Love Unspoken

Chapter 1204

When Quinn got back, Alexander was already up, sitting by the fire and staring hard at the cave entrance. "Where'd you go?" he asked.

Quinn glanced at the perilla in her arms and plopped down in front of him. "Feelin' any better?"

"Still kickin'," he said, his eyes roaming over her bare shoulders, checking her out from top to bottom.

Quinn caught his look and grabbed a coat from him to cover up, blocking his view.

Alexander chuckled. "You think I can do anything to you in this state?"

Quinn paused for a sec, ignored his comment, and started crushing the perilla to slap it on his wound.

He was still a bit feverish, and after she applied the stuff, sweat beaded on his forehead.

Quinn said, "You need to rest up. We'll talk when you're better."

Alexander suddenly hugged her. "You goin' out to hunt to feed me?"

Quinn was a bit taken aback. She could barely hunt; she was more likely to end up as some wild animal's dinner. "I'll figure something out. Just let go of me first," she said.

"I'm cold," Alexander said, tightening his grip.

Quinn tried to take off the coat she was wearing, but he stopped her. "Don't take it off, or I'll get turned on."

"Things are so messed up right now, and you can still get turned on?" Quinn said, feeling a bit speechless.

"If you keep your clothes on, I won't get turned on," Alexander remarked.

In the end, Quinn didn't take it off. She was afraid that before Alexander did anything, she wouldn't be able to handle it herself, especially since the medicine's effects hadn't worn off yet. After a while, she pushed Alexander away, stood up, and said, "I'll go collect some firewood. Rest up."

She walked out of the cave and started gathering firewood nearby to avoid running out like the previous night. She piled several stacks at the cave entrance.

Meanwhile, Walter had been in the village for two whole days without making any moves.

Sean had gone out and returned to find him still sitting at the entrance, sipping tea like he had all the time in the world. Sean couldn't help but step forward and ask, "Didn't you say you were gonna find Alistair? Why are you still sittin' here?"

Walter glanced at him and smiled faintly. "What's the rush? Alexander ain't coming out anytime soon. Why are you all so antsy?"

Sean sneered. Of course, he was anxious. He wanted to find Alistair ASAP, partly to stop him from escaping and partly 'cause he feared Alexander might not wanna come out after staying in the forest too long. "It's none of your business. If you're not gonna find him, then don't stay here," Sean said irritably.

"In that case, I won't stay here," Walter said slowly.

Then he patted the wrinkles on his pants, stood up leisurely, walked past Sean, and got into his car without looking back.

Sean stared blankly at the car. Did he really leave?

The others exchanged puzzled looks, not quite getting what Walter was up to.

After a moment, Sean realized what was happening and quickly ran to his car. "Follow him."

The car drove on the bumpy road, followed by several other cars. Walter turned his head slightly and looked through the rearview mirror.

He chuckled.

Sean kept following him, from the dirt road to the paved road, and then along the paved road for a long time.

As they approached the bustling area, Sean got a message on his phone.

He opened it and saw it was from an unknown number: [You bringing so many people 'cause you're afraid Alistair won't notice you?]

Sean was stunned and instinctively looked at the car in front of him.

He had been bringing a lot of people these days, but they never managed to catch Alistair, partly because of this reason. However, if he didn't bring enough people, he was worried they wouldn't be able to handle Alistair and his crew.

So it was a bit of a dilemma. Bringing people could easily alert Alistair, but not bringing enough people could mean they couldn't win a fight.

He thought for a while and finally decided to send everyone back. But before he could give the order, another message from Walter arrived.

Walter: [Have them split up and act separately. Don't stay together.]

Chapter 1203

After a short walk, the fire in her hand fizzled out, leaving just some glowing embers. It was still tough to see, but hey, better than pitch black.

She crouched down, using the faint light to scrounge up some dry branches. While gathering firewood, she accidentally brushed against a few bugs, which totally freaked her out. She patted her chest, taking deep breaths. Even though she was scared, she kept searching for firewood under the trees. There wasn't much else around, but there were plenty of dry branches. She quickly bundled them up and hurried back. Once inside the cave, she felt a bit more at ease.

She let out a long breath, dropped the firewood on the ground, and noticed a few centipedes and some other creepy crawlies in the pile. Gritting her teeth, she grabbed a stone and smashed the centipedes that crawled out, then tossed the other bugs straight into the fire. While burning them, she kept glancing over, worried her noise would wake Alexander.

But honestly, she wasn't being quiet, and Alexander didn't wake up.

Usually, he'd wake up at the slightest noise, but now he was out cold.

Quinn hesitated for a sec, then carefully walked over to him, squatting down and reaching out a finger to check his breath. He was still alive.

She let out a sigh of relief, but before she could pull her hand back, her wrist was suddenly grabbed.

Looking up, she saw Alexander still had his eyes closed, just holding her hand.

A force pulled her wrist, and she fell into his arms, where he held her tight.

"Cold, let me hold you for a while," he croaked.

Quinn stayed still, pressing against his chest and listening to his steady heartbeat.

The fire beside them crackled, and she could smell the bugs burning.

The fire was about to die out again, so Quinn had to break free and toss in more firewood.

She glanced back at Alexander, his brows furrowed, and his forehead still sweaty.

Quinn walked back, reached out to touch his forehead, and found it still burning hot.

But he said he was cold.

She gritted her teeth and took off her clothes to cover him. She still had a dress underneath, though it was pretty torn up.

Since there was no one else around, she took off one sleeve and tied the torn dress into a few knots, barely covering her chest.

The firewood she had collected burned out, and it started to get light outside, making it barely possible to see.

Quinn grabbed a dagger and headed out again.

Finding food was a no-go; she was on the hunt for herbs. Besides mugwort, she didn't recognize much else. She pulled up a lot of mugwort and found a cluster of perilla on her way back. Quinn was kinda excited; perilla seemed useful and maybe better than mugwort.

She dropped the mugwort and ran over, cutting a big bunch of perilla with her dagger. She even thought about taking the whole cluster back.

But as she pulled aside the vines, a black-and-white snake coiled in the grass, making her face go pale. She dropped the vines and stumbled back.

She tripped over something and fell to the ground.

She watched the snake slither out of the grass, her limbs weak. The perilla she had picked fell, and she didn't dare move, instinctively gripping the dagger.

Quinn was ready for a life-and-death showdown with the snake, but to her surprise, the snake ignored her and slithered away.

She let out a sigh of relief, trembling as she got up from the ground. She then picked up the fallen perilla and, not daring to take more, hurried back with what she had.

Chapter 1202

By the flickering firelight, Quinn finally noticed how pale Alexander looked-way paler than he had been earlier.

Alexander grabbed her hand and pulled it away from his forehead. "I'm good. Just gotta sweat it out."

His voice was weak, and even his coughs sounded feeble.

Quinn squatted down to check his wound.

In this weather, it probably wasn't a cold; more likely, his wound was infected and causing a fever. If that was the case, they were in deep trouble.

She untied the cloth strips on his body. The wound on his arm looked the same, but there was a swollen area on his back, the deepest part of the wound, showing signs of pus. "Your wound's infected," Quinn said, worried, glancing at him. "What do we do? Got any disinfectant in your pocket?"

Alexander shook his head, a bit amused. "Nope, you really think I carry everything in my pockets, huh?"

"So, what now?" Quinn asked.

"I won't die," he said, looking at her again. "Are you worried about me, or worried you won't get out?"

Quinn opened her mouth, ready to say the latter, but when she saw the serious look in his deep eyes, she held back.

Unlike his usual teasing, this time he was dead serious.

So she swallowed her words.

Alexander stared at her for a long time, and when he didn't get an answer, he looked away and tossed some firewood into the fire.

"Don't worry. I won't die that easily. Even if I do, I'll make sure you get out first," he said calmly.

Quinn's eyes flickered. She lowered her head and was silent for a moment before suddenly getting up and heading out.

Before she could leave, Alexander grabbed her wrist. "Where you going?"

"I'm going to get some water to boil. You got salt, right? We can use saltwater to clean your wound." She added, "I'll be right outside, not going far." It was late, and she didn't dare go far.

Alexander let go of her.

Quinn went outside, dug some soil near the spring, and made a makeshift pot. There were a few banana leaves in the cave, almost dry but still usable. After cleaning them, she lined the pot with the leaves, filled it with spring water, and brought it back to boil over the fire.

She tore a piece of the bedsheet, washed it in the water, and then poured the remaining half bottle of salt into the boiling water.

"You used it all up. What are we gonna eat?" Alexander asked.

"Who cares about eating when your life's on the line?" Quinn soaked the cloth in the water for two minutes, then took it out to clean his wound. He seemed really weak now, sitting quietly without his usual teasing.

Quinn cleaned his wound over and over until the water was completely cool, then she put down the cloth.

She asked Alexander, "Feeling any better?"

Alexander smirked. "It's not that quick."

Quinn pressed her lips together and draped the remaining piece of the bedsheet over him. "Then rest for a while. I'll tend the fire."

Alexander leaned against the cave wall, watching her with lowered eyes.

"And you say you don't care about me," he said.

more wood into the fire, not wanting to talk

back at Alexander, who had closed his eyes, his forehead covered

the fever or the heat from

sweating should make him feel better,

outside. It was pitch dark, and she couldn't see anything. She started to get nervous as soon as she stepped out. But the fire

Chapter 1201

touched her face, and sighed in relief when she realized it was just dew. This forest had her on edge, always

nowhere to be seen. She was lying on

confusion, she

later, she spotted him coming from

lugging some banana

into the clearing, dropped his haul, and said, "You

and glanced at the stuff on the ground.

found the direction of the cave. Let's

ease. Being in the cave was better

the rabbit. A rabbit washed with water tasted way better than a bloody one. They had cooked a lot of wild veggies yesterday, but they weren't filling at all. He handed Quinn a rabbit leg, which was enough to fill

quick cleanup, they packed the leftover meat

into a bunch of unfamiliar creatures, and even with Alexander by her side,

forest darkened, Quinn finally saw the

the ground, exhausted. After two days away, the cave was still the same as

inside the cave. Quinn looked at the sky outside, unsure

she couldn't help but ask Alexander, "Can we really

in adding firewood, turned to look at Quinn, and said, "After

said helplessly, "Why are you asking

question. After we get out, can I see you again?"

Quinn fell silent.

seem ungrateful, she couldn't bring herself to

get out," Alexander

"What

ground casually, resting his head on his arms as if giving up. "Since you don't plan to see me after we get out, why should I risk my life to scout the

indeed seen how dangerous

bit her lip, thought for a moment, but

she was also

leaned

bout of coughing. Quinn opened her eyes and saw Alexander sitting by the fire, adding wood while coughing with his

sat up straight. "What's wrong

said casually, adding a lot of branches to the fire. The blazing fire lit up the cave, and even from a distance, Quinn could feel the heat. Yet he said he was cold, which was clearly not normal. She quickly got up, came to

fever?" she asked, all

Chapter 155

utterly shameless. "What kind of fortune did our

in our village work hard and earn their living honestly, unlike your family, who just got lucky and

how the family

background after she returned to her biological family. Before that, they had already discussed how

their feelings towards Shawn's family were hardly

close to a huge sum. That's

implication was clear-he would extort even more if given the

what he

"N-Nothing."

to reveal his plans. After all, he had already made a deal with Kayla. Once he got rid of Felicia, the wealth of the Fuller family

when these villagers who looked down

with himself. Meanwhile, the others in the village

one last wary glance at Shawn. Feeling uneasy, he immediately called for his grandson and instructed, "Lucas, go find Felicia. Tell her Shawn is back in the

"Got it!"

West, a little boy, quickly abandoned his toy car

Alverton that had long been abandoned. Since Felicia

had been

sweet potatoes from the still-warm hearth. These were left over from breakfast, and Macey had

heat, but once peeled, they released steam

often got to eat sweet potatoes, he still felt hungry when he saw them in the hands of

laugh as she handed one to him. "Here, this is for you. Be careful,

it, blowing on it to cool it down. After taking a few bites, he remembered his grandfather's instructions and reported, "Felicia, my grandpa sent me to tell you that

did your

cheeks full, "Grandpa also said that brat hasn't figured out what

help

lost a couple of fingers. He was likely desperate,

wonder why Shawn would return

Chapter 154

later, the road leading to Alverton echoed with the loud roar of a sports car. At first, the villagers were puzzled, thinking another outsider had arrived. However, when the car door swung open and a flamboyant figure stepped out, the onlookers

reputation for petty theft and mischief. He was caught harassing young ladies and married women by the river multiple times, often leading to confrontations. Yet Howell and Tabitha, his parents, were utterly

synonymous with disgrace. Naturally, the villagers preferred to keep

they were

in a high-profile manner, flaunting a rented sports car to show off his former wealth. He believed that his status had risen above that of the villagers, whom he looked down upon as mere ants. But the villagers didn't buy his act. They turned and walked away, leaving him with no one

Shawn grabbed the nearest villager, ready to boast. But before he could say a word, the villager scoffed. "Make sure to take good care

flushed

the car

sports car, but Lance seized it to cover his debts. So, he was left

en

well,

who was actually Cody, shot him a cold glance and retorted, "What status? What's the status of a debtor with missing fingers? That

was wrapped in thick bandages. Two of his fingers

by this remark, Shawn's face twisted with rage.

responded to

as he spat out, "That

typically kind-hearted, he wasted no time before slapping Shawn across the face. "You bastard! Just start behaving like a

malice. Just as he was about to retaliate, other villagers rushed in

a mix of anger and disappointment. "Get

to explode,

I.ne

abundant with. crops and further ahead were fows of vegetable greenhouses

and every household had repaired their homes. There were even numerous construction projects underway, depicting a scene of vibrant prosperity. Shawn stood

Chapter 153

emotions threatening to erupt. She managed to hold back her anger, though just barely. "Arnie,

needed to stay behind to arrange repairs. Moreover, Kayla had traveled such a long way to get here; it was impossible for her to be sent away now. For this reason, Kayla would have to stay in Alverton by

wrong with it, yet Kayla insisted

once and after being terrified all night, her face was pale and pitiful. It made it hard for Arnold to turn

offering, "Get on my

the best, Arnie!" Kayla beamed, her joy evident as she jumped onto his back. She wrapped her arms tightly around

numerous gazes, Arnold carried

was no big deal for the villagers since they didn't know them, but the students participating in the training program couldn't help but

other families' houses already full and Kayla stubbornly refusing to be separated from him, he had no choice but

there was only one

well," Arnold said after the college doctor checked Kayla's foot and confirmed it

en

with this place, and I'm scared..." Arnold had been planning to find a separate place to stay. After all, it

go, presenting a pitiful facade as her shoulders trembled and her eyes glistened with unshed

still insisted, "You get some rest. I'll be in the living room.

way to a burgeoning anger that threatened to

eliminate Felicia, the thorn

furrowed in fierce determination. She called Shawn, her voice low as she snapped, "Why haven't you arrived yet? It's been two days! Have you gotten everything prepared? Don't you want the

voice sounded distant on the other end as if he were driving. "It's all set! I'll be at Alverton in no

Kayla felt a

Satisfaction. After all, the money she had invested was considerable. As long

Chapter 152

morning chaos came to an end, and Felicia didn't bother to find out

had left that Kayla finally snapped back to reality from the shock of the night before. Clinging tightly to Arnold's waist, she looked up at him with teary eyes and said, "Arnie, I rushed over to see you and almost

his mouth, intending to say, "This slope isn't high; it's not as dangerous as you think." However, the words

Kayla terribly-just like when he first arrived at the scene panic-stricken. It was only after Felicia scolded him that he realized his concern was causing him to lose focus. The terrain looked frightening, but there

too late to say

she let go, he would disappear. Her pitiful appearance made it difficult

incident rushed over to see the commotion and caught sight of Arnold and Kayla in

pretty quickly, didn't she? She must have rushed over in the middle of the night. Talk

situation because her good friend, Olivia, had informed her to come quickly to assert her claim and ensure that the man she was infatuated with, Arnold, wouldn't be taken away by

Olivia couldn't help but smirk. Although she felt some resentment toward

Felicia's life miserable

terrible duck you had, getting into

words were laced with sarcasm, and Arnold could clearly hear it. He shot her a glance, but Olivia

senses after initially feeling scared. She began to pick up on the indifference on Arnold's face, and

knew Arnold better than she did, and it was clear that something had happened over the past few days. Otherwise, he wouldn't be so distant and lost in thought in

of unease, she followed Arnold's gaze and was taken aback to find

past few days. You even hung up on me yesterday. Do you know I almost died?

Arnold seemed

smile and asked, "Arnie, who are you thinking about? Is it

from Arnold. He immediately denied it, his voice filled

wanted to

man's excessive attention toward a woman, even if he verbally claimed not to like her,

Chapter 151

she asked, "Ruben,

He was always on standby and had years of driving experience, so it was

Felicia, Ruben replied, "Ms. Felicia, good morning. Yesterday, Ms. Kayla urged me to drive her to Alverton. I wasn't familiar with the road and mistakenly followed the wrong route according to the navigation. Ms.

taken out her

day, he lost focus for just a moment, causing the car to veer off the road and get stuck on the edge of the slope. From their perspective inside the vehicle, it felt like they were hanging over a precipice, so

If it hadn't been for Kayla distracting him, the accident

things. She declared that he wasn't fit to be a driver for the Fuller family

hadn't been for his reason, he would have

tightened his grip on the memory card in his

pushed

Felicia didn't pry further.

villagers felt relieved

had been scolded by Arnold earlier, tried to leave

She walked

to Arnold and saw

up to

he was

was crying. He comforted

they had just endured

separation. Unable to hold back, she spoke

released Kayla and turned his attention to Felicia.

even more impatient. Her tone was cold

and gently tugged at Felicia's sleeve. "Licia,

she let it

Felicia stood her ground.

who was studying in another city. Any daughter would be upset if she found out her

she was asking for a piece of Arnold's flesh. An apology was absolutely reasonable, wasn't

regained his composure. Regardless of the circumstances, these villagers