…
The next day, Amon woke up feeling groggy. To his shock, the first thing he saw was Juliane's sleeping face.
Yes, he was sprawled across the king-size bed, shirtless, with Juliane beside him in a silk robe…
WHAT IN THE WORLD WAS SHE DOING HERE?
Panic surged through Amon as he tried to piece together what had happened. The first thing on his mind was to escape the bed before Juliane woke up and saw him shirtless. He had no idea how to explain this situation—how could he prove he wasn't some wolf preying on a sheep?
The problem was, Juliane's hands had somehow wrapped around his naked chest. Any sudden movement might wake her up!
"Hngh…" Juliane mumbled, stirring slightly.
Reacting on instinct, Amon squeezed his eyes shut and pretended to be asleep. But his heart pounded so hard it felt like he was being chased by a herd of wild animals! The young master hoped his assistant wouldn't notice how unnervingly nervous he was.
"My head… hurts… ugh…" Juliane groaned, finally waking up. She blinked, only to see a bare-chested man beside her. Wait a minute…
Was she dreaming, or was this reality?
To confirm, she quickly poked Amon's toned chest … HOLY COW!
Why was she lying in bed with the shirtless, grumpy Mr. Cupid?!
This realization jolted Juliane awake. Ignoring the throbbing pain in her head, she released his arm and scrambled out of bed.
"Why… what the heck happened last night?" Juliane muttered, scratching her head. Her eyes inadvertently fell on Amon's six-pack abs. Oh my, she didn't mean to stare!
Juliane shook her head furiously, trying to piece together what happened last night. She remembered they drank all the wine the inn staff had given them. She had downed one glass after another but couldn't recall how many times she had refilled her glass!
She also remembered being excessively talkative, though the details of their conversation were fuzzy. They had talked about her family, her life before her father went missing, but the rest of the night was a blur. How had they ended up in the same bed?
Taking a deep breath, Juliane knew she needed to act quickly. When her boss was out cold, it was up to her to sort things out. She glanced at the sunny weather outside, pulled on a light cotton dress, and stuffed her belongings into her leather duffel bag.
She gave Amon's face one last look and silently hoped he wouldn't remember her being in bed with him. With a mix of embarrassment and relief, she slipped out of the room as if nothing unusual had happened.
The door creaked as she left. Once she was gone, Amon slowly opened his eyes. Memories of last night suddenly came crashing down on him.
(Flashbacks from last night)
An hour before midnight, one bottle of wine had already been emptied. Amon and Juliane were well into the second one, with the room echoing Juliane's merry laughter.
"...and then my father found out that I planted sweet potatoes! I covered the whole farm with them, and for a year, I was banned from stepping foot on the farm soil! I was only six at the time. Can you imagine how confused I was? I just wanted to help my father, but I ended up causing him a serious problem. It's kind of hilarious now, isn't it?" She tugged at Amon's shirt, her eyes sparkling with mischief. "Hey, Mr. Grumpy Cupid, what do you think?"
"It's not funny at all. I can only imagine how tough it was for your father to lose so much profit because of a silly mistake," Amon responded with a smirk, taking another sip of his wine.
"You're no fun. Your mind is always on money, business, gold... Is it because your hair is golden that you like gold too?" She reached out to his hair and played with it.
"You're severely drunk, Ms. Johara," he said, taking her glass and setting it down on the floor.
But Juliane grabbed the wine bottle and drank straight from it until it was empty.
"Ms. Johara!" Amon's voice rang out in the room. "That's not how a proper lady behaves! How will I find you a suitable husband with this behavior?"
"Honestly, I don't even want to get married! It's just my mother's idea—to get rid of me or use me to gain connections with rich people!"
"How can you think that of your mother? She wants you to have a good life," Amon said, his frown deepening as their argument escalated. "To achieve that, I need to find you a husband who suits you."
"Do you really think a rich gentleman will accept someone like me-- someone whose roots are as dirty as potatoes? No matter how much I study economics, business, and etiquette, my origin will never change." Tears welled up in Juliane's eyes as the sensitive topic overwhelmed her.
"Ms. Johara… Are you giving up on yourself after all I've done for you?" Amon's voice grew gentle with concern.
Juliane's tears fell uncontrollably. Seeing this, Amon pulled out a handkerchief from his trousers and handed it to her.
"We still have two weeks. If I don't find someone suitable by then… I'll marry you, Ms. Johara."
"You, a distinguished gentleman, would marry someone like me?"
Amon nodded, his gaze locked onto her gray irises. "Why not? I'm the only one who can keep up with your antics."
Juliane laughed through her tears, "You're kidding, right?!"
"No. I'm serious. Will you marry me if you don't find a suitable husband?"
"I… I think I—"
Before she could finish, Juliane suddenly leaned over and threw up!
Amon quickly moved into action, helping her to the bathroom. He handed her the silk robe from her bag, the lightest clothing she had. Juliane sluggishly cleaned herself up, then stumbled back to the king-sized bed.
When Amon tried to settle in for the night, he noticed a large stain on his shirt and several more on the sofa.
(End of flashback)
—
Moments later, in the hotel lobby, a bewildered Joerdan Merritt approached Amon and Juliane, who stood on opposite sides of the room, pointedly avoiding each other's gaze.
"I reserved the three rooms in my name," Joerdan explained, his confusion evident. "So, the receptionist thought you hadn't reserved anything under the Midas name. Apologies for that, I admit my mistake."