Camilla kept her face completely blank, but inside her head, she was rolling her eyes so hard they almost hurt.

"Another drama queen," Camilla thought to herself, her internal voice completely unimpressed. "Just another fake actor after that pink puppy, Isabel. Why is this novel filled with so many people who love to pretend?"

She looked at his hand resting lightly on the sleeve of her yellow dress. She wanted to snap his fingers backward. But she knew that playing a game was much more fun than just hitting someone.

Camilla put on a very sweet, very gentle smile. She softly pulled her arm away from his touch, acting like a shy, polite lady.

"Don’t worry, Garren," Camilla spoke out loud. Her voice was as soft and sweet as honey. She looked at him with innocent, grateful eyes. "Thank you for all you have done. It is very kind of you to visit Zade."

She turned away from him and walked slowly toward a small table near the window. A large crystal pitcher of fresh, room-temperature water and several clean glasses were resting on a silver tray.

"I think it is time to teach him some lessons," Camilla thought to herself. A cold, dangerous smirk formed in her mind. "If you want to play games with me, pretty boy, you better be ready to lose."

Garren stood near the bed, watching her walk away. He saw her sweet smile and her polite bow. He completely bought her act. He thought she was deeply touched by his words.

"She is still too naive and foolish," Garren thought to himself. His internal voice was incredibly smug, greedy, and arrogant. He looked at her simple yellow dress.

"She is just a sad, lonely girl trapped with a monster," Garren’s thoughts continued, his eyes flashing with secret greed. "She doesn’t suspect a single thing. I have to find a way to make her push the divorce as soon as possible. With Zade injured, she is emotionally weak. I have to seize this golden opportunity during this crucial time. Once she signs those papers and marry me, her secret fortune will finally be mine."

Garren smiled a highly satisfied smile. He was already planning how to spend her gold.

Camilla picked up the crystal pitcher. She poured the clear water into a clean glass.

She walked back across the room. She held the glass out toward Garren with both hands, looking like a perfect, caring host.

"You must be parched from your journey here," Camilla said softly. "Here, have this glass of water."

Garren smiled his brightest, most charming smile. He reached out and took the crystal glass from her hands. His fingers purposely brushed lightly against hers.

As he held the glass, Camilla looked directly into his eyes. She prepared her magical jinx.

"Drink slowly so that it doesn’t burn your mouth," Camilla said out loud. Her voice was full of gentle, fake concern. She paused for a tiny second. "I hope it doesn’t happen."

Garren let out a soft, highly amused chuckle. He looked at the glass of clear, room-temperature water.

"You are so thoughtful, Camilla," Garren said, trying to sound deeply moved by her simple care. He thought she was just being overly sweet and silly. How could normal water burn his mouth?

Camilla smiled her wicked, beautiful smile. "Aren’t I?" she replied softly.

Garren lifted the glass to his lips. He tilted his head back and took a very large, confident gulp of the water.

The moment the water passed his lips and touched his tongue, it completely changed. It was no longer room-temperature water. To Garren, it instantly felt like boiling, bubbling, scalding hot acid.

Garren’s eyes widened in pure, absolute horror.

He did not even have time to swallow. The intense, burning pain shocked his entire nervous system.

Pffft!

Garren violently spat the water directly out of his mouth. The liquid sprayed wildly across the wooden floor. He dropped the crystal glass. It hit the floorboards and shattered into dozens of sharp pieces.

Crash!

Garren grabbed his own face with both hands. He began to jump up and down in the middle of the room like a madman.

"My mouth! My mouth!" Garren screamed at the top of his lungs.

His charming, handsome face was completely ruined by pain. His lips instantly turned a bright, swollen, angry shade of red. Tears streamed down his cheeks. He opened his mouth wide, panting heavily, trying to pull cool air over his burned tongue.

"Help me!" Garren shouted, his voice muffled and distorted by his swollen lips. "It burns! Ahhhh!"

Zade, lying in the bed, jumped in surprise. He looked completely confused. He stared at his friend jumping around the room.

"Garren? What is wrong?" Zade asked, his eyes wide behind his bandages. "It’s just water!"

Camilla quickly covered her mouth with her hands. She put on a face of absolute, total panic. But behind her hands, she was biting her lip hard to stop herself from laughing out loud. The physical comedy was absolutely hilarious.

"Oh my God!" Camilla shouted, acting completely terrified. "Garren! Are you okay?"

She quickly looked around the room, pretending to search for something to help him.

Her eyes landed on a table near the edge of Zade’s bed. Resting on the table was a damp, crumpled piece of white cloth.

It was the exact same cloth Zade had used earlier. After Camilla had dumped the freezing cold bucket of water on his head to cure his "fever," Zade had caught a slight cold. His nose had been running continuously. He had spent the last thirty minutes blowing his runny nose into that specific cloth. It was completely soaked with sticky mucus.

Camilla did not hesitate. She rushed over to the table and picked the damp, snotty cloth with her fingertips.

She ran over to Garren, who was still bending over, holding his knees and groaning in pain.

"Take this!" Camilla urged him loudly, pushing the damp cloth directly into his hands. "Quickly! Pat your mouth dry! It will help cool the burn!"

Garren was in far too much pain to look at what she was handing him. He just felt a cool, damp cloth.

He snatched it from her hands gratefully. He immediately pressed the crumpled cloth hard against his burning, red lips. He rubbed it vigorously over his mouth and chin, trying to wipe away the stinging pain.

He patted his mouth dry for a few seconds. The coolness of the damp cloth actually helped soothe the terrible burn a little bit.

Slowly, Garren stopped jumping. He stood up straight, breathing heavily through his nose. He kept the cloth pressed against his lower lip.

"Camilla," Garren called out. His voice sounded thick and strange because his lips were so swollen. He sounded like he had stuffed cotton in his cheeks.

"Hmmm?" Camilla answered sweetly, stepping closer to him.

Garren pulled the cloth away from his face. He looked down at it. He rubbed his thumb and forefinger together over the fabric.

"Why does this cloth feel different?" Garren asked, his eyes filled with sudden confusion. He looked at his fingers. "It feels... sticky. And slimy."

From the bed, Zade finally got a good look at the cloth Garren was holding in his hands.

His eyes widened in absolute horror. His stomach did a sudden, sick flip.

"Haa!" Zade exclaimed loudly, pointing a shaking, bruised finger at the cloth. "Garren! That’s my..."

Camilla quickly turned around. She raised her hand and completely cut Zade off before he could finish his sentence. She wanted to deliver the punchline herself.

She turned back to Garren. She put both hands over her heart. She made her face look incredibly guilty and deeply sorry.

"I’m so sorry, Garren," Camilla confessed, her voice shaking with fake apologies.

She pointed at the slimy cloth in his hands.

"That is the cloth Zade used to blow his nose," Camilla explained clearly, making sure he understood exactly what he had just rubbed all over his mouth. "He caught a slight cold just now from some cold water, and he has used it extensively. I am so sorry. I was in such a huge hurry to help relieve your pain that I simply didn’t see what I was doing."

The room went deadly silent.

Garren froze completely.

He stared down at the sticky, wet cloth in his hands. He realized exactly what the slimy texture was. He realized he had just aggressively rubbed another grown man’s thick, sick mucus directly onto his own swollen lips and tongue.

His face rapidly changed colors. He went from red, to a pale, sickly white, and finally settled on a bright, terrible shade of green.

Garren dropped the snotty cloth onto the floor as if it were a poisonous snake.

His stomach heaved violently. He clapped both hands tightly over his mouth. His eyes bulged out of his head.

He did not say a word. He spun around wildly. He saw the door that led to Zade’s washroom. He ran across the bedroom faster than a hunting dog. He crashed through the washroom door and slammed it shut behind him.

A second later, loud, violent, echoing sounds of intense vomiting filled the quiet bedroom.

BLEGH!

Camilla stood in the middle of the room. She dropped her fake, guilty expression instantly.

She crossed her arms over her chest. She listened to the terrible sounds coming from the washroom.

"You want to enjoy money that you didn’t work for," Camilla thought to herself, her internal voice completely cold and full of deep disgust. "You want to trick a girl into marriage just to steal her inheritance. How absolutely pathetic. You deserve to eat snot."