Nina Wynn’s heart trembled.
Then, she slowly shook her head. "No."
Caleb Rhodes stared at her, unmoving. His gaze was so sharp it seed to pierce right through her every little sche. After watching her like this for several long seconds, he slowly spoke, "Really?"
Nina Wynn lowered her gaze, a hint of grievance in her voice. "Uncle, why are you associating with him? Do you think there’s sothing wrong with , or with him?"
She paused before continuing in a low voice, "Besides, he’s Crystal Rhodes’s boyfriend. I wouldn’t like him."
Caleb Rhodes’s eyes grew colder. "You just try liking him and see what happens!"
He lifted her chin, his voice frigid. "Nina Wynn, if I ever find out you’re lying to , you know the consequences!"
His tone was heavy with warning.
Nina Wynn bit her lip and shook her head.
"Uncle, I wouldn’t dare."
Caleb Rhodes’s expression visibly softened. He stroked her still-damp hair. "Why didn’t you dry it again?"
Suddenly, his eyes landed on her wrist, which was red from rubbing. His expression shifted. "What happened to your hand?"
Nina Wynn glanced down. It was the spot Finn Prescott had grabbed. She had rubbed it so hard that the skin was slightly broken.
"Roy scratched a few tis."
Caleb Rhodes said nothing more. He picked her up, placed her on the bed, then got a hairdryer and began to dry her hair, bit by bit.
The faint, elegant scent of roses filled the enclosed space, pervading the air between them. The atmosphere gradually grew intimate.
However, this intimate mont had only just begun.
Ti passed quickly. In just over two weeks, the chill of winter began to set in.
The winters in Elysian City were frigid, but Caleb Rhodes’s residence was always perfectly warm.
Even the greenhouse was equipped with heaters.
A few days ago, Nina Wynn had casually ntioned wanting to order so sunflowers and irises. The very next day, soone delivered dozens of potted sunflowers and irises of the highest quality. Arranged among the white roses, they looked bright and warm.
Nina Wynn’s domain expanded once again to include the greenhouse. She cut a few sunflowers, arranged them in a painted vase, and admired them for a mont. Then, she cut a small bunch of irises, placed them in a white jade vase, and brought it to the butler. "This is for you."
The butler accepted it with a stoic expression. "Thank you."
Nina Wynn walked to a nearby easel, took down a painting, and handed it to the butler. "This is for you, too."
It was a painting of the butler pruning flowers in the greenhouse. A large bouquet of fresh, light purple irises sat on the workbench, and both the person and the flowers seed to complent each other perfectly.
The butler studied it for a mont before saying, "It’s a good likeness."
A faint smile played on Nina Wynn’s lips. "These flowers are quiet and elegant, just like you, Miss Zimrman. I think you would look beautiful in light purple."
For the past few days, Nina Wynn had stopped calling the butler "Butler" and had started addressing her as Miss Zimrman.
The butler nodded. "Thank you for the complint, Miss Wynn."
Nina Wynn said, "You can call Nino. A lot of my friends call that."
She felt a little awkward after saying it, realizing she didn’t really have many friends. She quickly corrected herself, "People I’m close to call that."
The butler nodded but didn’t reply.
Seeing her lack of reaction, Nina Wynn had no choice but to return to her easel.
The greenhouse was warm, and with the recent addition of her favorite sunflowers, even the white roses seed less detestable to her. With nothing else to do, she felt like painting and had moved her easel in here.
Just as she sat down and picked up her brush, the butler said, "The Third Lord Master is returning to the Rhodes Family estate tonight. He’ll also be back here for lunch today."
She seed to be reminding her of sothing.
Nina Wynn froze, her mind drifting for a mont.
She did indeed want to make a trip back to the Rhodes Family estate. For one, she wanted to retrieve her things. For another, she wanted to see Lana Shaw again.
Seeing her spacing out again, the butler shook her head slightly.
These past days, although she had been well taken care of and had put on a little weight, Nina Wynn had been spacing out and staring into nothingness more often than before.
Sotis she would sit at her easel for two or three hours at a ti, neither speaking nor painting, lost in who knows what thoughts.
The butler always felt that while Nina Wynn looked fine on the surface, she was actually weaker than before.
After an unknown amount of ti, the sound of a car ca from outside. The butler said in a low voice, "The Third Lord Master is back. If you have sothing to discuss, Miss Wynn, you can talk to him."
With that, she took the vase and went into the main hall.
Nina Wynn snapped back to reality and saw a stately, dignified black Maybach slowly pull up to the main gate.
The door opened, and a man with an imposing aura stepped out.
He was wearing a high-quality black business overcoat that made him look exceptionally tall and straight, exuding a cold, noble air.
He glanced toward the greenhouse and strode over.
Nina Wynn gathered her thoughts, put down her brush, slid open the glass door, and ran out.
In just a few steps, she threw herself into Caleb Rhodes’s arms.
It was warm inside, so she was only wearing a loose-fitting white knit loungewear set. The thin fabric was no match for the sub-zero temperature outside, and she started shivering the mont she stepped out.
Caleb Rhodes’s face darkened slightly. He swept her into his arms and entered the greenhouse in a few strides.
He set her on the workbench, his tone displeased. "It’s this cold, and you run out dressed like that? You think your health isn’t bad enough already?"
Nina Wynn had already figured out how to please him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and said softly, "I missed you."
Then she hopped off the workbench, carefully took off his overcoat and suit jacket, folded them neatly, and hung them up.
When she finished, she turned to see Caleb Rhodes looking at her painting.
In the painting, a young boy and girl walked side-by-side on a small path, flanked by endless fields of sunflowers stretching to the horizon.
Gorgeous and intense.
Caleb Rhodes glanced at it a few tis and said coolly, "If you like sunflowers, why didn’t you say so sooner?"
Nina Wynn glanced at the painting, a flicker of imperceptible sadness in her eyes. She said softly, "I just thought of them randomly. I don’t really like them. White roses are still prettier."
Caleb Rhodes seed very pleased with her answer. His gaze softened considerably. He walked over, lifted her up, and placed her back on the workbench. He lowered his head, and his forceful lips and tongue captured her soft ones.
Nina Wynn still couldn’t get used to this stormy, passionate kiss. She could only cling to him and let him control her.
However, after being kissed so many tis, Nina Wynn had learned to slowly respond to him, so he wouldn’t bite her so hard it hurt.
After a long, lingering kiss, Caleb Rhodes finally let her go. His breathing had grown heavy, and his voice was a bit hoarse. "Why are you being so well-behaved today?"
Nina Wynn leaned against his chest, panting. Her breathing was unsteady, and her whole body felt weak.
His kisses were always so domineering, leaving her no room to breathe. Right now, not only were her lips numb, but her waist ached from his grip.
In a weak voice, she whispered, "My waist hurts, President Rhodes. Could you not be so forceful?"
As she spoke, she reached out to rub the spot he had squeezed, her furrowed brow making it clear she was genuinely in pain.
Caleb Rhodes looked at her soft, delicate appearance, and his eyes darkened. He narrowed his eyes, lifted her shirt, and saw her small, snow-white waist.
Sure enough, the spot he had just squeezed was a patch of red, marked with dark fingerprints.
He frowned, staring at the small red patch. "How can you be so delicate? It’s red again."
Nina Wynn rested her head against his body without a word. Her obedient deanor once again stirred that dark part of Caleb Rhodes’s psyche.
His hand squeezed her slender waist again, his voice hoarse. "So small. It makes want to snap you in two."
His voice was low and cold, and at tis like these, he was terrifyingly forceful. Nina Wynn was genuinely afraid he might actually snap her in half.
She couldn’t help but whisper, "President Rhodes, you’re not gentle at all."
That soft "President Rhodes" made Caleb Rhodes’s heart skip a beat, and even his expression changed. "What are you calling now?"
Recently, when they were intimate, she had stopped calling him Uncle. She always called him President Rhodes, and sotis even by his na.
Normally, he would be sowhat displeased if she called him that, but in monts like this, he found it to be a kind of turn-on. Hearing her say his na easily sparked his possessiveness.
Nina Wynn hooked her arms around his neck and whispered in a low voice, "President Rhodes. Caleb Rhodes."
Caleb Rhodes huffed lightly. "How disrespectful."
But his voice carried a hint of indulgence, not reprimand.
’In truth, at tis like this, Nina Wynn wasn’t without feelings either.’
’The na Caleb Rhodes had once dazzled her during her most barren teenage years. Back then, that na struck her like a god, and just hearing it was like a clap of thunder.’
’At that ti, that na represented absolute power and sothing to be yearned for.’
’Soone like her, if she hadn’t seen the young Caleb Rhodes with her own eyes, could never have imagined that such a favored son of heaven existed in this world—soone born at the top of the pyramid, who also happened to be exceptionally handso and incredibly capable. Just thinking about such a person made the world feel unfair.’
’She was just an ordinary person; it wasn’t strange at all that she would look up to soone like him.’
’But soone like her, who grew up in the dark corners, didn’t dare and wasn’t worthy of paying too much attention to this god-like figure. She could only steal a few glances from her corner from ti to ti.’
’And then, because of his words—"She has nothing to do with the Rhodes Family, she is not one of them"—she was cast into the abyss.’
’In a way, her later suffering was more or less related to him.’
’From then on, she no longer dared to look up to him, and the sun lost its luster.’
’Who would have thought that so many years later, this god-like figure would be holding her in his arms, kissing her so wantonly.’
’She didn’t know why he was doing this. Maybe it was just for fun, a sudden whim, or maybe he was like other scions of wealthy families who liked to keep a canary in a cage on the side.’
’But whatever the reason, he was now the only piece of driftwood she could cling to. To accomplish what she needed to do, she could only rely on his power.’
Thinking of this, she whispered in his ear, "President Rhodes, I missed you a little today."
Caleb Rhodes’s body stiffened. He then pulled her tighter into his embrace and said in a low voice, "Has Nina been thinking about anyone else?"
Nina Wynn lowered her eyelids and gently shook her head. "There’s no one else to think about. Only you."
Caleb Rhodes’s eyes darkened further, his voice growing huskier. "Then Nina needs to get well soon. There will be much more to think about in the future."
Nina Wynn knew what he was talking about.
All this ti, because of her poor health, Caleb Rhodes had actually been quite restrained. Aside from kissing, he had never truly touched her.
This made her feel that she was, in a small way, being cherished.
She didn’t know how many won he’d had before, how many canaries he kept outside now, or how he had cherished Rosalind Lowell. But right now, she greedily coveted this small feeling of being cherished.
She hadn’t felt this way since Evan Chapman died.
Nina Wynn wrapped her arms around his neck and said softly, "Uncle, I still have so things at the Rhodes Family estate. I’d like to go get them."
Caleb Rhodes clearly enjoyed her current dependence on him. With one hand on her small waist and the other grasping her delicate ankle, he gave it a little squeeze and said lightly, "Alright. I happen to be going back tonight anyway."
Nina Wynn pressed her face against his neck and nuzzled him. "Thank you, Uncle."
Caleb Rhodes’s hand on her waist tightened, his tone turning a little cold. "Not calling by my na now?"
Nina Wynn hissed in pain and whispered, "I can’t be disrespectful."
Caleb Rhodes snorted. "So now you know you’re being disrespectful?"
Nina Wynn asked in a low voice, "Uncle, can we not let anyone know about our relationship for now?"
Caleb Rhodes narrowed his eyes, his expression impassive. "What relationship is that?"
’He didn’t need her to bring it up; he had no intention of exposing Nina Wynn to the public eye himself. He had even considered changing her na to let her completely break away from her past.’
Nina Wynn bit her lip, a little flustered.
’That’s right, what is their relationship right now? Lovers? A mistress? It seed like neither! Their relationship was more like a transaction; she wanted to use his power for revenge, and he coveted her novelty and youth. A relationship of mutual benefit, sothing that could only exist in private, never to be brought into the light. Besides, he had an official fiancée out in the open.’
Seeing Nina Wynn remain silent, Caleb Rhodes released her, cupped her small chin, and looked at her with an unreadable expression. "Nina Wynn, what kind of relationship do you want us to have?"
’As long as she asked, he would give her any kind of relationship she wanted. Although he didn’t want to make her public, didn’t want to expose her, if she really cared about it, he would grant it.’
Nina Wynn kept her eyes downcast and shook her head. "Uncle, I don’t want anything."
’I don’t dare, and I don’t want to. The gap between their statuses was already imnse, and their relationship was one of mutual convenience. She really didn’t dare to have any expectations. After this is all over, she will leave Elysian City completely and go far, far away.’
Caleb Rhodes seed displeased with her answer, his tone growing cold. "Why not?"
Nina Wynn was flustered, keeping her head down in silence.
Seeing her like this, Caleb Rhodes knew she was probably bottling sothing up again. He softened his voice and said gently, "Nina, you can tell what you want. Whatever it is."
Nina Wynn shook her head. "I’m a little hungry, Uncle."
Caleb Rhodes tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, then picked her up and walked toward the main hall.
The winter days were short, and night fell in the blink of an eye.
Just as the sky began to darken, a black Rolls-Royce pulled up to the courtyard gate.
The door opened, and Caleb Rhodes stepped out.
That afternoon, the first snow of the year had begun to fall over Elysian City. It was coming down quite hard, and after standing in the wind and snow for just a short while, his shoulders were already dusted with flakes.
He stood in the swirling snow and waved to Nina Wynn. "Nina, co here!"
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