Night of Destiny (Anastasia Tillman)

“It can’t get in, Jasper comforted Willow in a reassuring tone. “No, | feel like it can. What if it comes in through the vents?” Willow

refuted, her imagination still as vivid as ever. Snakes were the animals she feared the most, and her blood would run cold from the

mere thought of them, much less seeing one right outside the window.

“Get up, he ordered. Only then did Willow realize that she was. completely seated on his legs and nestled in his embrace, glued to

his body as if she were a child. After she awkwardly rose to her feet, she watched as he opened the door and headed outside.

“Hey, Jasper, where are you going?” “To chase the snake away.” At that, Jasper shut the door behind him. Once he was outside, he

climbed up a ladder and headed onto the roof of the camper van.

At that moment, all of Willow's fears were put aside and replaced by concern for his safety. She swung the curtains open, only to

see that the snake had been chased off the camper van. with a wave of a stick, most likely fleeing from the impact. After Jasper

returned to the van, he quickly urged her before she could continue to overthink, ‘Go back to sleep.”

Not wanting to cause him any more trouble, Willow obediently climbed onto the bed. She curled her limbs into herself, clearing a

large amount of space for the man, whom she urged, “You should go to sleep too! Stop working.”

I'm not tired,” he replied in a low voice. Willow was aware that things were getting too much for Jasper to handle, even if he was.

made of steel. Besides, on top of his injury, he had dealt with a group of hitmen as well as spent the entire day behind the wheel. If

he continued to work throughout the night without getting any rest, how would his wounds. recover? An idea formed in her head,

and she said, “Jasper, I'm scared. Cto bed with me!”

At her words, Jasper’s tapping fingers cto a sudden halt. He turned to look at the girl on the bed, whose face looked a little

flushed. However, she decided to go all out to ensure that he would rest and insisted, “Hurry up! I'm really scared. I'm scared of

mosquitoes and snakes.”

In order to prevent her from interrupting his work any further, Jasper took his laptop with him and sat on the corner of the bed. “Go

to sleep!”

Just like that, Willow huddled on the bed and watched as he worked, unable to fall asleep but not saying a word either, staying as

silent as a child.

Jasper was aware that she hadn't fallen asleep, and after typing out a line of code, he closed his computer and leaned on the bed

to rest his eyes for a short moment.

Upon seeing his posture, Willow knew for certain that he was not comfortable at all. Besides, the bed was fairly large, and it had

more than enough room for the two of them.

“You should lie down and sleep!” she suggested. “It's fine,” he replied nonchalantly. “Why? Are you worried that I'll eat you? Don’t

worry, I'm not interested in men,” she said huffily. Even if he was blessed with stunning looks and a perfectly sculpted figure, she

would not think of laying a hand on him.

The corners of Jasper’s lips noticeably tightened and twitched faintly as he suppressed his laughter. However, in the cover of

darkness, Willow remained oblivious to this fact. The more she thought about it, the more she believed that he shouldn't sleep in

such a position as it could prevent his recovery.

Aware of his somewhat stubborn nature, she could only sit up and reach out to wrap her arm around his neck, pushing him onto

the bed. Just like that, Jasper found himself being pressed down onto the bed by her..

“You...” His voice trailed off in shock as he pursed his lips. However, Willow held him down firmly, preventing him from sitting up.

“Behave and go to sleep before | force you to.”

Her voice which was naive yet carried a trace of aggression caused his Adam's apple to bob in his throat. In the end, he

relinquished and conceded, “All right, I'll go to sleep. Stop pressing on me.” If things went on like this, she would be the one in

danger, not him.

Hearing that, Willow released him and turned. over to sleep on the side of the bed, finally feeling relieved. In the darkness, she

didn’t notice the heavy rise and fall of his chest, a clear indication of his emotional turmoil.

All of a sudden, the silence in the compartment turned unbearably stiff. As Willow shifted restlessly on the bed, she bumped the

solid, sturdy arm of the man beside her by accident. Instinctively, she recoiled from his body, but the warmth of his touch lingered

on the spot where their skin had briefly met. She was just about to turn around to engage him in a chat when she heard his even

breathing. He seemed to have fallen asleep.

As all of his hardships surfaced in her mind, Willow decided that she should leave him to have a peaceful rest. Hence, she tried her

best not to turn around lest she woke him up, and she eventually succumbed to slumber while listening to his steady breathing.

Perhaps due to having several fearful encounters recently, she was still in the middle of making her escape, even in her dreams.

She felt as if she were sprinting on a grassy field, chased by an army of murderers. Just as she thought she was about to meet her

end, a man. descended from the heavens as if he were a divine figure and stood before her.

She called out happily, “Jasper!” Once Jasper appeared, it was as if the murderers had vanished into thin air in Willow's eyes. After

all, his existence completely obliterated everything that terrified her.

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