Shortly after, Edward entered Louisa’s room, one arm carrying a water-filled leather bag, and the other a tray with mineral water. Upon entering, he immediately put the leather bag on the bed.

Then, he carefully covered the water bag with blankets to keep its warmth before approaching Louisa.

“Why are you standing there? Sit down,” he said.

Louisa was standing in front of the terrace window, which she had opened wide.

Edward grabbed the backrest of a chair near the table. Moving it behind Louisa, he was about to help her sit when he stopped and spoke, “I brought a chair. Sit down.”

Louisa, who had been looking out the window, hesitated before sitting on the chair Edward had brought.

Edward then took out a bottle of sealed mineral water from the tray and said, “This is mineral water. Drink it.”

Without a word, Louisa accepted the glass he offered. Although she wasn’t a fan of the tingling sensation of mineral water, it often helped ease her stomach.

She closed her eyes tightly and sipped a few times from the glass.

The curtains fluttered with the wind coming through the terrace.

Edward, silently, leaned against the wall next to the terrace, arms crossed. In their silence, only the sound of the curtains rustling filled the space around them.

The cold wind, settling low, was felt around her ankles. Edward, feeling stiff, moved his head to loosen his neck.

Louisa glanced at her husband, still awake at this hour. She didn’t want her fatigue-sensitive husband to lose sleep over her or show undue affection.

Different feelings meant such care would only cause her more distress.

She spoke up, “Thank you for taking care of me. You must be tired too. Go get some sleep.”

“I’m okay. I wasn’t really sleepy to begin with. It’s too warm to sleep right now,” Edward replied, blowing air into his shirt collar a few times.

“I’m sorry for the trouble in the middle of the night.”

“It’s okay,” he responded nonchalantly.

But Louisa insisted again that he should go to bed.

“Once you cool down, go get some sleep.”

“I said I’m fine. You’re not feeling well right now. Finish that and then tell me when you feel better.”

“I feel much better now, thanks to you. The nausea has subsided,” Louisa said, gently touching her upper abdomen.

Although she wished for him to go back, it was true that she felt better than before.

“Then go lie down. I’ll massage your hand or whatever you need,” Edward said, nodding towards the bed.

Louisa was taken aback by his unexpected offer, feeling a surge of emotion.

She had never heard such words in this place.

It wasn’t the first time she had suffered through the night with an upset stomach. Memories of the past three years, spent alone in pain in this room, came back to her.

She overlaid these memories with those of the affectionate husband from Greenberg who would hold her hand until she fell asleep.

It was a contrast to the Allan House she had not expected.

“Why do you shake me up just when I try to give up on you?”
This was not the Allen mansion she had wished for.

“Why do you shake me up like this every time I try to give up on you?” she wondered.

It was hard to sort out her feelings when he did this. She thought it was all over, but why now…

She bit her lip.

She wanted to stop these thoughts and the emotional drain they caused. She hadn’t wanted to face him, especially today.

As her face contorted, Edward, who had been leaning against the wall, detached himself and said, “Go lie down again. You really don’t look well.”

“No, I just need to rest alone for a bit,” she replied.

“What…”

Edward’s expression hardened as he said, “Stop talking nonsense and go lie down.”

Unsatisfied with just saying that, he added a warning, “I won’t leave until you do.”

When her husband behaved like this, there was no ending the situation unless she complied.

In the end, Louisa was the first to give in and rise.

When she went to the bed, the warmth of the water bag he had heated made the blankets warm. The chill from her body melted away in its warmth.

She belatedly recalled that she liked this feeling. When she was physically tired, she used to seek such warm comfort. It was a preference she had almost forgotten, but now she realized that her husband still remembered it.

Once she lay down, Edward closed the window, picked up the chair she had been sitting in, and placed it beside the bed.

He extended his hand towards her and said, “Give me your hand.”

He meant to massage her hand. Reluctantly, Louisa extended her hand.

His large, rough hand enveloped hers.

Even though they had both been in the cold wind, his hand was warm.

‘…So warm.’

The warmth from his hand transferred through her skin.

She realized that he must have been standing with his arms crossed for this reason.

Despite her confused emotions, the warmth and the massage began to relax her body.

It was much more comfortable than when she had been suppressing her nausea alone. The warmth and rhythmic motion gently enveloped her, and Louisa fell asleep to that sensation.