Nina Wynn shoved him away. "Zyler Rhodes, control yourself."
Zyler Rhodes’s expression darkened. He gritted his teeth. "Nina Wynn, don’t be so shaless. What’s the difference between you and that social-climbing aunt of yours? I’m giving you a golden opportunity and you’re throwing it away. Are you trying to play hard to get?"
Nina Wynn’s face fell, and her tone turned icy. "I know the Rhodes Family is out of my league. I have no intention of trying to climb my way in."
Seeing her expression change, Zyler Rhodes ran a hand through his hair in frustration, and his tone softened. "Nina Wynn, that’s not what I ant. As long as you’re with , I can give you anything you want... except an official title."
"I know I did so terrible things in the past, and I let Crystal Rhodes bully you, but that’s all over with, isn’t it? I’ll make it up to you from now on. Nina Wynn, you like a little, don’t you...?"
Seeing that he was getting more and more ridiculous, Nina Wynn cut him off, her face devoid of expression. "Zyler Rhodes, I think you’ve made a mistake. I’m not interested in you."
She enunciated every word with sharp clarity. "To be precise, I’m not interested in anyone from the Rhodes Family. Not in the slightest."
Every single word reached the man inside the car. Caleb Rhodes’s hand, resting on the car door, froze. An unconscious hint of malice emanated from him, and the atmosphere in the car suddenly grew heavy.
Zyler Rhodes exploded. "Not interested in ? Is it because of that punk?"
He suddenly yanked a stack of photos from his pocket and threw them in Nina Wynn’s face, his voice seething with anger. "You like him, don’t you?"
The photos scattered across the ground.
Though the light was dim, Nina Wynn could still make them out. The person in the photos was her classmate, Seth Collins. She had gotten a little closer to him recently because of their internships. She never imagined Zyler Rhodes had been photographing them.
Staring at the photos on the ground, Nina Wynn took a deep breath. "Zyler, I know the Rhodes Family is powerful, but please don’t harass my classmate. He’s just an ordinary person, and besides, I don’t even like him."
Zyler Rhodes grabbed her, dragging her in front of him and glaring down at her. "Nina Wynn, if you want him to graduate in one piece, you’d better behave. If I ever see you getting close to a male classmate again, I’ll make him wish he were dead!"
Nina Wynn’s expression shifted, her eyes fixing on him with a look of pure loathing.
Zyler Rhodes was stunned by her gaze.
’This poor little thing who’d spent ten years with the Rhodes Family had always been so ek and obedient. When cornered, all she ever did was run. Since when did she have such an aggressive look in her eyes?’
After a long mont, Nina Wynn crouched down, gathered the photos one by one, and tossed them into a nearby trash can.
She picked up her small suitcase and started to walk away. "Zyler Rhodes, you should leave. A place like this isn’t fit for a pampered young master like you."
She quickly vanished into the darkness. By the ti Zyler Rhodes snapped out of it, she was nowhere to be seen.
Furious, Zyler Rhodes kicked the trash can a few tis, cursed, and quickly drove off.
A mont later, the door of the luxury sedan opened, and a tall, lean figure stepped out.
The night wind swept past, rustling the fallen yellow leaves on the ground. The air was thick with the damp stickiness of sumr, tinged with the faint, musty sll of the old residential complex. Even breathing felt difficult.
Caleb Rhodes bent down and picked a few photos out of the trash can.
In the photo, the boy and girl walked side-by-side on a campus path. Sunlight stread through the leaves, bathing them in a srizing golden light. They looked like a perfect match.
Caleb Rhodes narrowed his eyes, his thumb brushing over the girl’s face in the photograph.
’Smiling so brightly, with a galaxy of stars in her eyes. Is she really this happy when she’s with soone else?’
Not far away, Nina Wynn hid in a dark corner, staring motionlessly at Caleb Rhodes.
He wore a simple white shirt and black trousers, his appearance clean and distinguished. Standing in the dark of night, he almost seed to glow. His presence alone made even this rundown neighborhood feel more refined and pristine.
’But only she knew that beneath that clean, handso exterior lay a heart cold enough to be cruel.’
Suddenly, Caleb Rhodes snapped his head up, his gaze locking directly onto her.
His gaze was that of a beast that had locked onto its prey in the night—bloodthirsty and predatory.
Nina Wynn flinched, spun around, and disappeared into the decrepit building in a few quick steps.
The light in the stairwell had long been broken. After just a few steps, she felt her strength give out, and she leaned against the wall to take several deep breaths.
mories ca flooding back. A bone-deep ache spread to her heart, suffocating her like the aftershock of so terrible trauma.
After a long ti, Nina Wynn stumbled into her rented apartnt.
It was an old one-bedroom apartnt with simple furniture and dim lighting.
Yet, the man downstairs stared at that single, dim light for a long ti.
It wasn’t until the rain began to fall that Willson Lawson erged, holding a black umbrella.
"Third Lord Master, it’s getting late. We should head back."
Caleb Rhodes stared at the faint light on the fifth floor and said flatly, "Look into her relationships over the past few years."
Willson Lawson replied, "There’s not much to find. Zyler Rhodes has driven away almost everyone close to her. Anyti a man gets near her, he makes a move."
"Third Lord Master, by placing Zyler Rhodes by her side back then, you effectively cut off all of Miss Wynn’s romantic prospects."
Caleb Rhodes’s fingers twitched, and he tore his gaze away from the small window.
"How old is Weston?"
"Twenty-two. Two years older than Miss Wynn."
Caleb Rhodes nodded. "Good. Old enough to get married. Gather the profiles of all the eligible young ladies from prominent families in Elysian City around his age. Pick out a girlfriend for him. It’s ti he settled down."
Willson Lawson lowered his gaze and said quietly, "Third Lord Master, please don’t forget your appointnt with Miss Lowell tomorrow."
Caleb Rhodes’s expression was impassive. "Willson Lawson," he said coldly, "just do your job."
「The next day.」
When Nina Wynn woke up, she found her body felt so heavy she could barely get out of bed.
She touched her forehead. It was burning up.
She took her temperature. 102.2 degrees!
She took two fever reducers and slept until the afternoon. When she woke, she felt much better.
She opened her phone to see over a dozen missed calls and a notification that a friend request had been accepted.
Nina Wynn stared at the friend request for three seconds before deciding to ignore it.
’Caleb Rhodes... He hasn’t been back to the Rhodes estate recently, so I shouldn’t run into him, right?’
Just then, her friend Noelle Landon called again. "Honey, SOS!"
「At six in the evening, Nina Wynn arrived at The Watercolor Café.」
Since it was a weekday evening, the large café was mostly empty.
Nina Wynn imdiately spotted the person sitting by the window.
She walked over and confidently extended her hand. "Hello, I’m Noelle Landon."
The young man looked up, a flash of stunned admiration in his eyes. He quickly stood and shook her hand. "Hello, I’m Vera Jacobs."
He wore a white shirt and black pants and had a shy smile. His voice was as clear and pleasant as a cool breeze.
He bore a slight resemblance to the boy from her mories—the one who was gentle as jade and had always protected her.
But that person had passed away four years ago.
Nina Wynn’s mind drifted for a mont.
After they had talked for a bit, Nina Wynn ca clean. "I’m sorry, Mr. Jacobs. Noelle Landon is my best friend. I’m here in her place to sabotage this blind date. She already has a boyfriend, but her family doesn’t approve, so..."
Vera Jacobs was just about to speak when he saw Nina Wynn suddenly grab a magazine from the table to hide her face.
He looked at her, surprised. "What’s wrong?"
Nina Wynn wished she could crawl under the table.
’Why is Caleb Rhodes everywhere!’
Outside the window, a black Maybach had pulled up at so point. Standing beside it were an incredibly striking man and woman.
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