<b>Chapter </b><b>488 </b>
Still waiting?! The news struck Cassius like a thunderbolt!
Last night, the <b>rain </b>had poured down until the small hours before taking a reluctant pause, only to start anewe morning. The forecast ominously predicted a hurricane by nightfall.
Thaddeus, standing out there without a bite to eat or a drop to drink – did he have a death wish?!
“Thaddeus’s been outside the whole time? Evenst night? What do you mean?!”
Evadne’s eyes were wide as saucers, her hands gripping Arnold’s shoulders, shaking him with <b>a </b>desperation, “Spill it! What the heck is going on?! Y’all saw Thaddeus, didn’t you? And you kept me out of the loop?!”
“Stop shaking me, Evadne! I’m gonna hurl!” Arnold’s head was spinning, his vision blurring.
“Evadne! Cut it out!”
Cassius intervened, prying her hands away and pulling her into an embrace, “Whatever Thaddeus wants to do, it’s his call. If he wants to stand out there, let him be. He can’t stand there forever. He’s gotta leave sometime.”
His words cut deep with a dual meaning.
“Even if he turns to stone standing out there, it’s his own darn fault!”
Arnold, thinking of the hardships Evadne had endured, couldn’t suppress his anger, “Sis, he’s just ying martyr, thinking he can charm his way back into our good graces! No chance! Even if lightning strikes him into a charred flower, I won’t forgive him!”
“This is between him and me! What’s it got to do with you?!”
Evadne’s eyes reddened with fury as she struggled to break free from her brother’s hold, “Did you see him yesterday? <b>Did </b>Emeric see him too? Did you all gang up on him?!”
“Sis, just calm down,” Cassius held her tighter, patting her trembling back.
“Evadne, what are you saying? We are bullying him? We were standing up for you, venting your anger!”
“I don’t need it!”
Evadne’s eyes brimmed with angry tears, her breath uneven with rage, “Why are you meddling? Is this for my sake? You’re just pressing down on Thaddeus to ease your own guilt!”
Those words struck Cassius and Arnold like a stab in the heart. Seizing the moment when Cassius was distracted, évadne broke free and dashed toward the gates of Silveke Harbor.
Casting aside her pesky sandals, Evadne ran barefoot down the ornate, endless corridor.
She hadn’t yet seen the man she loved, but her heart had already burst through her fevered chest, fleeing the gilded cage of the mansion without looking back.
Suddenly, Evadne skidded to a halt.
Not far away stood Bet, his gaze sharp as a hawk’s, an immovable iceberg in his solitary might. Even alone, his presence seemed to flood the room, unstoppable.
“Evadne, you’re going to see him?”
“Bet, don’t you dare stop me,” Evadne panted, her delicate cheeks glistening with sweat.
Bet’s brow furrowed slightly, and he shook his head, “You’ve been a fool for three years. Isn’t that enough? Stop the foolishness; he’s not worth it.”
“He’s not worth it, then who is<b>?!</b><b>” </b>
Evadne’s chest heaved with emotion, tears of pain pooling in her eyes, “He saved my life when I was eleven! On the battlefield in Zenithia, we fought terrorists side by side; he risked his life to protect me! Last year<b>, </b>I was trapped on Misty Mountain during andslide, and then on HelgenStar Ind, he drew enemy fire to give Cassius a chance, and took a bullet for me! Bet, tell me <b>if </b>he’s not worth it, then who is?!<b>” </b>
“Evadne, I get it. You’ve idolized that guy since he saved you at eleven. You see him through rose–colored sses; you’ve got this, unyielding attachment that blinds you to anyone else. I understand.” Bet closed his eyes, taking a deep breath before looking at her with a steely resolve, “But back then, he saved you not because you were Evadne, not because he loved you. It was just a coincidence.”
“Bet! How can you say that?!” Evadne was frantic, her voice breaking.
“All he’s done since then is out of a need for redemption, to make it up to you. And all the blood and tears you’ve shed for him over these three years, in my eyes, you’ve paid back any debt long ago. There’s no need for you two to keep this up. He’s not your soulmate; holding on will only burn you more deeply.”
“Bet! Listen to your words, are those even from human?!”
Evadne’s heart clenched in pain, her eyes bloodshot, “The child we lost was an ident! I didn’t even know I was pregnant, how could he have known? The miscarriage was my choice to keep secret<b>; </b><b>it </b>had nothing to do with him! How many times do I have to say it?!<b>” </b>
But Bet’s expression remained cold and unmoved.
“Evadne, you’re still young. There are plenty of men out there better than Thaddeus, and what he offered, they can give you too. And even if they can’t, we can.”
“I’d rather have one scoop from the sea than all the rivers in the world! Bet, I’m warning you, don’t block me; don’t make me despise you!”
Evadne, like a provoked lioness, bared her teeth, ready to force her way past. But her slender arms and legs were no match for the strong soldier.
With a steely glint in his eye, Bet didn’t budge an inch, simply stretching out an arm to block her path, then swiftly scooping her up by her waist with an unyielding grip and pulling her into his embrace.
In the next moment, Evadne felt the world spin as her feet left the ground and she was hoisted onto Bet’s shoulder with effortless ease, his back standing upright, his firm arm wrapped around her thighs. She pounded on his back with futile fists, which to him must have felt like mere tickles.
“Evadne, behave.”
Bet moved swiftly, his voice low and gentle, “I’m doing this for your own good.”
Elsie slept through the afternoon. She groggily emerged from the cocoon of her duvet, her temples throbbing with a sour ache, and her stomach churning in revolt. Her head spun with a dull pain.
“Ugh. Where am I?”
21
Elsie got startled into full awareness, her sleepiness evaporating in an instant. She looked around and found herself in an opulentlyvish presidential suite that bore the unmistakable hallmark of The Abernathy Group hotels.
“Oh no, Elvis!”
Her hands trembled as she flung back the covers, only to find her ck dress, pristine and undisturbed. It seemed that the man hadn’t touched her.
Herst memory from the night before, like a still frame from a movie, was fixed on that passionate<b>, </b>irresistible k*ss.
the spaci
Elsie’s breath quickened, her hand clutching her fluttering heart, her mind a tangled mess. And the spacious room was now devoid of that carefree, confident figure.
“Elvis, what kind of man are you?”
Lost in her thoughts, there was a knock at the door.
Elsie, fighting back the nausea, slowly made her way to the entrance. A bellboy stood there with a smile, holding out a box of medicine, “Miss, good morning. A gentleman asked me to deliver these to you, and he left a message.”
Elsie took the medicine, gripping it tightly, “What’s the message?”
“Take two pills twice a day, and don’t skip meals.”
With that, the bellboy bowed and left.
Elsie stood frozen in ce, repeating his words, a lump forming in her throat and her eyes welling up with tears. When was thest time someone had cared for her? She couldn’t remember.
She was a flower, living in the shadow of Avery, surrounded by wealth and designer dresses. But those dresses were just <b>for </b>Avery to admire, and for other men,to desire.
Did anyone truly care for her, ever take her seriously, did they? But she had no way back, no choice in the matter. Her fate with Elvis was sealed; they were enemies from different worlds.
Elsie took a deep breath, wiping away the hint of a tear from the corner of her eye. Just as she <b>was </b>about <b>to </b>close the door, a hand grabbed the edge fiercely, and a pair of dark<b>, </b>familiar eyes appeared in the gap!
“Harvey?” Elsie’s heart clenched in fear, hiding the medicine behind her back.
“Ms. Archer, you’re alive. What a stroke of luck!”
Harvey burst into the room, sending Elsie stumbling against the wall. Then, two of his men followed, silently drawing guns, their faces grim, like spies out of a thriller.
“Elvis isn’t here; he’s gone,” Elsie said coolly.
“Gone?! You didn’t kill him?!”
Harvey was incredulous, “What were you doingst night then? Hooking up?!”
Elsie’s head felt heavy and sore; she gasped for air, “I don’t know. I had too much to drink, and I barely remember anything after
that.”
“You drank with him?! Do you even know who he is?!”
Harvey was livid, his eyes darkening, “Ms. Archer, you’ve always been meticulous in your dealings for Mr. Chambers, never sl*pping up. What happened this time? It’s not like you!”
“What are you implying, that you doubt me? If there was anything between him and me,st night I wouldn’t havee alone to find him, wearing…”
Elsie’s hand moved <b>to </b>her hair, and her heart skipped a beat! Her hairpin, her silver hairpin was missing!
She frantically searched the bedroom, rummaging through the bed, couch, drawers, but her silver hairpin was nowhere to be found!
Harvey, clueless about her panic, just rambled on, “I’m not questioning your loyalty, but Mr. Chambers already knows about you and Elvis disappearingst night! Do you think I had the means to find you? It was Mr. Chambers who found the lead!”
Visions of Avery’s bloodthirsty gaze shed before Elsie’s eyes, her heart sinking.
“You failed to take out Elvis, and you spent the whole night with him! How can you be so sure nothing happened if you cked out from drinking?”
Harvey sighed in exasperation, “Think carefully about how you’re going to exin this to Mr. Chambers when you get back!”
“No exnations are necessary.”
Elsie’sshes fluttered, her hands crumpling the medicine box, “I’ve been with Mr. Chambers for years. He knows what kind of person I am. If he doesn’t believe me, there’s nothing I can do.”
Elsie and Harvey left the hotel discreetly.
As the car pulled out of the underground parking lot, Elvis emerged from the shadows, a tracker <b>in </b>hand, which he had just attached to the underside of their vehicle.
His phone screen clearly disyed their current location. Following their trail, Elvis traced them to the foot of the hills, where, hidden within the serene bamboo grove,y an exclusive and grand social club!
Elsie and Harvey got out of the car, punched in a code, and entered through the door.
As the moon climbed, Elvis stood in the woods, his eyes darkening. He unfolded his hand, revealing a delicate silver hairpin. Under the moonlight, he twisted the head of the pin.
With a click, the ruby fl*pped over, revealing apartment containing a deadly poison -chloride! “Amateur tricks. You dare y games with me?”
Elvis’s eyes narrowed with mischievous malice, devoid of fear, his l*ps curling in anticipation, “Woman, crossing paths with me is just the start of your tragedy.”