The Illegitimate Flame: Bride of Ashes

Chapter 16: Chapter 16- rule

"You... you’re crazy..." Janet’s beautiful eyes widened as she stared at his handsome face, which seemed harmless but hid a dangerous smile. Stepping backward, she tried to distance herself from him. Why did it feel like, even though they were meeting for the first time today, he already knew her for a long time?

"The woman who drove me crazy... you’re the first!" Manfred continued to advance toward her. As Janet waved her arms, trying to create distance between them, a familiar voice came from behind, "Janet?"

August emerged from the dark corner. Seeing Manfred closing in on her, he promptly stepped forward, placed an arm around Janet’s waist, and gently pulled her into his embrace. In the dim light, his gaze softened in an almost unbelievable way. "Let’s go."

The two locked eyes, and gradually, an ambiguous spark seemed to ignite between them. As light from two directions illuminated them from both the left and right, Janet didn’t notice the expression on the man in front of her. She was more curious about how August had ended up here.

Manfred’s eyes locked onto the hand August had placed on Janet’s shoulder, and his gaze slowly turned cold. He reached up with his left hand, casually touching the earring in his left ear.

"Manfred, hurry up, I can’t hold it any longer!" As they moved away from the private room, Janet heard one of Simon’s friends shout from inside, sounding a bit drunk.

"I’m coming!" Manfred’s muffled curses could be heard as he responded. By then, Janet had already been led out of the bar by August. As they stepped through the door, a chill wind rushed in, causing Janet to shiver instinctively. It wasn’t the cold that made her shudder but the inexplicable, penetrating chill that seemed to seep into her skin.

"August..." Janet managed to say his name as she climbed into his car. She remembered Charles’s warning earlier that day, telling her to stay away from August. But she hadn’t expected they would run into each other twice today!

"Returning home late on your first night of marriage doesn’t seem appropriate," August’s warm smile curled at the corner of his lips as he expertly drove in the direction of Snowpeak Villa.

"I forgot to mention, we’re family. Philip is my cousin!" August added, his handsome face briefly illuminated by the car’s dim lighting. Janet had already suspected his connection to the Elwin family, but hearing him say it out loud made her mind oddly drift back to last night...

"I..." Janet bit her lip, not daring to look into his intensely heated eyes. She was curious, but more than that, she was scared. If the man who had been in her bed last night was truly him, how would she ever face him again?

Suddenly, Janet realized this was all part of a scheme. She was certain now that the glass of milk Robert had given her last night had been drugged, and that her husband, Philip, had to have been in on it.

Had he arranged for someone to take his place because of his disability?

The sensation of being lost in a vast desert, unable to grasp anything, made her head throb. August’s ambiguous words from earlier that day still echoed in her ears, and she found it even more absurd!

"We’re here!" Just as Janet was internally struggling with whether or not to ask him for answers, August had already driven the car straight into the North Courtyard of the villa. Janet couldn’t forget, it was to this house that she had been brought last night...

"Are you not coming in?" Janet noticed that August was still sitting in the driver’s seat when she got out of the car, with no intention of getting out. She instinctively asked.

"Can I take that as an invitation?" August smiled, his lips curving as he looked at Janet’s delicate face, bathed in the soft glow of the moonlight. He couldn’t help but think she was even more alluring, her youthful skin so smooth it seemed as if it could almost be squeezed for water. For someone who usually kept his distance from women, being with her felt surprisingly... not as revolting as he had imagined.

"Uh... no!" Janet immediately waved her hand, denying his insinuation as she quickly turned to leave, rushing up the walkway.

August watched her retreating figure as she entered the loft, then turned his car around, casting one last, deep glance at the brightly lit main house. Without lingering, he drove off.

As Janet was about to head upstairs, she spotted Robert in the living room. The lighting was dim, and from a distance, she couldn’t make out his expression, but there was an unfamiliar air of coldness about him.

"Mrs. Janet, remember to come back for dinner with Master Philip in the future. It’s the lord’s rule," Robert’s voice, neither warm nor cold, reached Janet’s ears. She glanced at the wall clock— it was barely past eight!

Without hesitation, Janet nodded and was about to head upstairs. But as she passed the second-floor room, she hesitated for a moment. The room she stayed in last night... would that man be there?

Janet carefully pushed the door open and flicked the switch on the wall. As she looked around, the room seemed to have been tidied up, with even the sheets replaced with fresh ones. Janet could sense that the room now had a distinctly feminine scent.

Philip wasn’t here. So, were they sleeping separately?

Realizing this, Janet couldn’t help but feel a small sense of secret joy. She still wasn’t accustomed to the idea of having a husband, especially one who was such an unusual man.

As she stepped out of the bathroom after a shower, she heard someone knocking at the door. An uneasy feeling immediately surged within her. But then, she quickly thought, perhaps she was overthinking it. A disabled man would never do anything to her, right?

Sure enough, when she opened the door, Robert wheeled Philip into the room. Janet saw a glimmer of relief in Philip’s eyes. After Robert pushed him in, he closed the door behind him and left. The quiet room seemed to hold its breath as only the two of them remained.

"Janet?" Philip’s voice called out, instinctively saying her name as his gaze met hers. When his eyes locked with her clear, bright ones, a warm smile spread across his handsome face.

"Yes?" Janet couldn’t help but be entranced by his voice—it was like music. She could imagine that if he were a healthy man, he would undoubtedly be a noble and outstanding figure.

"You don’t have to worry. I know you didn’t marry me willingly," Philip said, his words soft yet firm. He thought to himself, no normal woman would willingly marry a man who wasn’t... normal. Yet, from Janet’s graceful and serene aura, he saw something unique in her.

For the first time, he felt somewhat fortunate—such a wonderful girl, she deserved to be with his most beloved younger brother.

"Why would you say that?" Janet blinked, her confused gaze locking onto his clear, deep blue eyes. Unconsciously, she took a step closer to him, crouching down in front of him. As her eyes fell upon his immobile legs, her body trembled slightly.