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 him, silently tending

glanced back at Alexander, who

fever

should make him feel better,

she couldn't see anything. She started to get nervous as soon as she stepped out. But the fire was almost out. She closed her eyes, took a

Chapter 1201

and sighed

Alexander was nowhere to be seen. She

a moment of confusion, she started looking for

few minutes later, she spotted him coming

lugging some banana leaves, fruits, and

into the clearing, dropped his haul,

stuff on the ground. "Aren't we leaving

the direction of the cave. Let's eat first

he found the cave, Quinn felt a bit more at ease. Being in the cave was better than being out

lot of wild veggies yesterday, but they weren't filling at all.

quick cleanup, they packed

into a bunch of

realizing it. When the forest darkened, Quinn finally saw the familiar

exhausted. After two days away, the cave was

looked at the sky outside, unsure of how

couldn't help but ask Alexander, "Can we really get out of

look at Quinn, and said, "After we

are you asking

get out, can I

Quinn fell silent.

made her seem ungrateful,

get

stunned. "What do you

if giving up. "Since you don't plan to see me after we get out,

She had indeed seen how dangerous it was; his injuries were

for a moment, but still didn't

she was also

leaned against

of coughing. Quinn opened her eyes and saw Alexander sitting

and sat up

bit cold," 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

fever?"

Chapter 155

like an insistent piece of gum, utterly shameless. "What kind of fortune did our village strike? Is there a demolition? A

or payouts! The people in our village work hard and earn their living honestly, unlike your family, who just got lucky and picked up a stray daughter. You contributed nothing yet still

was referring to how the family had

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

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

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

implication was clear-he would extort

what he said. "What

"N-Nothing."

deal with Kayla. Once he got rid of Felicia, the wealth of the Fuller family would naturally fall to her. Being her brother

chuckled to himself, envisioning a time when these villagers who

Meanwhile, the others in the village were unwilling to

called for his grandson and instructed, "Lucas, go find Felicia. Tell her Shawn is back in the village and making a scene. She should be careful.

"Got it!"

boy, quickly abandoned his toy car and sprinted toward

been

had been living with

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

from the heat, but once peeled, they released steam and smelled wonderfully

still felt hungry when he

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

it, blowing on it to cool it down. After taking a few bites, he remembered his grandfather's instructions and

did

said that brat hasn't figured out what to

couldn't help

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

wonder why Shawn would return

Chapter 154

roar of a sports car. At first, the villagers were puzzled, thinking another outsider had arrived. However, when the car door

lived in Alverton, Shawn had a notorious 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

Naturally, the villagers preferred to keep their distance whenever

now, they were quick to

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.

the nearest villager, ready to boast. But before he could say a word, the villager scoffed. "Make sure to take good care of that rented car. Otherwise, you might not

flushed with

the car was indeed

from the Fuller family, he bought a sports car, but Lance seized it to

en

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

villager he had grabbed, who was actually Cody, shot him a cold glance and retorted, "What status? What's the status of

was wrapped in thick bandages. Two of

twisted with rage. "Did Felicia

responded

spat out, "That little brat thinks she's untouchable, but I'll deal with

closest to him, overheard that. Though he was typically kind-hearted, he wasted no time before slapping Shawn across the face. "You bastard! Just start

slap, his eyes glinting with malice. Just as he was about to retaliate, other villagers rushed in to pull him

West, the village chief, looked furious. His expression was a mix of anger and disappointment.

was ready to explode, but

I.ne

had changed in the village. Behind the village lay fields abundant with. crops

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

Chapter 153

palms as she suppressed the almost frenzied and twisted emotions threatening to erupt. She managed to hold back her anger, though just

such a long way to get here; it was impossible for her to be sent away now. For this reason,

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

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

on my back.

the best, Arnie!" Kayla beamed, her joy evident as she jumped onto his back.

Arnold carried Kayla back

know them, but the students participating in the training program

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 refusing to be separated from him, he had no choice but to

was only one empty

well," Arnold said after the college doctor checked Kayla's foot and confirmed it wasn't serious. Feeling relieved, he placed her on

en

Are you really going to leave me here alone? I'm not familiar with this place, and I'm scared..." Arnold had been planning to find a separate place to stay. After all, it

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. If you need anything, just call me." With that, he stepped

giving way to a burgeoning anger that threatened to explode! "Felicia!" she hissed through gritted teeth, her sense of crisis and jealousy

the thorn in

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

other end as if he were driving. "It's all set! I'll be

Kayla felt a

money she had invested was considerable. As

Chapter 152

to an end, and Felicia didn't bother to

after she 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,

as dangerous as you think." However, the words were caught in his throat, and he ultimately swallowed them. Instead, he

must have scared 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

was too late

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

then, a group of students who had heard about the incident rushed over to see the commotion and caught sight of Arnold and Kayla in

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

absent from college for a long time and wasn't on the list for this training program. She had only gotten wind of 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,

but smirk. Although she felt some resentment toward Kayla after

Felicia's life miserable was welcome

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

sarcasm, and Arnold could clearly hear it. He shot her a glance, but Olivia merely

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

clear that something had happened over the past few days. Otherwise, he wouldn't be so distant and lost in

taken aback to find that he was consistently looking in

hung up on me yesterday. Do you know I almost died? I was wondering

spoke, Arnold seemed to tune her out

asked, "Arnie, who are you thinking about?

denied it, his voice filled with resistance as he replied, "Don't

initially wanted to laugh, the smile slowly faded

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

Chapter 151

approached Ruben, she asked, "Ruben, what caused the accident?

always on standby and had years of driving experience, so

I wasn't familiar with the

had also taken out her frustration on him by kicking his seat while

vehicle, it felt like they were hanging over a precipice, so they didn't dare to

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

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

he would have wanted to take Kayla

he reflected on this, he tightened his grip

contained recordings from the dashcam. If Kayla pushed him too far, he had evidence to hold

Felicia didn't pry further.

Kayla saved, the villagers felt relieved and began

had been scolded by Arnold earlier, tried to leave but was stopped by

She walked

to Arnold and saw

up to

was tightly embracing

crying. He

they had just endured

to hold back, she spoke up,

finally released Kayla and turned his attention to Felicia. "What

Her tone was cold

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

she

Felicia stood her ground.

Any daughter would be upset if she found out her father had been treated this

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

composure. Regardless of the circumstances, these villagers had indeed