If Joshua were as foolish as Rachel, he would be no threat.


    But the evening was quiet. Even after Ste and Old Mrs. Connolly had finished admiring the painting, nothing happened. Neville began to wonder if he had been overthinking things.


    Just as he was about to drive Ste home, he noticed a car parked outside the gate. Ste recognized it immediately. She walked over and tapped gently on the window.<fnf916> Th? link to the orig?n of this information r?sts ?n find?novel</fnf916>


    "Joshua, what are you doing here?"


    The window rolled down, revealing his impossibly handsome face. "I came to pick you up, Star," he said. "It''s a long way from the hospital, and I didn''t want to keep troubling Mr. Connolly to drive you back and forth. After all, this is supposed to be my job."


    His reasoning was wless, even thoughtful. Ste frowned slightly. "But your injury..."


    "I''m mostly healed," he said with a bright smile. "Besides, I can handle driving. You pay me a generous sry, Star. If I keep cking off, I might lose my job."


    "How long have you been waiting?" Ste asked.


    "Just a little while," he said.


    The security guard at the gate chimed in. "This gentleman has been waiting here since about half an hour after Ms. Cameron arrived."


    Ste checked the time. That meant Joshua had been waiting for at least two hours. She instinctively pulled out her phone and saw no missed calls or messages. Since nothing urgent hade up, she had stayed for tea with Old Mrs. Connolly after looking at the painting. If she had known he was waiting outside, she wouldn''t have stayed so long.


    "Why didn''t you call or text me?" she asked.


    His longshes lowered slightly. "It wasn''t a big deal. I didn''t want to interrupt your time with Mr. Connolly."


    Ste realized that if she had eaten dinner at the Connollys'' and he had waited for two hours, he probably


    ?


    hadn''t eaten dinner himself. She


    sighed silently and turned to Neville,


    "Neville, since Joshua is here to pick me up, you don''t need to drive me back. You


    should go back inside and stay with your grandmother."


    Given Old Mrs. Connolly''s fragile health, neither of them had let here outside


    to see Ste off. Marvin was keeping herpany inside.


    Neville watched the scene unfold with a wry amusement. So *that* was why Joshua had been so quiet all evening. He was waiting f for this moment. Noticing the flicker of concern in Ste''s eyes, Neville''s own gaze narrowed. This Joshua was smarter and more cunning than he had anticipated.


    After bidding Neville farewell, Ste got into Joshua''s car. As they drove away,


    she said, "Let''s get you something to eat first."


    "It''s fine," he replied. "I had some instant noodles before I came."


    Instant noodles. He was still recovering from a serious injury, and he was either skipping meals or eating junk Ste felt a pang of guilt. Im sorry I''ve been neglecting youtely."


    In the quiet of the night, his voice was unnervingly clear. "It''s okay. No matter how long it takes, whenever you need me, I''ll always be right here, waiting."


    Her heart jolted. She instinctively turned to look at the man beside her. Yearster, Ste would still remember those words clearly. But could anyone really wait forever?