Tempting Him to Lose Control

Chapter 127: Chapter 127: Avoiding the Smoldering Man

Claire Kendall stood there with her toothbrush in her mouth, staring at the two small black garments for a good half-minute.

She reached out and touched them. They were slightly damp, not completely dry. They must have been washed just last night, and they carried the faint, familiar scent of laundry detergent.

Her mind was a bit foggy.

’Did I really wash them? But why don’t I have any memory of it at all?’

’Could it be that I was so exhausted from the hospital that I blacked out? Or did I sleepwalk?’

Claire Kendall tried hard to remember as she washed up, but her mind was still a complete blank on the matter.

The only thing in her head were images from the chaotic dreams she’d had last night.

Miles Warren holding her hand, guiding it to touch those secret places.

So lewd and forceful...

She stared at her slightly red palm. ’I must be going crazy. Even my dreams feel real.’

She spat out the toothpaste foam and splashed her face with cold water, barely managing to regain her composure.

After changing, she walked out of the bedroom, only to freeze in place once again.

The pile of takeout boxes on the coffee table was gone. Even the trash can had a new liner. The unpleasant smell of leftover food was gone, replaced by a clean, fresh scent.

Now Claire Kendall was sure she hadn’t done any of this. Even if she were sleepwalking, she wasn’t this diligent.

The most impossible thought surfaced in her mind.

’Did Miles Warren really come back last night?’

Even the trash can next to the sofa was in the exact spot he always put it.

So... he was the one who hand-washed her two pieces of underwear.

’What is going on? Aren’t we in the middle of a cold war, about to get a divorce? And he’s washing my panties for me?’

The image of his tall frame standing at the sink, scrubbing her two small, black items... The contrast was...

Claire Kendall bit her lip, her cheeks flushing uncontrollably.

She picked up her phone. ’Maybe I should just send him a simple message, a little pleasantry?’

She opened her chat with Miles Warren. Their last conversation was from a week ago. Her finger hovered over the screen.

She typed some text, deleted it, then typed again, unsure of how to start.

DING-DONG!

A message from a service account came through.

[Ms. Kendall, were you satisfied with the housekeeping service last night?]

Her finger paused. It was a message from the cleaning company.

’The housekeeping service did all this?’

Claire Kendall didn’t even notice the light that had sparked in her eyes gradually dimming.

’So it wasn’t him.’

Claire Kendall replied blandly with an "OK" sticker.

Before leaving, she went to the balcony to refill Clementine’s food bowl as usual.

The little kitten was curled up in its basket, its tail flicking lazily every now and then.

Usually at this time, the little guy would have been bouncing and rubbing against her legs, trying to butter her up for food.

But today, contrary to its usual behavior, it didn’t even glance at her.

"Ginger? Not hungry?" Claire Kendall added food to the bowl. Even when she offered a cat treat, Ginger remained indifferent.

Clementine squinted, licked a paw, and simply rolled over to go back to sleep, looking completely full and satisfied.

Claire Kendall stood up.

’Are housekeeping services this competitive nowadays? They do the laundry and even take care of the cat?’

She grabbed her bag and went to the entryway to change her shoes.

On the entryway console, there was a food bag containing a sandwich.

The edges of the bread were toasted brown. Inside were tomato and chicken breast with mustard sauce. You couldn’t buy this anywhere—it was her favorite combination.

Only Miles Warren knew how to make it.

She took a bite, and the familiar taste filled her mouth.

Claire Kendall looked at the sandwich bag, then opened her phone and stared at the message from the cleaning company for a moment.

"Hah..." Claire Kendall sneered. "What a piece of work."

If Miles Warren really hadn’t wanted her to know he’d been back, he wouldn’t have left this sandwich.

Claire Kendall finished the sandwich, went downstairs, threw the wrapper in a trash can, and took a picture of it.

She posted it to her social feed with the caption: [Gross. Avoid at all costs!]

The comments section immediately blew up.

[Wendy White: Haha, looks like it was really gross. So gross you had to make a whole post about it.]

[Ian Rhodes: Senior, I brought you breakfast.]

[Jonathan Keller: Drop the name of the place so I can avoid it too!]

「In the hospital conference room for the morning meeting.」

The hospital director spoke up, "For the upcoming free clinic, do we have any volunteers? If not, we’ll assign it by department rotation."

Jonathan Keller was secretly scrolling on his phone under the table, thoroughly amused.

A sinister voice suddenly exploded next to his ear.

"Director, Dr. Keller says he wants to go."

The director glanced at Miles Warren, then looked at Jonathan Keller and nodded repeatedly. "Everyone, you should all learn from Dr. Keller’s example!"

Jonathan Keller: ??? ’What heavenly law did I break this time?’

「OCHH office.」

Claire Kendall was checking the orders the company owed to its clients. They were about to clear their debts.

"Senior!" Ian Rhodes sounded anxious. "There’s a problem with the order from Nanjia."

"What is it?" Claire Kendall looked up, frowning.

Nanjia was OCHH’s biggest client at the moment. When Lindsay Joyce had her incident, OCHH was on the verge of collapse, but Nanjia didn’t terminate the contract or kick them while they were down.

They just asked OCHH to deliver the collaborative order for 200,000 dresses as soon as possible.

OCHH’s production lines had almost completely shut down. For this order, Claire Kendall and Ian Rhodes had already contacted a local Aethel outsourcer, Holt Apparel, and were about to sign the contract.

Ian Rhodes said in a low voice, "Holt Apparel backed out. They said their resources are tight and they won’t take our order anymore."

"Why so suddenly?"

"Stella Locke joined the Warren Group, and Mr. Holt is going to partner with them instead."

Claire Kendall’s fingers clenched involuntarily.

Ian Rhodes glanced at her and stammered deliberately, "I heard... it seems Miles Warren was the one who pulled the strings. He personally called Mr. Holt and gave the resources to Stella Locke."

The pen in her hand fell onto the desk with a CLATTER. Her heart felt tight and stuffy, filled with panic.

Stella Locke had just returned to the country to restart her career. Her old flame was certainly being attentive, helping out the one he never got over.

Ian Rhodes asked cautiously, "Senior, I noticed your wedding ring..." He trailed off. "Did you and Dr. Warren have a fight?"

Claire Kendall didn’t answer.

"My orders are all backed up too," he added. "Apex Wear doesn’t have that much capacity."

She forced a smile, pretending to be nonchalant.

"It’s fine. Apex Wear has already helped OCHH a lot. I’ll figure something out for the Nanjia order. If there’s no Holt Apparel, there’s still the Wade Group and the Lennox Group. When God closes a door, he opens a window."

That’s what Claire Kendall said, but inside, she was exploding with bitterness.

’That bastard, Miles Warren! I’m still his wife, for crying out loud, and he’s so blatantly siding with the one he never got over.’

’This is so damn frustrating!’

Claire Kendall suppressed her anger and remained calm. "Wendy, go and set up meetings with these other apparel manufacturers for me."

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