novelraw Chapter 308 --308
Chapter 308 --308
She finished securing the bandage and flexed her fingers experimentally—painful, but manageable.
"At least I bought plenty of food," she muttered. "I’m going to stress-eat about this ridiculous injury."
She walked back into the main room and pulled out some of her purchased treats—candied ginger, roasted nuts, and some honey cakes.
Using her LEFT hand (since her right was now bandaged and useless), she began eating to comfort herself.
The System settled beside her and said, "At least you predicted this would happen and came prepared with medicine and bandages."
"Small comfort," Heena grumbled around a mouthful of honey cake. "I’m still injured because of SOAP. SOAP! The indignity of it!"
---
’’[Samuel’s Return]’’
About an hour later, Samuel returned to their quarters after a long day of business meetings and dealing with the legal aftermath of Driver Li’s arrest.
He looked exhausted but satisfied—things were progressing well with his plans.
As he entered the room, he immediately noticed Heena sitting on her sleeping mat, surrounded by various foods and treats, eating awkwardly with her left hand while her right wrist was wrapped in bandages.
Samuel stopped in his tracks and frowned deeply.
"What happened to your wrist?" he asked immediately, genuine concern in his voice.
Heena looked up at him, her mouth full of candied fruit, and swallowed before answering.
"Oh, this? Just a minor accident. Nothing serious."
Samuel walked closer, his frown intensifying as he examined the bandage.
"That doesn’t look minor. That looks like a proper sprain—there’s swelling visible even through the wrapping. What happened? Did someone attack you in the market?"
Heena could see the immediate protective anger rising in his expression—the assumption that someone had dared to hurt his wife.
She actually felt a small, warm feeling in her chest at that concern, which was annoying because she was supposed to maintain emotional distance.
"No, no one attacked me," she said quickly. "I just... had a small accident while bathing. My hand slipped and twisted awkwardly. It’s fine, really. I’ve already applied medicine and wrapped it properly."
Samuel looked skeptical. "Your hand ’slipped’ badly enough to cause that much swelling and bruising?"
’Yes, because the universe decided to punish me for slapping the heroine,’ Heena thought sarcastically.
Out loud, she just said, "Apparently I’m clumsier than I realized. These things happen."
Samuel sat down beside her, still looking concerned.
"You should have had a physician look at it. What if it’s broken instead of just sprained?"
"It’s not broken," Heena said with certainty. "I know the difference. I’ve had enough injuries in my life to recognize a sprain versus a break."
That statement made Samuel look at her with increased curiosity, but he didn’t push for details about her mysterious past.
Instead, he reached out gently and said, "May I?"
Heena hesitated, then extended her bandaged wrist.
Samuel carefully examined it with surprisingly gentle hands, checking the tightness of the bandage, the position of her fingers, the degree of swelling.
"You did a good job with the wrapping," he admitted. "Proper compression and support. And I can smell the medicinal balm—you used good quality medicine."
"I bought it today at the market," Heena said. "Along with all this food."
Samuel finally noticed the impressive spread of treats surrounding her.
"You certainly did go shopping," he observed with a hint of amusement. "Though I notice you bought exclusively food and medicine, and absolutely nothing decorative or fashionable."
Heena shrugged with her good shoulder. "I have my priorities. Staying fed and healthy is more important than looking pretty."
Samuel picked up one of the honey cakes and examined it. "May I?"
"Go ahead," Heena said. "I bought plenty. Help yourself."
Samuel took a bite and his eyebrows rose in appreciation.
"This is actually quite good. Much better than what our household kitchen produces."
"RIGHT?!" Heena said with enthusiasm. "THANK you! I’ve been saying the food here is mediocre at best, but everyone acts like I’m being ungrateful when I mention it!"
Samuel smiled at her passionate response about food quality.
"So your shopping trip was successful, then? You found what you were looking for?"
There was a subtle question beneath the surface—he was asking if her REAL objective (investigating Maya’s background) had been successful, not just whether she’d found good snacks.
Heena understood the subtext and nodded.
Heena looked at Samuel with a slightly tilted head, her expression suddenly shifting from casual conversation about honey cakes to something far more... deliberate.
She slowly loosened the ties of her sleeping robe, letting it fall open enough that her chest area became visible—not completely exposed, but suggestively revealed. The fabric draped artfully across her collarbones and shoulders.
She placed one hand on the bed support for balance and leaned forward slightly, resting her face against her hand in a pose that was unmistakably seductive.
Looking at Samuel through her lashes, she said in a deliberately squeaky, sweet voice that dripped with false innocence, "Honey, have you gotten old or something? Why are you sitting so far away from your wife?"
The reaction was immediate and dramatic.
Samuel literally took THREE full steps backward, nearly stumbling over his own feet in his haste to increase the distance between them.
He looked at Heena—who had just bathed, whose hair was still slightly damp and flowing loose around her shoulders, whose robe was artfully disheveled, revealing smooth skin and elegant curves—and his brain apparently short-circuited.
Because objectively speaking, it wasn’t shocking at all to acknowledge that Heena looked absolutely gorgeous right now. The combination of her natural beauty, the vulnerable intimacy of post-bath dishevelment, and the deliberate seductive posing created an image that would make most men’s hearts race.
Samuel stumbled over his words, his usual composed demeanor completely shattered: "W-what are you doing?! Why are you—what—"
Hearing that flustered reaction, Heena’s smile widened predatorily.
She slowly stood up from the bed and walked toward him with deliberate grace—the kind of movement that drew the eye, that spoke of confidence and sensuality and complete awareness of the effect she was having.
Anyone looking at her right now could definitely say without hesitation: ’This woman knows EXACTLY what she’s doing, and she’s very, very good at it.’
She looked at Samuel and said, her voice dropping to a lower, more intimate register, "More than what I’m doing, honey... what are YOU doing? Why are you backing away from your own wife?"
Hearing that direct question, Samuel looked even more panicked.
His eyes involuntarily tracked downward for a fraction of a second—taking in the exposed shoulder where the robe had slipped, the curve of her collarbone, the suggestion of what lay beneath the loosened fabric—before he forcibly yanked his gaze back up to her face.
"You—you need to—" he stammered.
Heena reached up with deliberate slowness and adjusted her robe—but instead of pulling it closed to be more modest, she somehow made the gesture even MORE provocative by letting it slip further down one shoulder.
Now it was completely visible that she was wearing very little underneath, and the curve of her chest was openly displayed.
She looked at Samuel with wide, innocent eyes and said sweetly, "What’s wrong, honey? We’re married, aren’t we? Husband and wife? What’s so shocking about a wife dressing comfortably in her own home?"