SWNOVELS Chapter 4
Just when I thought I was cornered, Zora walked in through the door.
Jaylan still had his eyes on me. I brought the medicine up to my lips and took a small sip. Only then did he smile in relief and turn his attention to Zora. He rose to accept the tray she was carrying.- As he stood to take the tray, his tall frame blocked Zora's line of sight. I quickly tilted the bowl of medicine I was holding onto the dark floral-patterned blanket that was draped over me, pouring it out. I then quickly brought the bowl back to my lips, pretending to take a big gulp. The remnants of the medicine still clung to the corners of my lips.
In reality, I spat the medicine I had just taken a sip of, back into the bowl. It looked as though I had left some medicine in the bowl.
Meanwhile, Jaylan had taken the tray from Zora and turned back around.
I removed the blanket from my body, placing it next to me, and handed the bowl back to Zora, saying, "I'll handle it myself!"
Jaylan looked at me approvingly, placing the food tray on the bedside table. He even leaned down to plant a kiss on my forehead before picking up the bowl of food to feed me.
I feigned a blush and pushed him away, "You should get to work! Stop hovering!"
He smiled, his eyes sparkling, and pinched my gaunt cheek, "Alright, I'll head to work. Eat and rest well! I'll try to come back early to spend some time with you and Carl!"
Carl was our third child.
"Okay!" I watched him, deliberately showing a hint of reluctance, "Go on then! Come back early tonight!"
In reality, I was just afraid that he would straighten the blanket next to me.
He left without exchanging any glances with Zora.
The room was now left with just Zora and me.
"Zora, has Carl not woken up yet?" I said nonchalantly, trying to distract her.
"I'll go check on him now, take your time with the food. Call me if you need anything!" Zora turned and left.
I listened to her retreating footsteps, forced myself to eat a few bites of food, and then got back into bed, pulling the blanket over myself. I then placed the food tray on top of it and began to eat slowly.
I didn't have any appetite. I was trembling with anxiety, but I still forced food into my mouth.
For one, I needed to eat to maintain strength from now on. Secondly, I was on guard - there could be surveillance in this room.
I had once set up surveillance cameras in every room for some form of security. After seeing too many unfortunate incidents, I had to be cautious.
Little did I know that this would come back to haunt me.
Jaylan had once complained about the surveillance in this room, jokingly saying that we had no privacy left. But I insisted, stating that I would only turn the cameras on when I wasn't around, or during specific times.
Over time, the surveillance in this room was seldom used.
However, I was unsure whether it was turned on now.
After eating, I used the opportunity of clearing the food tray to tidy up the blanket. I discreetly used a tissue to absorb the spilled medicine and quietly flushed it down the toilet.
I played with Carl for a while before pretending to be exhausted and returned to bed, continuing to feign sleep.
I couldn't let them notice any abnormalities, nor could they detect my suspicions.
Truth be told, aside from Zora's perfume, I didn't sense anything amiss. There were too many plausible explanations for the perfume scent.
But pretending to be asleep was agonizing. To make it believable, I had to stay utterly still, eyes shut, constantly contemplating all possibilities and planning my next move.
My nerves were on edge, and my mind was stretched taut. Coupled with the creeping fear, I was wired. Yet, I had to maintain my sleeping posture, which was torture.
At this moment, I realized that being awake was scarier than being unconscious.
Perhaps it was due to the sleepless night before or the exhaustion from the heightened anxiety, coupled with my already weak body. After enduring for who knows how long, I finally fell asleep. But just as I was deep in sleep, my heightened senses told me someone was approaching.