Ste awkwardly tried to pull her leg free, but Finley was clinging to it for dear life. He seemed determined not to let go until she promised to put in a good word for


    him.


    "Ugh, just let go of me! I''m going to be sick!" What was that smell wafting through the air? It was unbearable.


    Finley blinked. "Huh?"


    "Hurry up! I throw up when I get anxious!" And it was true. Throughout her pregnancy, her stomach had been incredibly sensitive. Any little thing could set it off, and right now, there was a truly indescribable odor...


    "Then... you''ll put in a good word for me?" Finley pleaded. He was at his wit''s end with that jerk Ronald, who just wouldn''t let hime back. Ronald had promised he could return after the mission in the Muliba Desert was over, but then he''d gone back on his word. It was infuriating! He was starting to think Ronald really did want him to bake into a mummy out there.


    "Gag..."


    Ste opened her mouth to speak, but the smell was too much. She was about to vomit.


    Seeing her heave, Finley immediately let go. Ste thought she was in the clear. But after she finished being sick in the bathroom, she came out to find Finley once againtched onto her legs.


    It was clear Ronald was dead set on teaching Finley a lesson about his big mouth this time. But from the looks of it... it hadn''t worked.


    "Star, you have to save your Finley! I haven''t showered in three months—"


    "Oh, so that''s why!"


    "That''s why what?"


    "That''s why I threw up! Your stench made me sick!" Ste eximed.


    Finley was dumbfounded. "Wait... I thought you said you threw up when you get anxious?" Now she was saying he''d stunk her into it?


    "You smell so bad it''s making me anxious, so of course I threw up!" Thinking back, she realized the anxiety she''d felt was triggered by the foul odor. The minute she got anxious, she had to run to the bathroom.


    Finley felt his heart break. He couldn''t even be loved anymore.


    "Just go take a shower," Ste begged, feeling another wave of nausea. The smell was clinging to him, and she was about to be sick again.


    "Star..."


    "Ugh, let go of me! I have to go throw up again! Gag..."


    Finley''s hands flew open instinctively as Ste rushed back to the bathroom, retching violently.


    He sniffed his own clothes. The stench almost knocked him out cold.


    In the study, Ronald was still on the phone with Yvonne, unaware that Finley had returned. "Juste back from Litamark for now," he was saying. At that moriens, Ronald started to wonder if he''d made a


    mistake from the beginning. After all, Yvonne had once had feelings for Dan. She never should have been involved in the n to take down ck Gate.


    Back on the line, hearing Ronald tell her toe home made Yvonne feel a little


    better. "So you are my big brother after all."


    "Hmm?"


    "I was starting to think you didn''t love me anymore."


    Ronald was silent.


    Yvonne continued, "You all kept me in the dark about everything. I hate Dan''s guts, and you guys still AS she spoke, a note of genuine hurt crept into her voice.


    "Yvonne."


    "Fine, fine, I forgive you," Yvonne cut him off before he could finish. In truth, she wasn''t really holding a grudge against Ronald. Besides while ck Gate seemed isted, they had secretly been undermining countless interests for years.