Chapter 6
Zoe usually managed the villa cleaning by calling a few part-time cleaners over.
But it was all on Morwenna, who started working at dusk and didn't finish until eleven at night.
After finishing her chores, Morwenna returned to her room for a bath and sleep, only to find she couldn't figure out how to use the smart bathtub.
Zoe had explained how to use the vacuum cleaner and the washing machine, but it hadn't occurred to her that Morwenna, who grew up in the mountains, was used to heating water for baths and had never used a shower, let alone the smart bathtub.
Morwenna thought about asking Zoe for help, but it was so late, she didn't want to disturb her.
She briefly considered asking the man upstairs but dropped the thought. He surely wouldn't help.
After fiddling with it for ages, she managed only to run cold water and had a cold bath.
She's got a strong body, and she'd dipped in cold water a bunch of times before anyway.
After the bath, Morwenna sneezed twice from the cold and fell asleep when her head hit the pillow due to sheer exhaustion.
The room was spacious and beautiful, unlike any Morwenna had ever stayed in.
A closer look would reveal that her belongings took up only a small cabinet, and she curled up in the corner of the large bed, looking pitiable, like someone living on another's charity.
The following morning, Morwenna got up at six sharp.
She felt a bit feverish, perhaps because of the cold bath from the night before.
But being generally healthy, she didn't dwell on it and headed to the kitchen like a dutiful housewife to prepare breakfast after freshening up.
When opening the refrigerator, she was stunned.
It held only some beverages and alcohol, no vegetables or meat whatsoever.
Remembering Zoe's instructions that Stuart only ate fresh food, she wondered, "Does putting food in the fridge make it not fresh?"
It was no use pondering that then. Morwenna hurried out to buy groceries.
After a brisk walk in the chilly air, she realized the neighborhood didn't have a grocery store.
She ended up at a cafe and bought some breakfast items.
Just some muffins and coffee cost a whopping sixty bucks!
Shocked by the price, she bought only Stuart's portion, deciding to eat some bread she had brought from her train journey instead.
After packing the breakfast, she rushed back, waiting for Stuart to wake up.
She waited until eleven in the morning.
As an early riser by habit, Morwenna couldn't fathom someone sleeping in so late.
Growing increasingly worried, she wondered if something had happened to Stuart and if he might have fainted.
Biting the bullet, Morwenna went upstairs. She couldn't just ignore her useless husband.
Reaching Stuart's room, she knocked, but there was no response.
"He must have fainted," she thought.
The door was ajar, so Morwenna entered.
Inside, she saw Stuart lying with his eyes closed, his body enveloped in white sheets, his shirt slightly raised to reveal a perfect waist, and a sliver of sunlight from the curtain gap shining on him. Morwenna was spellbound.
A simple girl from the mountains like her had never seen such a sight.
She instinctively walked over.
Was it to admire the beauty or to check if Stuart had fainted?
As Morwenna leaned over, she unconsciously swallowed.
Suddenly, Stuart's eyes snapped open, and he grabbed Morwenna by the throat with a swift movement.
Previously, Morwenna's impression of Stuart was of a reckless and carefree man who didn't show respect to someone as notable as Norbert, almost like a terror of the world.
But at that moment, she felt a dangerous chill, more threatening than facing a wild boar.
While most people would be terrified, Morwenna's immediate response to Stuart squeezing her neck was to hit right back at him.
She threw a punch at Stuart's abdomen, but he reacted faster, pulling her toward him.
Thrown off balance, Morwenna fell onto Stuart.
The grip on her neck tightened, causing a painful compression in her chest, and the intense suffocation angered Morwenna.
Parking herself on Stuart, she seemed to completely forget about the hand around her throat, and smacked him hard across the face.
When her life felt threatened, a handsome man was no different from a wild boar to Morwenna. She had to strike hard!
Stuart's face caught the punch head-on and just like that, he was thoroughly awake.