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.

wood into the fire, not wanting to talk to

back at Alexander, who had closed

it because of the fever or

sweating should make him feel better,

got up, and went 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

face. She shot up, touched her face, and sighed in relief when she realized it was just dew. This forest had

be seen. She was lying on a pile of

confusion, she started looking

few minutes later, she spotted him coming from a distance,

banana

dropped his haul,

stuff on

and found the direction of the

the cave, Quinn felt a bit more at ease. Being in the cave was better than being out in the wild; at least it was

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

packed the leftover meat and headed

through the forest, they ran into a bunch of unfamiliar

darkened, Quinn finally saw the familiar cave, which felt like home. She

ground, exhausted. After two days

sky outside, unsure of how long

help but ask Alexander, "Can we really get out of

look at Quinn, and said, "After we get out, will you still talk

"Why are

let me ask another question. After we get out,

Quinn fell silent.

ungrateful, she couldn't bring herself to

we won't get out,"

was stunned. "What do you

down on the 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 way out?" He

how dangerous it

lip, thought for a moment, but still

she was

day, she leaned against the wall,

by a bout of coughing. Quinn opened her eyes and saw Alexander sitting by the fire,

alert and sat up straight. "What's wrong

he 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 his side, and reached out to touch

have a fever?" she

Chapter 155

like an insistent piece of gum, utterly shameless. "What kind of fortune

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

referring to how the

she returned to her biological family. Before that, they had already discussed how she must have been adopted, given the

feelings towards Shawn's family were hardly positive. They openly scolded them for their

50 million dollars. It's nothing close to a huge sum. That's not

extort even more

didn't quite hear what he said. "What did

"N-Nothing."

made a deal with Kayla. Once he got rid of Felicia, the wealth of

envisioning a time when these villagers who

others in the village were unwilling

Shawn. Feeling uneasy, he immediately called for his grandson and instructed, "Lucas, go find Felicia. Tell her Shawn is

"Got it!"

a little boy, quickly abandoned his toy car and

that had long been abandoned. Since Felicia had cut ties with them

had been living

arrived, Felicia had just pulled a few sweet potatoes from the still-warm hearth. These were

heat, but once peeled, they released steam and smelled wonderfully sweet.

sweet potatoes, he still felt hungry when he saw them in the hands

she handed one to him. "Here, this is for you. Be careful, it's hot. I'll peel

joyfully accepted it, blowing on it to cool it down. After taking a few bites, he remembered his grandfather's instructions and reported, "Felicia, my grandpa

else did

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

help but

he was being chased for debts and had already lost a couple of fingers. He

why Shawn

Chapter 154

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,

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

synonymous with disgrace. Naturally, the villagers preferred to keep their distance

they were quick 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

the villager scoffed. "Make sure to take good care of that rented car. Otherwise, you might not get your deposit back!"

flushed

car

bought a sports car, but Lance seized

en

in a well, you dare to look down on me?

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

was wrapped in thick bandages.

remark, Shawn's face twisted with rage. "Did Felicia tell you

one responded

darkened further as he spat out, "That

him, overheard that. Though he was typically kind-hearted, he wasted no time before slapping Shawn across the face. "You bastard! Just start behaving like a decent person already, would

staggered from the slap, his eyes glinting with malice. Just as he was about to retaliate, other villagers rushed

His expression was a mix

to explode, but

I.ne

noticed how much had changed in the village. Behind the village lay fields abundant with. crops and further ahead were fows of vegetable

were even numerous construction projects

Chapter 153

nails deep into her palms as she suppressed the almost frenzied and twisted emotions threatening to erupt. She managed to hold back her anger, though just barely. "Arnie, my

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

not refuse. He examined her foot and found nothing wrong with it, yet Kayla insisted that she had injured it in the accident and couldn't walk. "Arnie, I really can't walk anymore..."

already cried once and after being terrified all night, her face was pale and pitiful.

down, offering, "Get on my back. I'll carry

evident as she jumped onto his back. She wrapped her arms tightly around his

gazes, Arnold carried Kayla

the training program

originally intended to have the village head find another family for Kayla to stay with. However, with all the other families' houses already full and Kayla stubbornly

one empty room

confirmed it wasn't serious.

en

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

wouldn't let it go, presenting a pitiful facade as her shoulders

her like this made Arnold's heart soften, but he still insisted, "You get some rest. I'll be in the living

giving way to a burgeoning anger that threatened to explode! "Felicia!" she hissed through

was determined to eliminate Felicia, the thorn in her side,

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 rest of the

he were driving. "It's all set! I'll

felt a sense

invested was considerable. As long

Chapter 152

early morning chaos came to an end, and Felicia didn't bother to find out who would tow the Fuller family's car away after

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

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

him that he realized

it was too late to say

if she let go, he would disappear. Her pitiful appearance

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

she? She must have rushed over

the 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

this, Olivia couldn't help but smirk. Although she felt some resentment toward Kayla after yesterday's events,

make Felicia's life miserable was welcome in her

said, "Kayla, what terrible duck you had, getting into a car accident. Thankfully, you're

were laced with sarcasm, and Arnold could clearly hear it. He shot her a glance, but Olivia merely scoffed and turned away, strutting

after initially feeling scared. She began to pick up

the past few days. Otherwise,

a wave of unease, she followed Arnold's gaze and was taken aback to find that he was

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

seemed

managed a pained smile and asked, "Arnie, who are you thinking about? Is

reaction from Arnold. He immediately denied it, his voice filled

clear disdain was unmasked. While Kayla initially wanted to laugh, the smile

even if he verbally claimed not to like

Chapter 151

approached Ruben, she asked, "Ruben,

the Fuller family's dedicated drivers. He was always on standby and had years of driving experience, so it was unusual

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. Kayla got angry, and then..." His voice trailed

upset, but she had also taken out her frustration on him

winding mountain roads were already challenging, and his attention had been distracted by her kicking him. Fatigued from driving all 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 they didn't dare to move. Even when their phone fell at

it, the angrier he became. If it hadn't been for Kayla distracting him, the accident wouldn't have happened

declared that he wasn't fit to be a driver for the Fuller family and that she would make sure he was fired as

he would have wanted to take

reflected on this, he tightened his

Kayla pushed him too far, he had evidence

Felicia didn't pry further.

saved, the villagers felt

Arnold earlier, tried to leave but was stopped by Felicia.

She walked

to Arnold and saw

up to

he was

was crying.

had just

back, she spoke

turned his

more impatient. Her tone was cold as she stated, "You

gently tugged at Felicia's sleeve. "Licia, let's just let it

she let

Felicia stood her ground.

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

an apology; it wasn't like she was asking for a piece of Arnold's flesh. An

composure. Regardless of the circumstances, these villagers