Gorgeous diamond jewelry spilled out, scattering across the floor.
In the sunset, they glittered with dazzling light.
Caleb Rhodes’s face darkened instantly. He grabbed Nina Wynn’s hand and forced the ring onto her middle finger.
It was a perfect fit.
As the butler gathered the jewelry from the floor, he said, "Miss Wynn, these items were part of the Madam’s dowry and are priceless now. The ring was specifically resized to fit you. You really shouldn’t reject it."
Nina Wynn felt the ring was suffocating, so tight it made it hard to breathe.
She instinctively pried the ring off.
Caleb Rhodes’s expression grew even darker. "Put it back on."
Clutching the ring, Nina felt as if she were holding a bomb.
She didn’t want anything from Caleb Rhodes.
Taking her kitten away had already destroyed any shred of trust she had in him.
She lowered her gaze and offered the ring to Caleb Rhodes. "Uncle, sothing like this would be better given to Miss Lowell."
Caleb Rhodes stared at the ring, the chill on his face deepening.
His voice grew colder still. "Nina Wynn, I’ll say it again. Put it back on."
Nina held the ring out, unmoving.
Caleb Rhodes narrowed his eyes, his voice so cold it could have been forged in a glacier. "Don’t test my patience."
Nina whispered, "I don’t want this."
’This belongs to Rosalind Lowell. If I wear it, I’m the other woman. I’m a thief!’
The phrase she hated most in the world was "the other woman."
’I don’t know why Caleb Rhodes would give sothing so expensive, but I don’t like it and I won’t accept it. Especially a ring. It’s supposed to be sacred, yet he’s just giving it away so casually. Doesn’t he understand what a ring signifies?’
But Caleb Rhodes clearly hadn’t expected Nina to defy him so brazenly. He snatched the ring and once again tried to force it onto her hand.
Nina clenched her hand into a tight fist, biting her lip. She refused to speak or even look at Caleb Rhodes.
A wave of fury surged through Caleb Rhodes as he watched her. He gripped her small fist and growled through clenched teeth, "Open your hand!"
Nina said nothing, her fist only tightening.
Caleb Rhodes was seething. He wanted to pry her fingers open one by one, but her hand was so small he felt that any more force might shatter it.
His grip was so tight that a cold sweat broke out on Nina’s skin from the pain, but she refused to open her hand.
The two were at a stalemate, neither willing to give in.
The butler watched them, his brow furrowing slightly. Just as he was about to speak, he heard Nina say in a low voice, "Uncle, don’t you know what a ring represents?"
Caleb Rhodes stared at her, his expression unreadable, his gaze cold and heavy. "And what’s that?"
Nina slowly raised her head to et his eyes. "You only put a ring on soone’s finger when you’re proposing. Are you planning to marry , Uncle?"
Her voice was quiet, but it carried an almost imperceptible trace of mockery.
Caleb Rhodes’s gaze was cold and dark as he stared at her. "Do you want to get married?"
Nina didn’t answer. She just looked at him in silence.
After a long mont, she said in a soft, small voice, "Uncle, when is this ga going to end?"
’Ga?’
’End?’
Caleb Rhodes stared at her, a dangerous glint slowly creeping into his eyes. His expression turned frigid, and the very air around them seed to drop by several degrees.
The oppressive aura of a man in power suffocated Nina, making it hard for her to breathe.
She lowered her eyelids and moved her lips. "Just give a date. I’ll do my best to cooperate."
Caleb Rhodes stared at her, enunciating each word with chilling precision. "You think I’m playing a ga with you?"
’How dare she?’
’How dare she say sothing like that?’
He suddenly grabbed her chin, forcing her to look directly at him. "Nina Wynn, you really will say anything, won’t you?"
Nina didn’t dare to look at him and simply closed her eyes.
"Uncle, you have everything. I have nothing."
’The one thing I wanted to have was just taken from .’
Caleb Rhodes narrowed his eyes, a dangerous aura spreading through the air.
Suddenly, he let go of Nina, pushed her aside, and stood up.
He looked down at Nina, his powerful presence so overwhelming she barely dared to look up.
His voice was ice-cold. "Nina Wynn, I’ve been far too lenient with you!"
Nina didn’t answer, nor did she look up at him.
The fist hidden behind her back was clenched tight.
Caleb Rhodes stared at the small whorl of hair on top of her head, his voice light but terrifying. "If you think this is a ga, then let tell you—the ga has just begun. And I decide the rules and when it ends!"
He reached out, his fingers tracing a slow path down her delicate cheek. "I’m a man of consistent tastes. I can favor the sa thing for twenty years without ever changing."
Nina’s face instantly turned paper-white, and her body began to tremble.
Caleb Rhodes narrowed his eyes, then turned and left the courtyard.
He was gone for a long ti before Nina finally lifted her head.
The sky was already getting dark. The faint scent of cedar from Caleb Rhodes seed to linger in the air—cold, yet sohow alluring.
The wind picked up, a little cold. She curled up on the chair as if she’d lost all feeling.
The butler brought a woolen shawl and draped it over her, saying with a deadpan expression, "You shouldn’t have provoked him. That jewelry set was a gift from his mother. He values it greatly."
There was no life in Nina’s eyes. She stared at the large tree branches reaching in from outside the courtyard and said in a low voice, "If sothing isn’t yours, taking it is stealing. It has to be returned."
The butler opened his mouth as if to speak, but ultimately said nothing.
For three days, Caleb Rhodes didn’t show up.
The butler was still there. Her three daily als were as ticulously prepared as before, and he personally watched her finish her dicine. Everything was so calm it was as if nothing had happened.
After lunch, Nina went to watch TV by the hotel’s outdoor screen.
She’d noticed they often broadcast local financial news there. Catching a story she found interesting helped her relax a little.
Sure enough, she had only been sitting for a short while when a news report about Reboot Technologies ca on.
"Reboot Technologies to partner with Nash Group, crisis to be averted."
"According to a high-level source at Nash Group, this news is true. Nash Group will acquire a stake in Reboot Technologies."
"Rumor has it the Reboot Technologies heiress is set to be engaged to the eldest son of the Fawley Group. This alliance will surely usher in a new era of prosperity for the company!"
...
Nina’s face slowly drained of all color. She could barely register the words from the broadcast anymore, her eyes fixed blankly on the subtitles.
The milk bottle in her hand slipped, falling to the ground with a CRASH and shattering into pieces.
The milk splashed out, dirtying a passerby’s shoes.
Nina ca back to her senses. Before she could even say "I’m sorry," she saw a familiar face.
He was handso and tall, with good features—and a faint resemblance to Caleb Rhodes.
It was Zyler Rhodes!
The man was also stunned to see Nina, then rushed over in pleasant surprise, grabbing her hand tightly. "Nina! I’ve been looking for you for days!"
Nina hadn’t expected to et him here either. She glanced around hastily. "Zyler, what are you doing here?"
Zyler Rhodes’s sharp suit and handso face were already drawing attention. Nina quickly tried to pull her hand away.
Zyler Rhodes was too excited to let go, his voice trembling slightly. "Nina, I’ve been looking for you everywhere. I knew you were okay! But why didn’t you call ? I haven’t slept properly in days..."
His grip was painful. As she tried to pull her hand free, she glanced around nervously. "Zyler, people are staring..."
Zyler Rhodes, ignoring her protests, dragged her directly into a small pavilion nearby.
It was shielded by bamboo, blocking most people’s view. Nina breathed a sigh of relief.
Zyler Rhodes tried to hug her, but she dodged him.
He stared at her delicate, pale face, thinking she looked even more beautiful than before, just far too thin. Her clothes seed a little big, not fitting her well.
He felt a pang of heartache. Looking at her, he asked urgently, "Are you working as a waitress here? You haven’t gone ho, the school can’t reach you... everyone’s looking for you, don’t you know?"
Before she could answer, he suddenly hugged her tightly in his excitent. "Nina, are you hiding from on purpose? Did you hide because you heard I was getting engaged? Don’t be angry. Even if I get engaged, I’ll still take care of you..."
Caught off guard, Nina was pulled into a full embrace. Zyler Rhodes was very strong, and she felt like she was being squeezed to the point of suffocation.
’Besides, this Zyler Rhodes is so weird. What does his engagent have to do with ? And what does it have to do with hiding?’
She shoved him away and coughed violently.
Zyler Rhodes hurried forward to pat her on the back. "I know you got into trouble," he said as he patted her. "You hit Chloe Joyce, the Reboot Technologies heiress. But you shouldn’t have hidden away. You should have co to . I would have handled it for you."
"But now, we’ve missed the best ti to deal with it. It’s beco a big deal. The authorities are looking for you everywhere, and the Joyce Family has sworn they won’t let you off. So, it’s not easy to handle now. I’ve already thought it through. You should leave Elysian City for a while. I’ve prepared a house for you elsewhere. You can live there for now. I’ll send you living expenses regularly, and I’ll co see you on weekends."
"Nina, you can live there. You can get a job or go to school if you want. I’ll be in Elysian City from Monday to Thursday, and I’ll co over to be with you on Fridays. That way, you and Ivy Lawson won’t have to et, and it’ll be easier for to manage my relationship with both of you."
Nina’s head snapped up, and she stared at Zyler Rhodes. "You’re getting engaged to Ivy Lawson?"
Seeing her reaction, Zyler Rhodes thought she was jealous. A look of uncontrollable delight filled his eyes. He grabbed Nina’s hand. "It’s just a business alliance, don’t worry. I have no feelings for her. I told her, after we get married, we’ll go our separate ways and won’t interfere with each other. You just live there for a few years. Once this whole thing blows over and my career is stable, I’ll bring you back to Elysian City."
With that, he couldn’t resist pulling her into another forceful hug. "Nina, I knew you had feelings for ! You’ve always liked , haven’t you? Even when I treated you badly before, you put up with it just so I would notice you, right? I was wrong before. I’ll treat you well from now on..."
Nina had no idea what he was talking about. Squeezed so hard she couldn’t breathe, she struggled, "Let go! Let go of !"
For Zyler Rhodes, finding Nina felt like recovering sothing precious he had lost. The powerful emotional rush had him on a high. How could he bear to let go? Not only did he hug her tighter, but he even tried to kiss her.
Nina was utterly disgusted by him. A kiss was out of the question; just being held by him like this made her feel like she needed to shower ten tis. She kept trying to dodge him.
"What are you two doing?"
The cold, deep voice, laced with palpable anger, was as piercing as an icicle. Zyler Rhodes instantly let Nina go.
"Uncle, you’re here?"
Zyler Rhodes straightened his clothes, feigning composure as he pushed Nina behind him.
Nina slowly looked up and saw Caleb Rhodes, who she hadn’t seen for three days.
He wore an exceptionally tailored black suit that made him look cold, austere, and suprely dignified.
Right now, he was staring at her motionlessly. The sharp chill and darkness in his eyes made Nina take an involuntary step back.
To be honest, Zyler Rhodes was handso enough, but compared to Caleb Rhodes, he was completely outmatched in presence alone. Although they looked slightly similar, Zyler was, at best, a budget version.
As for Caleb Rhodes, he rely had to stand there for all eyes to fall on him. Setting aside his exceptionally handso features, his powerful, commanding aura alone compelled people to look up to him in awe.
And the female companion by his side was, naturally, just as dazzling.
The popular actress Vivian Landon was beautiful and charming, her face wreathed in smiles. Her figure-hugging rmaid dress accentuated her tall, curvaceous figure. The light blue diamond jewelry on her neck and wrist glittered brilliantly. As she casually lifted her hand, she revealed a huge blue diamond ring on her middle finger—identical to the one from that other day!
Standing together, they looked like a match made in heaven.
’No wonder the entertainnt news has been full of rumors about them these past few days. So they weren’t all false.’
Nina lowered her gaze, her hands clutching her clothes tightly as her heart sank bit by bit.
’So soon? A new canary already?’
Caleb Rhodes’s gaze lingered on her face for a few seconds before moving away to Zyler Rhodes. "The banquet is about to start. What are you still doing here?"
His voice was cold and, as always, utterly calm, betraying no emotion.
It was as if he didn’t know Nina, as if they had never been entangled. Her being tangled up with Zyler Rhodes now had nothing to do with him.
Zyler Rhodes glanced back at Nina and said in a low voice, "Uncle, I found Nina. She wasn’t missing; she’s been hiding out as a waitress in your hotel. She... she’s practically a mber of the Rhodes Family, after all. I want to help her."
After speaking, he looked expectantly at the uncle he had admired since childhood.
Caleb Rhodes’s gaze passed over Zyler Rhodes’s shoulder and landed on the top of the small head visible behind him. His eyes seed to grow even colder.
Seeing him remain silent, Zyler Rhodes asked tentatively, "Uncle?"
Caleb Rhodes withdrew his gaze, his tone exceptionally cold. "We’ll talk about this later."
With that, he turned and left.
Vivian Landon naturally looped her arm through his, looking for all the world like a perfectly matched couple.
Zyler Rhodes turned back to Nina. "Nina, the Joyce Family is coming today, so you shouldn’t be out here working as a waitress. It’ll be bad if they spot you. Go stay in your dorm for now. I’ll co find you after the banquet is over. Pack your things; you’re leaving with ."
With that said, he left the pavilion.
Nina lifted her head, her gaze following the retreating figures of Caleb Rhodes and Vivian Landon.
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