《The Forgotten Heiress Returns》全部章節：第 31 章 - 第 40 章

"Amber, my dear." Madame Winchester called, her voice shaking as she turned to Amber. "You pulled me back from the blink of death."She held Amber's hand tight into hers, gratitude spilling openly across her tired face, her fingers still weak but her grip warm and unwilling to let go just yet, as though letting go might somehow undo the last hour entirely. Oliver held her other hand at her left side as both of them sat together on the couch, the earlier tension in the room slowly giving way to something gentler, softer. "Grandma, you are going to live a long and healthy life." Amber said with assurance. "But honestly, I couldn't have done it without Oliver's help." She turned to glance briefly at Oliver as she said it, a small, grateful smile tugging at the corner of her mouth, careful to give credit where she genuinely felt it belonged, whatever complicated feelings she still carried about the man sitting beside his grandmother.Zoe twisted her mouth with irritation from where she

"What are you doing under the table?" Zoe barked again, noticing how Amber had been moving her hand down toward her lap over and over, her earlier suspicion sharpening into something closer to certainty now.But Amber couldn't answer. She swallowed hard, her whole body shaking, her mind racing for some excuse that refused to come fast enough no matter how hard she reached for one.Then Zoe shook her head and immediately bent forward, ducking her head beneath the table to see for herself exactly what was going on, her chair scraping softly against the floor as she leaned lower.Amber's eyebrows widened instantly, her body shaking harder now, praying silently that Zoe wouldn't find out what had actually been happening this whole time beneath the tablecloth.Her heart hammered fast against her ribs, the seconds stretching unbearably long as she waited for the moment everything would unravel in front of the entire family.Oliver moved fast, taking a fork and slapping it sharply against Zo

The old woman chuckled. "Oliver, you're so full of it." she said teasingly to him, shaking her head slightly as she reached for her water glass.She was clearly enjoying the easy banter between the two of them far more than she was willing to admit out loud.There was something almost girlish in the way her eyes crinkled at the corners whenever her grandson teased her back, as though age hadn't managed to touch that particular part of her at all.She turned to Amber next, her expression softening into something warmer, gentler, the kind of look reserved only for people she'd already decided belonged somewhere close to her heart. "Come back tomorrow and have lunch with me." she said, patting the empty seat beside her as though already looking forward to the company long before the morning even arrived."Of course, Grandma." Amber replied happily, the word settling easier on her tongue with every use, no longer feeling quite so borrowed as it had earlier that afternoon. "But it's late.

Amber kept struggling until she was finally able to push him away, her whole body tensing with the last burst of effort it took to break free.It was almost too late because that was just the moment Elizabeth and Edward appeared in that same location in the hallway, their footsteps finally catching up to the sound Amber had heard drawing closer only seconds earlier.Amber jumped down from the table quickly, wiping her lips with the back of her hand, her heart hammering in short, uneven bursts like a child caught stealing meat straight out of the soup pot before anyone in the house woke up."Oliver, Amber, what are you doing here?" Elizabeth asked as she approached them, her eyes narrowing slightly even as her tone stayed carefully neutral."Grandma asked Oliver to take me home." Amber replied, trying hard to hide the tremor still running just beneath her voice, her hands smoothing quickly at the front of her gown.Oliver nodded, smiling quietly to himself, entirely unbothered by how c

Their mouths met again, and the resistance Amber had shown only moments earlier began weakening.Confusion began fighting against the attraction she had desperately tried to deny.She knew she should push him away, especially after everything that had happened between them, but her body seemed unwilling to obey the warning screaming inside her mind.“Oliver.” She said, trying to pull away. “Oliver, no.” Her both hands resting on his chest.Her palms remained against his chest, but there was no longer the same force behind them. He slowly pulled back, giving her enough space to breathe while studying her face with an expression that carried far too much confidence for her comfort.“You're fighting me because you can't admit you want me too.” He said, and she turned her face away.Amber's jaw tightened as she looked towards the side, refusing to give him the satisfaction of seeing whether his words had touched something she was struggling to hide.Oliver watched her quietly for several