ra''s hand shook as she clutched her chopsticks. "Yeah, maybe you''re right. That''s what I always believed. Before any of this happened, I was so sure I was his weakness. But for someone or something else, he could leave me stranded overseas and thene back and ignore me for days, like I meant nothingpared to whatever that was. Now I keep asking myself, why was I ever so confident? He never really let me in. Otherwise, how could I have missed something so important—some weakness he hid so deep that just trying to get close made him push me away?"


    She set her chopsticks down, slow and careful. "But honestly, none of that really matters now. The real issue is, he made Z disappear. I can''t forgive him for that, but I also can''t bring myself to hurt him. I used to say, no matter who hurt Z, I''d never let them off the hook. But when it turned out to be Dn, the first thing I realized was, I just couldn''t do it. So the only thing left for me is to stay away from him. From now on, anything to do with Dn has nothing to do with me."


    ra had always been the type to love and hate with her whole heart. When she said something, she meant it—she''d made up her mind.


    Even if Dn fainted right in front of her, she wouldn''t so much as blink.


    By all logic, Ryan should have been happy about this. ra coulde back to him, and it''d be just like before: the two of them looking out for each other, brother and sister against the world.


    But all he could do was worry about Dn.


    He took a bite of his food, then finally spoke up. "What if Dnes to find you? What if he gets on his knees and apologizes, or does something big to win you back? Would you give in?"


    ra''s eyes stung as she leaned back in her chair. "No. I''m done. I don''t want any more chaos. You focus on thepany, okay? I''m going to meet Kaitlynter and see if there''s any new investment projects. I can''t just sit around-I need to stay busy."


    Ryan pressed his lips together and nodded. "All right, ra. But you promise me you''ll eat and get some rest, okay? For now, just stay here. I''ll really worry if you don''t."


    ra gave a faint, lopsided smile. That was her way of agreeing.


    *


    When Jackson got to Palm Bay, the whole ce felt icy cold.


    He rubbed his arms and looked at Nichs. "Do you feel that? The vibe here is all wrong. It''s like someone left the fridge open."


    ra had called them a few days ago, asking if anyone knew where Dn was, but none of them had a clue. Now that they''d finally heard Dn was back at Palm Bay, of course they had toe and see what was going on. How did a grown man keep disappearing like that?


    Jackson expected to see ra in the foyer, but it was empty except for a couple of housekeepers cleaning up.


    The staff looked worried as they greeted them. "Mr. York, Mr. Quinn."


    Jackson nced around, confused. "Where''s ra? Weird-she never leaves Dn''s side."


    One of the housekeepers sighed. "We''re not sure, sir. She left in the middle of the night. Mr. Carter didn''t go after her. This morning, he wouldn''t eat, and we tried calling her, but she won''t answer."


    Jackson raised his eyebrows. So they''d had a fight.


    Honestly, it was hard to imagine Dn, of all people, getting into a shouting match


    in the middle of the night. Must''ve been intense.


    Curious, Jackson headed upstairs.


    Outside Dn''s bedroom, he peeked


    in and stopped short at the mess


    The ce looked like someone had


    ransacked it, searching through everything.


    s


    He frowned-Dn was a total neat freak. How could he stand this chaos?


    "Dn, what happened in here?"


    He had barely stepped inside when Dn''s voice rang out. "Get out."


    Jackson immediately backed up, his foot retreating. He''d never seen Dn this angry before.


    Not wanting to push his luck, he grabbed Nichs by the arm and quietly shut the door.


    Nichs frowned. "Why don''t we just talk to him? We can''t really let him starve himself over ra."


    Jackson snorted. "Anyone who goes in there now is asking for trouble. We''re better off talking to ra."<fnb81d> Checktest chapters at ?ovelFind</fnb81d>


    He pulled out his phone and dialed ra''s number.


    No luck-he was blocked.


    Seriously?


    ra had just been asking about Dn a few days ago, and now she''d blocked him?


    "Nichs, your turn. Try calling ra."


    Nichs, who''d never been a big fan of ra, reluctantly called her. Blocked too.


    Jackson''s frown deepened, but then he let out augh. "What''s her problem? Is she trying to cut us all off?"


    He called Richard to check if he''d been blocked too.


    A few momentster, Richard texted back: [Same.]


    Nichs, now sulking on the living


    room couch, pped the table.


    "What is this, some kind of kid''s game? They have one fight and she block all of us? Like I even wanted her number if Dn hadn''t married. Her, I wouldn''t even know who she was!"


    s


    Nichs had always had a bit of a pride issue-being blocked was a real blow.


    He even thought about tracking


    ra down, adding her back, and


    then blocking her himself. May.


    feel better Contro


    then he''d


    belongs to s


    Getting blocked by someone you don''t even like? Honestly, nothing''s more


    annoying.