When Susanna was with Yvonne, things were tough. If she ever failed to meet one of Yvonne''s expectations-no sleeping, no eating. Period. It was strict, borderline brutal. Sometimes Susanna would go the entire day without so much as a sandwich. Yvonne would push her so hard, Susanna had no choice but to get


    it right.


    But with Hull... well, that was a whole different story.


    Half an hour in: "Have some water."


    Another half hour: "Here, eat some fruit."


    Another half hour: "The sun''s too much. Let''s move somewhere cooler."


    If Susanna so much as rubbed her hand, Hull would say, "Let me see. We should take care of that."


    If her legs started aching: "Can''t stand? Go sit and have a drink."


    The moment she mentioned she was hungry: "Alright, let''s eat.”


    Every half hour, there was a new reason to stop. Sore hands, sore feet, hungry, thirsty, too sunny, too windy... Training? This felt more like a vacation at a cozy cabin than anything else.


    Susanna used to worry that Hull might be even stricter than Yvonne. Now? Not a chance. If anything, she was starting to think she''d lose every bit of hard-earned discipline Yvonne had drilled into her.


    One afternoon, in the cabin''s dining room, a chilly breeze swept through. "Ah, that feels so good," Susanna sighed, savoring the moment. Days like this were something she''d hardly dared hope fortely. It felt like her whole world, which had been falling apart, was finally being pieced back together.


    That''s why, when she was with Yvonne, Susanna trained with everything she had. Anything Yvonne told her to do, she did with total focus.


    Hull watched her gulp down her orange juice and asked, "Why do you have to push yourself so hard?"


    "Huh?" Susanna blinked.


    This was what he called hard? He clearly hadn''t seen her dive for lobsters bare- handed or scale a cliff with nothing but her fingernails back with Yvonne. Now, that was hard.


    Hull went on, "About ck Gate... you know, you could just ask me. I could take care of them for you. For good."


    He didn''t say "take care of”—he actually said "take them out," and the way he said it sent a chill down Susanna''s spine.


    She hesitated, frowning. "You... uh..."


    Was she supposed to tell him not to go around threatening people? But in Hull''s world, violence was kind of the norm. If he were the gentle type, now that would actually be dangerous.


    Over the past weeks, Susanna had stopped worrying about whether Hull was a good guy or a bad guy. At this point, she wasn''t even sure it mattered.


    "Are you... are you confessing to me right now?" she blurted out.


    Hull looked at her, puzzled. "What?"


    Susanna shrugged. "I mean, usually guys only go all out like that for women they care about. No one puts in that much effort for


    someone they don''t love." Like


    Ste Ronald was so protective of


    her, it was obvious hero


    head-over-heels. People only go to those lengths for the ones they love.


    For a split second, the air went still.


    Hull reached out and gently tipped Susanna''s chin up, studying her face. The look he gave her made her squirm.


    Uh-oh.


    Maybe spending so much time with Yvonne had rubbed off on her-she''d be way too blunt. Yvonne was the queen of saying exactly what she thought, no sugarcoating, no beating around the bush.


    "Why are you staring at me like that?" Susanna demanded, feeling her cheeks burn.


    Hull''s hand slid down to her neck, his fingers lingering on her skin. Susanna felt a ticklish shiver and instinctively tried to step back.


    Hull chuckled low in his throat. "Well, it''s true. All my strength, I use it on you."


    The way he said "on you" was loaded with meaning—so obvious it made Susanna''s face go scarlet.


    Her courage may have grown with Yvonne''s training, and she was definitely less


    shy than before, but that didn''t mean she''d lost all her modesty.


    "Why are you blushing?" Hull teased, a crooked smile on his lips.


    "N-no reason. Are we still training or what?" Susanna stammered, desperate to change the subject.


    From Yvonne''s mysterious ind to this ce, Susanna had learned something very important: Hull was hopeless when it came to flirting. That Cold, reserved man she''d met back in Portis City? Underneath that icy exterior was a heart that was anything but innocent. A little push, and his cool mask slipped right off.


    His fire was impossible to put out.


    And, honestly, Susanna still felt a little sore just thinking about it.