"This wound is not your concern. Your only job is to treat it and you don't need to ask too many questions," Liam replied in a flat tone.
"Fine, I don't want to know either. You didn't care how I was after the kidnapping, so why should I care about you?" Zuri replied annoyed. Actually, she was just curious about how Liam had been hurt. Zuri was the one who had been kidnapped; why was Liam the one who had been hurt? It was very strange.
"Ouch... be careful. You're pressing too hard on the wound," Liam groaned as Zuri was being too rough in treating his injury.
Zuri softened her touch, but her face remained irritated.
In the midst of her frustration, Zuri suddenly noticed a mark on Liam's lower back. It looked like a small tattoo in the shape of an arrow. She had the feeling she had seen this mark before. But where? Zuri tried to remember, pausing her movements as she tended to Liam's wound.
"What's wrong? Why did you stop? If you're scared, call Anya or Zen Lee, my bodyguard, to treat me," Liam said without looking at Zuri.
"I'm not scared! Didn't I tell you that when I was little, I treated wounds deeper than this? Besides, I don't know Zen Lee, your bodyguard. The only person I know in this house is Anya." Zuri repeated her words with an annoyed tone, but her hand gently brushed over the tattoo.
"This arrow tattoo reminds me of something. I feel like I've seen it in the same place before, but I can't remember where," Zuri continued, still gently stroking the tattoo.
"Tattoo like this are common, many people have them," Liam replied, remaining calm as usual.
"Yeah, maybe that's true." Zuri didn't want to discuss it further and chose to continue treating Liam so they could finish quickly. As she wrapped the bandage, they were very close, and Zuri could smell Liam's pleasant fragrance. But she quickly pulled away as the sudden image of Prince Tristan reignited her feelings of resentment.
The room fell silent again after Liam put his pajamas back on following the treatment and walked toward his study, which was only separated by a partition. He didn't thank Zuri for helping him.
"At least thank me for helping you heal your wounds," Zuri said irritably. But Liam was as still as a statue. If this was going to continue, they should just split up so Zuri could call Anya to chat instead of sharing a room with someone who acted like a wall.
Frustrated, Zuri got up and started to leave the room to clear her head.
"Don't go too far from the room when you're outside." Before she could even step outside, Liam warned her from his study.
"What's going on? Is this house haunted? Or a den of criminals? Why do I have to act like I'm on my way to a battlefield just to leave the room?" Zuri asked, annoyed that Liam was restricting her movements in the house.
But Liam remained silent. His cold demeanor was very irritating.
Finally, Zuri left the room and walked around the house, ignoring Liam's warning.
Actually, Zuri was a bit puzzled as to why Liam didn't live in the mansion and instead chose to stay in a fairly large house that was certainly not as luxurious as the mansion.
Zuri then went into the kitchen and turned on all the lights. Zuri, or rather Princess Elara, disliked dark environments; they made her feel suffocated. The kidnapping incident that happened to Princess Elara when she was a child was the trigger. But she always remembered the little boy who saved her. If she could only meet him again, she would be very grateful. But could Princess Elara return to the past? Especially since she had committed suicide back then, and the owner of this body had no idea where she had been since their last meeting when she regained consciousness.
"Miss, you're here. Is there anything I can help you with?" a maid entered the kitchen and offered her assistance.
"Oh, no need. I'm just having a cup of coffee. Go take a break. That's an order," Zuri said, not wanting the maid to argue.
"But, Miss..."
"Just go, or I'll fire you," Zuri threatened in a serious tone, even though she was joking. The maid finally left, afraid of Zuri's threat.
The atmosphere became quiet again, and Zuri enjoyed it.
"Simon, I want to meet you," Zuri murmured, calling out Simon's name. In this new world, Princess Elara was Zuri, so she had to get used to the name Simon, not Axel.
"Hey... you must be my cousin's wife." A man's voice interrupted Zuri's daydream and she turned to look. A handsome man walked toward her with a sweet smile.
"Do I know you?" Zuri asked, not recognizing the man standing before her.
"Of course you don't; I've just returned from a business trip. But I know you as my cousin's wife from the photo my parents sent me," the man explained without prompting.
Zuri remained silent, unsure of how to respond.
"Oh, by the way, let me introduce myself. I'm Oliver, Liam's cousin." The man held out his hand to introduce himself. Zuri shook hands with Oliver, who had just introduced himself as Liam's cousin.
As far as Zuri knew, Liam only had one female cousin named Amelia, as she was the only one present at her wedding. Although Amelia's gaze seemed to want to kill her. Zuri wondered what the girl's problem was. They had just met at the wedding.
"Are you sure that Liam is your cousin? You're not an intruder or a kidnapper who suddenly entered the house?" Zuri asked skeptically.
Oliver laughed at Zuri's silly question.
"Of course not! My father and Liam's father are siblings. I am rarely at home because I spend most of my time abroad on business. You must know Amelia, she's my sister." Oliver explained to Zuri, still giggling.
Zuri nodded slowly, still not entirely convinced. "Do you live here too?" she asked, receiving a shake of the head from Oliver.
"I'm just here to visit Grandpa. I heard about Liam's wedding and could only come back now. Maybe I can meet him too," Oliver replied, very friendly but with a mysterious tone. "Even though it's a little late, I want to congratulate him personally. And of course I'm curious to meet Liam's wife. It turns out you're even more beautiful than the picture my parents sent me."
Zuri blushed at Oliver's compliment. Compared to the cold and silent Liam, Oliver seemed much friendlier and more pleasant.
"I have to go see Grandpa soon. It was nice to meet you, Zuri. I hope we can meet again later."
"You too, Oliver," Zuri replied, happy that the man knew her name without her telling him.
Oliver then walked away, leaving Zuri still staring at Liam's cousin's back as he walked further away.
Zuri thought hard, she felt like she had heard this voice before. But where?