The Agent's Blood

Chapter 14

Julian awoke as the sun was already halfway up, groaning and clutching his throbbing head. The lingering dizziness made him close his eyes again. When he tried to move, he felt restrained. He pushed aside the blanket and saw a hand wrapped around his stomach, realizing he wasn't wearing a single thread. Julian turned to look behind him and saw Elena's face, deeply asleep, embracing him.

His brow furrowed deeply, trying to recall what happened last night. All he remembered was the bachelor party and drinking too much champagne at his friends' insistence, which got him drunk. Even staggering in the elevator, someone had helped him. After that, he remembered nothing.

"Was I really that drunk?!" he muttered, a hint of regret that his wedding night had passed without him being fully aware.

But now he saw Elena embracing him, sleeping without a stitch of clothing. He was curious about something, so he slowly, carefully removed Elena's hand, making sure not to wake the woman who had officially become his wife just last night. He wanted to confirm one thing.

Gently, he pulled back the blanket near Elena's feet. His heart pounding, his eyes scanned the white sheet beneath her long legs. As the blanket lifted past her thighs, Julian froze. His eyes stared blankly at the reddish stain beneath Elena's thigh.

He then turned to Elena, moving closer to his wife. He gently stroked Elena's cheek, pushing back the hair that covered her beautiful face. She looked a little pale now, but it didn't diminish her charm.

"It seems from now on, I truly need to treat you properly, Elena," he murmured softly. Then, he kissed his wife's forehead before getting up and out of bed, walking into the bathroom.

After Julian left, her beautiful eyelids slowly opened.

Elena sat up, looking towards the bathroom. She heard the soft trickle of water from within. Her lips then curved into a smile, and her face looked relieved. For a moment, Elena just lay there, waiting for Julian to finish showering. When the sound of water stopped, she lay back down and closed her eyes again.

Julian emerged from the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist, another draped over his shoulder. He occasionally rubbed his head to dry his wet hair. He saw Elena still with her eyes closed, the woman only moved once, changing her sleeping position and pulling up the blanket he had forgotten to cover her with.

Julian dressed casually, a polo shirt and jeans making him look a bit more human without the expensive suits he usually wore. Once dressed, he walked towards the bed, sitting behind Elena, who was sleeping, hugging the blanket with her back to him.

"Sweetheart, wake up!" Julian whispered near Elena's ear, giving his wife a small kiss on her cheek.

Elena groaned, stirring from her sleep. When she turned and saw Julian, she was startled and immediately sat up, pulling away from him. She turned her face, hugging the blanket to cover her chest.

"Elena..."

Elena didn't answer. She didn't dare look directly at Julian. Besides feeling awkward, she was also afraid that the man who was now legally her husband would try to charm her and ask for something from her. Julian moved closer, but his demeanor seemed to have changed. He appeared patient and gentler with Elena.

"Still want to sleep? It's okay, just rest!" Julian said, reaching out to touch Elena.

The woman flinched but then paused, realizing Julian only touched her head and stroked her hair.

"Later, I'll call a spa person here so you can relax," Julian said with a smile. "If there's anything you want, just say it!" he continued.

Elena was even more astonished by this. It seemed last night's trick had worked remarkably well. But there was one more thing to confirm its effect.

"Where's Evan?" she asked softly, looking at Julian with a wary gaze.

Julian fell silent, just looking at Elena without saying anything. She thought her husband would get angry and furious, as he had before.

But again, her prediction was wrong. Julian merely sighed, then smiled.

"I asked him to go home for today. Let me give him a day off after being an aide to an annoying young woman like you all this time!" he said, poking Elena's nose.

Elena instantly froze at Julian's 180-degree change in behavior from three days ago.

"Aren't you angry?" Elena asked, daring a little more.

Julian chuckled, then moved closer. Elena flinched in fear when Julian raised his hand, but he only hugged Elena.

"Why would I be angry? He took very good and trustworthy care of my wife," Julian said, warmly kissing the side of Elena's head. Then he looked at his wife, who still seemed confused by his attitude.

"Can he still be my bodyguard?" Elena asked.

The definition of 'give an inch, take a mile.' After the hot rumors about her and Evander supposedly having a close relationship, it would be natural for Julian to reject Evander's presence near Elena, especially now that she was Mrs. Julian Thorne. But...

"Of course! He's the best, and I can entrust my precious wife to him," Julian said unexpectedly, raising Elena's eyebrows high.

Julian then brought his face closer until it was only a few inches from Elena's.

"Sometimes, we need to get closer to our opponents so we can watch them more easily!" Julian said in a low, sharp voice. This brought Elena back to reality, and she pulled away.

Julian smiled again, his face cheerful. "You should take a bath, sweetheart." He then brought his face closer again and quickly kissed Elena's lips before she could dodge.

"The scent of last night's passion makes me desire you again!" he whispered.

Elena's eyes widened, and she immediately shifted away and got out of bed. Wrapped in the blanket, she darted into the bathroom like lightning, making Julian chuckle at the sight.

After her bath, Elena didn't find Julian in the room. She looked around for a moment before stepping out of the bathroom. Only after being sure she was alone did Elena emerge, wrapped in a towel.

She saw the bedsheets had been changed to new ones. Elena couldn't help but smile, remembering what had happened on those sheets last night.

Something that made her bite her lip imagining it. She couldn't stop smiling as she looked in the mirror and did her daily routine.

Suddenly, a knock came from outside the room, followed by a woman's voice.

"Miss, Mr. Julian ordered me to give you a spa treatment today."

"Oh, yes, come in!" Elena called out, tidying her towel.

The door opened, but it wasn't just a girl who appeared. A young man wearing a mask covering his face also stepped in, pointing a firearm at Elena. He also pushed the spa girl with a knife.

Elena's eyes widened.

"Hand over all the jewelry or this girl dies!" the young man threatened. The spa girl grew even paler hearing this, already crying in fear.

Elena clenched her jaw. At this moment, she was all alone because Evander was on leave.

Her fate and the girl's were now in her hands.