Chapter 6

Alia came back to her senses when she realized she’d been staring at the stranger for far too long.

Straightening her posture, she stepped back slightly, a faint embarrassment coloring her face.

“I’m sorry for bumping into you,” she quickly apologized.

“Watch where you’re going next time,” the man replied, his voice low and composed.

“Okay,” she muttered, brushing past him toward the elevator without waiting for a response.

Little did Alia know, the man’s gaze lingered on her retreating figure before he finally turned and walked away.

Inside the hotel room, Jasper was still comforting Rhea as the woman cried endlessly in his arms.

Unbeknownst to him, Rhea wasn’t heartbroken because of the assault—but because she had become the victim of her own malicious schemes.

She never expected Alia to uncover her plans. What infuriated her even more was that Alia had a solid alibi, one that cleared her of any suspicion from the police.

While Jasper and Rhea remained close, embracing like a pair of lovers, a familiar cold voice sliced through the air.

“What the hell are you two doing?”

Jasper froze. “Un-Uncle…” he stammered. “Something happened to Rhea, so—”

But Knight cut him off sharply.

“A married man should know his own boundaries,” he said, his tone calm but biting. “Embracing another woman is where problems begin. Having a lover will only put father in distress.”

Jasper blinked, startled by the reprimand, though he believed he’d done nothing wrong.

“But Uncle Knight, no one else was here to comfort Rhea after what happened. I already called her family—they’re on their way,” Jasper reasoned.

Knight’s eyes hardened. “Whether she’s in despair or not, you, as a married man, should know how to keep your distance. From what I saw, the two of you looked more like a married couple than comforter and victim.”

Despite what Knight said, Jasper still believed he wasn’t doing anything inappropriate.

Rhea, who had been listening quietly with her face buried in Jasper’s broad chest, lifted her head and looked at Knight with tearful, pitiful eyes.

“Uncle Knight, please don’t misunderstand us,” she pleaded softly. “We aren’t doing anything beyond friendship. We may have been together before, but we’ve already accepted the reality—that Jasper married someone else. And besides,” she added with a faint smile, “his wife never complained about him staying here with me while I wait for my family to arrive. We’re even friends now.”

Knight’s expression didn’t change. “Miss Caldwell,” he said firmly, “you’re an educated woman. Whether or not something has gone beyond friendship between you two, you know the answer without me saying it.”

His voice was calm, but his words cut deep. “I’m merely reminding you both to consider how your actions appear in public.”

As he said those words, Knight turned away and started to leave the scene.

What Knight said made Rhea annoyed secretly. Instead, her eyes started to water. Her tears slowly dripped down on her cheeks and soft cries of hers could be heard.

When Jasper saw this, he immediately comforted Rhea again. Wiping her tears away with his handkerchief in his pocket.

“Rhea, don’t cry. Please, don’t cry,” he said.

Jasper suddenly got angry and called his uncle. “Uncle Knight! Why do you have to make Rhea cry? What did she do to you to make her cry?”

What Jasper said made Knight’s brows neat together in a thin line.

“Just a few words and she already cried like a child?” he sarcastically said. “As for you, better get a Psychiatrist or better yet, schedule for a brain surgery for a much better result.”

After saying this, Knight walked out of the hotel room without waiting for Jasper’s response. What Jasper said to him made him wanna smack his nephew’s head and crack it open. He suspected that Rhea might have done something to Jasper’s brain or something.

Jasper watched him go, fists clenching at his sides—part of him burned to strike his uncle for the insult; another part wondered, with a bitter twist, whether Rhea had clouded his judgment as Knight suggested.

Knight stepped into the elevator, pressing the button to the hotel’s parking level.

He had come to Althoria upon learning that his nephew, Jasper, was getting married. But it wasn’t Jasper he wanted to see—it was the bride.

He’d only managed to come today because a business venture abroad had kept him away longer than expected. He had rushed to finish it, hoping he wouldn’t miss the chance.

For a while, he thought he already had… until fate brought her before him again.

She was still as beautiful as he remembered—stunning, delicate, and graceful. A quiet kind of light seemed to follow her wherever she went.

Knight’s gaze lingered longer than it should have, and when she finally walked away, he released a restrained breath. It was better that she did. Her eyes had a way of stirring something in him—something dangerous, something he shouldn’t feel.

He pulled out his phone from his coat pocket and dialed a familiar number. The call connected almost immediately.

“Mr. Silvercrest?” came Philip Morgan’s voice on the other end.

“Philip,” Knight said calmly, “look into what happened to Rhea Caldwell—and find out where Alia is.”

“Yes, sir.”

The line went dead after that. Philip never asked questions; he knew better than to delay whenever Knight Silvercrest gave an order.