Devilish secretary
Chapter 393 Troublesome man

Chapter 393: Chapter 393 Troublesome man

"You’re too good to me, you know that?" he murmured, picking up the spoon.

Hannah rolled her eyes, cheeks warm. "You’re my boss. If you crash, I crash too."

Liam laughed again like he hadn’t laughed in days. He bumped his shoulder gently into her hip where she stood beside him, and when she swatted him playfully, he didn’t mind.

"How is your mom’s health?" Liam asked after a moment, his voice gentler now. He knew about her adoptive mother, the woman who’d raised Hannah like her own when she’d had nothing. He knew how much that woman meant to her.

Hannah sighed, shoulders drooping just a little. "She’s fine... well, mostly," she said, forcing a small smile as she brushed her hair behind her ear. "She’s forgetting so many things these days. It’s getting worse. But I hope... I hope she recovers, you know?"

Liam reached out and rested his hand over hers on the edge of the couch. He didn’t say it’ll be okay, because they both knew life didn’t work that way. Instead, he just nodded — a promise in that small, silent gesture that she wouldn’t have to face it alone.

Hannah squeezed his hand and took a slow breath. "And you’re coming with me next Sunday," she said suddenly, her tone lighter, almost teasing.

Liam raised an eyebrow. "Oh, am I?"

"Yes!" Hannah insisted, eyes twinkling with a tiny bit of her usual spark. "I want you to meet her. Even though she doesn’t remember a lot these days, when she does remember, she writes it down in her little diary. And when I told her about you... she wrote that she wants to meet you." Her smile turned shy, almost proud, like she was sharing a secret.

Liam’s chest felt warm that strange, tight warmth he only felt around Hannah. He nodded again, his voice steady. "Alright," he said simply. "I’ll be there."

****

When Lilith slowly opened her eyes it was dark outside, the tinted windows showed no city lights, only the shadowy outlines of trees flickering past. She shifted slightly, the seat beneath her still reclined, her legs draped neatly to the side.

She glanced down at her feet—there were no heels. She didn’t remember taking them off. Yet now she wore them again. The thin straps dug into her skin, but she didn’t mind. With a small sigh, she rubbed her temple, trying to shake off the heavy feeling in her head.

That’s when she noticed it — a bright sticky note pressed right against the inside of the car window, catching the faint light from the dashboard.

Frowning, Lilith leaned forward and peeled it off carefully. The handwriting was familiar.

When you wake up, open the door and walk ten steps straight! *Smiley emoji*

A small smirk curved at the corner of her lips. What is he planning now? she thought, her chest blooming with a soft warmth.

She pushed the car door open, feeling the cool night air slip over her bare arms and legs. The faint crunch of gravel under her heels echoed in the quiet forest around her because that’s where they were now, parked deep inside a bamboo grove she barely remembered passing.

Taking a breath, Lilith stepped out onto the path. One step, two steps... her heels clicked lightly on the ground, and tiny hidden lights flicked on with each step she took~fairy lights strung low, like fireflies caught just for tonight.

By the time she reached ten, she was surrounded. A soft path of rose petals had been laid out, their edges glowing under the golden bulbs. The bamboo around her rustled gently, tall and swaying, holding secrets in the moonlight.

Lilith’s heart beat a little faster, she felt the corners of her lips curve into a real smile.

She glanced back at the car once, then forward again, her eyes tracing the glowing path deeper into the forest.

Heels clicking on the soft ground as she stepped forward.

She hadn’t even taken five steps forward when her eyes caught another small board, standing right at the bend in the path. A neon sticky note flapped softly against it in the breeze.

Turn left and take 10 steps ~~ it read in that same familiar handwriting.

Lilith let out a small breath — half a laugh, half a sigh and rolled her eyes up to the swaying bamboo overhead. "Troublesome man," she muttered under her breath, but her lips twitched with a fond smile anyway.

Her heels crunched quietly on the path as she turned left and did exactly as he asked — one, two, three... the soft lights hidden along the ground lit up for her, the glow catching on her legs and the hem of her dress as she walked. Her hair brushed her shoulders with each step. Ten steps later, she finally lifted her eyes and her breath caught.

She was standing at the edge of a clearing, hidden deep inside the bamboo forest. And in front of her, the sound of rushing water greeted her ears — a small waterfall, its silver stream tumbling over smooth stones into a clear pond below. The water reflected thousands of tiny golden lights, strung carefully through every branch and tree surrounding it.

She could hardly take it all in at once — it was like walking into a dream. Just a few steps away, tucked near the waterfall, stood a small cabin. Warm golden light spilled out through the old wooden windows, flickering like candle flames inside. She could see the outline of shadows moving in there... maybe him.

And right there in front of the cabin, spread out beneath the stars and the soft hush of the falling water, was a beautiful canopy. It was made of the smoothest white silk, draped elegantly around a low table and a soft bed of cushions and furs. Roses and tiny lights were woven through the fabric, swaying gently in the night breeze.

Lilith stood very still for a moment, her heels digging into the soft earth, her fingers brushing against the petal-lined path. For a heartbeat, the loneliness she always carried flickered away replaced by something warm, full, and painfully gentle.

She stepped forward, her breath quiet, her eyes tracing the canopy, the soft lights, the waterfall that sang for no one else but her.

Only he would do this. Only her troublesome human doll would build an entire dream in the middle of a forest.

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