"I’m not sure, but keeping my distance from all the ladies seems like the right move," Roo said, then looked up at Chasel and asked, "Chasel, what brings you here?"
"Rose said she wanted to take a walk alone, and I couldn’t just sit still, so I ca to check on her."
"Sa here."
"Are you really not interested in Serena at all?" Chasel asked as they walked on. "If Rose hadn’t co back to this family, would you have married Serena?"
"No way," Roo’s voice was firm. "Actually, I even considered calling off the engagent before."
Not only had he considered it, he had actually almost done it. But then he found out that his betrothed was Rose, so he changed his mind at the last minute.
Hearing this, Chasel was taken aback. "Do you realize what calling off the engagent at the last minute would an for our two families?"
"I’m aware."
It would an a total fallout between the two families. It would an he and David could no longer be brothers. It would an he’d have a formidable competitor in the business world. It would an accusations from his family, a loss of the elder’s dignity, and the reputation of the McMillan family being completely tarnished.
"But I can’t commit to a lifeti with soone I don’t love, and I believe you guys wouldn’t want your beloved one being neglected by either."
Chasel was puzzled. "Is Serena really that bad? Over all these years, hasn’t she attracted you at all?"
"I don’t know if you’ve noticed, Chasel, but ever since Rose ca back ho, Serena hasn’t exactly been friendly to her," Roo pointed out. "Including deliberately provoking and testing Rose at the dinner table and her inappropriate behavior."
"Roo, Serena is my sister!"
These words were hard to swallow. Before Serena’s true identity was revealed, every mber of the Collins family had doted on her for eighteen years. Not only Kenneth and Louisa, but all five brothers treated her like a princess, catering to her every need and protecting her at all costs.
This princess, whom they’ve watched grow up, might be a bit haughty, but surely she’s not as bad as Roo painted her to be? Chasel was having a hard ti hearing soone speak ill of his sister in front of him.
Roo understood. After all, who would suspect their innocent sister of having ulterior motives? Just like he wouldn’t suspect his family of being bad people without reason, right?
"She’s been the princess for eighteen years, and suddenly everything she had no longer belongs to her. It’s normal for her to feel left out and try to draw attention. It’s just girly stuff as long as she doesn’t hurt Rose."
Just as Chasel finished, Roo asked, "And if she causes trouble for Rose, would you stand by and do nothing?"
"If she intentionally targets Rose, I’ll stop her once I notice."
"And if it happens where you can’t see? Or if you can’t do anything about it?"
"Roo," Chasel looked at Roo, seemingly dissatisfied. "Is Serena really that bad in your eyes?"
"You saw what happened when she sent the fruit." Roo t his gaze, word by word, his voice firm. "Her intentions weren’t pure."
"If I heard correctly, she was trying to draw a line between you two."
"I could hear your footsteps from far away, couldn’t she?"
"You’re saying she deliberately let overhear those things?" Chasel’s expression darkened. "So in your eyes, she’s already gone to the dogs."
In his heart, she didn’t exist, not even a shadow.
"You’re saying she’s got a hidden agenda. Has she been bothering you behind my back? Or did she do sothing to hurt Rose?"
"You’ve just gotten back, and you might not be in the loop. You can do so snooping around when you have ti, and then you’ll see if what I’m saying is true."
It was just a heads-up. He didn’t expect Chasel to be Rose’s knight in shining armor. He could handle his own girl.
Chasel didn’t play favorites with his sisters. He watched Serena grow up, and he had a good read on her. But Roo wasn’t one to badmouth people, especially girls. So what was the real issue here? Was Roo being overprotective of Rose? Or had Serena really done sothing out of line that he, as her brother, was oblivious to?
Thinking back to the dinner table, Serena just acted cute, asking him to serve her food and soup. She didn’t step out of line. Smart people knew to keep up a good relationship with family. Even if she were against Rose, at least on the surface, things should be harmonious. Serena was surely aware of this. After all, without the Collins family, she’d be nothing. She’d go from living the high life to hitting rock bottom.
So was she really as dense as Roo suggested, approaching him with ulterior motives, disrupting Rose’s happiness, and acting unfriendly towards Rose? If not, was soone pulling her strings from behind the scenes? And who could that be?
Seeing Chasel deep in thought, Roo knew he’d at least taken so of it to heart. It seed he hadn’t been blinded by family ties. In front of her family, Serena wouldn’t make Rose’s life difficult. It seed that behind the scenes, it was ti for her true colors to show.
On the other side, a small knife was pressed against a short-haired girl’s throat.
Rosemary, holding the knife, asked coldly, "Who are you?"
She’d felt watched ever since she got ho in the afternoon. But her minions reported that no one was staking out her house. She decided to take another look, and sure enough, her own skills led her to a shady figure.
The short-haired girl wore a mask, revealing only a pair of beautiful eyes that looked sowhat displeased. Judging by her eyes, she seed only a year or two older than Rosemary. A trained assassin from who-knows-where? So young?
"And who are you?" The short-haired girl was irked. If she hadn’t been caught off guard, how could she have been found out by Rosemary, let alone threatened with a knife? Rosemary’s minions hadn’t spotted her. She thought her stealth skills were top-notch.
"I’m the one asking questions!" Rosemary’s knife moved a little closer. Her voice was cold as ice. "Who sent you? Or do you have your own agenda? If you don’t spill it, you won’t be speaking anymore."
"Hmph!" This little girl was too arrogant! Her words were full of contempt. The short-haired girl was evidently more annoyed.
"Do you dare kill at the doorstep of the Collins family?" The short-haired girl squinted her eyes, apparently disbelieving, and said, "If you have the guts, do it now!"
This girl was quite brave.
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