Chapter 5

Adonis was a light sleeper, so he woke up very quickly due to those movements. He could tell who had gotten into his bed the moment he detected the familiar scent of Meredith's perfume coming from her collar. "Sis?" Why would she suddenly barge in and start kissing him? His whole body went rigid. Before he could react, he heard Meredith's husky voice that was mixed with heavy breaths as she muttered, "Nic…" Upon hearing that, his entire body froze. The strong smell of alcohol made him instantly realize what was going on—Meredith had mistaken him for Nicholas because she was drunk. While he was momentarily lost in thought, Meredith's hands began to move lower. Panic overwhelmed him. He grabbed the hand that was wandering around his waist and tried to push her away, his voice filled with urgency. "Sis, you've got the wrong person. I'm Adonis!" Either because Meredith was too drunk to understand or because his resistance triggered her need for control, her kisses only grew more intense. She sucked on his soft lips, nibbling lightly. Adonis could barely breathe. His wound tore open, sending waves of sharp pain through his body. "Sis, you're hurting me… My wound hurts…" Whether it was the effect of the alcohol wearing off or because his cries reached her, Meredith's body stiffened, and she finally let go. … When Adonis opened his eyes the next afternoon, he saw Meredith standing before him with an unreadable expression. The events of last night came flooding back, and he jumped back a few steps in fright. Upon seeing his reaction, a trace of coldness flickered in Meredith's eyes. "Did you drag me into your room last night?" Adonis was dumbfounded by her question and was about to explain when he saw her frown deepen. Meredith warned, "Don't ever have those kinds of thoughts again. If you do, I'll make you move out." She looked so certain that he was the one in the wrong. So, Adonis bit back the words "You were drunk" that lingered on the tip of his tongue and chose not to argue. After all, he had stolen a kiss from her that one time. No matter how he explained, she probably wouldn't believe him. Thus, he gave up on explaining and shut his mouth. Their shadows overlapped on the floor, and Adonis noticed the shadow opposite him seemed to raise a hand. He couldn't help but look up. Meredith's hand hovered just above his head as if she were about to pat him. Adonis froze, eyes wide in disbelief. When he was a child, every time he missed his family, he cried until he couldn't breathe, and during those moments of overwhelming sadness, Meredith would gently pat his head and comfort him. It had become an unspoken form of interaction that denoted tenderness and fondness between them. But ever since he turned 17, they'd had hardly any physical contact. Adonis was so tense that he almost stopped breathing. But in the next second, Meredith's hand lifted a few inches higher and pulled a bottle of red wine from the cabinet behind him. Adonis smiled bitterly at himself upon realizing that he'd just been imagining things. As Adonis had been in a rush to sell, the items he put up for sale and the Solheim residence were all listed below market price. As a result, everything was sold quickly. He had gathered over 90 thousand dollars but was still short by about 10 thousand of the amount he had planned to repay. Adonis was leaving the country soon, so there wasn't much time left. That shortfall would be hard to come by. Although he was just an art student and still a newcomer, he had won many awards over the years and was fairly well-known in the industry. Therefore, he decided to hold an art exhibition to sell his paintings. It would be difficult for him to organize it on his own in such a short time. Thus, he turned to Meredith for help. Nicholas happened to overhear him. With a surprised look, he smiled and offered, "It just so happens that I'm having an exhibition too. Why don't we hold it together?" Adonis glanced at Meredith. Upon seeing that she didn't hold any objections, he agreed. Five days later, Adonis and Nicholas held their joint exhibition at the art gallery. Nicholas, who had studied painting for over a decade, was holding his first major exhibition. Because of that, Meredith put a lot of effort into his art exhibition. She secured the spacious main hall, which was about one thousand square feet, just for him. In addition, she carefully designed the layout and used all means to promote Nicholas' art exhibition. On the opening day, the number of social elites and renowned art figures attending broke the art gallery's attendance record. Meanwhile, Adonis' art exhibition, which was held in the relatively small side hall, shared a different fate. The cramped room, measuring about 100 square feet, was packed with nearly a hundred paintings. It was so crowded that people could barely move in there. Hardly anyone came in to look, let alone to bid on his paintings. Adonis stood at the door, watching the bustling scene in the main hall from afar with crestfallen eyes full of sadness. Some friends who had come to help out were about to comfort him when a scream suddenly came from inside the room. "Adonis, come look at this! This is bad!"