Chapter 451: However You Want to Steal, It's Up to You (Part 2)

Nancy Hughes was very sleepy. The shoulder felt comforting, so she leaned against it and fell asleep.

She slept for a long, long time. It had been ages since she’d had such a peaceful sleep.

Her dream was peaceful. She heard the cheerful rhythm of a piano, along with a burst of hearty laughter.

Suddenly, a jolt woke her from the dream. She instinctively reached for her phone.

The “piano music” was just her ringtone.

“Nancy, are you up yet?”

“‘Just woke up!’ She glanced at the time and shot up in bed. She’d actually slept past eleven.”

She remembered she had plans this morning. “Riley Caldwell, where are you guys now?!”

“‘Cecilia and I are already at the beach!’ came Riley Caldwell’s mischievous giggle. ‘Honestly, Nancy, why be so secretive about something like this? Hope you two are having fun!'”

Nancy Hughes was completely baffled. She had no idea what nonsense the kid was spouting.

‘They? Who was I supposedly having fun with?’

‘If he wanted to go enjoy some private time with his girlfriend, he should have just said so. How dare he use such a ridiculous excuse to brush me off.’

She ran a hand through her messy hair and flopped back onto the bed. There was nothing to do today anyway, so she might as well get some more sleep. She was exhausted from all the running around yesterday.

She rolled over and closed her eyes, ready to go back to sleep, when something strange caught her eye.

‘Something’s really not right. I don’t own anything like this!’

Her eyes snapped open again. Staring at the object, she was instantly wide awake and shot up in bed.

First of all, she didn’t own any blue clothing, and she certainly didn’t own a man’s necktie.

She cautiously pinched the blue tie between her fingers and scanned the room. No one else was there.

‘So, the question is, where did this blue tie come from?!’

‘No way!’

An unlikely and horrifying possibility flashed through her mind. She threw back the covers and looked down at herself.

‘Where are my clothes? Who took them off?’

This was no time to panic. She immediately wrapped the blanket around herself, scrambled off the bed, and grabbed her clothes to change.

‘This is a disaster. Drinking really does lead to trouble. Nancy Hughes, you’re such an idiot.’

Once dressed, she checked her hotel room. It was hers, all right. She hadn’t gone to the wrong room.

‘But the owner of the blue tie… where did he go?’

She stared in despair at the tie on the bed, wanting to beat her chest and wail.

‘I’m going to lose my mind!’

After confirming she was alone in the room, Nancy Hughes calmed down and started to recall the events of the previous night.

‘Nothing could have happened… right? Otherwise, how could I not feel anything at all?’

Last night… she couldn’t seem to get her door open. She’d run into an acquaintance, who offered to help her.

Then, she’d been so sleepy… and had fallen asleep on the man’s shoulder.

Wait. She was starting to remember… that person’s face—it was Dylan Heston!

‘There’s no mistaking it. His scent, that face…’

Oh god, Nancy Hughes wanted to strangle herself. She couldn’t believe she’d actually run into Dylan Heston in Sylva.

‘So, the tie on the bed… is it his, too?!’

If it had been anyone else, she would have been scared. But since it was Dylan Heston, she was just… a complete mess.

‘How can I run into him everywhere I go?!’

No wonder Riley Caldwell had sounded so strange on the phone just now. This was a nightmare.

Just as Nancy Hughes’s head was starting to ache, she heard a sound at the door. Before she could react, it was pushed open.

Dylan Heston walked in carrying a bag, casting a sideways glance at Nancy Hughes. “What’s wrong? It’s only been a few hours. Don’t recognize me anymore?”

Nancy Hughes stared at him warily. “What are you doing here?!”

“Judging by your expression, you remember, don’t you?”

…

Her expression soured even more. ‘Has he learned the Mind Reading Technique or something?’

She had remembered, but whether she was willing to admit it was another matter entirely.

The shock Dylan Heston had given her was so great that it was hard not to admit it, even if she didn’t want to.

“Get out. I don’t want to see you!” she snapped, turning her head away.

Dylan Heston had gone out to buy breakfast. He’d also gotten some hangover medicine, worried she’d wake up with a headache.

He ignored her, poured a glass of water, and said, “Come take this medicine.”

‘Medicine? What medicine?’

Nancy Hughes’s mind was buzzing. ‘Did something really happen between us last night?’

The anger just made her head throb more. She strode toward him, snatched the pill from his hand, threw it into her mouth, and swallowed hard. “Can you disappear from my sight now?!”

“Angry?” This woman before him had a much worse temper than before; he found her completely unpredictable.

“‘If you won’t leave, then I will!’ She couldn’t be bothered to talk to Dylan Heston. ‘I’ve never met such a shameless man.'”

A woman’s memory is always frighteningly good when she’s angry.

‘It was like this the first time, and it’s happening again. That bastard, he only knows how to take advantage of people when they’re vulnerable.’

She stormed out, only to realize she had nowhere to go. She hadn’t brought anything with her.

Standing penniless in the shade of a tree, she grew more and more furious. ‘He’s the one who did something wrong, so why am I the one who has to leave?’

‘I should call the police and have them throw him in jail.’

Angry and dejected, she thought about how he was probably still in her room. ‘So where am I supposed to go now?’

With nothing on her, she had no choice but to wander into a nearby shopping mall.

She lost track of time, and her feet grew tired from all the walking.

She found a bench to sit on, right under an air conditioning vent. The cool air was so comfortable that it made her sleepy.

‘Sleeping here is so embarrassing.’

Ever since she’d sat down, the mall’s cleaning lady had come by every so often, glancing at her dozens of times. The last few times, the woman’s expression had been particularly odd.

Nancy Hughes lowered her head in embarrassment. She really had nowhere else to go.

She sat in the mall until nightfall. Having not eaten all day, she was hungry and exhausted. With a sudden movement, she stood up from the bench.

‘It’s already dark out. He can’t possibly still be in my room.’

Dragging herself back to the hotel on her last ounce of strength, she had the front desk attendant open the door for her after verifying her identity.

The room was pitch black. No one was there. She let out a sigh of relief. ‘Thank god he’s gone.’

The food he’d bought was still on the table, but the hot dishes had long since gone cold.

And then there was the medicine. Just thinking about it made her angry again.

‘Can’t men take precautions for this sort of thing? Don’t they know how harmful that pill is for a woman’s body?!’

‘Wait a second, this pill… it doesn’t look like a contraceptive!’

She fished the pill box out of the trash. When she saw the words “hangover relief” on it, her mind went completely blank.

‘So I took a hangover pill this morning?’

‘I misunderstood him. What do I do now?’

‘Whatever. A misunderstanding is a misunderstanding. It’s better for everyone this way.’

Lying on the bed, she listlessly called Riley Caldwell. “Are you still out?”

“Nope, Cecilia and I are getting something to eat!”

The mention of food made her even hungrier. “When you come back, remember to bring me a late-night snack. Anything will do!”

“Huh? Nancy, you haven’t eaten yet? Isn’t your brother-in-law there?”

“‘What ‘brother-in-law’?! Riley Caldwell, don’t talk nonsense!’ She slammed the phone down, tossing it to the side.”

She rolled over, wrapping herself in the blanket. ‘Brother-in-law, brother-in-law, brother-in-law… That kid only has eyes for Dylan Heston.’

She sulked by herself until, at some point, she fell asleep.

She was woken by the sound of the doorbell. Assuming it was Riley Caldwell with her late-night snack, she didn’t even bother to get dressed properly before going to open the door. “Coming!”

She had just woken up and hadn’t put on any other clothes; she was wearing nothing under her loose T-shirt.

Her eyes were hazy with sleep and she was completely out of it. The sight made the man in front of her’s throat tighten.

“You open the door dressed like that? Aren’t you afraid you’ll run into a bad guy?”

The voice didn’t sound right. Nancy Hughes was instantly wide awake. She stared at the man in front of her. ‘What is he doing here?!’

Her gaze drifted downward. He seemed to be holding the very food she’d been craving.

“‘None of your business!’ she said, reaching to shut the door, but Dylan Heston held it open. ‘Stop fooling around. You haven’t eaten all day. I bought you your favorite food.'”

“‘I’m not eating anything you bought. Take it away!’ Nancy Hughes glanced at the bag in his hand and scoffed. ‘You should go give it to someone else!'”

Why did her tone sound so much like she was pouting? Like she was jealous? The realization popped into her head, and she froze for a second.

In the moment she was distracted, Dylan Heston seized the opportunity to take her hand, step inside, and kick the door shut behind him.

“‘Hey, I didn’t say you could come in! Who said you could come in?!’ The sound of the door closing snapped her back to her senses.”

She started to struggle, but she couldn’t break free from his grip. “Hey! Dylan Heston, let me go!”

“You haven’t eaten all day, yet you have this much energy. Do you want me to do something else to you, hmm?”

His dangerous, tempting gaze swept over her, and Nancy Hughes immediately lost her nerve.

It wasn’t that she wanted to back down, but she knew all too well what that look in Dylan Heston’s eyes meant.

She glanced at the food; they were indeed all her favorites. It was a surprise he still remembered her tastes.

She twisted her wrist and said awkwardly, “You’re holding my hand. How am I supposed to eat?”

‘I’m not left-handed!’

The atmosphere was a little awkward. Nancy Hughes ate slowly, sneaking glances at Dylan Heston.

‘How did he know I was hungry?’

Nancy Hughes wasn’t an idiot. Ever since Dylan Heston had shown up at her company, a lot of strange things had been happening.

‘Why did I run into him here in Sylva, of all places? And on a vacation, no less. It’s too much of a coincidence!’

‘Wait a minute… I forgot about that kid, Riley Caldwell!’

‘It must have been him. Who else could it be?!’

She was genuinely starving, so she wolfed down the food. “Okay, I’m done!”

Hearing this, Dylan Heston, who had been resting his head in his hand, looked up. “Mm.”

‘Mm? What’s that supposed to mean?!’

Nancy Hughes stared at him, extremely frustrated. ‘It’s so late, and a grown man is still lingering in my room. Shouldn’t he be leaving?!’

“Um, it’s getting really late. I need to go to sleep.”

Her meaning was clear: she wanted Dylan Heston to leave immediately.

‘He’s usually so smart. How can he be so dense right now?’