Chapter 24: Touch Here and There

Only then did Carlos come to the bed where Leandro and Ariel lay with silent and agile footsteps, as if he had noticed that she had taken notice of him.

How on earth was he standing like that and looking down at them? Ariel’s eyes were strained with embarrassment.

Carlos stood within an arm’s length from her reach. With Leandro behind her back, Ariel couldn’t do anything, so she bit her lip.

It was not so hard for him to watch Ariel fall asleep after almost fainting under Leandro. But when the early morning air was cold or when she was falling off the bed, Carlos came to her on his own and almost covered her with a blanket.

He shouldn’t lay his hands on her without Leandro’s orders. The idea held Carlos back.

Fortunately, Leandro, who woke up upon feeling her tremors, covered Ariel with a blanket and even hugged her. Carlos felt relieved but at the same time, he felt a strange sense of loss; perhaps because he could not step forward to Ariel.

The two pairs of eyes that met through the darkness lingered on each other for a long time.

Ariel put her hand off Leandro and reached forward very slowly.

The bed shook but she was very careful not to wake Leandro.

Carlos looked at Ariel’s hand, which was getting closer to him, and was at a loss for what to do. It was confusing because he didn’t know what she was thinking, but beyond that, it bothered him more because of Leandro, who was asleep behind Ariel.

Two emotions stirred up a whirlwind in Carlos’ mind: fear that he would disobey his master, and the obligation that he should not do anything disappointing to the benefactor who changed his life.

Ariel couldn’t even figure out why she was doing this. Seeing Carlos standing there alone and staring at her dimly made her want to hold his hand. Her hand and his two hands, which were slowly getting closer to each other, eventually met. Carlos was a pitiful man who lived a lonely life and then disappeared.

Ariel looked up at Carlos’ handsome face and clasped his hands. In her view of him, he was a man whose heart would bloom with a little love.

‘Why didn’t you take advantage of such a great character?’

Ariel wanted to see Carlos crumble to his lust and cry bitterly before love, revealing himself completely.

Leandro, who only knew how to show and never how to hide, and Carlos, who only knows how to hide but never shows. It would be interesting to live in this novel if the two men were to be stirred properly to suit her taste.

Ariel touched the back of his hand with the tips of her fingers.

Carlos’ shoulders stiffened with tension, but he didn’t move his hand away. He did not avoid, but accepted her touch.

This time, Ariel grabbed Carlos’ fingers more boldly.

Again, he didn’t move his hand away. His loyalty to Leandro was still greater than his affection for Ariel, so he could not accept her forwardness.