Chapter 9 It's Because of You

Ansel stopped his steps when Aleta's voice called out to him. He turned around and looked at Aleta, who was staring at him. "What's wrong?" asked Ansel in a cold tone.

Aleta got off the bed and immediately pulled Ansel's hand. Ansel gasped at the sudden tug.

"Hey, why are you suddenly pulling me?" protested Ansel.

Instead of answering, Aleta pushed Ansel's body to sit on the sofa. Meanwhile, she went to her dressing table and picked up the medicine box. After getting the medicine box, Aleta returned to Ansel and sat beside him. "Take off your clothes," Aleta said.

Ansel widened his eyes at Aleta's words. "What?! Take off my clothes?! But, what for?" asked Ansel with an astonished look.

Aleta let out a rude sigh. She had no more time to listen to the man's comments. She quickly removed the man's shirt, scattering the worms.

"Hey, why are you doing this, Aleta?! If you want to do it, we can take it slow. Why are you being so aggressive?!" asked Ansel, surprised because he thought Aleta wanted to do that with him.

Aleta threw the shirt in a random direction. Ansel still wanted to see what Aleta wanted to do. Aleta pulled Ansel's arm, making him grimace in pain because the arm she drew was his injured arm.

"Doesn't it hurt? Why didn't you treat it right away?" Aleta protested with her eyebrows raised.

Aleta's words transfixed Ansel. He thought she wanted to have sex with him. Shit! He was embarrassed to think that Aleta wanted to do 'that' thing with him.

"That, it was an accident...."

"It's a sharp object cut. From the looks of it, it's from a knife, right?" Aleta guessed, looking at Ansel's wound.

Ansel was stunned to hear that. How could Aleta know that much? "Why do you know?" asked Ansel.

"Hmm, you could say because I often watch thriller movies. That's why I know," replied Aleta

Aleta opened the medicine box and began to treat Ansel's wound. Ansel winced softly as the wound was treated with the red medicine. He saw how painstakingly Aleta treated the wound. It made his heart beat fast. He felt butterflies fluttering in his stomach. An unconscious smile appeared on his handsome face. Aleta grabbed a bandage and began to bandage the wound she had treated. "Well, it's done. This way, your wound won't get infected," Aleta said, cleaning up the scattered marks.

"Thank you," Ansel said in a somewhat nervous tone.

"You're welcome!" replied Aleta, moving to put the medicine box back where it came from.

"Why are you being so considerate of me? Don't you want us to mind our own business?" asked Ansel.

Aleta turned her body to face Ansel. "I'm not considerate. I can't see anyone getting hurt near me. Even if it weren't you, I would still help that person. So don't think of me as considerate. Like you said, if you were hurt like this, your parents would be worried," Aleta explained.

Ansel bowed his head slightly. He smiled sadly. Why did he feel unwilling to hear such an answer from her mouth? It felt like just when he was flying high, he was dropped to the ground hard. Ansel got up from his seat and walked closer to her. Suddenly, Aleta lowered her face because she didn't want to see the shirtless Ansel in front of her. It was quite unhealthy for her heartbeat.

He lifted her chin so that she was looking right into his face. She was very nervous about being stared at like that. But she did not want to show it. He tilted her face. "Thank you for the medical service. I quite like the way of service," Ansel whispered right in her ear.

Aleta widened her eyes at what he said. He moved his face away. Aleta did not expect it when he suddenly kissed her lightly.

"For your service," Ansel said as he walked away from her. Aleta held her cheek, which he had just kissed. Her heart was beating faster now. "Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you something," Ansel chirped, causing Aleta to turn to him immediately. "Since you tore my shirt, you must sew it back on. Please don't lose any buttons or replace them with something else. I want it in my room tomorrow," Ansel explained as he walked away from her.

Aleta widened her mouth at what Ansel said. "How could he say that?! Can't he thank me for treating his wound?! He even told me to sew his shirt. He must have a lot of shirts in his closet. Why would I sew them? Gosh, just let it go. I'd rather go back to sleep," protested Aleta, who walked towards her bed and put herself there to sleep.

Meanwhile, on the other side, in Ansel's room. The man was sitting on his bed, looking at his bandaged arm. A big smile appeared on his face. "She's charming and quite innocent, isn't she? How could I think that she would want to have sex with me? But she is smart enough to know that this wound is a knife cut. Either she fixed that shirt, or she didn't. Well, I'd better get some sleep," Ansel muttered as he lay on the bed.

***

The door of a room opened, and Aleta entered it. She walked towards the bed and placed something there.

"Well, I've finished it. He can't protest to me anymore," Aleta muttered as she left the room.

Shortly after Aleta left, Ansel came out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist. On his head was a small towel to dry his hair. He stopped in his tracks when he saw something on his bed. He walked towards his bed and saw a light blue shirt there. A faint smile appeared on his face.

"It turned out that she sewed it up. I thought she wouldn't do it and would throw it away. I could have imagined arguing with that woman. She even put some fragrance on my shirt," Ansel muttered as he inhaled the scent on his shirt. He carried the sweater to the changing room and got ready for work.

Meanwhile, downstairs, Aleta was seen making a sandwich she usually made if she was too lazy to cook. Not without reason; she was too lazy to cook; she had to stay up late to sew Ansel's shirt. She shouldn't have bothered to sew it. If necessary, she should throw the sweater away. Ansel was not a man who would be short of shirts if he threw one away. But, for some reason, her hands moved to sew the shirt. She had to be careful to look for the scattered buttons. It was a hassle!

No, it wasn't! Of course, Aleta didn't think she was being considerate. It was just that she didn't want to argue with him too much.

The sound of loafers could be heard coming down the stairs. Of course, it was Ansel, who was already dressed in his work suit. Aleta stared at him. No! It wasn't the man's good looks, but the suit he was wearing. Wasn't that the shirt he had just sewn? Why was he wearing it right away? It should have been washed first, right? Even though he had put some fragrance on it.

Ansel walked over to the dining table and locked eyes with Aleta, who had just placed a plate of sandwiches there. Ansel thoughtlessly picked up the sandwich and ate it.

That made Aleta immediately look surprised at him. "Hey, why did you take it? It's mine," Aleta protested.

"Hm? I thought you made it for me," Ansel replied with his innocent face.

"Who made it for you? You fool!" complained Aleta.

Ansel wasn't listening to her. He was busy munching on the food Aleta had made. Aleta let out a harsh sigh. She pulled Ansel's hand to sit on the chair.

"You have to sit down to eat. Do you want your stomach to hurt from eating while standing?" Aleta protested, folding her arms across her chest.

Ansel was stunned by Aleta's explanation. This was the first time he had been advised like this. Not even his parents had advised him like this. It made Ansel's heart happy, for some reason. "Thank you for your advice. I'll listen to it," Ansel replied, refocusing on his food.

"Why are you wearing this shirt? Didn't you wear it yesterday?" asked Aleta, who had been curious.

Ansel looked directly at Aleta. "Do you want to know why?" Ansel asked, looking at Aleta with a mysterious smile.

Seeing that mysterious smile made Aleta misbehave. "No! I don't want to know. I'm just confused about why you're wearing a shirt that hasn't been washed. Never mind, you can eat that breakfast. I want to make a new one for me," Aleta explained as she quickly left Ansel.

"It's because of you!" Aleta suddenly stopped her steps when Ansel suddenly spoke. She quickly turned around and looked at Ansel, who had gotten up from his seat and walked towards Aleta, still rooted in her spot. Ansel stood right in front of Aleta, who was staring at him. "It's because of you. Did you hear me?" asked Ansel, who spoke again.

"What do you mean by that?!" asked Aleta back, looking nervous.

Ansel smiled sweetly. "Why? Was it unclear what I said? I'm doing this because of you. Because my wife took the trouble to sew it back together. Of course, I have to appreciate your hard work, don't I," Ansel said while holding her chin.

Aleta dismissed the hand. "You can't be joking. I don't trust you. You should change your shirt. People will look at you strangely when they find out you're wearing that shirt from yesterday," said Aleta, turning her body to leave Ansel.

However, suddenly, Ansel quickly pulled her hand until her face and Ansel's face were very close. Aleta was stunned by the closeness. Moreover, the sweet smile on Ansel's face made her dumbstruck. Aleta lowered her face. "Hey, let go of me," Aleta squeaked nervously.

Ansel moved his face closer to Aleta's. "Why, are you embarrassed right now?" asked Ansel in a low tone.

"Who's embarrassed? I'm just uncomfortable like this," rebutted Aleta, who was trying to neutralize her racing heart.

"Oh yeah? If you haven't forgotten, we were closer than this on our first night, right? You shouldn't have a problem with me being this close to you. After all, we haven't done it in a long time," Ansel replied with a big smile.

Aleta widened her eyes at Ansel's words. She quickly pushed Ansel's body away. Ansel could see that Aleta's face was all red from his words. "Don't play games! I don't like it!" protested Aleta, who backed away.

Ansel became more and more aggressive in approaching Aleta. Aleta could be seen retreating her steps as Ansel continued to approach. "Why don't you like it, hm? Didn't you like it that night?" Ansel asked with a seductive smile.

Aleta lowered her face and continued to retreat. "You forced me. It wasn't my wish," Aleta squeaked.

Ansel wanted to laugh aloud because he saw Aleta's expression like a scared cat. Or rather like a rabbit cowering in fear of being eaten by a wolf.

Until the moment Aleta couldn't stop at the pillar behind her. Aleta kept her head down. Until she saw a loafer stop right in front of her. Slowly, a hand lifted her face to reveal Ansel's smiling face.

"Ansel."

Aleta's words stopped when Ansel kissed her forehead gently. It made Aleta widen her eyes at what the man before her was doing.

Ansel pulled his face away and looked deeply into Aleta's face. "It's a gift for you," Ansel whispered loudly. Aleta was so transfixed at this moment because of Ansel's sudden treatment. The man had multiple personalities. Because Ansel's treatment too transfixed her, she didn't realize he was gone from her presence until Aunt Nani's voice startled her.

"Aleta?" called Aunt Nani as she touched Aleta's shoulder.

Aleta woke up from her trance. She looked at Aunt Nani, who was still staring at her. "Aunt Nani? Emm, where's Ansel?" asked Aleta, casting her eyes around.

"Hm? Young Master? He left for the office just now. Didn't you see him?" asked Aunt Nani.

Aleta was a little surprised by that. She had just faced the man, but all of a sudden, he was no longer in front of her. "Huh? Did he leave already? I didn't see him leave," Aleta replied with a confused look.

Aunt Nani seemed to know what had happened. "Never mind, don't think about it anymore. Come on, I've made a new breakfast for you. Didn't your husband eat your breakfast?" Aunt Nani asked.

Aleta remembered when he suddenly took her breakfast. Somehow, it made her feel happy, especially when she remembered the peck on her forehead. She touched her forehead after he kissed her.

It felt hot. It was so warm that it reached my heart~ Aleta thought.

Elsewhere, Ansel was seen arriving at the Desmond Group's premises. When he entered the company, everyone immediately saluted him and greeted him. However, Ansel could see the astonished looks in the eyes of his employees. Ansel certainly knew what those looks meant.

"Hey, look! Haven't you noticed? The president is wearing the same shirt from yesterday."

"Huh?' Really? I didn't notice."

"Yeah, it's indeed the shirt he wore yesterday."

"Did he not come home to wear the same shirt?"

"Hey, even if he doesn't come home, he can buy a new shirt, right? He's not a stingy person, you know."

"Then why is he wearing the same shirt?"

Everyone speculated about why their CEO wore the same shirt. It was small, but all the employees paid attention to every detail about the Desmond Group owner.

Ansel walked into his office and sat down in his chair. Just as he was about to start his work, he suddenly heard the voice of his assistant. He grabbed the small remote and opened the door to his office. As the door opened, Bagas entered with a hurried walk. He stood before Ansel and stared in surprise at the man.

Ansel wrinkled his forehead at Bagas' stare. "Why are you looking at me like that?" asked Ansel, who put on his reading glasses and opened the document before him.

"I thought the gossip in the company was just fake. It turned out to be true. Why are you wearing the same shirt you wore yesterday?" asked Bagas with an astonished look.

"Just wanted to," Ansel replied.

Bagas shook his head vigorously. "No! You're Ansel Clovis Desmond, a man who pays attention to cleanliness. There's no way you're going to wear the same shirt. You change three to four shirts every day. This isn't you, Ansel. It's not like I'm dealing with you," said Bagas, refuting Ansel's words.

Ansel chuckled softly. "You think I'm not Ansel, huh? I am Ansel, you know. This shirt is special, so I want to wear it again. Besides, it doesn't stink, you know. Smell it. It smells good," said Ansel with a big smile.

Seeing that big smile made Bagas even more convinced that his best friend was extraordinary and strange. He pointed his palm and checked Ansel's body temperature on his forehead. "Not hot either. Why are you being so weird?" asked Bagas, confused by Ansel's sudden change.

Ansel smiled broadly. "I'm not weird. Never mind; don't interrupt my work. It's better now that you tell me what my schedule is. I have to finish it quickly," Ansel said.

"You want to go home early. Why?" asked Bagas again.

"Because I want to play with my cat," Ansel replied with a mysterious smile.

Bagas made a surprised face. "Cat? Since when did you have a cat?" Bagas asked. Because, as he remembered, Ansel didn't like animals. Especially cats. How could Ansel suddenly like cats? He felt strange about his best friend for suddenly changing.

"A long time ago." Ansel smiled, remembering his sweet cat. Meanwhile, Bagas was still curious about Ansel's cat.