As he was talking, his gaze drifted over Magnus’s face… then lower.
His words paused.
He straightened slightly and his gaze narrowed.
There were red lipstick marks scattered along the side of Magnus’s neck.
Gregory shifted closer, leaning in just enough to confirm what he was seeing.
Then he looked at Magnus again, eyebrows lifting.
“Do you really not know why she got angry?”
Magnus shot him an annoyed glare.
“What the hell is wrong with you? I told you I don’t know.”
Gregory rolled his eyes.
“Have you looked at yourself in the mirror before going home?” he asked dryly. “Look at your neck.”
Magnus frowned in confusion.
He immediately grabbed his phone and switched to the front camera. His brows drew together as he studied his reflection on the screen, jaw tightening slightly as if searching for something he couldn’t quite see.
Then his eyes fell on the red lipstick stains smeared across his neck.
Confusion flickered across his face—then realization hit like a punch.
He sat up straight, bringing the phone closer, inspecting the marks with a hard, sharp glare.
“Damn it,” he muttered through clenched teeth.
He hadn’t even realized Celia had left those marks on him.
Frustration flared violently inside him.
He grabbed the tissue box from the table and began wiping at his neck aggressively, his movements rough, impatient. The tissues crumpled in his fist as he scrubbed at his skin.
The marks smeared slightly — but they didn’t fully disappear.
His anger climbed higher.
“Damn it.”
He grabbed the glass of water from the table, poured it over a tissue, and swiped it roughly against his neck aggressively, his movements rough and impatient.
His skin began turning red from the friction. “Shit!” he hissed under his breath. His anger surged higher.
He grabbed the glass of water on the table, poured it onto another tissue, and scrubbed harder. His skin began to turn red from the force of it, but faint traces of lipstick still remained.
Gregory watched silently, arms folded, unimpressed.
Just then—
Knock. Knock.
Magnus stopped mid-motion, jaw tight.
