As she sat down in front of the dressing table, though, she abruptly remembered that Bennett had attended a dinner party earlier and had probably drunk some wine. Therefore, he was most likely not in the study right now.

He was not in the room, and he was not in the study, so where was he?

After some hesitation, Claudia got to her feet and went searching for him.

She found him on the first floor, lounging in the living room.

He looked a little lonely as he sat alone on the large sofa.

The sight of him made Claudia feel bad for him. She approached him and called out, "Bennett?"

When he heard her voice, he turned to her with indifference and asked, “Are you finished showering?"

Claudia nodded. "What are you doing here?"

She had no idea if she was just imagining it, but Bennett did not seem quite like himself.

She could not tell what exactly was unusual about him, though.

Bennett looked at her but did not respond to her question.

His stare was making Claudia feel uneasy, but she fought down the urge to cower away and asked, “What's wrong?"

She sat down next to him and flattened her hand on his forehead. “Do you feel sick?"

When she withdrew her hand, he inquired slowly, “You don't want to see me, right?"

The delivery of Bennett's words was gentle, but they nevertheless pierced through Claudia's heart.

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

When did she say that she did not want to see him?

She did not say that, did she?

Why would he ever ask such a question?

The corners of Bennett's lips curled into a self-deprecating smile.

“You wouldn't be at home right now if I hadn't picked you up, would you?"

Unable to stand his disheartened demeanor, Claudia stammered. "I.

Didn't I tell you about it in my message? I'd been away from home for quite some time, so I wanted to spend the night there tonight.

Also, I still don't know who called my father, and I want to take this opportunity to..."