Chapter 542: I Can’t Just Let You Touch Me Back, Right?

Nina Scott froze. The moment she realized what she might have touched, she yanked her hand back. "I... I didn’t do it on purpose."

Nina Scott’s face was beet red, and for a moment, Miles Mercer didn’t know how to react either.

’She did it on purpose! She must have!’

’How else could she have been so accurate, hitting that exact spot!’

In all his years, besides his mother bathing him as a baby, Miles Mercer had probably never been touched there by another woman.

And just now, Nina Scott had even... even...

"Nina Scott!" Miles Mercer ground out her name through clenched teeth.

Nina Scott said, "I already told you it wasn’t on purpose. It really wasn’t! The thing is, I don’t have one of those. Otherwise, I’d let you touch me back."

Miles Mercer: "..."

’What kind of shameless thing is that to say? How could a woman say something like that? Is Nina Scott even a woman?!’

"How can you prove you didn’t do it on purpose!"

"What kind of question is that? How am I supposed to prove it? You sound like one of those unreasonable people online, asking for proof that my mom is my mom. I just touched it by accident, okay? I’m sorry. If you really feel that offended, well, there’s nothing I can do about it."

Only after she said it did Nina Scott realize what she’d just blurted out. ’That sounded like a line straight out of the scumbag playbook.’

Hearing the silence from Miles Mercer’s side, Nina Scott said, "If you really feel like you got the short end of the stick, I... I’ll let you touch me back?"

’He definitely won’t do it anyway. He hates women that much.’

"You!" Miles Mercer was truly at a loss for words. ’This woman... In her dreams!’

"Or you could just yell at me. That would work too."

How could Miles Mercer possibly yell at a woman? Thankfully, the lights were off. Otherwise, they both would have died of embarrassment.

Nina Scott wished the ground would swallow her whole. If she had known this would happen, she never would have reached out her hand.

Nina Scott tried to get up from the floor, but a sudden light appeared. Miles Mercer had turned on her phone’s screen, finally breaking the pitch-black darkness.

Then she saw a large hand extended in front of her. It was Miles’s.

It seemed Miles Mercer was offering to pull her up.

’Is he not angry anymore?’

Nina Scott wanted to look up to see the expression on his face, but it was too dark. Her gaze, however, shot straight ahead and landed right on *that* spot on Miles Mercer.

Even though he was wearing loose-fitting pajama pants, the evidence of his reaction was impossible to ignore. Nina Scott hadn’t expected to have such a... significant effect!

’I never noticed that aspect of him before. What a shame. This guy can’t be with women. He’s all show and no go!’

"Where are you looking!" Miles Mercer noticed her gaze.

"I’m not looking anywhere! I didn’t see a thing."

Nina Scott quickly placed her hand in his, letting Miles Mercer pull her to her feet.

Nina Scott’s hand was warm, and when her skin touched his, it felt as if an electric current was passing between their fingertips.

It was only for a few seconds, but Miles Mercer felt as if his entire body had been electrocuted.

That brief contact made the weight below grow even heavier.

"Did you fall?" His tone wasn’t great, but he was still concerned about her.

"No. I’m not a porcelain doll. I don’t shatter that easily."

Miles Mercer nodded. "I’m going to the bathroom."

Nina Scott couldn’t help but glance down at him again. ’How is it that it looks even more ridiculous now than when I saw it a moment ago?’

Only after Miles Mercer went into the bathroom did Nina Scott realize. "Hey, you could at least give me my phone back!"

Nina Scott had no choice but to get back into bed, unsure of what to do. She wondered if Miles Mercer was angry.

Before long, Nina Scott heard the sound of running water from the bathroom.

’No way. I barely touched him through his pants, and now he thinks he’s unclean?’

’He really is a germaphobe. How does a person like that survive in the outside world?’

It was a good thing Miles Mercer was born into a family like his. If he had to squeeze onto buses and subways every day, he’d probably pass out from fear of all the women around him.

’Why isn’t he out yet? Has he scrubbed off a layer of skin by now?’

Even if he wasn’t coming out, he should have at least given her phone back.

Without her phone to distract her, Nina Scott couldn’t fall asleep.

After what felt like an eternity, the sound of water from the bathroom finally stopped. A moment later, the door opened.

"Miles Mercer!" Nina Scott shot up in bed, looking at the freshly showered man.

Miles Mercer had changed into a different set of pajamas. He was very tall, and his figure looked exceptionally good as he walked out of the bathroom.

But...

Nina Scott tried her best not to look at *that* spot. ’I’m a decent person, not some kind of pervert.’

"You’re not asleep yet?"

"I can’t sleep. You’re done showering? Can I have my phone back now?"

Miles Mercer frowned. After all this time, Nina Scott was still thinking about her stupid phone.

’Could it be? Is she still thinking about chatting with that guy?’

"No." There was no room for negotiation.

"That’s my phone!"

’How can this man hold onto someone else’s property and be so brazen about it?’

Nina Scott was the type of person who needed to share everything. She had to talk to Ivy. Even though Ivy was probably asleep by now, it didn’t matter.

That was their routine—they’d send each other things as soon as they saw them, and the other would reply whenever they woke up or were free.

’Life is so much harder when you can’t share things with someone.’

"It’s so late. What else do you plan on saying to that man?"

"What man? Which man?" Nina Scott had already forgotten about Christian Sawyer.

"Are you talking about Christian Sawyer? We weren’t saying much. We were just talking about Yara Scott’s situation," Nina Scott said, unsure if that was who he meant.

"What’s there to talk about," Miles Mercer said coldly.

Nina Scott said, "It’s such a happy occasion! Why wouldn’t it be fun to talk about? You think everyone’s like you, completely uninterested in everything? It’s not like I have anyone else to just chat with."

"Am I not a person?"

"You? You don’t talk to me."

Whenever she and Miles Mercer talked, they basically just argued. They were the type who couldn’t stand the sight of each other.

And how had she never noticed before that Miles Mercer was so nosy? And so controlling, too. He wanted to dictate when she slept and who she talked to.

"You haven’t even tried talking, so how would you know I won’t talk to you?"

"Okay, if I talk about Yara Scott, will you listen?"

"Start talking." Miles Mercer walked over to the sofa, turned off the light, and lay down.

Nina Scott wondered what had gotten into Miles Mercer today. Since when did he like listening to gossip?

’Maybe he can’t sleep and is just irritable, so he’s looking for trouble.’

Nina Scott said, "Well, there’s not much to it. It’s about the current situation with the Scott Family. You know how it is. Yara Scott has always been the family’s favorite daughter. In their eyes, she’s more important than their own flesh and blood. Yara is the sensible one, and I’m the troublemaker. Everything is always my fault."

"Yara Scott is incredibly scheming. I’m not bad-mouthing her; I’m just stating the facts."

After rambling on for a while, Nina Scott turned her head to look toward Miles Mercer.

It was pitch-black, so she couldn’t see a thing.

"Miles Mercer, are you even listening to me?" ’He didn’t secretly fall asleep, did he?’

"Mm," Miles Mercer grunted, indicating that he was listening.

A strange, tingling feeling spread through Nina Scott’s heart. She hadn’t expected Miles Mercer to actually be listening.

"Well then, you’d better listen carefully."

"Mmm..."