Chapter 3 If He Took off the Mask
“May I come in, Mr. Fletcher?”
Travis interrupted Lorenzo’s thoughts.
“Yes,” Lorenzo replied briefly.
“How come… you’re here, Mrs. Fletcher?” Travis’ heart skipped a beat as he saw Jessica in the forbidden area.
He thought to himself, “What the hell are you doing here, Mrs. Fletcher? I told you not to come to this forbidden place, yet you came regardless…”
“A lion usually eats its prey alive. I haven’t had dinner yet, so I’ll eat you first.”
Jessica and Lorenzo’s marriage was arranged by the elder generation of the Fletcher family and the Armstrong family. The Fletcher family was an influential family in Ameriart. It was said that the current master of the Fletcher family was so mysterious that even tabloid journalists hadn’t captured any information about him.
The private estate was located on the edge of the town. It was a massive structure surrounded by rare plants. In the manor, many servants bustled about the house. Besides them, there were a butler, a vigorous old lady, and the black sheep who was terminally ill and ruthless.
Aminah, Jessica’s stepmother, loved Bianca, her own daughter, so much that she wouldn’t let her marry into such a terrible family. So what if they had money? The rest of Bianca’s life would be ruined once she married such a horrible man. Therefore, she asked Jessica to come back to marry him instead.Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.
By doing so, the Armstrong family didn’t break the marriage contract, nor would Bianca suffer. It was one stone for two birds.
Aminah wasn’t impressed by the Fletcher family at all, and that made a profound impact on Jessica, who believed that her future husband was a hopeless case.
However, Jessica changed her mind after the two interacted with each other.
Lorenzo wasn’t taught to be elegant and refined, but born so. He had an imperial quality, and he was also fast and agile. Jessica never believed that a terminally ill and ruthless man was able to keep a lion as a pet.
Suddenly, Lorenzo leaned feebly against a cabinet, sweat rolling down his cheeks. His eyes glazed over as he panted heavily.
“Mr. Fletcher…”
Travis, who had been Lorenzo’s butler for years, realized that he was having a relapse.
“Get her away from here!” Lorenzo growled through clenched teeth, fighting back the pain.
“Please go back to your room,” Travis urged as he turned anxiously to Jessica, who was looking on aside.
Marriage was supposed to be a happy life event, but now Jessica was faced with the harsh reality. She married into the Fletcher family in place of her half-sister because she had something important to do. Without the Fletcher family, she would be in a dangerous situation.
Therefore, she couldn’t leave, no matter what.
“I’m good at fine-needle technique. I can bring the dying back to life if I treat them well,” Jessica chimed in calmly, her eyes gleaming.
“Didn’t you hear me?”
Lorenzo stared sternly at Jessica, leaving her no room to disobey him.
“Chamomile and lavender have a calming effect. Judging from your symptoms, you must be suffering from manic depression, which is basically caused by poor sleep quality,” Jessica told the precise nature of his illness slowly, sounding sure.
Travis, however, was shocked to hear that, because what Jessica said was exactly the truth. How incredible!
“Now you’re seriously ill. If you don’t attend to your health now, you could die. In that case, even the best doctor in the world wouldn’t be able to bring you back.”
Jessica knew very well what she was saying and doing. She was also aware that she could be killed if she rubbed the man the wrong way, but there was no way back and she could only take a chance.
“Do you have any idea what you’re talking about?” Lorenzo suddenly came up to her and grabbed her chin with his big hand, ignoring the distorted look of anguish on her face as if he was possessed by the devil.
“Please let go, Mr. Fletcher! You’re killing her! Please!”
Panic made Travis’ teeth chatter. He wanted to help Jessica get away, but he didn’t have the guts to do so, so he could do nothing but look on anxiously.
Jessica felt that her chin was almost crushed by Lorenzo. The lack of oxygen to her brain caused dizziness. Before she lost consciousness, she managed to turn over her wrist and got a silver needle, and the next moment, Lorenzo’s big hand suddenly let go.
Then he collapsed to the floor in an instant, while Jessica coughed violently, panting.
When Lorenzo had a relapse and lost his reason, he was like a wild beast. Anyone getting close to him could be strangled to death by him.
“Are you all right, Mr. Fletcher…”
“Help him to bed, now!” Jessica interrupted Travis and asked him to help Lorenzo to bed immediately, afraid that he would be cut by the scattered fragments on the floor.
Sitting by the bed, Jessica took a deep breath and began to massage his temples gently.
“Are you sure you’re treating me instead of taking advantage of me?” Lorenzo raised his brows and teased.
“You’re the first person I’ve ever done this to.” Jessica shot him an angry glance.
“You’re also the first woman who has the honor to give me a massage,” Lorenzo replied faintly and calmly.
“Let’s coexist peacefully. I’ll stay by your side as your private doctor, and I won’t ask you anything about your private life. Besides, I’ll play along with you in front of your family, and I’ll support you in any way possible. How about that?”
Lorenzo pressed his thin lips together, saying nothing.
Meanwhile, Jessica gave him an acupuncture treatment. After a while, Lorenzo was sound asleep.
Travis was relieved to see that. Lorenzo had always been a stern and cold person. He was a genius in business world, and he was nearly ever successful on the market, and no one had disobeyed him openly like this.
For years, ladies from wealthy families threw themselves at Lorenzo, but only Jessica remained calm in the face of danger and solved problems cleverly.
Lorenzo couldn’t sleep all night for years, and that had caused his manic sickness. Occasionally, he would take a nap, but soon he would wake up. He had visited all the best doctors, but none of them could do anything with his illness. However, he was cured by Jessica today.
“You…”
Jessica interrupted Travis as soon as he spoke, “Please go ahead with your job. I can handle him.” She lowered her voice and gestured for him to rest assured.
Having seen what Jessica had done to Lorenzo, Travis stood in awe of her. Since she told him she could handle Lorenzo alone, Travis had nothing to worry about.
Silence hung heavily in the spacious master bedroom. Jessica tucked Lorenzo in carefully, grabbed a blanket and reclined on the sofa after making sure he was sound asleep.
However, a faint light woke Lorenzo up. He opened his eyes slowly and turned to Jessica beside him.
She was wearing the half mask. Lorenzo looked closely and found it was a nine-tailed fox. Suddenly, he reached out, for some reason, to take off her mask, but the moment he was about to touch it, he paused for a few seconds and drew back his arm.
Lorenzo stared closely at the girl who was fast asleep, thinking of the moment of her eyes sparkling when he looked into them. If he took off the mask…