LOGIN“Why should I reflect?”
Nola did not want to hear a single word of the old fossil’s punishment.
“You old antique. Your broken rules need changing. Every little thing becomes sending people to the portrait gallery to reflect. Those are not even my
“Xian, stop messing around. Look who is here.”Nola lowered her voice.Xian turned, took one look, and nearly jumped.“What the hell? Why is Grandpa here?”Samuel was coming down the street with Quill and several guards.Running into him near campus in broad daylight felt almost like seeing a ghost.Xian hurried over and offered his arm.“Grandpa, what brings you here?”“I was passing by.”Samuel answered without much conviction.His attention had already moved to Nola.Then to the little roadside tables and the food spread across them.His brows drew together.This place looked filthy.Why were they eating here?He approached with his cane.“Hello, sir.”Sierra stood and greeted him politely, then glanced at Nola.Nola did not even look up.She kept eating with obvious enjoyment.
“Most likely a professional hitman. Fast, ruthless, and almost impossible to guard against.”Wayne gave Calder the full report.“Richard was shot and fell into the sea. His head struck a reef. We managed to save him, but he is still unconscious. The doctors cannot say when he will wake.”Richard had become their most important lead.As long as he regained consciousness, there was still a chance he could tell them something useful.“Keep him protected,” Calder said. “Contact Baltasar and have him treated in secret.”
Blythe only smiled and rolled the beads between her fingers.Melissa gave Brina a sidelong glance.“After all this time, you still have not noticed?”“Noticed what?”Unease rose inside Brina.Her thoughts tangled.She needed to know who Calder had fallen for.Had he been hiding a woman outside the Rook family all along?Melissa sighed.“You have always been too kind, too restrained. That is how someone else found an opening.”She paused before continuing.“Have you truly never noticed how differently he treats Miss Nola?”“Nola?”Brina went rigid.“You mean Nola?”For a moment, she could not move.Then everything she had refused to understand began falling into place.The woman beside Calder had never been her sister.It was Nola.She thought back to the beginning of the marr
By dawn, the car had finally gone quiet.Calder’s thoughts had cleared enough for him to move. He wrapped the sleeping Nola in a blanket, lifted her from where she lay sprawled across him, and carried her into the house.She had planned to return to school that day.She did not make it out of bed.Calder skipped the office as well.For once, he wanted nothing beyond staying close to her.Early that morning, Quill arrived at the Avery residence.Wanda invited him inside.“Quill, what brings you here?”“Nothing serious.”He smiled politely.“Samuel sent me to bring Miss Nola back to the Rook family.”Wanda blinked.“Back to the Rook family? He only drove her out yesterday.”“Samuel was angry at the time and spoke too harshly. Afterward, he reconsidered and decided he should not have sent her away.”Quill contin
“Miss Nola, Mr. Rook has been drugged. He is in terrible pain, and you are the only one who can help him.”Wayne almost laughed.Calder did not have rabies, but in his current state, the difference was not especially large.“Drugged?”Nola panicked.“Then take him to a hospital. I am not a doctor. How am I supposed to help?”She reached over and touched Calder’s forehead.His skin was burning.
The woman lay with her back to the door.A black lace nightdress clung to her body, one narrow strap already slipping from her shoulder. The hem barely covered the tops of her thighs. A thin silk quilt rested across her waist, concealing little.Heavy perfume hung in the air.“Who are you?”Calder’s voice cracked through the room.The woman stirred and slowly turned around.“It is me.”The moment he saw Brina’s face, his brow drew tight.Revulsion rose in his stomach.“You?”He pressed his fingers to his pounding temple.“What are you doing in my room?”Heat continued spreading through his body, fierce and unnatural. Brina lying on his bed dressed like this made the answer obvious.“You tampered with my wine.”Brina rose from the bed.Her bare feet touched the floor.“I have been waiting fo







