?Chapter 1362:


    “You…” he started, and then let the word hang in the air like smoke. Her words hit a wall in him, and for a moment, Ernest felt helpless.


    If this was a losing battle, he’d switch fronts and fight one he could win.


    “Miss Hond,” Ernest said crisply, his tone shifting like a door mming shut. His eyes thinned into sharp slits. “You’ve been absent without notice for several days. Care to exin yourself?”


    “Absent?” Elissa echoed, confused. She then gaped at him, her eyes widening in disbelief. “How can you call that absence? That day, Mrs. Flynn explicitly ordered me to leave the premises, and you witnessed it yourself…”


    “Answer me this,” Ernest cut through her exnation with cial precision. “Who exactly signed your employment contract?” The answer hung unspoken between them—it was him, of course.


    “Humph.” A low, deliberate chuckle escaped Ernest. “Given our employer-employee arrangement, did I personally terminate your services?”


    Elissa found herself without rebuttal, her jaw ckening in stunned silence. He hadn’t—that much was true—but… “Mrs. Flynn expressly prohibited my return…” she murmured.


    Ernest dismissed her protest with a shake of his head. “Even though you assume your presence was unwee, professional protocol demands a formal leave request, does it not?”


    “Mr. Flynn!” Elissa raised her voice in protest. Frustration colored her tone as she dered, “My continued employment is impossible! Consider this my formal resignation!”


    “Resignation?” The word seemed to catch him off guard. Ernest rolled the term around in his mind, irritation simmering beneath hisposed exterior. Every calcted step he took toward her seemed countered by her determined retreat—a maddening dance of advance and withdrawal.


    “Absolutely not.” Ernest’s eyes darkened perceptibly, his refusal brooking no argument.


    “Why not?” she challenged.


    “I refuse to ept it!” he countered firmly.


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    Ernest loomed over her, exploiting their height difference. “Locke possesses extraordinarily specific requirements. Surely you understand the difficulties in securing an appropriatepany for him? You can’t just quit. Have you given any thought to the emotional impact on him? His attachment to you runs remarkably deep!”


    Upon hearing Locke’s name, Elissa fell silent, a wave of guilt washed over her, quickly followed by a prickle of worry. Her brow furrowed with conflicted emotion as she ventured hesitantly, “How is Locke managing… Is he alright?”<fn8748> Th? link to the orig?n of this information r?sts ?n </fn8748>


    “So you do retain some concern for him?” Sarcasm edged his response. A humorlessugh escaped Ernest’s lips. “You vanished without exnation, and he inquires after you with relentless persistence daily. What conclusion would you draw about his emotional state?”


    Distress deepened the creases between Elissa’s eyebrows. “But…” she attempted, “Mr. Flynn, couldn’t you arrange for an alternative governess?”


    Her continued resistance sparked incredulity within him. A flicker of resignation crossed Ernest’s features as he exhaled audibly, offering a reluctant nod. “Very well… however.” His tactical shift was immediate, voice modting to a more reasonable cadence. “Until appropriate recement arrangements can be finalized, your abrupt departure would be unprofessional. This transitional responsibility falls to you, wouldn’t you agree?”


    “I suppose that’s fair…” Elissa conceded after a moment’s hesitation, inclining her head slightly. “But the issue of Mrs. Flynn remains…”


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