"So, you’re scared of ghosts. I shouldn’t have taken you to see *The Chainsaw Killer* then. I should have taken you to see *The Ring*, *Ghost Baby*, and stuff like that..."
Sienna Johnson slapped him. "Adrian Desmond, if you keep teasing , you can sleep on the floor!"
"Sienna Johnson, if you dare hit again, I’ll leave and let you stay in this room alone!"
The mont he stopped speaking, Sienna hugged his waist tightly, pressing half her body into his embrace; she was genuinely frightened.
Adrian Desmond didn’t dare to continue joking with her. He hugged her tightly in return, his large fra enveloping her slender form, finally allowing her tense body to relax.
"Don’t be afraid. I’m here. No ghost can hurt you."
"Mm."
He gently rubbed her back, his voice clear in the darkness. "Sotis, you’re very brave, and other tis, you’re very timid."
"You’ve found another one of my weaknesses!" she said.
"Don’t worry. Even if I know this weakness of yours, I can’t use it against you. Where would I even find a ghost to scare you with?"
Sienna bit him, her small, sharp teeth grinding against his skin, causing him pain.
"Vindictive woman!"
"Adrian Desmond, what are you afraid of?"
"I’m afraid of you leaving !"
Sienna propped herself up and looked at him. "How afraid?"
"Very, very afraid..."
"Then you have to treat well—very, very well. So well that I won’t be able to bear leaving you."
The dog outside was still barking, more fiercely now. As a child, Sienna had been terrified lying on this very bed. Even when her adoptive father had replaced it with a solid one, it hadn’t alleviated her fear.
But now, she wasn’t as scared.
This man was strong enough, powerful enough to drive away any demon or ghost.
"Am I not good enough to you?"
"I’m greedy. You have to be even better to ..."
"And what about you?"
She gently kissed him—his broad forehead, his high-bridged nose, his thin lips...
"I’m bearing your children. Isn’t that loving you enough?"
"You’re the one who clearly likes children..."
She took his hand and placed it on her lower abdon. The baby was especially active tonight, and Adrian could feel the fetal movents beneath the thin skin of her belly.
"He’s moving!" Adrian said excitedly.
"Actually, there were movents a while ago, but they weren’t obvious. Recently, they’ve beco more intense. Sotis, he even kicks. I think it’s a son. Curly wasn’t this active back then."
Adrian, acting like a first-ti father, pressed his ear to Sienna’s belly, feeling the little life inside.
"Sienna, he’s really moving..." he said, his face full of surprise.
"Silly, of course he’s moving. Would I lie to you about that?" She found it amusing.
Adrian gently stroked her belly. The little one inside, as if knowing his father was playing with him, actually kicked his palm, startling Adrian imnsely.
"Look, he’s kicking ..."
The dog’s barking continued outside, but Sienna wasn’t as afraid anymore. She yawned, drowsiness washing over her.
"Don’t make such a fuss. It’s not like you’re a first-ti father."
"How is this any different from being a first-ti father? When you were pregnant with Curly, you were fighting with and wouldn’t let near you or the baby. I only found out about the baby’s movents from Kiki. And even after I knew, you still wouldn’t let listen..."
"Sienna Johnson, sotis you really make my teeth itch with anger," Adrian grumbled.
"Likewise!"
Adrian was too excited to sleep and kept chatting with Sienna, but she was so sleepy she could hardly keep her eyes open. "Huh? Why has he stopped moving?"
"Sixth Master, he needs to sleep too," Sienna murmured.
"Oh, I see. So, when will he wake up?"
"It’s uncertain."
"Does it hurt when he kicks you?"
Adrian asked, but after waiting for a long ti without receiving an answer from Sienna, he looked down and saw that she had fallen asleep.
He smiled. Fell asleep so quickly? Not afraid of ghosts anymore, huh?
He carefully covered her with the blanket and slightly adjusted his position to make her more comfortable. The dog outside was still barking. Tree shadows swayed, and the rustling of bamboo leaves sounded like a slithering snake. Indeed, the shadow of the bamboo basket hanging by the window did resemble a human head, which was genuinely unsettling.
"Sleep," he whispered. "I’m watching over you. No one can hurt you."
Resting his head beside hers, Adrian soon fell asleep too.
「...」
「The next day」
A string of firecrackers suddenly CRACKLED loudly. Adrian woke up instantly and covered Sienna’s ears.
Sienna was nevertheless startled awake. "What ti is it?" she asked.
"I don’t know."
Sienna fumbled for her phone and checked the ti. It was only five o’clock. No wonder she hadn’t fully woken up; her biological clock was now set for seven.
"It’s five o’clock..."
"Why are they setting off firecrackers so early?" Adrian complained.
"Because they’re going to welco the bride..."
Adrian didn’t care much about that; he only cared if Sienna had slept well. "You normally wake up around seven. It’s only five now. Go back to sleep for a while."
"I can’t. People will be arriving soon. If they find out that I, the groom’s sister, am still sleeping, they’ll surely laugh at ."
"Who would dare laugh at you? They must be tired of living."
Sienna yawned and got out of bed. Adrian got up too.
「...」
In a small rural place like this, people weren’t particular about what they wore to weddings.
Sienna was naturally striking. Not wanting to dress too elaborately and steal the bride’s thunder, she simply wore a pale purple lace dress and pinned up her long hair.
Speaking of her long hair, Sienna had many complaints.
It now reached her waist and was very troubleso to manage. She wanted to cut it short, but a certain man absolutely forbade it, even high-handedly declaring it his "private property" that she couldn’t "dispose of" without his permission.
"Aren’t you going to put on any makeup?"
Sienna had washed her face and only applied so skincare products, not even lipstick. In Abyanabad, attending such an important occasion as soone’s wedding without makeup was considered very impolite.
"Your wife is already so beautiful," Sienna teased. "If I put on makeup, wouldn’t I be even more so? What if I end up stealing the bride’s spotlight then?"
"Don’t you know you’re even more beautiful without makeup?"
"Sixth Master, you’re getting better and better with your words."
Adrian pulled up a chair and sat down in front of her. "Weren’t you worried about stealing the bride’s thunder? How about this: I’ll do your makeup. I guarantee you won’t overshadow the bride."
Sienna covered her face. "Adrian Desmond, what do you think you’re doing?"
"I’m going to do your makeup."
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