Chapter 6
The process of changing the property deed for the Royal Bay villa still required a series of formalities. In the meantime, Hera decided that Nash would stay at her place temporarily.
With her grandfather’s health deteriorating, Harrison and Lauren had been staying by his side to care for him.
“Dad, Mom… I’ll head back now. Call me if anything comes up!” Hera waved from the window as she got into the car.
Harrison gave a nod, hands clasped behind his back, while Lauren turned to Skadi, giving her a stern look. “Skadi, drive carefully.”
Skadi smiled sweetly, unfazed. “Don’t worry, Lauren. I’m a safe driver.”
Lauren noticed the bloodstains on Skadi’s teeth and the band-aid on her forehead but didn’t get a chance to ask before Skadi pressed the accelerator and drove off.
A slight frown tugged at Lauren’s lips, and a cold expression began to settle on her face.
Harrison, noticing, leaned in closer. “What’s wrong?”
Lauren took a deep breath. “It’s nothing. Maybe I’m just overthinking.”
With a sigh, Harrison asked, “What do you think about this situation?”
“If you had half of Dad’s insight, you wouldn’t have let your older brother push you around this way.” Lauren rolled her eyes at him.
Harrison sighed helplessly. “Next time, could you leave me with some dignity in front of Nash?”
Lauren shot him a sharp look. “When our daughter was being bullied, you didn’t even have the guts to speak up. Now, you’re talking about dignity?” After a pause, she added, “Miracle Doctor Tanner is coming back to Jonford soon. Let’s have him take a look at Dad.”
In the northern suburbs of Jonford, in an area known as Northjon, four large industrial zones sprawled across the region, each housing dozens of smaller companies. The Lewises owned two medium-sized businesses: Baroque Electronic Technology Co., which Harrison managed and focused on chip production, and Rococo Technology Co., run by Hubert, which specialized in mobile phones. Herman remained the chairman of both companies.
In the third industrial zone, Baroque Technology had a branch with over a hundred employees, and Hera served as the general manager there.
Skadi pulled up at the entrance of the industrial zone and grinned. “So, Hera, you want to show your man the empire you’re running?”
Hera glanced at Nash in the rearview mirror. He had fallen asleep, his head propped up. She shook her head. “I’ll take him home to rest first…”
Skadi licked her lips, teasing, “Should I help you buy a few boxes of rubber?”
Hera blinked in confusion. “Is the factory running low on gloves?”
Skadi rolled her eyes. “Come on! I was talking about condoms!”
Hera’s face turned bright red. She slapped her hand over Skadi’s mouth, flustered. “What… What are you talking about?”
Skadi laughed. “You have a bachelorette pad with only one bed. You can’t make your fiancé sleep on the couch, right?”
“I… I can sleep on the couch!” Hera stammered, suddenly feeling even more flustered.
She had never brought a man home before, and the thought of it now was both exciting and awkward.
Skadi chuckled as she drove toward Hera’s apartment.
When they arrived and parked, Skadi handed Hera the keys with a wistful smile. “Well, now someone else gets to protect you. You won’t need me anymore. I just hope he treats you as gently as I do.”
“Pfft… You’re my dedicated driver. If you give me the keys, are you planning on walking home? Pick me up early tomorrow!” Hera teased, not taking the keys from Skadi.
She opened the back door and gently nudged Nash awake. “Ah… Where is this?” he groggily asked, rubbing his messy hair and blinking sleepily.
“This is my place…” Hera replied quietly, gesturing toward the apartment building.
Nash sat up and looked around with wide eyes. “Your home is huge! Are you saying I could just move in here and collect rent for a living?”
“What? I’m only renting one apartment!” Hera explained, trying to hold back a laugh.
Nash’s expression fell, disappointed. “My dream of collecting rent is shattered…”
Skadi snickered. “Nash, is your master really as powerful as you say?”
“Of course! My master is as great as a Terrestrial Immortal!” Nash said with pride, his voice full of exaggerated reverence.
“Wow, impressive. He must have a lot of money, huh?” Skadi looked at Nash, admiration in her eyes.
Nash smiled awkwardly. “Well, my master doesn’t care about material things. He donates all his money to build schools in the mountains. Before he left, he gave me ten dollars!”
Skadi smirked. She knew Nash’s financial situation well enough to guess that his master probably wasn’t lacking in wealth—he just didn’t flaunt it. But she didn’t call him out. After all, he had saved her life.
Hera led Nash to her apartment. The space was small but cozy, about 70 square meters, furnished with a pink bed, a fluffy stuffed toy, and a drying rack in front of the floor-to-ceiling window. Several items of clothing hung on the rack, including some intimate garments.
Nash immediately turned his gaze away, swallowing hard as his face flushed slightly.
“I haven’t prepared slippers for you, so you can use mine for now.” Hera handed him a pair of spare slippers, then noticed his flushed cheeks and quickly realized the situation. She hastily put away some of the intimate items from the drying rack.
Nash, now slightly embarrassed, took off his worn-out shoes and changed into the slippers, his heels sticking out awkwardly. He sat down on the sofa, feeling uncomfortable and unsure of what to do.
Hera, equally nervous, handed him a drink from the fridge. “Here… Drink this.”
Nash took the drink and gulped down more than half of it. Hera sat beside him, trying her best to calm her racing heart. They sat in silence for a few moments, the tension in the air thick enough to cut with a knife.
Suddenly, Hera’s phone rang from her bag on the coffee table. She quickly excused herself. “I… I need to take this call…”
Nash nodded absently, pulling out his flip phone. He scrolled through his contact list, noting the strange names: Prince of the Sand Country, Beautiful Grim Reaper of the Gorgeous Country, Butcher of Dallard, Queen of Yerusia, and more than a hundred others.
Just then, Hera pulled her phone from her bag, saw the caller ID, and frowned. Without thinking twice, she declined the call. But it rang again almost immediately.
Hera, clearly uncomfortable, walked over to Nash, handing him the phone. “Can you answer this for me and say I’m not here?”
Nash glanced at the screen. It showed Hunter Hill as the caller.
He answered the call with a casual tone. “Hera’s mine, so go look for another woman.”
On the other end, there was a sharp intake of breath followed by an enraged shout. “Who the hell are you?! Why is Hera’s phone in your hands?!”
Nash smiled slightly, his voice calm. “I already told you. Hera’s mine.”