"What did I say that made you question my honesty?" Bernard asked.
Hera remembered the awkward moment she and Bernard shared at the hot spring resort and said, "You pushed me away at the hot spring resort back then!"
Bernard fell silent. It was as he expected. She'd misunderstood him.
With a flick of his hand, he locked the office door. Then, he slowly approached her.
"Sweetie, have you forgotten how old you are?"
Hera moved backward, but the heavy rosewood table blocked her path, and she had nowhere to go.
Meanwhile, Bernard continued advancing on her.
He leaned down close to the side of her face, then whispered into her ear, "Your brother looks at me as if I were his rival. If I didn't push you away, he would've stabbed me to death."
His warm breath fanned her ear. It was tingling, and it stirred her heart.
She instantly grabbed a hold of herself. Wasn't she the one who should be questioning him right now?
Hera leaned back and gripped the edge of the table with her hands. She stared at Bernard warily.
She managed to say, "But you even left with your lover just two days ago!"
Bernard couldn't decide if he should be annoyed or amused by that.
Eventually, he said, "Do you know how many people want to get close to me daily? Men and women—there is no exception. They come up with lots of strange excuses every time. Surely they can't all be my lovers, right?"
Hera was flabbergasted. She pondered why he sounded as though he were proud of that fact.
"Don't worry. I've always been waiting for you," said Bernard, tilting her chin upward.
With his gaze locked on her lips, he gently brushed his thumb over them as if trying to remember what the kiss just now felt like.
Hera wavered.
"Really?" she asked, still slightly suspicious.
Her response rendered Bernard speechless.
A moment later, he said, "Are you sure you want to discuss this?"
Hera paused briefly before telling him, "Then why don't you let go of me first?"
The corner of Bernard's mouth tilted upward into a smile. Suddenly, he leaned in closer to her.
Thinking that he was going to kiss her again, Hera placed her hands on his chest to push him away. But before she could do so, she felt the warm touch of his lips against her forehead.
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