?<strong>Chapter 298:</strong>


    Joelle didn’t notice anything unusual about Adrian, simply assuming he was feeling under the weather. She decided to let him stay since he preferred to, considering she wasn’t the one battling the fever. Joelle turned to prepare the food and asionally checked the temperature of the soup.


    Adrian watched her from behind, not wanting to blink, his mind racing with thoughts. He was tired of denying his feelings. He might be a shark in the business world, but in matters of the heart, he felt clueless and slow. Just days earlier, he’d been out drinking with Michael and Lacey. After he started slurring Joelle’s name while drunk, he knew he was done for. He wasn’t just seeing Joelle as a friend.


    After they had eaten, Joelle instructed Adrian to return to bed. “In half an hour, get up and take your medicine.” Adrian was about to lie down, but at her words, he leaned on the headboard and coughed ufortably. “Are you leaving?” he asked.


    Joelle responded, “No, I need to go buy ingredients for dinner.”


    “You can let Leah go buy them,” Adrian suggested, trying to remain calm. “Stay here with me. I might need help getting up if I go to the bathroom.”


    Joelle considered this reasonable. “Alright, you lie down first. I’ll call Leah.”


    “Okay.”


    After she left the room, Adrian soon received a call from Leah. “Sir, I’ll have the dinner ingredients delivered shortly! Don’t worry! And I won’t be back tonight; I’m off to y cards with my friends!”


    Adrian scowled. “Tonight?”


    “And not just tonight; I won’t be back tomorrow night, or the next, or the one after that!” Leah assured him. “I’lle if you call, but if not, I won’t!”


    Adrian’s headache only worsened with Leah’s endless chatter. As he heard footsteps approaching, he quickly ended the call after saying, “I see.”


    Joelle came back in, first checking Adrian’s temperature, then ensuring he took his medicine. Adrian was aware he was supposed to sleep after taking the medicine, but he didn’t want to. He wanted to keep Joelle by his side for as long as possible. Without his illness, he wouldn’t have the chance to see her so frequently. Every moment with her felt like precious, borrowed time, seemingly exchanging his well-being for her presence. He cherished every second.


    “I can’t seem to fall asleep.” Speaking as she did when tending to Aurora and Rnd when they were sick, Joelle said, “Just close your eyes, and you’ll fall asleep. You can’t sleep with your eyes open.” After a pause, Adrian added, “I’m still hungry.”


    Joelle responded, “Eating too much could make you ufortable. Once you’re feeling better, I’ll ask Leah to prepare something good for you.” Adrian thenined, “I need to change my clothes. I’m all sweaty.”


    Joelle looked down at him silently, making Adrian feel a bit guilty. She wondered if Adrian was exaggerating his needs, but dismissed the thought considering his illness. After all, why would he make himself more miserable? He wasn’t irrational.


    “Wait here.” She went to the walk-in closet to fetch a fresh set of pajamas for him.


    The closet was meant to hold only Adrian’s attire, yet she discovered some of her own clothes still there, clean and neatly preserved in dust covers. They were divorced; why did Adrian keep them? Perhaps he was too preupied with work to attend to such details. Handing him the new pajamas while maintaining her distance, Joelle instructed, “Change your clothes.”


    Adrian grasped her wrist, coughing intensely. The heat from his fever transferred to her through the touch. “I can’t manage it alone.” Joelle couldn’t stand it anymore. “Adrian, are you doing this on purpose?”


    Adrian looked at her with earnest, clear eyes. “Doing what on purpose?” This left Joelle questioning herself. Was she making too much of it? “Change your clothes yourself,” she said, her tone sharp.


    “Okay.”


    Joelle turned away from him. Adrian tried to sit up, crossing his arms to grab the bottom of his shirt and pull it over his head. Just removing his shirt made him feel dizzy and sore. “Joelle, I need some help.”


    Joelle reminded herself to be patient with someone who was ill. She turned back to face Adrian, now shirtless. She tried to avoid looking at him, but her eyes inadvertently drifted over his well-toned muscles. Adrian had maintained his fitness regimen, possessing broad shoulders and a V-shaped torso. Joelle used to cherish moments lying on his chest, listening to his strong heartbeat. But those days were behind them.


    As Joelle helped him change, she realized she felt nothing out of the ordinary in Adrian’s presence anymore. Adrian held her wrist. “Joelle, my pants.”


    “I know.” Joelle resolved to see it through. She fetched his pajama pants and helped him change into them. The entire process was efficient.


    “There, now get some sleep.” After all that fuss, it was already dark outside.


    “Are you tired?” Adrian asked. “You should get some rest too.”


    “Okay.”


    Adrian scooted over to make room for her, but Joelle just smiled wryly. “You don’t really think I’m going to sleep next to you, do you?”


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