Elise had just pressed send when her phone buzzed immediately.

[No.]

A small smile touched her lips.

It felt like William had been waiting for her message. She could almost picture his expression.

Her heart didn't race, but her lips curved upward out of habit.

She typed back: [It's late. You're a patient. Get some rest.]

After sending it, she called Robert to drive her to the hospital.

Somewhere along the way, she'd stopped being so formal with William.

During the ride, she kept glancing at her silent phone.

He could be so childish sometimes.

Arriving at the hospital, Elise tiptoed into William's private room.

If he was already asleep, she didn't want to wake him.

But the bed was empty.

Frowning, she heard movement from the bathroom just as the door swung open.

There he stood, dripping wet.

Shirtless. Hair soaked. Only a white towel wrapped loosely around his waist.

Elise froze completely.

She never expected to see William like this...

She had to admit he looked better than any model she'd ever worked with.

William seemed equally surprised by her sudden appearance.

After her text, he assumed she wasn't coming. So he'd decided to shower and sleep.

Noticing her staring, he smirked. "See something you like, Ms. Scott?"

Elise snapped out of it, cheeks flushing instantly.

She'd been gaping at his body!

She quickly turned away, though William's mood seemed to brighten.

Casually, he stepped out in wet slippers and immediately lost his footing.

Elise saw him stumble and rushed forward without thinking.

All she could think was that he was already injured—she couldn't let him fall.

She didn't consider that he might be too heavy for her to support.

The next moment, they both tumbled to the floor with a thud.

Elise had tried to cushion his fall, positioning herself beneath him.

But he'd shielded her head and back, taking the impact instead.

"Mr. Levine?!"

Samuel burst through the door loudly.

He stood frozen in the doorway for several seconds before backing out slowly.

Oh my god... The boss had made his move!

Though honestly, after watching them dance around each other for so long, even he was getting impatient.

Sometimes direct action was the best approach.

But Samuel reappeared suddenly, looking pained. "Mr. Levine, the doctors said your kidney injury needs care! Please be moderate!"

"Carry on!" he added before disappearing again.

William's face darkened. His kidneys were perfectly fine!

Underneath him, Elise couldn't help but giggle softly. Samuel could be so clueless sometimes.

Still, his interruption had broken the tension between them.

"Could you get up?" Elise asked. William felt like solid steel, and she could barely breathe.

"Yeah," he grunted, slowly lifting himself off her with visible effort.

As they stood, their close proximity made the air feel thick and heavy.

That's when she saw it clearly—his towel had fallen to the floor, along with... everything else.

William felt the cool air at the same moment he saw Elise cover her mouth.

But instead of screaming, she suddenly turned and rushed into the bathroom.

The sound of retching followed.

It didn't stop, making William question his very existence.

After what felt like forever, Elise finally emerged.

She hadn't meant to react that way, but she couldn't control it.

William was already in bed, wearing his patient gown buttoned all the way up.

It looked uncomfortably tight just from looking at it.

Approaching his bed slowly, she decided to stick with the plan she'd formulated in the bathroom: pretend nothing happened.

"Did you hurt your arm?" she asked casually.

"No," William replied. "Just my pride."

She was momentarily speechless. "It's late, I should go. I have work tomorrow. Stellar Group has been busy lately."

"I'm being discharged in three days," William reminded her.

"That's soon. Hasn't it been less than two weeks? Are the doctors allowing it?" Elise asked.

"I wasn't that badly injured anyway."

Elise narrowed her eyes. Who was the one complaining constantly about the pain on the first day?!

"You'll visit after I'm discharged, right?" William asked.

"Yes, I told Samuel already. Didn't he tell you?"

"Just checking," William said casually. "Your word isn't exactly golden."

Elise pressed her lips together but couldn't argue.

She definitely hadn't been taking care of him every day.

"You should go. Get some rest," William said, unusually willing to let her leave.

It was genuinely late, and he knew how busy Elise had been lately.

He remembered feeling like he might die from overwork when he first took over Levine Holdings' overseas branch.

"Okay, I'm leaving now. Goodbye."

Elise didn't hesitate, turning to leave as if worried about wasting another second.

William watched her retreating back and sighed weakly.

It wasn't like he could change his appearance!