The moment she fell silent, Ashton Heath grew suspicious. He squinted, lowering his head, his eyes filled with curiosity as he looked down at the woman gently cradled in his arms. "Are you sure there's nothing?"
"...Yes, absolutely nothing."
She didn't want to tell him even this little thing.
After all, it was almost settled.
She didn't want to say it, to make him worry for her.
Ashton Heath gazed at her thoughtfully for a while before deciding not to probe further. He nodded in responce and said, "Well, if that's the case. If anyone bullies you or worries you, just let me know."
"I'll make them pay."
The air conditioner in the resting room was running full blast.
Joanna Lawrence snuggled inside Ashton Heath's embrace, chatting with him intermittently. Perhaps it was the coziness owing to the air conditioner or his chest that she leaned against, but she felt her eyelids growing heavy as she spoke.
*
