My Birthday, My Downfall novel Chapter 88

They exchanged bewildered looks.

"Wh—what? Is he really that mad?"

Sean's childhood friend, Austin, however, stared silently at the slowly closing elevator doors, frowning slightly.

After a moment, he suddenly asked an unrelated question"

"Don't you guys think Sean has been acting… off these past two months?"

Everyone blinked in confusion.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Ever since the breakup with Hannah, Sean had been completely free.

Drinking, partying, racing—he was back to his usual reckless lifestyle.

Oh, except for the occasional moments when he stared at his phone, lost in thought.

But other than that?

Nothing seemed different.

Inside the elevator.

Sean's eyes were stormy as he glared at the changing floor numbers.

His jaw was clenched so tightly that his frustration practically radiated from him.

Then, without warning, he slammed his fist against the elevator wall.

Teeth grinding, he spat through clenched teeth"

"Hannah, you dare?!"

Gerald went for another cold shower.

The good news was—the drug had finally worn off.

The bad news was—he was completely drained.

A loud thud sounded from the bathroom, startling me.

I rushed inside without thinking—

Only to see Gerald, one knee bent, slumped against the wall.

Cold water was still pouring down from above.

He looked up through the mist, his wet lashes clumped together.

Glancing at the fallen shelf beside him, he gave me a helpless yet apologetic smile.

"No strength left. Sorry."

For a split second, I felt like I was looking at a drenched, pitiful golden retriever.

He didn't even need to say anything—just gazing at me with those water-filled eyes was enough to send my guilt skyrocketing.

I hurried forward, turning off the water and helping him up, letting him lean against me for support.

The cold seeping from his body at such close proximity startled me.

It was the dead of winter, and he was soaking in cold water like this—wasn't he afraid of catching a serious cold?

"Bath towel."

I quickly grabbed the large towel from the side, spread it open, and stood on tiptoe to wrap it around his head.

But I hadn't expected—

As my heels dropped back to the ground, the towel in my hands tightened involuntarily due to the height difference.

And just like that, I accidentally tugged Gerald forward.

In the next second, the distance between us shrank to zero.

Our noses bumped.

Both of us froze.

Gerald was a whole head taller than me, yet he simply stood there, quietly lowering his gaze to look at me, his eyes deep and unreadable.

Droplets of water slid from his damp hair, tracing along his chiseled features.

Finally, they gathered at his chin, dripping down onto my clothes.

The air between us suddenly grew thick with something unspoken—

"How about this—I'll pay for you to get checked first?"

I was so speechless I almost laughed. "Sean, why don't you go get your brain checked instead?"

As if mocking me in the elevator earlier wasn't enough, now he had to come to my room just to take another jab at Gerald?

Did he think Gerald was some random escort?

This was starting to feel like he'd caught me cheating on him or something.

Gerald, however, simply chuckled, his voice calm.

"It seems Sean has misunderstood my profession."

Then, with a poised smile, he introduced himself.

"My name is Gerald, CEO of the Lloyd Group.

"And Miss Hannah's grandmother personally selected me as her blind date."

At first, his words sounded odd.

But the meaning behind them ran deep.

The Lloyd Group's primary business had long been overseas.

Gerald had only recently returned to expand into the domestic market, so he wasn't widely known in local circles.

But those six words—"personally selected by her grandmother"—were more than enough to confirm his exceptional family background.

Sean, of course, understood this immediately.

His face stiffened.

The arrogance and certainty he had displayed upon entering the room instantly vanished.

"You're here for a blind date?"

He turned to me, his expression unreadable, his voice tense with something I couldn't quite decipher.

"You just met him, and you already booked a hotel room together?

"You like him?"