Chapter: 541

Sensing the tension, the innkeeper smiled knowingly and excused herself from the room.

Caden handed Alicia a freshly laundered shirt. "Here, put this on."

Without saying a word, she slipped it over her head.

Caden borrowed the clothes from the innkeeper's husband, who wasn't around.

The three of them were the only ones in the small, quiet inn.

Alicia gazed out at the pitch-black sky, watching as the snow continued to fall. "Did you manage to get through to the rescue team?"

"I did. They know we're safe, but the snow has blocked the road. It'll take about a week for them to reach us.”

Alicia blinked in surprise.

A whole week?

However, with the injuries they both had, the idea of resting here for that long didn't seem so bad.

As the night wore on, Caden took a bath, though the effort nearly drained him. When he finally emerged, he headed straight for Alicia's bed and settled in without hesitation.

"You're staying here?" Alicia felt tense.

Caden saw no reason to sugarcoat the situation. "There's no room anywhere else. Unless you don't want me here," he said.

Alicia put her hands firmly against his chest, trying to keep some distance between them.

"We shouldn't be sharing a bed. I'm a woman, you're a man. It's better if we sleep apart to avoid any unnecessary situations."

She didn't spell it out, but Caden easily understood her hesitation.

Ignoring her protest, he pulled her into his arms. “Have you ever heard of the Moss family from Averibon?"

Due to the pain she was feeling, Alicia couldn't move that well. In a muffled voice, she said, "I have."

"The Wards and the Mosses go way back. For generations, we've been tied together, through both friendship and business. Over twenty years ago, Dorian Moss was at the top of the scientific world, and his daughter, Yolanda, inherited that brilliance. I need her expertise for something important."

Alicia paused for a moment.

She suddenly remembered the business card Yolanda gave her.

Caden said, "Yolanda has nothing to do with me romantically. She's just working for me. Do you understand that?"

Alicia paused.

Caden's explanation took her by surprise.

She asked uncertainly, “Why are you explaining this to me now?"

Caden said nothing.

Instead, he gently massaged her sore shoulder.

While he was unconscious and unable to see, he had heard Alicia's panicked calls.

She had desperately felt for his injuries and dragged him to safety.

It was clear she was resolved to save him, whatever the cost...