The marks on his body were even more severe than mine, as if he’d been ruthlessly tormented.
Rubbing his sore bottom, the boy’s eyes turned slightly red, and his lips pouted in a pitiful frown. His amber eyes were full of grievance.
“Morning, Miss…” he whimpered in a soft, kitten-like voice, the tone sticky with clear hurt that made my heart itch.
My own thoughts went rogue, and I almost reached out to help him up, but I nearly exposed myself in the process.
Clearing my throat, I adjusted the blanket to cover myself better and stared at his extraordinarily beautiful face. “What’s… your name?” I asked tentatively.
The boy, with his disheveled black hair sticking up in odd angles, looked adorably confused. “I’m Charles Shaw.”
“What? You’re Charles?”
My eyes widened, and I clutched the blanket to my chest, nearly shouting in disbelief.
What a coincidence!
The male lead Ethan’s half-brother, the one I’d never met, was named Charles, and he was supposed to be mentally impaired.
According to the story, he had just been brought back from some remote countryside yesterday.
And on his very first day home, I somehow ended up being the one to stumble upon him.
Not only that, but I’d somehow ended up… with him.
“Oh, great…” I groaned, covering my face in embarrassment as I sank deeper into the blanket.
In the novel, Ethan cared deeply for his younger brother. If I’ve slept with him, would I really be forced, just like in the story, to marry this pitiful guy?
But I had my own grand ambitions of living a carefree, noncommittal life! This wasn’t in my plan!
Just as that thought crossed my mind, there was a sudden knock at the door.
Ethan’s deep, pleasant voice carried a hint of tension. “Elizabeth, are you in there?”
Crap, speak of the devil!
3
“You two… slept together?”
As he took in the bruises on my skin, Ethan’s expression darkened, his face twisted with anger.
Barely restraining his fury, he pushed past me, clad in nothing but a knee-length shirt that showed off my long legs, and stormed inside the room.
Grabbing Charles off the floor by the collar, he landed a heavy punch on him. “What did you do to her?”
Charles blinked in shock, blood trickling from his lip as his cheek swelled. Tears filled his eyes, and he turned to look at me, pitifully crying, “Oww, Miss, it hurts…”
Fearing Ethan might strike him again, I rushed to intervene. “It wasn’t his fault; it was all me!”