Chapter 247 Out of Control
Finished
Lucy was already getting nervous watching her fumble around, so she leaned forward and said. “Did you check the upper cabinets? Maybe it’s up there.”
Quinn was still scanning the counter and shelves, clearly overwhelmed. “Why would soy sauce be all the way up there? That’s something you use all the time, it should be easy to grab… wait, what’s that smell?” Lucy’s expression changed instantly as she looked past her. “Quinn, the pan, look at the pan!”
By the time Quinn turned around, the oil in the skillet had already started smoking heavily, the surface shimmering in a way that made it obvious things were about to go wrong.
She froze for half a second, completely at a loss, because this wasn’t something she had ever dealt with before, and in that split second of panic, she grabbed the nearest thing and tossed it into the pan without thinking.
The reaction was immediate.
Hot oil splattered violently with a sharp crackling sound, flames jumping up along the edge of the pan as the heat flared out of control.
“Ah!”
A drop of burning oil hit the back of her hand, and the pain came fast and sharp, enough to make her eyes sting instantly.
Before she could even process what to do next, everything shifted.
A strong arm wrapped around her, pulling her back into a solid chest, while another hand moved quickly to cover the pan with a lid, cutting off the flames in one clean motion.
The burner was shut off right after.
Then her hand was caught, steady and firm, and guided under the faucet as cold water rushed over the
burn.
Quinn stood there, completely stunned.
Julian.
He had stepped in so fast it almost didn’t feel real, like he had appeared at exactly the moment things went wrong, pulling her out of it before she could spiral any further.
A second ago, she had been genuinely scared.
Now, with him there, everything inside her settled without effort.
The sharp sting on her hand came back into focus, and she inhaled sharply.
Julian’s voice was low, controlled, but clearly edged with frustration. “Are you trying to scare me to death?”
11:11 am Pppp.
Chapter 247 Out of Control
He kept her hand under the running water, his grip steady, his attention fixed on her.
Only then did Quinn realize how close they were.
Finished
One arm was wrapped securely around her shoulders, holding her in place, while his other hand held her wrist under the stream.
She instinctively tried to pull away.
Julian didn’t let her. “Don’t move. You never listen, do you?”
His tone wasn’t loud, but it carried weight.
Quinn froze.
Her whole body was pressed against him, and the clean, cool scent of him filled the space around her, leaving no room to think clearly.
This is way too close…
Her strength felt like it was slipping, like her body wasn’t fully under her control anymore.
And still, she didn’t dare struggle again.
There was something in the way he held her, in the way he looked at her, that made resistance feel useless.
Not far away, Lucy sat near the kitchen entrance, watching the entire scene unfold with wide eyes, then slowly, very deliberately, pulled out her phone.
She adjusted the angle, took a few quick photos, then checked them with a satisfied grin.
Perfect timing. These are gold.
Send them to Julian later, easy money.
Still, she wasn’t about to ruin the moment by staying.
If she got caught hovering around like this, she’d probably lose whatever she was hoping to gain.
So she quietly turned her wheelchair and slipped away without making a sound.
Back in the kitchen, Julian had already shifted position, standing fully behind Quinn, his body close enough that her back rested firmly against his chest, his arm still around her as he held her hand under the running water.
His presence surrounded her completely, his breath so close it almost brushed her ear.
Quinn felt unsteady, like her balance was off, her voice coming out softer than she intended. “It’s… it’s fine
now…”
“It’s not,” Julian said, his tone steady. “You run cold water on a burn for at least ten minutes. That’s basic.”
“I can do it myself…”
11:11 am Pppp.
Chapter 247 Out of Control
Finished
“Don’t move,” he said again, quieter this time but no less firm. “Why were you even cooking? And if you were, how did you manage to hurt yourself like this? Quinn, do you have any idea what you just did?”
“L…” she started, but the words didn’t come.
She didn’t dare move.
Even the slightest shift would bring her into more contact with him, and they were already too close, too aware of each other.
Her heartbeat sped up, uneven and impossible to ignore.
Julian, at first, had only been focused on her hand, on the burn, on the mix of worry and irritation that came from seeing her get hurt.
But as the situation settled, as he realized the injury wasn’t serious, something else crept in.
The awareness of how close they were.
Her back against him.
The faint scent of her hair, soft and clean, lingering right beneath his nose.
If he lowered his head even slightly, his lips would brush her ear.
For a brief moment, a thought surfaced, something he had imagined before without meaning to.
Standing in a kitchen like this, cooking, while she came up behind him and wrapped her arms around him.
518

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