Chapter 329: Kiss My Name
With extreme patience and care, she did all of Brandon Jacobs’s fingernails and toenails.
After admiring her work for a moment, she removed it all.
"I’d better take it off. I don’t want people to laugh at you when you go out."
For the first time in his life, Brandon Jacobs thought it was wonderful that humans had fingernails and toenails. They could be painted and then have the polish removed, over and over. He was willing to let Elsa fuss over him like this every day.
She worked silently, and he just stared at her, feeling as if they were the only two people in the world. It was so quiet, so comfortable.
Once the polish was removed from both hands, Brandon Jacobs didn’t want to part from her yet, so he pleaded with Elsa.
"There’s still my face. Do you want to do my makeup or something?"
Elsa was pleasantly surprised again. "Okay! I love doing people’s makeup."
This brought the two of them even closer.
Elsa’s face was right in front of his, carefully studying every inch of his skin. Brandon Jacobs truly wanted to marry her on the spot.
After over an hour of work, she had transformed Brandon Jacobs into a stunning beauty.
Elsa excitedly pushed him toward the mirror.
"You’re so beautiful. Do you have a sister? She must be just as beautiful as the you in the mirror."
"That’s because my mom is beautiful. You’re even more beautiful. I’m so handsome, and you’re so gorgeous—if we had a child, their looks would be off the charts."
It was unclear if Elsa heard him or not; she just turned and walked out.
"I’m going to start stringing bracelets now. Want to join me?"
It was already past 6:00 PM, and they had been sitting for half the day. Brandon Jacobs was worried her eyes would get tired and didn’t want her sitting for so long.
"Let’s go out for dinner. Do you like baking? After dinner, I’ll take you to a DIY bakery. We can switch things up and do this tomorrow."
Elsa had long heard about DIY cake bakeries in the country. At home, she always baked by herself and for herself, with no one to eat her creations. She was quite willing to go try it out.
"Okay! Then let’s go."
Eager to get to the bakery, Elsa took charge. They quickly grabbed a bowl of noodles at a random roadside restaurant and then set off.
After paying and tying on their aprons, the professional Elsa and the professional instructor instantly had something to talk about.
The two of them chatted the entire time. Even though Brandon Jacobs didn’t get to talk to her, it was the first time he had seen her so talkative and smiling so much. He felt the money was more than well spent.
The two of them were busy until the middle of the night before heading back.
Elsa baked a cake, cookies, and made tiramisu and strawberry mousse, feeling a great sense of accomplishment.
To make her happy, Brandon Jacobs ate a huge amount of dessert.
Lying in bed that night, Elsa seemed to still be immersed in the day’s childish fun.
"Are you sleepy? I can’t sleep. You go ahead. I’ll count your hairs."
She held Brandon Jacobs’s head in her arms and began to count his hairs one by one. She quickly lulled him to sleep.
When Brandon Jacobs woke up the next morning, Elsa wasn’t in bed. He searched the entire house, but she wasn’t in their room. Startled, he quickly called Damien Vaughn, only to find out she had gone to the hospital.
"My mom can talk today. She wanted to see her, so she came over."
Brandon Jacobs rushed to the hospital.
When he saw Elsa, she was just coming out of the hospital room after talking with her mother.
It was as if she had suddenly woken up from a fairytale, reverting to her cold and proud demeanor.
Turtleneck sweater, black overcoat, sunglasses—her coldness made Brandon Jacobs hesitant to approach her again.
Elsa came to speak with Damien Vaughn.
"Mom wants to be discharged and go home. I can handle things from here on out. Let’s go."
They had been away for a week. There was a lot of work at the company, which was exhausting Cecelia Archer. Damien Vaughn had been missing Cecelia and Candy for a while now.
And so, they drove back to Veridia.
After getting Mrs. Vaughn settled in her upstairs room and connected to the various medical instruments, Brandon Jacobs went downstairs first. Mrs. Vaughn had something to say to her son and daughter.
"When I was young, I was a very selfish, self-centered person. Although I gave birth to you, to be honest, you were just products of marriage and passion. I never fulfilled one hundred percent of my motherly duties to either of you, so I won’t ask you to stay by my bedside every day out of filial piety. If I had known you would call Elsa back, I would have rather not lived. Damien, just get me a caregiver. I don’t want Elsa to waste her youth because of me. Let her go back."
He hadn’t expected these to be the first words his mother would say after regaining consciousness.
However, what she said made sense.
She wouldn’t be able to stand for the rest of her life. Elsa had already spent months here with her day and night; she couldn’t stay by her side forever.
"I have no objection. Elsa, what do you think?"
"I don’t have any objections either. In that case, arrange for someone to come as soon as possible and book my ticket. I do want to go home."
But she had just spent four days holed up and being intimate with Brandon Jacobs in the hotel. Damien Vaughn had thought...
He didn’t understand Elsa. He couldn’t form any opinion on her decision.
He quickly went downstairs, about to call for Brandon Jacobs to leave with him, but Elsa followed him down.
"Brandon Jacobs. Can you stay tonight?"
Brandon Jacobs couldn’t have asked for more. He wished he could stay every night from now on.
Mrs. Vaughn’s vital signs were stable. Elsa stayed downstairs with Brandon Jacobs.
They had brought back all the miscellaneous trinkets they had made in Corvane. Then, Elsa brought out a box of ink and a needle from her room.
"Brandon Jacobs, can I give you a tattoo?"
"A tattoo? You know how to tattoo?"
"I think I do. It’ll just hurt a little. Can you bear it?"
To be honest, Brandon Jacobs was a little scared. He had thought about getting a tattoo before, but he’d put it off until now because he was afraid of the pain.
"What do you want to tattoo on me?"
Brandon Jacobs was afraid she’d tattoo a cat or a dog or something on him.
Elsa replied as if she had already thought it through, "ELSA. Do you want it in uppercase or lowercase?"
Uppercase or lowercase, it didn’t matter. The fact that she was willing to tattoo her name on him left Brandon Jacobs feeling incredibly flattered.
He endured the piercing pain as Elsa tattooed her name on his left chest, just below his collarbone.
"It’s beautiful. This way, you’ll be able to see her every day, whether you’re showering or looking in the mirror."
Brandon Jacobs immediately ran to look in the mirror.
It really was beautiful.
She was right. From now on, whether he was showering, looking in the mirror, or just glancing down, he would be able to see her anytime, anywhere.
"Elsa..."
"I’m tired. Let’s go to sleep."
The two of them lay down in that room again.
For the first time, Elsa proactively snuggled into Brandon Jacobs’s arms.
"What’s your favorite place?"
Brandon Jacobs thought for a moment. "The desert, I guess. I went on an expedition to the desert with a few friends when I was a teenager. It was desolate, sure, but the feeling was unique. Especially at night, bathed in moonlight, it’s incredibly beautiful, and the stars are exceptionally bright."
"Which desert?"
"I’m not telling you. Why? Do you want to go? I’ll take you some other day."
Elsa didn’t press him. "Do you remember how many days we’ve known each other?"
"It feels like a long time. Half a lifetime. I’m not kidding, Elsa. I feel like I’ve known you since my past life."
"I’ve heard Mom talk about past lives and next lives. If there is a next life, would you still want to know me?"
"Of course I would. But it would have to be earlier in the next life; we met too late in this one. In our next life, I’ll be your first love. I’ll marry you and bring you home when you’re still young and innocent, and easiest to win over."
As he lost himself in this fantasy, Elsa quietly wiped away a single, glistening tear.
"Okay."