When Lina heard his repeated question the chuckle that erupted from her mouth was scarier than what she had expected it to sound like.

'Why did I just sound like mommy would after I did something to mess with her?' She cringed at the thought of becoming more like her mother as she grew older.

However, if her father Simon was here to witness her in this state then he would certainly call the mother-daughter pair to be twins for their strikingly similar behavioral traits.

"Because I read those books you thought that I want to be treated in the same way?" She questioned with an eerie smile soon appearing on her face.

Reuben gulped his saliva and did not dare to utter a single word in case he spoke and furthered his chances of messing things up.

Looking at this silent and obedient face of his, Lina scoffed and then sat on the bed with her feet crossed one over the other.

"Listen here, Mister!" She called out to ensure that she had his total and complete attention on her as she began her explanation.

"I may read those books because I am curious about what might happen next, but that does not mean that I want to be treated that way." She began her monologue and glared at Reuben.

"Those stories immerse me in a different world which makes me forget about my boring life." She explained why she loved those novels.

"They make me laugh, cry, and even want to plan the murder of the characters whom I dislike and sometimes even loathe." She gritted her teeth thinking of some antagonistic characters.

"Sure, I want the cute romantic things that the male lead does to or for the female lead." She chuckled sheepishly after revealing her fantasy.

Nevertheless, in the next second, she narrowed her eyes and focused those dark hazel eyes onto the man who was sitting before her.

"But that does not mean that I will tolerate being treated like those weak women who could not stand up for themselves!" She growled at him resolutely.

Reuben gave her a frantic nod to show that he had understood his mistake.

'The good parts but not the creepy stalker parts? Got it!' He nodded once again after making a mental note of this point.

"Kitten, I may not understand your obsession with these books but I will make sure that our romance will be much better than those of the lead characters." He uttered as though it was a pledge that he was keen on fulfilling.

Lina's anger faded in an instant when she heard his words.

'That's all I want! A romance filled with fluff and zero angst.' She remarked in her heart.

Yet she did not let the glare and the frown on her face disappear.

Reuben was now confused when he noticed that she was still glaring at him even after he had realized his mistake.

"Did I do something else that must have troubled you?" He inquired and was ready to listen to what she had to say.

"Ruby… About what happened earlier…" She muttered and saw Reuben's expressions become solemn.

'I need to give her a proper explanation for why I did that.' He determined and that was what he intended to do.

He took a deep breath and then held Lina's hand in his.

Lina looked at her hands that were enclosed in his large palms and a subtle smile materialized on her face.

"Kitten, I am sorry for what I did. I never meant to hurt you and that mark just proves that I failed to protect you." He apologized with a bitter smile while looking at the prints on her throat.

Lina shook her head and was about to speak words of comfort to alleviate his guilt when he pressed her hands a little tighter.

Getting the idea that he needed to finish what he wished to say, Lina did not speak up and stayed quiet while he continued.

"I need to be honest with you about something." He disclosed and Lina felt an ominous feeling envelope her heart.

'What does he want to say?' Her heart began pounding when she saw the grave expression on his face.

"As you know that I am a virgin…" His first statement almost made Lina fall off the bed.

'What the hell is he trying to say!?' She wondered with her eyes wide open.

However, when she heard his explanation she felt a fire burning in her soul

"The incident you witnessed with Talia was not the first time that I was drugged." He disclosed in an indignant voice.

Lina could feel his emotions shifting to ones of fury and anger as he was most likely remembering those awful moments.

'He did mention something about Talia not being the first one to drug him.' She recalled what he had said before he locked himself in the bathroom that night.

Reuben's brows furrowed as he thought back to all the times that he had suffered because some people wanted to take advantage of him when he was in that weak state.

"There are multiple people waiting to watch me fall so that they might step on me to get to the top." He shook his head as he said those words.

Lina frowned and then scooted closer to him and hugged him tightly.

His warm body temperature permeated through his clothes and seeped towards her.

"Ruby, there will always be someone who is jealous of what you have." She patted his back to make him feel better.

"We need to be careful of who we trust and how we make our moves to keep ourselves safe." She consoled him using her father's words.

Her caring gesture and her kind words dissipated the anger rising inside him and he wrapped his arms around her.

"Those are some wise words." He assessed and appreciated her method of calming him down in an instant.

"So when I felt someone in my room, I did what I thought was the best to keep me safe." He let out the reason for the entire choking incident.

Lina knew that she too was at fault for barging into his living space without informing him.

"I too am sorry for coming here unannounced." She whispered and then buried her face in the crook of his neck.

When Reuben felt her hot breath fanning over his already sensitive neck, he felt his self-control become nonexistent due to weak physical state.

"I was scared when I first saw that menacing side of yours." She divulged her fears.

Reuben's arm which was rubbing her back froze when he heard her revelation.

"But then again… You are a powerful man with many enemies lurking around in dark corners." She playfully chuckled and looked up at his side profile.

"I can understand if you have to be wary of everyone around you." She smiled and hugged him once again.

'Daddy too has to deal with his rivals so I get that being ruthless is a necessity of this trade.' She reminded herself of the schemes that she had witnessed against her family members.

The need to reach the top spot made people do some devious things that could not be considered ethical on any grounds.

"You can defend yourself all you want, in fact, even I will be there to protect you from now onwards. Just like a shield!" She announced and Reuben felt warmth spreading through his heart.

'Though she is the daughter of the Yang clan, she is a jewelry designer who recently returned to the country. There is no way that I will allow her to be my shield in this ruthless business world.' He concluded his thoughts.

Unaware of his thoughts, Lina continued to boost his low morale.

"So don't worry about anything else and just concentrate on getting better." She finished her speech and was about to let go of the hug but noticed that she couldn't.

Reuben held onto her waist tighter and pulled her closer to his body.

When Lina observed the change in the pressure around her body, she blushed before patting his shoulder indicating him to let go of the hug.

"You are sick and need rest!" She reminded him as her fingers went upwards and touched the red skin around her throat.

Reuben did not fight her but instead, he pulled her hand away from her neck and picked up the damp towelette.

Holding the towelette in his hand, he gently brought to her neck and began dabbing it on her irritated skin.

"Ouch!" Lina hissed when she felt the cold cloth on her throat.

Reuben moved his hand away when he heard her pained voice.

"Baby… We need to soothe the inflammation and swelling before it worsens." He cajoled her and went back to pressing the towel over her skin.

Hearing him call her 'baby' made Lina's heart to thump loud enough that even Reuben could hear it.

Reuben was amused when he saw her face turning pink as she attempted to avoid making eye contact.

"You look so good when you turn pink in my presence." He murmured in a volume which was certainly audible to her.

Lina felt more flustered than she had ever felt before in her entire life.

The throaty chuckle that erupted in the room made Lina freeze as she stared at this sick patient's face.

'Why does he have to look good even when he is ill?' She cursed his good looks and this time averted her eyes for good.

'Why am I sick!?' Reuben cursed his sickness as now he wouldn't be able to kiss his Kitten until she was left in a daze.