Chapter 78

Van's anger flared when he heard this, and he stared at her for a long moment before, without warning, reaching out and placing his hand on her forehead. "Your fever still hasn't gone down. Take some more medicine." This was the best excuse he could come up with. Winnie choked on her words, and a hint of red slowly appeared on her pale face. Just as she was about to argue, Van calmly added, stretching out his hand, "Give me your passport." "No!" "Still planning to run?" Van lowered his head slightly, locking his gaze on hers. Winnie flushed with embarrassment. "I'm not running, I swear... but can I not give you my passport?" Her passport was tightly clenched in her palm. It had been newly replaced and should have looked crisp and fresh, but the cover had already been wrinkled from the way she had just handled it. Handing over this passport, which seemed to betray her emotions, made her feel deeply embarrassed. Van's hand remained outstretched, his black leather glove facing up, palm open. "Hand it over. I don't want to come back and find you gone." Winnie froze. She didn't dare think too much about what Van meant by that. She couldn't understand. After all, they only had a contractual relationship, so why did he always say these ambiguous things that made her misunderstand? A bitter sensation rose in her chest. Hesitantly, unwillingly, she pulled out the passport, her eyes not daring to meet his. Van took it, glanced at the creases on the cover, and slipped it into his coat pocket. He smirked and then continued, "There's one more thing. You still haven't called me by my name." "Va..." Winnie hesitated for a moment, the final syllable lingering on her tongue. "Is the word hard to say, or just unpleasant to hear?" Van asked calmly. "No, it sounds nice," Winnie, as expected, fell into his trap. "Van, Van..." she murmured the name twice, her face lighting up. "Very catchy." Van raised an eyebrow. Winnie felt her body tense under his gaze and realized she had indeed called him by his name. Her heart couldn't stop racing. Her eyes darted away in haste but then returned, locking with his in quiet exchange. The carpet was patterned with white camellias, the winter sunlight faintly tracing their outlines on the fabric. Her coat was a deep green, cinched at the waist with an A-line skirt. Her face was so pale, her lips and the tip of her nose dusted with a light pink hue, making her look like a white spring flower blooming in the cold winter of Germany. An hour ago, Van had stepped out to take another call and headed to a meeting, leaving Winnie bored out of her mind, lying on the couch flipping through a magazine. The hotel doorbell rescued her from her monotony. A woman, around forty years old, entered wearing red high heels. Anna removed her red sunglasses and extended her hands to shake Winnie's. 'Hello, Miss Loxley. I'm Anna. I'm a friend of Mr. Marlowe's." 'Hello, Anna," Winnie greeted her, a bit reserved, instinctively keeping some social distance. 'You're the first girlfriend Van has ever introduced to anyone," Anna said, her tone warm and flattering to lighten the mood. 'I'm not…" Winnie's first reaction was to deny it, but remembering the contract's terms, she swallowed her words and instead asked, 'Didn't you meet his last girlfriend?" 'I did, but she was never welcomed like this," Anna said with a sly smile. 'She wasn't as beautiful as you—by a long shot." Winnie pressed her lips together, unable to hide her good mood. Eventually, she broke into a full smile. 'But didn't Mr. Marlowe protect his last girlfriend very well? How did you meet her?" 'That time, he came to Germany alone to evaluate a potential partner. His girlfriend must have flown in from the UK just to see him. But he was so busy that she pretended to be one of his staff. Van thought no one noticed, but honestly, we all knew." Winnie maintained her polite smile. 'Sounds romantic." 'Not at all," Anna corrected earnestly. 'Van takes his work very seriously—he doesn't play into that sort of thing. They ended up arguing, and she stormed off that very night." Winnie hadn't expected things to unfold like this and asked, 'And then?" 'No idea," Anna shrugged. 'Maybe he flew to the UK to patch things up with her."