Chapter 5 The Parchment Map
1192 Words
It felt like I was lost in a haze, my body sticky and burning hot.
In my daze, I saw someone moving on top of me, my lower body tingling with a strange itch as waves of heat washed over me.
"Does that feel good, sweetheart?" the person on top of me spoke, the voice eerily familiar.
I tried to lift my head to see who it was, and slowly, Tucker's face came into focus. His eyes were half-closed, a look of pure pleasure on his face.
'Damn it! Why is it him?'
"Get off..." I instinctively tried to push him away.
But the thrusts just became harder!
"You're amazing," Tucker groaned as he gripped my waist and pounded into me.
A moan escaped my lips as pleasure built up, spreading through my body, and making me shiver with intensity.
But something was off. The pleasure hit a ceiling and couldn't go any higher, leaving me feeling frustrated.
I subconsciously thought it was because the man on top of me wasn't trying hard enough.
'How could that be? Doesn't he pride himself on his skills in bed? He must be doing this on purpose to torture me!'
Annoyed, I grabbed a fistful of his hair. "You... go harder... ah."
As those words left my mouth, I suddenly snapped awake, staring at the ceiling of my bedroom. It was only then that I realized I'd been having a s*x dream.
'Not even in my dreams can I escape him!'
Even more shameful was the fact that I could still vividly remember how good it felt in the dream...
I shook my head, trying to banish the ridiculous dream from my mind.
My body was covered in sweat, especially between my legs...
I quickly got out of bed and took a cold shower, reminding myself that this was just a normal physical reaction, not because I had any feelings for that man.
Even as I tried to convince myself, I couldn't deny that my body had been highly responsive to him.
Today wasn't a day for classes—it was my first day at the lab.
I finally got to see the parchment map, though it was just a small fragment.
Carefully, I lifted it with gloved hands, unable to resist pressing it gently against my cheek.
This map had belonged to my mom. If she saw it in such a tattered state, it would break her heart.
My mom had always loved playing with obscure codes, and there was a good chance that this map held secrets about her. That was why I had to restore it myself.
The parchment was heavily aged and stained, requiring a special cleaning solution to restore it bit by bit. I became completely absorbed in the work.
As I worked, memories of my mom surfaced—her cooking, the way she'd braid my hair, and the sweaters she used to knit. I didn't even realize that a sweet smile had formed on my face.
But she was long gone.
'If only she were still here with me.'
When I snapped out of my thoughts, I noticed Gino standing at the door. I had no idea how long he'd been there. Wasn't he supposed to be off this morning?
Gino was wearing a gray knit hat today, adding to his already gentle demeanor. He was watching me quietly.
I usually maintained a nerdy persona—awkward, aloof, and unapproachable. So being caught smiling at a parchment map by a colleague was definitely out of character. I quickly wiped the smile from my face and put on my usual blank expression.
Gino rolled his wheelchair closer to me. "I could see the love in your eyes when you looked at that."
"Any researcher would feel passionate about something valuable," I said, setting the map down and changing the subject.
Gino smiled. "But you're different. This is the first time I've seen you smile. It's a beautiful smile, very much like Carrie's."
I hadn't expected him to mention my mom, or to know what she looked like. I looked at him, surprised.
Gino met my gaze, his voice soft and kind. "You were thinking of her, weren't you?"
"Yeah." I nodded. No one ever talked to me about my mom—she was practically forgotten by everyone. Maybe it was Gino's gentle tone that made me open up. I couldn't help but ask him, "What do you know about her?"
I wished I could tell the whole world how wonderful my mom was.
Tucker spoke with a hint of caution, "Carrie was the former curator of the Joya Collection. I heard she died in a fire over a decade ago, and almost took her six-year-old daughter with her."
As I expected, gossip and tragedy had overshadowed all of her personal charm.
I scoffed, looking down. "Everyone knows that story. What else do you know?"
Gino tilted his head, as if deep in thought. "I heard that during her illness, her husband was too busy taking over the collection to stay by her side. She couldn't handle the distance growing between them, and in her pain, she lost her sanity. In the end, she went completely mad."
Just as I thought. Every time I heard this story, it felt like an insult to my mom's memory!
I'd gotten into plenty of fights over it when I was a kid.
My tone turned icy. "Do you believe that?" If he nodded, I'd throw him out of the lab right then and there!
But Gino shook his head firmly. "No, I don't."
"I've seen the sculptures Carrie made herself. She had to have been a gentle person." Gino looked deep into my eyes. "Sylvia, you were the most important person in her life. What matters most is how she lives in your heart, not what others think."
His words and gaze were so sincere that I found myself believing him.
The tension between Gino and me eased after that, and we began working on restoring the map. It was a delicate process that required careful verification of its age, craftsmanship, and origin.
One test required the use of fire, but because of my childhood trauma, I had a deep fear of it.
I paced nervously to the side, and Gino noticed my hesitation. "Let me handle it," he offered.
I watched as Gino prepared to carry out the procedure. He put on flame-resistant gloves, lit the alcohol lamp, and carefully measured the reagents, his brow furrowed in concentration.
But from my professional knowledge, I could tell that he was using too much reagent, so I spoke up, "Maybe I should switch out that reagent for you."
In that moment of distraction, Gino looked up at me, and the reagent in his hand wobbled, spilling some of it. The liquid brushed past the flame, and in an instant, a small burst of fire ignited in the air!
The flames caught on the reagent in Gino's hand, quickly spreading around him.
Suddenly, the entire area around him was ablaze, and all I could see were the red reflections of the flames dancing in my eyes.
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