After His Sweetheart Moved In, He Came Home Every Night-Chapter 148: Discovering Wyatt’s Heart

Alice looked up. This man before her seemed to be growing more and more inscrutable.

Everything he did seemed to be about getting even on her behalf, but when she asked him why he’d come to Rhovan, he simply said he was on a business trip.

Even saving her, he claimed, was just a coincidence.

But when he’d been beating those two men so furiously, his eyes had been filled with a murderous rage, as if he wanted nothing more than to end their lives on the spot. He clearly cared about her.

At the thought, Alice’s heart began to race, her almond-shaped eyes fixed on him.

"Is there blood on my face too?"

It was hard for Wyatt Sterling to ignore such an intense gaze. If she kept looking at him like that, he wasn’t sure he could stop himself from doing something reckless right then and there.

"You have a speck of blood on your face too, Third Uncle," Alice said softly. "Let me wipe it off for you."

With that, Alice raised her sleeve to wipe his face.

But before her sleeve could touch his skin, he turned his head away, avoiding her hand. "Use a handkerchief," he reminded her.

Alice thought he was disgusted by it and quickly showed him her cuff. "It’s clean. I just put this on this morning."

"I know," he said. "But the blood isn’t clean. Don’t get your sleeve dirty."

Alice finally understood. He didn’t want her to get the blood on herself.

A wave of sweetness washed over her at the thought. She turned and asked Mason Cheney to bring another clean handkerchief.

It was only a tiny speck of blood. As Alice wiped it off for Wyatt Sterling, he held perfectly still, his deep, intense gaze fixed on her until her cheeks burned hot.

Then, with a perfectly straight face, he said, "Alice, you’re blushing."

"..."

She put the handkerchief away, feigning composure. "I’m blushing because my heart is racing."

A smile touched Wyatt Sterling’s lips. "And why is your heart racing all of a sudden?"

’I’ve already said this much, and he’s still pressing me?’

"Cat got your tongue?" He raised his hand and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"You’re the one who’s speechless," Alice retorted, puffing out her cheeks.

She had no idea how incredibly endearing that simple, unconscious expression was to Wyatt Sterling.

"This is good," he said, staring at her face.

Alice looked up at him, blinking her almond-shaped eyes. "Hm? What’s good?"

The next moment, Wyatt Sterling raised a hand and covered her eyes. "Alright," he said, his voice husky. "Don’t look at me like that."

Her vision suddenly went dark. Alice froze for a moment, then she didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

Wyatt Sterling took the handkerchief from her. He looked down and continued wiping his hands, but this time he turned around, presenting his back to Alice.

As he wiped his hands, he suddenly heard Alice ask from behind, "Third Uncle, what would you have done if I had died here in Rhovan?"

Alice had mulled over the question for a long time before finally asking it.

She didn’t move closer, just stood where she was, watching his back. After she spoke, she clearly saw his broad shoulders tense for a moment.

After a moment’s wait, Wyatt Sterling slowly turned around. The gentleness from before was gone, replaced by a biting chill. "If you don’t have anything better to talk about, then don’t talk at all. That’s a horrible thing to bring up."

"..."

He tossed the handkerchief aside and walked away.

Alice felt the retort catch in her throat, leaving her speechless. "It was just a hypothetical," she muttered. "How is that not knowing how to make conversation?"

「By afternoon.」

Finn Hawthorne woke up.

The first person he saw through his swollen eyelids was Alice. He showed no particular reaction, speaking with an eerie calm. "I never thought I’d see you again like this."

Alice kept her head down, calmly opening one pill bottle after another and laying out the medication. "I never expected it either."

"I’m sorry," Finn Hawthorne said, his voice choked with emotion.

Alice paused what she was doing and turned to look at Finn Hawthorne’s black-and-blue, swollen face.

Finn Hawthorne managed to open his swollen eyes a little wider, his gaze misty with unshed tears. "A life for a life. I’ve come down here to the Underworld to atone for my sins. But you provoked me first, so I’ve been wronged too. You can scold me a bit, but no more hitting."

"..."

’So that’s why he was so calm.’

’He actually thinks he’s dead and he’s met me in the Underworld.’

’Pah!’

"Poor me, dying in my prime. My dad, my mom, my brother, my grandparents... when they hear I’ve died, they’ll be so, so sad."

Tears streamed down Finn Hawthorne’s face as he spoke.

The tears flowed from the corners of his eyes, quickly soaking the pillow.

He raised a hand to wipe them away, but brushed against a swollen bruise and immediately winced in pain.

"How can I still feel pain if I’m dead?" Finn Hawthorne gasped, sucking in a sharp breath.

Alice clutched the pills in her palm, picked up a glass of water, and walked to the bedside. "The reason you can still feel pain after death is because you have a guilty conscience. It’s a punishment from King Yama. Just wait until they throw you into the cauldron of boiling oil. Then you’ll really know what it feels like to have your flesh flayed from your bones—a pain worse than death."

"Holy shit? Really?"

Finn Hawthorne’s eyes flew wide open, his expression one of pure terror.

Alice gave a small smile. "We’re both ghosts now. Why would I lie to you?"

With that, Alice held out the pills and water. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

"What’s this?" Finn Hawthorne asked.

Alice said, "It’s a special medicine. If you take it, you won’t feel any pain when they throw you in the cauldron of oil."

Finn Hawthorne gulped. "Really? I won’t feel any pain if I take it?"

"Enough with the questions. Are you going to take it or not?" Alice’s patience with this simpleton was wearing thin.

’He must have been really sheltered by the Hawthorne family.’

’He really was vicious.’

’But he really was naive, too.’

’So easily tricked into going to see that body.’

’And now he’s awake and still thinks he’s dead and in the Underworld.’

’He was really... adorably stupid.’

Finn Hawthorne pushed himself up. The searing pain that shot through his entire body almost made him pass out again.

’Looks like I’ll have to be a good person in my next life,’ he thought. ’Otherwise, you even suffer after you die.’

He took the pills and water from Alice, but when he looked at them, he frowned in confusion. "Why does medicine in the Underworld look exactly like medicine in the mortal world?"

There were small round pills and capsules.

Alice rolled her eyes at him. "Just take it. The cauldron of oil is waiting for you."

"Okay, okay! I’ll take it, I’ll take it!" Finn Hawthorne didn’t dare ask any more questions. He stuffed all the pills into his mouth, took a big gulp of water, and swallowed them down.

After he was done, he even stuck his tongue out at Alice to show her that he’d swallowed everything.

Alice couldn’t help but laugh. She took the glass from him and turned away.

"So I’m dead, going to Hell and then the cauldron of oil. What about you? Are you going to Heaven?"

Alice was tidying up the pill bottles when she suddenly heard Finn Hawthorne’s question.

She ignored him.

’It seemed Third Uncle had really beaten him silly.’

’It was one thing to be dazed and confused right after waking up, but he’d taken the medicine and was still convinced he was in the Underworld.’

"Going to Heaven is good. Not like me. I did bad things, so not only do I have to go to Hell, I have to get deep-fried on a skewer."

"I wonder if I’ll even be reincarnated as a human in my next life."

"I still want to be rich. Even having a ten-thousandth of the Hawthorne family’s wealth would be enough. I really don’t want to be poor."

"..."