Lara woke her by tapping her gently. Vicky tossed on the bed and opened her eyes.
"Lara?" she muttered, surprised.
"Why are you so surprised to see me?" Lara asked.
"I didn't even know when you came," Vicky replied.
"That's because you were sleeping," Lara said, rolling her eyes.
"Anyway, I woke you up because I'm about to leave for the hospital. You haven't done the house chores. Are you unwell?"
"Yes. I woke up this morning feeling sick."
"Why didn't you tell us earlier so we could get you some drugs?"
"You all seemed to be in a bad mood this morning. I didn't want to disturb anyone," Vicky said as she stood up.
"Disturb? When your health is involved?" Lara said irritably. "You know what? Come with me to the hospital so I can get you some drugs."
They both left the house, leaving only the gatekeeper behind.
At the Hospital
Moses had fallen asleep after a long time of playing and chatting with Lilith.
Lilith watched him as he slept. She checked her wristwatch and noticed it was getting late.
"Why is Lara taking so long?" she muttered.
She leaned back tiredly in her chair. It hadn't been easy getting the little guy to fall asleep. Her gaze shifted to Dante, who was seated nearby, staring into space.
Curious about what was going on in his head, she spoke.
"Hey, Dante."
He turned to her with a questioning hum.
She paused, eyes wide as she stared at him. When she was younger, she had tried countless times to get Dante to play with her, but he had always pushed her away.
"I actually thought you weren't breathing anymore," she said, rolling her eyes.
"I don't have time to play with you, Lilith."
She stood up to challenge him. "Have you ever played with me?"
He met her gaze briefly, then looked away.
Annoyed, she walked up to him and stood in front of him, blocking his view.
"Why do you always prefer to stay quiet?"
They locked eyes. The intense stare lingered before Dante finally looked away.
"What's so hard for you to understand?" he said. "I just don't like talking."
"Why exactly?"
"Did you stay back so you could speak with me?" he asked, diverting the topic.
She went speechless, her mouth falling open as she blushed.
Dante smirked, clearly pleased that he had succeeded in silencing her.
"You should count yourself lucky. I haven't spoken to an outsider the way I've spoken to you. I'd appreciate it if you did me the honor of keeping quiet—or better yet, stop annoying me. I hate noise."
His words snapped her out of her trance. Angered, she grabbed his shirt.
"So what you're saying is that nobody is good enough to talk to you?" she asked.
He looked away again, which only fueled her anger. She couldn't understand how someone could be so rude and nonchalant.
"And you called me annoying," she continued. "From today onward, I'm going to annoy you even more."
"Get your hands off my shirt, Lilith."
She shivered as he said her name, loving the way it rolled off his tongue.
"And if I don't?" she asked. "What are you going to do?"
"Do you want to find out?"
A sense of danger flickered inside her, but her stubbornness refused to give in.
He pulled her toward him, and she ended up sitting on his lap, one arm firmly wrapped around her waist.
Startled by his sudden action, she began to wiggle in his grip.
"Why are you struggling?" he whispered coldly. "I thought you wanted to see what I'd do. And why are you pretending this isn't what you've wanted all along?"
"Dante, I don't know what you're talking about. Let go of me this instant."
"I know you like me, Lilith. Just say it instead of annoying me. Who knows? I might give you a chance."
"You pervert. If you don't let go of me now, I'll scream."
He leaned closer, their lips almost brushing. She froze, goosebumps spreading across her skin as his breath caressed her face.
"You're dying to kiss me, right?" he whispered.
She felt hypnotized, unable to speak, her breath stolen away.
They were so lost in each other that they didn't notice when Lara and Vicky entered the room.
The moment they did, Dante released her. Lilith jumped off him as if she'd been burned.