Grabbing her phone, she quickly went downstairs to sit on the sofa.

There was a message from Aurora. It had been sent last night at about nine o'clock. That was about the same time she and Bennett had been in the bathroom, so Claudia had missed it.

“Hello, Claudia. I'm guessing you weren't aware, but there is a hickey on your neck. I meant to tell you sooner, but it completely escaped my mind. It's pretty visible. You will need to wear clothes that conceal your neck for some days. Perhaps, you can ask Bennett to go for a more concealed place next time. That's all I have to say. See you later." Typical of Aurora, the message ended with an emoji.

The moment she finished reading Aurora's message, Claudia impulsively tried to look at her neck.

Unable to do so, she raised her hand to her neck, expecting to feel ridges on her skin.

She swiftly got up from the sofa and went upstairs to the fitting mirror.

Standing in front of it, she saw the hickey at once on the side of her neck. It was quite smaller than she had thought, comparable in size to a thumb.

But the redness of the mark contrasted greatly against her fair skin.

It stood out just like a stain of ink on white paper.

Claudia recalled that she had worn a round collar sweater and a collar coat yesterday. There was no way they could have hidden the hickey. Both clothes had left it exposed.

She and Bennett had gone to visit Xavier yesterday morning, and she had gone horse riding with Breck and Aurora in the afternoon. ALL the while, she had a visible hickey on her neck.

Claudia couldn't stop herself from blushing deeply.

Just then, a sound came from the room, and she hurried out.

Bennett had just finished showering. He came out of the bathroom wearing a loose black sweater and a pair of long black trousers. His short hair was still wet.

Water at the end of his hair fell on his nose as he looked up to see Claudia march into the room angrily.

“What's wrong?" he asked as he used a hand to wipe away the water droplets.

Angry and shy about the whole situation with the hickey, Claudia pointed at it and said, "You are definitely aware of this! Why didn't you tell me about it? Do you have any idea how many people must have seen this yesterday? Most likely, everyone I came across! You did it on purpose!"

Bennett looked at the spot on her neck that she had pointed her finger to and saw the red hickey. He was quiet for a moment, then a smile spread across his face.

He walked up to her and asked, “Why does it make you angry?"

Claudia shook her head and said, "I met with Xavier yesterday and this hickey was on my..."

“And so? He'd take it as a sign of how deeply in love we are with each other."

"What? But it's too..."

"Huh? Too what? It's just a evidence that two people who are together have kissed. What's wrong with that? Besides kissing and hugging, haven't we even made love passionately?"

He chuckled as he whispered the last question into her ear.