Alexia stared at the calendar on the wall, realizing it was the fifteenth of the month. Payday.
Aunt Song thought for a moment before shaking her head. "No."
She didn't quite believe Aunt Song. Alexia’s mother was the kind of person who was only interested in
money, and it was unheard of for her not to ask for money whenever the opportunity presented itself.
"Where's my phone?" Alexia turned her head, looking for her phone on the rolling bedside table.
"Here it is," Aunt Song said, handing Alexia’s phone to her from the bedside table.
Alexia couldn't get up, as everything hurt too much to move. Luckily, her left hand didn’t hurt enough to
prevent her from checking her phone, but she didn’t have the strength to hold it up for very long.
Alexia tried turning her phone off and on several times before she realized her phone was working just
fine. There were no missed calls, nor message notifications. It was extremely unlike her mother to let
Alexia’s payday pass without asking for money. And yet, it seemed that her mother hadn’t messaged
her
"There must be something wrong! My mother always asks me for money when she knows I’m getting
paid!" Alexia said, her hand vaguely trembling as she held her phone.
Alexia lived in the Lancaster villa for over three years, so Aunt Song knew all about Alexia’s mother and
her habit of asking for monetary compensation. She reached over and gently patted Alexia’s arm. "Mr.
Lancaster just gave your mother a large sum of money. I’m certain she has more than enough right
now that she doesn’t need to ask for any."
"I’m sure you’re right, Aunt Song, but I can’t help feeling anxious. Since she didn’t ask for any money
this month, she will most certainly ask for more next time," Alexia worried, putting her phone down as
she relaxed into the pillows.
Aunt Song sat on the edge of the bed, grabbing an apple and pealing it for Alexia as she spoke. "It's
not impossible for what you’re saying to happen. Your parents ask you for money every month, and the
more you give, the more they ask. They’re never going to stop asking if you don’t tell them no.”
Alexia raised her hands to cover her eyes. "I can't tell them no! They’re my parents. I know them. If I
don't give them money, they’ll do anything and everything they can to make me regret it. I'm afraid if I
refuse to give them more, they’ll go running to the Lancaster's group to make a fuss and even a family
as powerful as the Lancaster’s will lose face." Alexia’s heart sank, knowing her parents were so
terrible.
Yet she couldn't cut them out of her life. And doing so would be socially irresponsible because she had
no idea what they would do for money.
"I think you’re thinking too much, Ms. Alexia. If you explain all this to Mr. Lancaster, I’m sure he would
help. You may not be able to stop them but I’m sure he can." Aunt Song cut the peeled apple into small
pieces and placed them in a bowl before handing them to Alexia.
Alexia took a bite. "I don’t want to bother him, that's why I never told him what my parents are like."
"But Mr. Lancaster is your husband, it’s his responsibility to help," Aunt Song replied slowly.
Alexia grabbed another apple from the bowl and chewed as she thought. "Maybe for some married
couples… I treat him as my husband, but do you think he really treats me like his wife, Aunt Song?"
"This..." Aunt Song started to respond but stopped as she considered the situation.
Alexia rubbed her eyes, trying not to think about Chaim. "So now you see why I don't want to bother
him. In fact, it's not only that I don't want to bother him. I also don't want to hear him reject me. He’s
already given them so much and I don’t want to owe him even more."
"Owe him more? What do you mean?” Aunt Song asked, surprised.
Alexia gave a small smile. "Last time my mother asked me for money, a thief stole my purse and I had
to explain to Chaim what happened. My mother then told me my brother made a bad investment and
when Chaim heard that, he gave her five million. I can’t let him pay for my family’s ill management of
money. They may not have used all the money yet, they will eventually, and they’ll be expecting
another five million, or more."
"Then let's wait until they inevitably ask for more. If the amount they want is too big, you’ll need to talk
to Chaim about it." Aunt Song suggested.
"I'll think about it," Alexia said as she yawned and fell back to sleep.
*****
When she woke, it was dark.
Alexia tried to shift her body into a more comfortable position when she felt something around her,
something pinning her down and preventing her from moving.
‘What’s this?’ Puzzled, Alexia reached out to find the warmth of a bare chest laying with her. This
confused her. ‘A chest? Is it a man’s?’
Alexia swallowed and, with great difficulty, she turned over to find Chaim lying beside her in a deep
sleep.
‘When did he get here? How come I didn’t wake up before now?’
As Alexia stared at Chaim, mesmerized by the fact it was she he was sleeping with, Chaim suddenly
opened his eyes.
Alexia instinctively tried to move away, letting out a small yelp in pain, Chaim suddenly waking up
surprising her.
Seeing Alexia’s response, a warmth spread through Chaim and he instinctively reached out to hug her.
"Alexia you're crazy!"
‘Does she even know that she has just had an operation? How dare she roll over?’
Alexia laid in Chaim's arms in shock, panting as her heart rate slowed, the shock subsided, and she
pouted aggressively, "I'm not crazy, you scared me!"
"You're the one who's not sleeping and was staring at me instead." Chaim retorted without mercy.
Chaim was a light sleeper and would wake up at the slightest breeze. Alexia was a living person,
staring at him with her eyes wide open, and it was strange that he didn't react. What he hadn’t
expected was for her to be so easily startled.
"I’m sorry." Alexia rubbed her face in embarrassment.
She thought he was asleep and didn't know how light of a sleeper he was.
"You shouldn’t do anything you don’t want people to know," Chaim said, pursing his lips.
Alexia stuck her tongue out before responding. "I didn't mean to. I was just a little surprised when I
woke up to see you suddenly sleeping here. How long have you been here?”
"It's been a few hours," Chaim said, letting go of her and laying on his back next to her.
The beds in Alexia’s ward were quite large, similar to a full-sized bed, and two people lying in them
wasn’t any different from sharing one at home.
But Chaim’s actions upset Alexia and she gently touched him with her arm. "Then why don't you go
back home to sleep? The hospital isn’t suitable for rest."
"That's enough," Chaim said moving his arm further away, "I’m the one to judge whether or not I find
the hospital beds suitable. If you're tired, go back to sleep. If you aren’t tired, be quiet, I have a
headache!"
"Headache?" Chaim’s words made Alexia anxious and she looked at him nervously. "Does it hurt a lot?
Shall I call a doctor?"
"No need!" Chaim furrowed his brow. "If you were quieter, my head wouldn't hurt. I'm hurting from all
the noise you're making."
Alexia choked. Pained by her noise? Chaim hated her so much that her talking to him was too loud and
annoying? Realizing this, Alexia’s heart broke but she shut her mouth and stopped talking.
Once again the ward was quiet.
After peace returned to his mind, Chaim closed his eyes again, and soon his breathing became steady
as he soon fell asleep again. Only then did Alexia realize that he had dark circles below his eyes, and
there were even shadows on his cheeks and chin from him not having shaved in some time. ‘Did he not
sleep last night? Why else would he look so tired?’
Alexia had a lot of questions she wanted to ask Chaim, but because he was asleep, she didn't dare to
disturb him. So, instead, she silently suppressed the questions and stared tenderly at his sleeping face.
It was the first time she'd seen him so close after he'd fallen asleep. The few times they'd shared a bed
before, he'd either enter after she'd fallen asleep or she never had then chance face during the whole
ordeal.
Now that she was so close to him, she realized how lovely Chaim looked when he was asleep,
completely devoid of his usual indifference and looking calm and serene instead.
Being so close to Chaim made Alexia more and more desperate to look at him, and she didn't know
how long she had been looking at him, when a heard of footsteps rushed toward the door followed by
frantic knocking. In the stillness of the room, the knocking echoed like a canon.
"Is Mr. Lancaster here?"
Alexia subconsciously turned to look at the man beside her to see if he had woken up.
Seeing he only frowned before shifting some in his sleep and not waking up, she breathed a slight sigh
of relief before lowering her voice and calling out, "Who is it?"
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