Chapter 229: I LOVE YOU, RANON!
Hazel returned close to midnight. She moved stealthily, making no sound, not even the sound of her footsteps. Ranon was caught off guard when he saw her walking towards him. She smiled sheepishly, like a teenager who was caught sneaking back home after curfew.
"You are still awake." Hazel beamed as she approached her husband. Today was a little bit rough. Despite getting what she wanted, she was mentally exhausted.
But seeing Ranon there waiting for her, her mood improved. Who wouldn’t be happy if a beautiful man like Ranon sacrificed his resting time to wait for her?
Without a second thought, Hazel went to hug him. She straddled him on the sofa with her back to the movie that he was watching. The room was dim, so she didn’t see his expression well.
Ranon’s eyes flashed with a complicated thought, but then he closed them and hugged her back, resting his chin on her shoulder.
"You are smelly."
"What?" Hazel immediately let go and sniffed herself. She had changed her dress because she knew the smoke from those men would stick to her clothes, but apparently, it was not enough. "Hm. Yeah."
Meanwhile, Ranon’s focus was on something else. He caught sight of stained blood on her neck. He wiped it with his thumb and showed it to Hazel.
For a moment, there was silence that descended between them. "Are you hurt somewhere?" Ranon checked on her briefly.
"No." Hazel shook her head. "That must be those men’s blood. I am not hurt."
Ranon didn’t listen to what she said; instead, he found the zipper on her back and unzipped the dress she was wearing. "Take it off."
"What?" Hazel raised her brows. She looked around. Obviously, there was no one there, aside from the two of them.
"Take it off." Ranon tugged on the dress. He pulled it down, and now it gathered on her waist.
"Okay, okay." Hazel didn’t mind it. She stood up from his lap, and the dress slid down her body, gathering around her ankle. She knew what Ranon wanted. "See? No wound. I am perfectly fine."
Right now, Hazel was only in her underwear. There was nothing new about it; she was sleeping like this, and Ranon had seen her naked countless times.
But Hazel could feel that Ranon’s mood was a little bit off. His intense gaze was on her, and she felt self-aware of her nakedness.
"What is it?" Hazel fought back the urge to recoil and put on her dress again. Why would she feel embarrassed in front of him?
Reaching out his hand, he poked her left hip, and Hazel felt the sting. She looked down and saw a faint bruise there.
Oh, shit. She must have hit something when she fought them.
"It’s nothing." Hazel took a step back; she subconsciously inspected herself. The bruise was not there when she changed her dress; it must have appeared later. "I must have bumped into something."
Ranon stood up this time, and Hazel took a step back again out of instinct. Ugh. This man needed to stop being scary.
Without saying a word, Ranon approached her. He put his hand on her shoulder and traced down her body, as if he was looking for something out of the ordinary, aside from the bruise on her hip.
Hazel shivered when his fingers traced down her skin. She could feel goosebumps when his thumb brushed her chest, circled the hem of her bra, and unhooked it.
With that, her breasts were on full display. She liked her fuller breasts, as they appeared larger than usual since she was breastfeeding Ashlyn.
Gently, Ranon turned her body around, gathered her hair on her left shoulder, and then traced down her spine.
"Another bruise," Ranon said as he nudged her shoulder blade, and Hazel felt that sting again.
Damn. How would she know there was a bruise there? If she had known about it, she wouldn’t have been so confident being naked in front of him.
"It’s nothing," Hazel said. She grimaced.
"Whatever you are doing, I told you not to get hurt."
Ranon made a fuss over bruises, while Arlo had seen her bathed in blood and only looked concerned. After that, he didn’t say anything when he learned her wound wouldn’t kill her.
"I am not hurt; it’s just a bruise."
Ranon then turned her body around, and Hazel was facing her overly protective husband. Under this dimly lit room, the shadow fell on Ranon’s face, and he looked horrifying with the intensity of his gaze.
"Hey, don’t be angry." Hazel placated him cheerfully. She wrapped her arms around his neck and tiptoed to peck on his lips, but it didn’t change the scary look on his face.
Therefore, she tiptoed and was about to kiss him again.
But this time, Ranon straightened his back. He was standing at his full height, and even when Hazel stood on her toes, she still couldn’t reach him.
"Why? You don’t want to kiss me?"
"I want to spank you."
Hazel grinned. "That sounds scandalous, Mr. Leighton."
Ranon grabbed her butt and lifted her up. Instinctively, Hazel wrapped her legs around his waist. She started to kiss him passionately while Ranon carried her away.
At first, she thought Ranon would take her to the bedroom, but then she realized he had entered the room and went straight to their bathroom.
It was fine, too; they could have a sexy time under the shower together.
Once they were there, Ranon put her down, but Hazel still hugged him, which forced him to bend down his body as they continued with their kiss.
Hazel was being impatient; she started to pull on his shirt.
But suddenly, from inside the room, they heard a cry, and Ranon immediately straightened his back. The spell was broken.
"Take a shower, you smell," he said before he left to tend to their daughter. "I will reheat dinner for you."
Now, Hazel felt like she was the one who wanted to cry. Ranon called her smelly twice.
***
James was woken up when he heard the commotion, and his mother barged into his bedroom in the middle of the night. She turned on all of the lights and shook him awake.
"Get up! Get up! Carl! Carl is bleeding! He cut himself!"
The old woman was hysterical, and James didn’t get what she said as he woke up with a start. His brain was lagging, but Wena pulled him out of bed.
"We need to go to the hospital! Can you move faster?!" Wena’s face was full of tears as she tugged her son to her grandson’s bedroom.
There were two servants there. They looked panicked as well as they gathered around Carl’s bed. James saw a glimpse of blood staining the floor and then his son’s pale face.
He was unconscious. He had cut himself.
***
There was no scar on her body, not a single one that indicated that she had been in a fierce fight before. Her skin was flawless.
Ranon knew this; he had seen her naked and knew every curve and mole on her body, but somehow, he needed to be certain.
Her unblemished skin didn’t give any sign that she had gone through a life-and-death situation. The belting that she used to get from Greyson when she was little didn’t leave any scars.
But then, their height difference was something that couldn’t be manipulated. Hazel was ten centimeters shorter than River...
Ranon was thinking about this fact when suddenly, Hazel came from behind him and circled her arms around his waist. Ranon reacted out of instinct.
He grabbed her hand and pulled her from behind him harshly, but before he could slam her body, Hazel reacted quickly; she twisted her wrist out of his grip and took a few steps back, keeping a safe distance from him.
"It’s me," Hazel said, her expression guarded.
Ranon realized it was Hazel. He furrowed his brows and approached her. He could see how she wanted to avoid him, but in the end, Hazel stayed.
"I am sorry." Ranon kissed her forehead gently. "Did I hurt you?"
"No." Hazel breathed in relief. For a split second, she thought Ranon was going to attack her, and that was scary. "But you scared me."
"I am sorry." Ranon compensated her with a hug, and his wife melted in his arms. If Hazel hadn’t reacted quickly, he would have hurt her by slamming her body against the fridge or even broken her wrist.
"I am hungry," Hazel said lazily. "What are you reheating?" Hazel poked her head to see what was in the oven.
She had her dinner before she came home. Nolu must have told Ranon about it, but her husband must have known that she would be hungry again when she arrived; therefore, he asked Renna to cook an extra portion for Hazel.
"Sit." Ranon released her and went to the counter, where two boxes were sitting.
Hazel didn’t notice the boxes earlier because her focus was on Ranon. He took both the boxes and put them on the table in front of Hazel.
"Use them wisely," Ranon said as he prepared the dinner for her.
"Hm? What is it?" Hazel picked the closest box and opened it. Her eyes lit up, like a little child seeing a pile of chocolate. It was her gun that she purchased from Rize!
And when she opened the second box, sitting inside was her father’s gun. He returned both guns to her.
"Oh, I love you, Ranon!"