Titus Zane and Beatrice Hargrave nestled on the sofa, holding red wine in their hands, and the two women chatted until late before going to sleep.
Early the next morning, Titus Zane was awakened by the doorbell.
After a night of hangover, her head ached fiercely.
She got out of bed, casually grabbed a shawl to wrap around herself, and with one hand rubbing her swollen temples and the other clutching the shawl, she walked over to open the door.
Titus Zane was momentarily stunned by the man standing at the door, but her sleepiness cleared up instantly.
"Is Beatrice Hargrave here at your place?" Nicholas Croft asked, his well-mannered voice always sounded refined when he spoke.
"Oh, yes, she’s here." Titus Zane was unclear on how Nicholas Croft found the hotel she was staying in.
"May I come in?" Standing in front of the door, Nicholas Croft politely asked, appearing every bit the gentleman he was three years ago.
"Come in." With her head still feeling swollen, Titus Zane turned around, wrapped in her shawl, and headed towards the suite.
Last night, she had given up the big bed in the suite to Beatrice Hargrave and slept on the small bed in the outer hall.
"Beatrice, wake up," Titus Zane gently nudged Beatrice Hargrave, while Nicholas Croft followed her inside, standing at the bed and looking at the sleeping girl, his eyes and brows filled with tenderness.
"You go ahead with your work, I’ll wake her up."
Glancing back at him, his gaze still fixed on the sleeping face of Beatrice Hargrave, Titus Zane turned away, leaving the two alone.
She had booked a flight for ten in the morning to Rongcheng, and having drunk too much the previous night, she was in a rush, so Titus Zane hurried to the bathroom to freshen up.
When she came out of the bathroom, Nicholas Croft was still in Beatrice Hargrave’s room, the suite door closed, and faint voices could be heard from inside.
Titus Zane swore she didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but those voices... too ambiguous, she couldn’t help but tread lightly, pressing her ear against the door.
"...Mmm... Hmm... Don’t..." The voice of Beatrice Hargrave came intermittently, sounding powerless.
"Be good, just once... Is once okay...?" It was Nicholas Croft’s voice, coaxing and tender enough to melt ice and snow, as if he was savouring something.
Hearing this sent chills down Titus Zane’s spine, she stood up, exaggeratedly shuddering as she wrapped her arms around herself, turning to get dressed.
But all her clothes were inside the suite, and she... had a flight to catch.
Not wanting to disturb the moment, Titus Zane could only sit on the sofa, lit a cigarette for herself, and waited while smoking.
Ten or so minutes passed, and the suite door remained closed.
Twenty minutes later, it was still the same.
Half an hour later, casting a glance at the time on her wristwatch, Titus Zane could no longer wait, with the flight taking off in less than two hours, and it would take an hour to get to the airport from the hotel...
She stubbed out the cigarette in the ashtray; inside, there were too many white cigarette butts to count.
Titus Zane stood up and walked to the suite door, knocking on it.
"Sorry, I have a flight to catch, my clothes are inside, can I take them and then you can continue?"
The suite door was opened from the inside, and Nicholas Croft stood there, half of his dark shirt tucked into his trousers, the other half hanging out. With just one glance, Titus Zane noticed his loosely fastened belt and that the zipper of his trousers wasn’t up.
Looking at her, Nicholas Croft’s slightly flushed face betrayed nothing unusual, he nodded slightly, "I apologize."
Titus Zane curved her lips into a smile, giving him a meaningful look from her European eyes, and walked past him into the inside.
Beatrice Hargrave was still lying in bed, her head covered by a thick blanket.
Nicholas Croft stood all the while near the door, holding the handle as if waiting for her to leave.
Titus Zane took her clothes from the wardrobe and pulled her already packed suitcase; these actions took her only a few seconds.
As she passed by Nicholas Croft, the gentleman spoke up, "Does Nathan know you’re leaving?"