"
Jasiah paused, "…you'd better do it."
Noe proudly lifted his swollen face due to the allergy, patting Curtis, "Curtis heard it too, he'll be a witness when the time comes!"
Jasiah: "..."
Curtis leaned against the wall, lazily lifting his eyelids to look at Noe, "Alright."
As he spoke, he extinguished the cigarette butt with his finger and tossed it into the nearby ashtray.
Lailah was still anxious.
She quickly redirected the topic, "What do we do now? Check the security footage? Or call the police?"
Jasiah instinctively glanced at Curtis.
And saw him lazily lift his chin, "Don't worry, in a law-abiding society, no one can take her away. I'll go look for her."
That Curtis was willing to go look for her, Lailah felt relieved.
After all, among these people, he had the most resources. If he really put effort into it, he would definitely find her.
"Just let me know if you find anything, I'll go ask the front desk who that guy was!" Lailah said, turning to run towards the lobby.
Noe volunteered enthusiastically, "I'll go too!"
Jasiah watched those two, who were still in the dark, and shook his head with a tut, "Aren't you going to stop them? Curtis, aren't you afraid they'll discover your beastly behavior?"
"Already taken care of." Curtis raised an eyebrow.
Otherwise, with just their group staying at Whispering Pines Retreat , how could the front desk miss the man who carried Dakota away and arranged for someone to change her clothes and give her a bath?
It was just that Dakota didn't want everyone to know about their relationship yet, so he would naturally cooperate with her.
"You really have a way."
Jasiah gave him a thumbs-up, "I'm already looking forward to their reactions when they find out the truth."
Curtis smiled lazily, lifting the corner of his lips.
He picked up the bathrobe and sniffed it; the smell of smoke had dissipated, "Soon, I'll remember to send them invitations to our wedding."
With that said, he turned and pushed the door open, returning to the room.
Jasiah secretly spat at his back,
What kind of daydreaming is he doing?
Planning a wedding before he's even got her?
But there's a saying that's true—being love-struck is indeed the best dowry a man can have.
……
Curtis returned to the room after getting rid of the smoke smell.
Dakota was still asleep.
Perhaps because the human-shaped pillow she had been clinging to all night suddenly disappeared, her sleep had become restless.
When Curtis returned, he saw her snuggled up on the side where he had been sleeping, lying on the sheets still warm from his body, holding the blanket tightly up to her chin.
"Tsk." Curtis frowned slightly.
Is she this insecure?
Looking at Dakota's half-curled side-sleeping position, he felt inexplicably unhappy.
It was as if he was standing up for her,
or dissatisfied that the person he cherished wasn't getting the care and love she deserved elsewhere.
Curtis couldn't help but move quietly to the bedside.
He bent down to tuck Dakota in, and slipped her exposed, slender feet back under the warm blanket.
Thinking she might feel weak if she woke up hungry, he changed into fresh clothes to buy some food.
But when he returned, the sleeping beauty in the bed had vanished.
Curtis narrowed his eyes, placing the breakfast on the table by the bed. After circling the suite, he found no sign of Dakota.
She must have run off.
It had only been a short while since he'd left her alone.
Kissed and slept, then ran away?
Was she shy?
Curtis slowly took out his phone and found the little flirt in his contacts. Initially, he wanted to directly ask where she was, but after hesitating for a while, he remembered that Jasiah often sent cute stickers when flirting.
So he also searched online and casually sent Dakota a sticker—
Dakota had indeed just woken up.
Ever since Curtis got up, her sleep had been uneasy, and with the noise outside, she was in a half-awake state.
The lingering dizziness from the hangover made her feel groggy.
So Dakota didn't get up, instead sinking into the pillow as if giving up, seeking warmth and a sense of security by rubbing against the sheets and moving to a safer spot to sleep.
But she soon felt something was off—
In her half-asleep state,
she seemed to smell a faint, cold scent of patchouli mixed with a uniquely male aroma, which almost instantly woke her brain up!
Dakota panicked, flipping over and sitting up.
One glance told her this wasn't her room with Lailah, and there were men's clothes draped over the sofa.
In that moment, Dakota felt her mind buzzing.
She clutched her head in frustration, racking her brains to recall the events of the previous night…
The gaps in her memory were quite strong.
She had indeed drunk a lot.
But there were moments of brief clarity due to intense possessiveness and desire.
In the alternating hot and cold pools,
Steam rose around them, her cheeks flushed, and water droplets dripped from her hair. In the soft glow of the night, his large, defined hand slowly traced over her smooth, silky skin. His breath was hot against her, laced with raw desire. The midnight heat wrapped around them, an untamed passion spreading between her breaths and the touch of their lips.
And those deep, soulful eyes, staring directly at her from so close, seemed to possess an irresistible pull, a magnetic charm that made her feel like she could willingly drown in them.
"Come with me?"
"Okay."
Her thigh was suddenly clasped by his arm as he lifted her, their bodies emerging from the hot spring, the evening breeze causing the water droplets to evaporate, making her shiver.
Recalling up to this point,
Dakota knew she was done for…
Those two deeply intimate kisses from last night lingered in her mind, impossible to forget.
"No way!"
Dakota hastily got out of bed, rubbing her hair.
Especially seeing she was wearing a bathrobe and not her swimsuit, she didn't know how to face her arch-nemesis Curtis, whom she had just shared an intense kiss with.
She was doomed.
Totally doomed.
She actually kissed him last night.
The kicker? Curtis had kissed her back.
This turn of events was beyond anything she had imagined—it was like the end of the world, complete with crashing skies and collapsing earth.
Dakota had no idea how she was going to explain last night to Curtis, nor how she would face her fake husband, whom she had planned to maintain a distant relationship with.
So, she chose the simplest solution—
Run!
Dakota bolted from Curtis's room, grabbed her suitcase from her own, and fled Whispering Pines Retreat —the scene of the crime—still dressed in her robe.
But of course, luck wasn't on her side.
Just as she dragged her suitcase into the lobby, she ran right into Lailah, who was grilling the front desk. Lailah turned around, shocked and excited, and called out, "Dakota?!"
Dakota froze.
She slowly turned her head and saw Lailah and Noe rushing over. "Are you okay, Dakota? I was so worried! Where were you last night?"
"I-I'm fine—"
Dakota choked up, unable to explain. "No! I have something! My company called, and I need to handle something!"
Lailah: "???"
Noe: "???"
Dakota couldn't face Curtis, and there was no way she could explain last night to these two. She desperately changed the subject.
"Anyway, I can't talk right now!"
She grabbed her suitcase. "Tell Jasiah and Curtis that something came up at work, and I had to leave! We'll hang out again another time!"
As his words hung in the air, Dakota turned and bolted, disappearing in an instant, leaving Lailah and Noe staring at each other, utterly bewildered.
Dakota didn't go home for days.
Curtis, having just tasted the sweetness of their kiss and holding his wife for one night, was left alone in an empty bed again.
He sat lazily in the pink sofa in the master bedroom, glancing at his phone. The chat screen still lingered on that cute cat emoji he had sent while looking for his wife.
She hadn't replied.
Since the night she kissed him and ran off, they hadn't exchanged a single word.
He clicked into Dakota's Moments again.
He saw her location was set in D City—M Mountain.
Amid the endless desert and lonely smoke.
Dakota's figure was languid and relaxed.
She was dressed in a red and gold gown, leaning seductively against a white camel. The breeze swept through her wavy hair, and the tassel on her headdress jingled softly in the wind.
Curtis clicked on the photo and zoomed in.
All he could think about was how Dakota's slender waist and bold, radiant beauty perfectly matched the inspired outfit.
The gold-trimmed gown fell delicately over her bare feet, with a separated design that revealed her slim waist, accentuated by a dangling red and gold chain, adding an exotic touch that made her look like an iconic beauty from the western regions.
The comment section, as usual, was buzzing.
[Lailah]: OMG, beauty strikes again! Who's been hit in the heart? It's me!
[Jasiah]: Damn, you didn't say a word and just took off to there? You gonna make it back for Curtis's birthday next week or what?
[Noe]: Oh my god, bring me some raisins! Is it true that place is full of beauties?
There were even more people from their circle in J City commenting.
Even though she didn't interact with them much, everyone was there liking her post, complimenting her beauty and asking why she suddenly went off to D City for fun.
Curtis gave her a like too.
Then he saw Dakota's reply to the comments: "The National Museum organized a field trip, getting an up-close look at the real D City murals before heading back to grind away at work!"
Curtis raised an eyebrow slightly.
So it was just a work trip, not her running off to D City to avoid him on purpose.
The tension he'd been holding onto for days finally eased.
But as he glanced at the empty bed in the master bedroom, that frustration bubbled back up.
A house without his wife was unbearable.
Suddenly, he stood up, marched downstairs to the wine cabinet, grabbed a bottle, and headed to the balcony. Under the moonlight, he couldn't help but send Dakota a message:
"When are you coming back?"
Dakota had spent the whole day at M Mountain and had just gotten back to the hotel.
Earlier, there had been a desert banquet hosted by a local museum to welcome their museum group.
There was dancing by the bonfire and intimate conversations around the fire pit.
In a good mood, she had a few drinks with her colleagues—just enough to enjoy, but not enough to get drunk.
Dakota was staying in a single room.
She sat at her vanity, humming a tune as she removed her traditional headdress and earrings. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed her phone screen light up.
"Ouch—"
Dakota suddenly sucked in a sharp breath.
When she saw the message labeled from "Puppy," her hand jerked, and she accidentally snagged her earlobe with the earring hook, bringing tears to her eyes from the pain.
【Puppy】："When are you coming back?"
Dakota finished taking off her earrings, gently rubbing her sore earlobe, and then looked at the message Curtis had sent.
Before this...
It had been three days since she ran away from Whispering Pines Retreat , and Curtis had randomly sent her a cutesy emoji.
A cute Munchkin cat wearing a little hat, with droopy eyes, pitifully staring at her.
"Where's my wife?"
"My wife's so big, where could she have gone?"
Dakota hadn't dared to reply.
She couldn't figure out if she had gone crazy or if Curtis had!
Calling her his wife...
And using cute emojis…
This is really something!
Dakota stood up and flopped onto the soft bed, kicking her feet in frustration, the jewelry and waist chain jingling with each movement.
"Buzz—"
Her phone suddenly vibrated again.
She lifted her head, her half-removed hairpins now tangled in her loose hair, creating an unexpectedly adorable contrast to her otherwise bold, striking looks.
Reluctantly, Dakota reached for her phone.
Sure enough, it was a call from Curtis.
Since that drunken night when she had kissed him, Dakota had been avoiding Curtis, diving headfirst into work activities, even running off to here without a word.
But it seemed there was no escaping what was meant to happen.
In the end, she had to face it...
Frustrated, Dakota flopped back onto the bed, grabbed her phone, put it on speaker, and tossed it beside her. "Hello?"
The other end of the line was quiet.
She could faintly hear Curtis's breathing.
Dakota's toes curled in embarrassment. She had no idea if this call was to confront her or to have a serious talk about what happened that night.
Meanwhile, Curtis was sitting out on the balcony.
He had drunk quite a bit tonight, the pure and bold taste of Scottish whiskey, with its smoky and peaty bite, more than making up for his usual craving for a cigarette.
Maybe it was because he hadn't seen Dakota in days.
Or maybe it was because—
Once you've done certain things, it's easy to get addicted.
Like kissing her.
So tonight, Curtis found himself restless, using whiskey and the night air to dull the unsatisfied yearning.
He just couldn't hold back anymore.
He had to reach out to her.
But, when he finally heard her voice, it wasn't the relief he had hoped for. Instead, it was like dry, untamed grass catching fire, spreading uncontrollably in the breeze.
Curtis's Adam's apple bobbed slightly as he tilted his head back, downing the rest of his drink without saying a word.
Dakota, on the other hand, was puzzled.
She thought he might have hung up, so she grabbed her phone to check, only to see the call was still connected. Hesitantly, she whispered, "Curtis?"
"Hmm." This time, his raspy voice came through.
Dakota tensed up immediately.
She regretted speaking first—maybe she should've just let the call drop.
But things had already gone this far, so Dakota forced herself to ask, "What's up?"
"Nothing much."
Curtis let out a lazy chuckle, pressing the phone closer to his ear, wanting to hear her voice as clearly as possible, while his other hand absentmindedly swirled his drink.
"It's just..." He lifted his glass, his voice dropping lower and raspier from the whiskey. "I kinda miss you."
