Chapter 138

“I’m not that bored. The reason I called you that night was exactly what I said – it was about this, because Micah’s mother was worried sick. Who Micah dates or marries isn’t any concern of mine, but I can’t stand family nagging. So, I took the liberty of calling you.” Jamison’s explanation sounded plausible enough.

Not like Ivy would ever go ask his sister to confirm it.

Ivy stared at him, unconvinced but not entirely dismissive.

Jamison opened his acupuncture kit, taking out an alcohol wipe. “Just like last time – lift your shirt to show your stomach, and your arms, calves, and ankles need to be exposed too.”

Ivy still harbored doubts, but pain had worn her down. She didn’t have the energy to argue and simply went through the motions, following his instructions.

But as she pulled up her shirt and revealed several patches of skin, something felt off.

An awkward discomfort settled over her.

And, to her surprise… she felt embarrassed.

Jamison turned, holding the alcohol wipe carefully with tweezers. His eyes landed on her, and for a moment, his gaze froze.

The last few times he’d seen Ivy, she was all sharp bones and angry red rashes, her skin in rough shape.

Now, the rashes had faded completely. She looked a little softer, her complexion pale as porcelain.

Especially her waist – flat, smooth, and delicate, with a perfectly shaped navel that made her look almost adorably innocent.

And her face – those striking features, bold and well-defined, the kind you’d see in a painting. Even with her hair cropped short, she radiated a unique charm.

Suddenly, he understood why people called her the “Queen of Neo Haven’s social scene.”

Ivy kept her eyes closed, but the silence in the room grew too heavy. When the man didn’t move for several seconds, she realized something was off and opened her eyes.

She caught Jamison blatantly staring at her body, looking almost… dazed.

The uneasy feeling in her chest spiked.

“What is it?” she blurted, her tone suspicious, like she’d just caught him peeping.

Jamison snapped out of it, gesturing with the tweezers, his voice rough. “Your rashes – they’re all gone?”

So that’s what startled him?

Ivy relaxed a little. “Yeah. Peeled off layer by layer. Not completely healed yet, but close.”

Jamison got back to work. “Almost better.”

Ivy fell silent, but every time the alcohol wipe touched her skin, she flinched involuntarily.

Jamison paused, glancing at her in confusion. “Are you nervous? Or scared?”

“No…”

Her face was unreadable, lips pressed tightly together, but her cheeks had flushed a deep red – a stark contrast to how pale she’d looked just minutes before. Jamison grew even more puzzled.

“Your face is all red. Fever?”

“No… Maybe the hot water bottle is too warm. That’s all.” Ivy’s voice was shaky, her eyes darting everywhere but at him.

Suddenly, Jamison understood, and something in his usually unreadable expression shifted.

Did this sharp-tongued rose know how to be shy?

He’d tended her, tended her wounds, more times than he could count.

This was the first time he’d ever seen embarrassment, uncertainty, maybe even a hint of bashfulness in her eyes.

It was almost funny.

But he didn’t dare call her out on it.

He was in the middle of acupuncture, and if he said the wrong thing, she might lash out and ruin the whole procedure – a risk he didn’t want to take.

Just then, Katrina came up the stairs.

“My dad called and I got held up-” Katrina hurried in, clutching a hot water bottle, but stopped mid-sentence as she took in the scene before her.

Chapter 139