Chapter 141

As Joshua walked up to her, Shermaine immediately began her examination. There was no need for him to take off his clothes. She could tell just by pressing lightly over the fabric whether anything felt wrong.

As her fingers moved along his body, Joshua’s breath hitched slightly. His jaw tensed. Even through the thin layer of clothing, he could feel the warmth of her touch. Something hot and restless stirred inside his chest.

When her hands moved around to the front and paused over his chest, she noticed something strange. His heartbeat was too fast. Shermaine frowned, lifted her head sharply, and met his eyes.

The longer her hand stayed there, the harder his heart pounded. She looked like she wanted to say something but didn’t. After all, she wasn’t certain.

Seizing the moment when she was distracted, Joshua suddenly bent down and pulled her into his embrace. He whispered in her ear, “Sheary, I regret it.”

Shermaine blinked, stunned for a moment. She hadn’t expected him to come out and say it so bluntly. Regret? So, her guess was right. His erratic heartbeat really was because of her.

A strange warmth bloomed in her chest.

Joshua actually liked her.

Who would’ve thought? The man who never talked about love had finally fallen for her.

It felt… oddly good.

“I love you, Shermaine.” His voice was dangerously smooth, rich with emotion and a hint of seduction.

Shermaine smiled faintly. She wasn’t the type to get flustered by a sudden confession. “Too bad there’s no such thing as regret pills.” She stepped back, out of his arms, and said, “Mr. York, I’ve always been proper. I never once crossed the line.”

“You didn’t,” Joshua said, stepping forward, eyes burning. “I did.” He reached for her hand. “I don’t want to keep pretending anymore. I want the real thing.”

He didn’t just want her affection–he wanted her, fully and truly.

“I know there’s no undoing what I said before,” he added. “But if there’s a chance to start over, I’ll earn it.”

Shermaine laughed softly, eyes gleaming like stars.

Joshua looked at her seriously. “Shermaine, will you let me try?”

Shermaine thought, ‘Well, I suppose I could.’

Truthfully, she didn’t dislike him. She probably liked him more than she cared to admit. Why else would his embarrassment give her such satisfaction?

But the man who had once so confidently told her he’d treat her well but would never love her… Well, he needed to take responsibility for that. She’d even been planning to end the engagement eventually. But plans changed.

Shermaine considered it for a moment. Then she said, “We’ll see how you do.”

Joshua’s Adam’s apple bobbed. No rejection meant there was still hope. “How long do I have?”

“It depends on my mood,” Shermaine replied without hesitation.

“Got it.”

Shermaine thought to herself, ‘Wow, he agreed that easily?’

Joshua was a businessman. He never did losing trades. And yet—

Shermaine narrowed her eyes and asked, “You gonna let go of my hand now?”

Her hand was small and soft.

He didn’t want to let it go.

Still, he had to.

With visible reluctance, Joshua released her hand.

There was still a faint smell of blood on him from the fight downstairs. It wasn’t strong, but enough to be unpleasant. “You should shower,” Shermaine said. “Try not to get the cut wet. I’ll redress it afterward.”

Joshua, of course, did exactly as he was told.

After he disappeared into the bathroom, Shermaine pulled out her laptop and checked the signal. It wasn’t strong, probably because of the rain, but it was good enough.

She scanned the nearby devices, found the ones belonging to the thugs, and hacked into their photo backups. Sure enough, someone had taken pictures earlier.

The files had already been uploaded to a cloud server. Quite a smart move, actually. There were no copies on the phones themselves. Shermaine deleted everything permanently.

She was getting hungry. While Joshua was in the shower, she went back downstairs to grab some food.

Downstairs, the crowd had mostly dispersed.

The injured men were being treated by a local Mysonnian doctor the innkeeper had called.

When they saw her, none of them dared say a word.

The owner greeted her respectfully. He said Joshua had planned to cook for her himself, but he didn’t expect those bastards to start something right before.

There wasn’t much food left, so Shermaine went into the kitchen herself. She made some pasta and carried it upstairs.

Joshua emerged from the bathroom. The steam clung to him, his skin flushed with heat. His upper body was bare. Water dripped from his hair, traced down his neck, over his collarbone, and into his chest. He looked at her, desire raging in his eyes.

Shermaine raised an eyebrow. “Are you trying to seduce me or something?”