Ryan Gable observed his expression, knowing he couldn’t pry open the Golden Lion King’s lips, so he switched the topic, picking so juicy gossip from the circle as seasoning.
"Hey, Finn, you weren’t here recently, but Kenton had quite a spectacle."
Ryan flicked the cigarette ash, winking, "The Rhodes Family, you know them? That Marcus Rhodes has now firmly grasped the family in his hands. Guess what? He’s involved with his sister-in-law, I’ve heard she’s even pregnant."
Rhys Lennox’s fingers paused almost imperceptibly around his cigarette, and he looked up at him.
Ryan, unaware of this subtle reaction, continued animatedly, "The old man from The Rhodes Family nearly got a heart attack from anger, but what can be done? Now it’s Marcus Rhodes who runs the family, and who dares say a word against him? Moreover, that brother of his, who died early, had just married her without even formalizing everything."
Rhys’s Adam’s apple moved slightly, his voice rendered a bit hoarse by smoke: "...Isn’t this a ss of ethics?"
"ss of ethics my ass!" Ryan scoffed, dismissively, "There’s no blood relation, and no real official status. His brother died early, not even completing the rituals. In ancient tis, people would marry their brother’s widow to continue the family line, it was only right. Nowadays, it might sound bad if it spreads, but do you think Marcus Rhodes cares? On the surface, who dares gossip about him?"
Rhys smoked silently, the swirling smoke blurred the turbulent emotions in his eyes.
Ryan’s words were like a stone cast into dead water, rippling thoughts Rhys had never dared to ponder deeply.
No blood relation...
Nominal relation...
The person is dead...
Those thoughts he had pressed down stubbornly now broke loose like beasts, recklessly assaulting his logic.
Yes, the person is dead.
They were only engaged.
Why can’t he...
Once this thought took root, it grew rapidly at an astonishing speed, instantly seizing all his breath.
"Finn? What are you zoning out about?" Ryan nudged him with an elbow as he remained silent for a long ti.
Rhys snapped back to reality, extinguishing his cigarette in the nearby ashtray with such force that it nearly crushed it.
He stood up, grabbed the jacket draped over the back of the chair, and hastily put it on his sweaty body.
"I’m leaving." His voice was still hoarse, but carried a determined gravitas.
"Hey? Leaving already? Not having a drink?" Ryan called after him as he walked away.
Rhys didn’t look back, striding out.
He was going to see her.
Now, imdiately, at once.
The sky outside had darkened at so point, ominous clouds lood, the air was oppressive.
Rhys started the car, the engine roared as it charged out of the parking lot, rging into the traffic.
He drove fast, the scenery outside the window retreating rapidly.
He no longer thought about those damn ethical constraints, or how others would view it.
He only knew he wanted her.
When did it start? He couldn’t recall.
Maybe it was when she first "wronged" him at the airport, pretending to be calm but actually nervous, maybe it was her sharp retort when he cornered her in the café hallway, or maybe even earlier...
But his brother Shane Donovan was like an insurmountable mountain standing between him and her.
He once thought he would have to watch from afar forever...
But now, the mountain had crumbled.
Why should he stay where he was?
The car ca to a screeching halt outside Serene Law Firm.
Rhys took a deep breath, opened the car door, and strode inside.
The elevator numbers kept changing, his heart raced faster with every rise.
So thoughts, once understood, are hard to suppress again.
He was impatient to see her, to confirm her existence, to...pull her completely out of the shadow that had vanished.
"Ding—"
The elevator door opened.
Colleagues at the firm greeted him as he returned, but Rhys seed oblivious, walking straight to the office door, raising his hand to knock forcefully.
"Knock, knock, knock!"
"Co in!"
Stella Sterling looked up, her gaze drifting from the computer screen to the tall figure at the door.
Rhys stood there, wearing a black motorcycle jacket wide open, with a crumpled black T-shirt underneath, his blond hair disheveled, carrying the chill of the outdoors, mingled with a faint scent of tobacco and sweat.
"Where have you been these days?" Stella frowned slightly.
Rhys closed the door behind him, shutting out the noise from the office area.
He walked to the desk, hands in his trouser pockets, his jawline tensed.
"Had so things to do." He replied vaguely, his gaze fixed on her face.
She had lost a lot of weight, looked pale, but her eyes were astonishingly bright, like quenched ice, yet also like burning fire.
His Adam’s apple moved, suddenly at a loss for words.
"Is there sothing you need to talk to about?" Stella asked sowhat puzzled.
Rhys pressed his lips together, his jawline growing ever tighter.
"I..." But he had just uttered one word when there was a light knock on the office door.
Stella looked towards the door, "Co in."
Finn poked his head in, wearing a sowhat troubled expression: "Boss, soone is looking for you outside."
"Tell them I’m busy." Stella’s voice was low, "You can handle them."
Finn opened his mouth, seemingly wanting to say more, but at that mont, a figure brushed past him, directly entering the room.
"Counselor Sterling, sorry to intrude."
The man who entered was about thirty or forty, wearing a well-tailored dark gray suit, gold-rimd glasses, exuding a gentle elegance, a mild smile at the corner of his mouth.
His gaze swept around the office, brushing past a displeased Rhys, finally landing on Stella.
Stella looked at the face, montarily stunned.
Very familiar.
She seed to have seen him sowhere.
The man smiled slightly, his tone asured and unhurried: "Let introduce myself, I’m Julian Sullivan."
Julian Sullivan?!
Stella’s heart skipped a beat, suddenly rembering.
The recent sensational Innovatech Bio data fraud case, the one stirring up a storm behind the scenes, who ultimately tead up with Shane Donovan to pit her brother Aidan, wasn’t it this man?!
She also rembered where she’d seen him—at her and Shane Donovan’s engagent party.
Back then, he was Shane Donovan’s business partner, even offered a toast, his behavior flaw-free, leaving a strong impression.
Why would he be here?
anwhile, when Rhys saw Julian Sullivan, his gaze instantly turned cold, filled with barely concealed hostility and wariness.
This person seed to be his brother’s business rival...
What was he doing here?
He stepped forward half a step inconspicuously, placing himself between Stella and Julian Sullivan, in a protective stance.
Julian Sullivan ignored Rhys’s hostility, his gaze still warmly on Stella: "Counselor Sterling, I have so matters regarding Shane Donovan, I’d like to discuss privately with you."
Stella’s pupils contracted, her heart felt as if clenched by an invisible hand.
—Shane Donovan!?
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