Mr. Robbery and Liona instantly deflated like punctured balloons. They had thought I would plead for them, but I'd said a whole bunch of "useless" words and still left everything for Captian to decide. The two of them kept sneaking fearful glances at him, especially Liona, who was still twisting her body and trying to flirt in hopes of earning his pity.
Captian's brows furrowed tightly, his gaze filled with even more disdain. "Get out. Don't appear in front of me again. Otherwise, next time it won't just be a piece of land."
The meaning was obvious, he wasn't going to forgive them. If they kept clinging on, their ending would be far worse.
Both of them were so terrified by those words that they didn't even dare breathe loudly.
"Please see yourselves out." Ronan strode up with a laugh, gesturing toward the door.
They both snapped out of it, faces gloomy. Liona especially shot me a vicious glare. In her eyes, I was the one who'd caused them to be humiliated by Captian. If I had begged for them, he wouldn't have kicked them out—so I must be absolutely disgusting. At school I "pretended" to be some pure little saint to seduce Halley, but behind everyone's back I was just a cheap woman, right?
So what if Halley called me a "little fairy"? Hmph. Disgusting—at least in her mind.
She looked like she was just about to spit out some curse at me when Ronan had them pushed out. The father and daughter climbed into their Volkswagen and drove off, dejected.
Only when I could no longer hear the car outside did I finally squirm a little, shifting awkwardly on Captian's lap. "President Anderson, that transfer of ownership you gave me—that's from the Robbery family, isn't it? I can give it back to you."
He shot me an unhappy look. "It's yours now."
The meaning was clear: no returns.
"But Liona came today to get that land back, didn't she?" I pouted. I had seen the hatred in her eyes very clearly. Now that I was still holding a piece of their land in my hands, it felt like I was clutching a burning potato.
Captian let out a cold sneer. "You don't need to worry about them."
He clearly didn't see the Robbery family as anything at all. When he said that, his whole presence carried an overwhelming pressure that instantly silenced me.
Fine then. If I couldn't give it back, I'd just… keep it.
No one said anything after that, and the living room air quickly grew strange. Nanny Alley and Ronan had already stepped out, intentionally leaving the two of us some "private space."
That only made my chest feel heavier. The more "private" it got, the more anxious I felt.
"She threw herself at me," Captian suddenly said out of nowhere, breaking the eerie silence with an even more inexplicable line.
I almost jumped. Was he… explaining himself?
But honestly, I hadn't felt anything at all when I'd seen it.
He studied my face and saw only blankness—no anger, no jealousy, nothing. It was like I truly didn't care. He unbuttoned the top of his shirt, irritation flashing through his eyes.
"Change my bandage."
I murmured a soft "okay," and obediently got to work.
I slid his shirt off and saw that the wound on his back hadn't split open; it had already begun to heal nicely. I examined it carefully and couldn't help letting out a quiet sigh of relief. As a doctor, I genuinely hoped he would recover as quickly as possible. Once he was completely healed, we wouldn't have to keep doing this kind of intimate-contact treatment anymore.
"President Anderson, your wound is healing very well. It won't be long until you're completely recovered," I said with a small, sweet smile.
He closed his eyes, visibly more at ease. "What did you 'play' today?"
I froze for a second, instinctively wanting to say we hadn't done anything—but then I remembered Ronan. I had no idea how long he'd been outside the villa, whether he'd heard the sound of piano music drifting out of the music room. If he had, would he report it to Captian?
If Captian had to hear it from someone else, that would be worse. I should just be honest first.
I drew a deep breath and tried to sound a little excited. "Hezze played the piano for me earlier. It was really good."
Captian chuckled softly, propping his chin on his hand as he looked at me. "You didn't play?"
His fingers were long and strong, the back of his hand absurdly pale. Under the light, his skin had a faint, glossy sheen that made it hard to look away.
"Of course I played," I said, lifting my chin and trying to act confident.
Sure, I'd mashed the keys into something barely recognizable as music, but technically, that still counted as playing.
He kept staring at me, his dark eyes gleaming with a shadowy hint of mischief that made my scalp tingle. "Did you play better than Hezze?"
My fingertips twitched, breath tightening in my chest. If it were Rose, she would definitely play beautifully—she was the noble daughter cultivated by the Bailey family, after all.
Seeing how uneasy I was, he let out a wicked little laugh. Who knew what he was thinking.
"Of course I played better," I insisted, still keeping my tone bright. But as soon as I finished, my bravado started crumbling inward.
In reality, my demonic piano noise had definitely "surpassed" poor Hezze—in a tragic way.
Captian crossed one leg over the other and folded his arms, looking at me with a disturbing mix of amusement and heat. "Don't forget our deal. You still have ten days."
His eyes were a little terrifying. I flinched. It had been a while since I'd seen that full-on madman gleam in them, and now that it was back, I felt my soul trying to escape my body.
"I know. I'll practice hard and play for you, President Anderson," I ground out between clenched teeth, still scared on the inside.
I turned my head away, not daring to look him in the eyes.
"Woof, woof, woof!"
Suddenly, a burst of barking echoed through the villa. The black German Shepherd from the backyard dashed in like a wild horse breaking off its reins and threw itself at Captian's feet, tail wagging furiously like some loyal henchman.
The moment I saw that vicious shepherd, I jumped up from the sofa and quickly retreated to the side.
Captian casually stroked the dog's head, then shot me a glance. "Scared?"
I nodded, then quickly shook my head. "Actually… it's fine."
Compared to the big village dogs back home, this thing was even more terrifying. Of course I was scared out of my mind. But I didn't dare say that. What if he found out and started deliberately using the dog to torment me?
"Then come over and pet it," he said, lips curling, his gaze turning impossibly deep.
The shepherd turned its head toward me at the same time, its eyes dark and fierce, just like his—only with a layer of animal savagery that made it even more terrifying.
If I actually went over and touched it, my whole hand might get bitten off. My face went completely pale. Without thinking, I spun on my heel and bolted for my room.
Only an idiot would go pet a dog like that.
"Heh…"
Behind me, I heard Captian let out a low, amused laugh as he watched me flee for my life.
I slammed my door shut and then dragged several things over to block it. Only after I'd barricaded myself in did I finally relax enough to climb into bed.
This villa was way too scary. Not only was there a snake pit, there was also a vicious German Shepherd—and on top of that, a devil like Captian.
I mulled it over for a while, mind growing foggy, and eventually drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, when I went downstairs, I could clearly hear barking again. I looked toward the hall and saw that same black shepherd happily racing around the main lobby, as if nobody was bothering to manage it at all.
I watched it for a while and decided I absolutely did not dare go down.
Nanny Alley saw me hovering on the stairs and called up, "Miss Bailey, if you don't eat breakfast now, you'll be late for school."
I had no interest in going down there. I really, really disliked that dog. "Nanny Alley, why is the German Shepherd in the main hall? Wasn't it locked in a cage in the backyard?"
She had already prepared a glass of milk for me. Smiling, she replied, "President Anderson told the staff to let it out. He said it's been locked up too long—it needs proper activity to stay healthy."