"Zach Jardin! How can you say that without feeling ashamed?"

"Be good."

After spending more than an hour in the bathroom, Madelyn's pent-up tension finally went away. She felt completely tired. Zach helped her out of the bathtub, wrapped her in a towel, and dried her hair. She fell onto the pillow, snuggling naturally into the center of the bed.

In the middle of the night, a wave of heat washed over her. She wanted to kick off the covers, but it felt like she was next to a blazing furnace. Too drained to do anything, she thought, 'Whatever.'

As morning light peeked through the curtains, Madelyn was stirred by a rustling noise. She pulled her blanket tighter around her and drifted back to sleep.

After getting dressed, Zach glanced back at the bundled-up Madelyn under the covers and smiled.

Forrest's flight from Roshya to Ventropolis touched down at eight o'clock in the morning. An hour later, he was at the hospital's main entrance, buying a bouquet of lilies. Making his way to the