Chapter 233

“The door is broken?” Shanley’s eyes fixed on her, a smirk playing on his thin lips as a magnetic laugh rumbled in his chest.
“Mhm,” Juniper said, tilting her head casually, her foxy eyes curving into crescents. “I didn’t do it.”
“I see,” Shanley replied, the amusement in his eyes deepening. “What a coincidence.”
Juniper blinked, remaining silent. “That’s right,” she thought. “It’s just a coincidence.”
“The door’s broken?” Dana, the housekeeper, had just come out of the kitchen and overheard them. “I’ll call someone to fix it right away.”
“No need. We can get it fixed in a couple of days,” Shanley said, stopping her. A barely perceptible smile touched his lips.
A couple of days? Dana paused, confused. “But if it’s not fixed, where will Ms. Payne sleep?”
The top floor only had three rooms: Mr. Schwartz’s bedroom, Ms. Payne’s bedroom, and the study, which had no bed. Besides, fixing a door wouldn’t take long at all.
Juniper said nothing, her eyes locked on Shanley.
“Juniper can sleep in my room. I’ll take the sofa,” he announced, his voice smooth and captivating. “Dana, could you get things ready?”
“Huh?” Dana’s eyes darted between the two of them, trying to process the situation. She knew Ms. Payne’s brother was coming to take her home, but looking at them now… one clearly didn’t want to send her away, and the other didn’t want to leave. Having looked after Ms. Payne for so long, she had grown attached. The thought of her leaving was sad enough, let alone for Mr. Schwartz.
“Of course,” Dana said, a wide smile breaking across her face as she finally understood. “I’ll go get everything ready right now.”
Later that evening, after dinner, Juniper realized she had left her backpack in her room when she’d rushed to “break the lock earlier She went back to the door an fiddled with the broken lock. With a soft click, it opened in under five seconds.
She grabbed her backpack and a few changes of clothes, then shut the door again, making sure to properly break the lock this time. Now it really wouldn’t open.
Smirking in satisfaction, she turned around and nearly collided with Dana, who was just coming out of Shanley’s bedroom.
Their eyes met. Time seemed to freeze as an awkward silence filled the air.
“Ahem, my eyes have been bothering me lately, everything’s so blurry
Dana was the first to react, turning away and muttering to herself as she headed downstairs, pretending she hadn’t seen a thing.
Juniper’s lips curved into a sly, captivating smile. “Dana is great,” she thought. “I should remind Shanley to give her a raise.”
At ten o’clock that night, Shanley finished his work and quietly pushed open the bedroom door. He saw her
immediately, slumped over the desk with pen in he hand fast asleep.
The test paper under her cheek was mostly blank.
“With her perfect scores, does she even need to do homework?” he wondered with
a slight frown.
He walked over to her side and
leaned down. “Juniper,” he
sleep
whispered. Startled from a deep Juniper’s drowsy eyes held a flash of irritation but it vanished the moment she saw his face.
“Go sleep in the bed. You’ll catch a cold out here,” he said, his voice husky as he gently touched her cheek. “Be good.”
“Not finished,” she mumbled, yawning, her eyes barely able to stay open. “It’s due tomorrow morning.”
“You sleep. Leave the rest to me,” Shanley said softly, taking the pen from her hand. “I’ll do it for you.”