Autumn''s heart pounded as she shut off the video app and switched over to her Messenger chat with Mirabe. Her fingers danced over the keyboard, crafting a long message. Just as she was about to hit send, a wave of shyness washed over her.


    Back when she didn''t know Mirabe was her sister, she could chat away freely, affectionately calling her ''little Mira.'' But now...


    She deleted the message and paused, thinking. Then, she scrolled through her contacts and found Zach''s info.


    Luckily, she had only blocked him, not deleted his number.


    Taking a deep breath, Autumn unblocked Zach and sent him a message: "Hey Mr. Davis, it''s Autumn. Just wondering, what kind of hobbies and interests does my sister usually have?"


    As a true fan, she felt it was essential to know everything about Mirabe. Asking directly seemed out of ce, so she decided to go through the guy she was supposed to be matched with.


    She sent off a few more questions about Mirabe, then anxiously waited for his reply.


    ***


    Meanwhile, Zach was driving when his phone buzzed with a Messenger notification. He ignored it at first, but when it buzzed several more times, he reached for his phone from thepartment by the car door.


    Unlocking the phone, he saw who the messages were from and squinted. Hadn''t Autumn blocked him?


    Was she finally going to confess her feelings?


    Zach let out a snort.


    Mirabe, sitting next to him, heard the noise and nced over curiously.


    At a red light, Zach slowed to a stop and read the string of messages-all about his sister.


    So much for a love confession, he thought with a chuckle. All that talk about "my sister," as if she had any im. Mirabe was his sister, not hers!


    Annoyed, he coldly typed back: "Besides studying, my sister doesn''t have any other hobbies."


    With that, he tossed the phone back into thepartment with a tter.


    Mirabe, who had been resting her eyes, opened them at the sound and looked at Zach. His expression was unusually stern. "Zach?" she asked, puzzled.


    The light turned green, and Zach drove off. After a moment, he said seriously, "We should avoid the Shields family as much as possible."


    Mirabe was confused but didn''t press him. Zach''s mood remained dark for the rest of the drive home.


    Once they arrived, Mirabe didn''t bother with the brooding Zach and went straight to work with the herbs she got from James that morning.


    Lunar Lace was a rare ingredient she had been searching for. Precious and requiring careful consideration for the form, she hadn''t yet dared to use it.


    ***


    Elsewhere, Summer received a call from an unknown number, inviting her to meet at a downtown coffee shop.


    At three o''clock, her driver dropped her off on time, but she didn''t head straight in. Instead, she waited in the car for a good fifteen minutes before finally stepping out.