The tips of Mia Grant’s ears burned.

She gently rolled out of his arms and back onto the bed.

This time, Hayes Hughes didn’t stop her. Instead, he smoothed out the covers for her and then dimmed the lights in the room.

After doing all this, he finally got up.

Sensing movement behind him, Mia Grant quickly turned over. "Hayes?"

"I’m here." Even though his back was to her and he was looking for something, the moment he heard her voice, he stopped what he was doing, answering as he turned to look at her.

She pulled the blanket up high, revealing only a pair of large, fluttering eyes.

Their eyes met. After a moment, Mia Grant finally asked, "Are you leaving?"

Hearing this, Hayes Hughes’s lips curved into a soft smile. "No. I’m looking for your medicine. I brought my pill case with me. Just a moment."

"Oh..."

After giving her the medicine, Hayes Hughes glanced around the room.

Seeing this, Mia Grant asked again:

"Are you leaving now?"

Hayes Hughes didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. "I’m not leaving. I’m not going anywhere tonight. I’ll stay right here with you."

"Are you hungry?"

"A little."

Hayes Hughes nodded. "I’ll have someone bring some food up."

"Can you make the call from here, then? Just... don’t go out."

"Alright." Hayes Hughes agreed with a smile, dialing the butler’s number. He turned his head to ask her what she wanted to eat.

Blinking, Mia Grant recited yesterday’s menu again. "Basque seafood soup, pan-seared salmon, French puff pastry meat pie, cheese soufflé, roasted orange chicken, and a ham and lettuce salad."

Hayes Hughes calmly relayed the order, then paused. He considered for a few seconds before trying to negotiate with her. "Could we swap the seafood soup for cream of mushroom? And the salmon... can we change that too?"

"No."

Hayes Hughes gave a helpless smile. "Then we can only have a little bit."

She obediently agreed. "Okay."

After hanging up, Mia Grant asked him, "Hayes, are you and the butler close?"

"Mhm." Hayes Hughes took a moment to reply to a work message. "So Grandpa won’t know I’m here. You don’t have to worry."

Mia Grant blinked. ’It feels like he knows everything.’

A moment later, he put down his phone and instinctively turned. This time, before she could ask, he seemed to remember something, turned back to her, and proactively reported, "I’m going to the bathroom."

Mia Grant nodded.

The phone by her pillow vibrated. She picked it up to check the message.

It was from Lee.

[Miss Grant, I just saw Dr. Hughes.]

[Mhm, I know.]

[Is there anything you’d like to eat, Miss Grant? Mr. Adler is working overtime and might be back very late.]

[No, it’s okay. I’m not hungry. I’ll be going to sleep soon, so don’t worry about it.]

Lee: [Alright then.]

Putting down her phone, Mia Grant sighed.

’Relying on Simon Adler is less reliable than relying on myself.’

’As expected, he’s totally undependable.’

A few minutes later, Hayes Hughes came out of the bathroom holding two neatly folded towels. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

Mia Grant immediately put down her phone and watched him.

The man returned to the bedside and sat down. He unfolded a corner of one of the towels, saying, "Let me help you wipe off your sweat."

Mia Grant lay back down, not refusing.

He tucked the long hair at her temples behind her ear, and carefully swept the stray hairs on her forehead to one side.

The towel was warm and slightly damp to the touch. The man’s movements were gentle as he wiped her cheeks.

Then her neck, and her collarbone.

He paused.

After a moment’s thought, he asked, "Do you need to change your pajamas?"

Mia Grant froze.

Her skin felt a little sticky. She had broken out in a sweat, and her pajamas were damp.

Seeing that she really did need to change, Hayes Hughes asked considerately, "Which set do you want to wear? I’ll go get it for you."

"Uh, I can go myself." She pushed herself up in bed.

But he was faster, already on his feet.

"If there isn’t a style you like, should I just grab a random set?"

"...Any-anything’s fine."

"Where are they, generally?"

"Uh, in the first and second drawers on the right."

"Okay."

The pajamas weren’t really the key issue, as they both knew full well.

He wasn’t just asking about pajamas, and she wasn’t just answering about them.

It wasn’t just her pajamas that were damp; her undergarments were the real disaster zone.

「In the walk-in closet.」

Hayes Hughes stepped over the threshold, and the motion-sensor lights on both sides lit up. He walked to one side and, with practiced ease, switched on the overhead chandelier.

The Hughes family had prepared two full rows of pajamas for her, in every style imaginable.

Hayes Hughes’s brow furrowed. He simply chose a nightgown that would be easier for her to wear.

Turning his head, he looked at the drawers to the side.

He pulled open a drawer.

The girl’s intimate apparel was laid out in neat rows.

With just a cursory glance, Hayes Hughes discovered that the styles were even more complex than the pajamas.

The colors alone were dazzling.

He could just about manage to make a choice when it came to pajamas.

’But lingerie... I really don’t know the first thing about it.’

In the end, he simply grabbed the one on top.

The drawer slid softly shut.

Accompanied by a barely audible sigh.

He carefully folded the bra and tucked it into the nightgown draped over his arm.

Then he pulled open the second drawer.

HISS.

In the vast walk-in closet, the man’s sharp intake of breath was particularly noticeable.

Same as before, he squeezed his eyes shut and grabbed one at random.

Unlike the feel of the bra, this piece of fabric was pitifully thin, just a small, soft patch. He even began to wonder if the manufacturer had cut corners. ’How could it be even... smaller than my tie?’

Taking a deep breath, Hayes Hughes placed the underwear into the nightgown as well.

Speaking of anxiety, Mia Grant, waiting outside in the room, was about to die of embarrassment.

She waited and waited, but he didn’t come out. Her cheeks grew hotter and hotter, feeling like they were about to be cooked through.

Hearing footsteps, Mia Grant quickly sat up straight, pretending like nothing was wrong.

Looking back at Hayes Hughes, he seemed very calm, too.

’Right.’

’A brother is just getting clothes for his sister. What’s there to be embarrassed about?’

Her gaze followed the man’s figure. Through the play of light and shadow, Mia Grant immediately spotted the pink nightgown draped over his arm.

But that wasn’t the main point.

The main point was...

’Where are the undergarments?’

The man stopped by the bed.

Mia Grant watched him place the folded nightgown on the bed. "You can change here on the bed. I’ll step out."

"There’s a towel here... and the lingerie is inside."

"I’ll go outside."

"N-no, you don’t have to."

Mia Grant stopped him, pointing in a certain direction. "How about... you go sit over there, Hayes?"

Following her finger, he saw a single-seater sofa not far from the opposite side of the bed, its back facing the bed.

His expression darkened. "I should still go outside."

There should be a proper distance between men and women. She might not mind because she saw him as a brother, but he couldn’t.

’Getting her clothes was one thing, but her changing...’

"It’s fine. I’ll be under the covers. Just don’t turn around."

"..."

After a long moment, the man standing by the bed finally sighed and met her gaze helplessly.

"Mia, you can’t always treat me like a brother."

Mia Grant blinked, seemingly pondering something.

"Brothers are also..."

Her eyes were too clear. Being looked at by her like that, Hayes Hughes guiltily averted his gaze. "Forget it. Just change your clothes first. I’ll go to the bathroom and get you another towel..."

The words had barely left his mouth when someone grabbed his shirtsleeve.

"Actually, I don’t completely see you as just a brother..."