Chapter 34

The overlord stretched his arm out to look at the watch on his wrist. "Twenty minutes," he decided.

Daniel Craig gave a hum of acknowledgement and then the sound of his fading footsteps echoed around the room.

By this time, Lily had already made her way into the bathroom and was observing her reflection in the mirror, taking in the haggard appearance of her face and the dark bruises lining her neck. She frowned and splashed a bit of water on her cheeks. A clear, blue sky taunted her from outside the window. Somewhere close by in the trees, birds were chirping cheerfully. The expansive freedom of the world outside, once hers but now unattainable, caused her to tighten her hands into clenched fists and begin punching the surface of the water in the sink.

Eventually, she would escape. Eventually.

As she exited the bathroom, she heard Di Mo say, "Come here."

He was sitting at the edge of the bed, hair dripping wet, clad in nothing but a towel. A pair of clothes lay next to him, presumably just delivered by someone. She walked over and grabbed a towel that lay on top of them and began drying his hair. Lily hadn't learned much in her life aside from petty crime, but she considered herself quite intuitive and good at predicting what people wanted from their body language.

Meanwhile, Di Mo had clenched his fists tightly and was about to strike her, but he held himself back and slowly unfurled his fingers. He had been taken care of all these years and was no stranger to servants dressing him, but he had always been touchy about his head. No one was allowed to come near it, the reason being that he considered the skull the weakest part of the human body — it could not handle damage, a fact that made him feel uneasy and exposed.

Yet Lily's touch was gentle as she swished the towel back and forth through his hair. He felt his instinctual reaction taper off. Perhaps it was because of the unguarded way the two of them had spent the night in each other's arms, or because of some other unknown reason; either way, Di Mo found that he felt no danger, and silently allowed Lily to continue.

Lily was unaware of the internal turmoil her actions were stirring up inside the man before her; she had no idea how close to pushing the wrong button she had come. After she finished drying his hair, she grabbed the clothes beside him and hesitated for just a second before narrowing her eyes determinedly and untying his bath towel. The sight of Di Mo's nakedness made her face heat. In all her years alive, she had never actually seen a man naked from top to bottom.

The overlord had no reaction whatsoever, waiting calmly for her to dress him as if it was a perfectly normal task. His lack of concern for modesty prompted Lily to gather herself together and proceed with the dressing, one article of clothing after another.

Despite her attempts to avoid looking at him, she unintentionally caught glimpses of golden-colored skin. It was impossible to ignore the myriad of glaring scars that marred its otherwise smooth surface — pale, circular splotches that resembled cigarette burns and long, narrow lines criss-crossed across his chest and all over his legs. They were old scars; pale, but not too noticeable, but even so, they looked malevolent and sinister.

It seemed to Lily then, that he hadn't always been the powerful Di overlord that no one touched and everyone served. She couldn't help raising her eyebrows bemusedly, wondering what kinds of experiences had left the man with such profound scars.

After she finished dressing him, Di Mo got up and left the room without acknowledging her existence, his face devoid of any facial expressions. Lily briefly straightened up her own clothes before following him.

She decided that from today, escaping would not be her top priority. She needed to figure out where Misha was. She doubted Di Mo was really going to let the other girl off the hook.

"How are you?" Deep in thought, she jumped at the voice, then saw Daniel Craig appear from around the corner.

She scowled, pointing at her neck. "Are you blind?" Her voice came out casually, as if she were talking about the weather.

He had, of course, noticed the wounds on her neck. If he were to be honest with himself, the wholly uncharacteristically calm manner in which Lily answered him was unnerving. Her typically expression-filled face revealed nothing, and Daniel Craig found that it scared him to not be able to figure out what she was thinking. Her sudden silence triggered his suspicion that she was up to something.

Lily swept a cool glance over him and then looked straight ahead, moving to shoulder past him. She despised being threatened, coerced, and controlled by others, and while there was nothing she could do about Di Mo due to his power, Daniel Craig was another story. She was pissed off and in a mood and she needed to throw her attitude at someone.

"The boss has always had insomnia and can never fall asleep, but he seems to be able to rest well holding you."

Daniel Craig's quiet words stopped her in her tracks. She swiveled around to see him staring directly at her. "Don't fight him, and don't even think about leaving," he continued, speaking slowly and deliberately. "The boss doesn't treat his own people unfairly, but if you want to make yourself his enemy, death is not going to be the worst thing that happens to you. You should know what I'm getting at."

"Are you threatening me?" She asked coldly, leveling her gaze.