eyes sparked to life, outshining even the most brilliant golden seas, as she clutched the man’s lean waist with sudden fervor.


    “Why would you say that?” she inquired, curiositycing her tone.


    Thaddeus, with a casual flick of his hand, encircled her slim lower back, their shadows on the sandy beach merging as one. “Just a wild guess,” he quipped.


    “Ugh.” A pout formed on Evadne’s l*ps, her disappointment visibly blooming.


    Thaddeus hated to see her this way, so he scrambled for words. “Remember, the closest country to the North Sea is Helgen. Helgen’s waters join the North Sea, too, and there’s no other country beyond that. So I was thinking… maybe your mother ran into some trouble in Helgen and had to cross these waters as a stowaway? After all, Skyrim boasts the nation’s secondrgest port.”


    Evadne, impatient, asked, “But why must it be Helgen? Country T also lies along the North


    Sea,”


    “Country T is still a bit far, and didn’t Suri say your mother was found battered and alone, with no other ships in sight? She must’ve swum for ages. Plus, the people of Country T have Southeast coast features, while Helgen’s popce shares our own traits. So, my theory is perhaps your mother might indeed hail from Helgen.”


    The more Thaddeus spoke, the more convincing he found his own argument.


    The more Evadne listened, the more sense it made to her. In her tion, she rose on her tiptoes and nted a k*ss on the man’s thin l*ps.


    heThe sound of the water amplified the moment, flushing her cheeks with a bashful


    fircrimson.


    But Thaddeus’ gaze, now tinged with desire, was stirred anew by her action. awarm, moist l*ps with a voracious hunger, teasing open her mouth with gentl chicks, seemingly insatiable in his exploration of her sweet taste.


    her


    d


    Aunidst the thunderous waves, Evadne’s heart raced in tandem with the surging


    She reveled in the prolonged k*ss, her thoughts adrift like the shimmering seafoan


    ethe water’s surface.


    lishdig eyes reddened with passion as he fervently sucked on her ivory n*eck, branding he


    Vitwitamarks of his own.


    Mritim yule not thinking of doing it here, are you?” Evadne pushed against him weakly, erhardb*dy melting into softness.


    Popoyou want to? Thaddeus’ breath grew heavy, teasing her. “Aren’t you scared of getting


    10:55


    caught?”


    “Of course, I am!”


    Evadne’s fists pummeled his solid chest. “If we’re seen, we’ll be the talk of the town, stered across the society pages! It won’t just be scandalous and embarrassing, we’ll be sentenced tomunity service! Me picking up trash, and you cleaning public restrooms, right?”


    “I could do both – pick up trash and clean restrooms,” Thaddeus replied, pressing her hand against his heart.


    –


    Evadne rolled her eyes in exasperation. The man’s thought process was oundish – was this really about job descriptions?


    “Don’t worry, Evadne,” Thaddeus reassured her with a somber look in his dark eyes, sl*pping off his jacket to wrap her in it. His shirt strained against his muscr arms. “Even though my b*dy yearns for you with a primal hunger, I wouldn’t disregard the time and ce or your feelings to give in to my baser instincts.”


    “Besides, if we were to indulge, it wouldn’t be here. You could catch a cold, and I can’t bear the thought of you falling ill.”


    Evadne rested her forehead against his chest, burrowing into his embrace, her voice muffled and soft. “Thaddeus, your analysis makes sense. Let’s head back, and I’ll reach out to Debby. She and her husband are well-acquainted with Helgen. Maybe they can help me uncover my mother’s past.”


    “That’s a good n, but let’s keep it from Emeric. He’s still unwell,” Thaddeus’ gaze conveyed genuine concern, a heartfelt kinship towards Emeric.


    Evadne nodded, hershes drooping. “I won’t ask my dad; if he doesn’t want to talk, I won’t press him. I’ll find out about my mother’s past on my own. I just don’t understand why her history would be such a closely guarded secret. As a child, I epted his silence, but now that I’m grown, as her only daughter, I have every right to know everything about her. No matter how unsavory her past, even if she were an international fugitive, in my heart, she will always be my beloved mother.”


    Thaddeus listened quietly, his heart aching in empathy.


    As a boy in the grimy slums, the scorn and nder heaped upon his mother were constant. usations of her being a dancer, a prostitute, and him, a bastard child – they imed she carried diseases from the men she was with.


    He never believed those things about her.


    Even if they were true, they couldn’t erase the profound love he had for his mother.


    Back in Elmsworth, Edith was immediately whisked to the best hospital by Mrs. Fairhaven and Gary and settled into a room.


    215


    10:55


    “Mummy, Uncle Gary, thank you for bringing me back,” Edith said weakly, herplexion ghostly pale.


    “My sweet girl, you’ve been through so much.”


    Tears streamed down Mrs. Fairhaven’s face. “It’s all my fault. I will never leave you alone again. Even if Jareth threatened me with a knife, I would never let you go! No one will take my precious daughter away from me!”


    “Mommy. I’ve missed you so much.” Edith sobbed uncontrobly.


    “Edith, I’ve informed your grandfather about your situation immediately; he was nearly in tears,” Gary said, his gaze loaded with implications. “He would never let you leave Elmsworth again. Focus on getting better and rest easy.”


    Edith met his gaze, a shadow of triumph ying across her l*ps.


    Suddenly, the hospital room door burst open, a chill gust swirling in.


    Jareth, tall and impably dressed in a ck suit, shrugged off his overcoat, his subordinate swiftly catching it, a testament to his royal demeanor.


    His natural air of authority made Gary green with envy. The boy who used to be a reckless yboy was gone, steadily taking on the countenance of a corporate ruler – much like his deceased elder brother.


    Gary clenched his teeth in secret; Jareth’s rapid maturation was rming.


    Now that he had sessfully helped Edith return to the capital, they had to join forces to strike at Jareth before it was toote.


    “Jareth.” Edith clung to Mrs. Fairhaven with a trembling tenderness that betrayed her fear.


    Jareth’s handsome yet ominously dark eyes bored into her terrified face, sending shivers down her spine like the Grim Reaper himself hade calling for her soul!


    His oppressive demeanor was unmistakable-the air around him was charged with a silent threat.


    “Jareth, your sister is sick, what in the world are you nning?” Mrs. Fairhaven shielded her daughter, eyeing him with a vignt gaze.


    Without a flicker of emotion, Jareth took a step forward, only to be intercepted by Gary, who forced a smile. “Jareth, let’s talk this out, man. Edith is your own flesh and blood, cool down the temper, will ya? I’ve watched you two grow up since you were knee-high to a grasshopper. I remember just how much you doted on her back in the day.”


    “This is a family matter for the main house, what’s it to you, outsider?” Jareth’s eyes shed with an icy chill, dismissing Gary without a second thought.


    Gary’s forced smile stiffened on his face.


    “Jareth! That’s your uncle you’re disrespecting, how dare you speak to your elder like that?” Mrs. Fairhaven’s face flushed with anger and embarrassment.


    Jareth ignored her, his gaze fixed on Edith, “I need to speak with Edith alone. Could you please give us a moment?”


    Edith, shaking like a leaf in her mother’s embrace, was too scared to be left alone with him. Mrs. Fairhaven, protective as ever, tly refused.


    “We’re all family here, and your uncle is no outsider. If you have something to say, say it. If not, then drop it!”


    “Fine by me. I was trying to be considerate, but if you don’t care about appearances, that’s


    on you, not me.”


    Jareth advanced toward Edith with a menacing step, his voice as dark as a thunderp overhead, “Edith, you’re quite the cunning one, aren’t you? Teaming up with dear uncle here to y the sick card and worm your way back home. Uncle Gary even got you heart-stopping drugs to fake your condition. Quite the drastic measure. But then again, you’re not his child by blood, so if your little scheme works, you owe him one. And if you had died in the ER, well, that would just be your tough luck, wouldn’t it? Nothing to do with him. Quite the crafty y.”


    Jareth’s few sentencesid bare their scheme, and both Edith and Gary’s faces turned


    ashen!


    Mrs. Fairhaven looked incredulously from Gary to Jareth, “Jareth, what are you talking


    about?”


    A cold smirk curled on Jareth’s l*ps, “Mom, you always doted on her. She couldn’t take a pill or get a shot without you losing sleep over it. Yet uncle here doesn’t think twice about giving your daughter poison. Edith is young and reckless, but what’s uncle’s excuse? Doesn’t he know right from wrong at his age?”


    Edith, in a panic, turned even paler and couldn’t muster a response.


    Mrs. Fairhaven, on the verge of a breakdown, stared at Gary with red-rimmed ey voice trembling, “Gary… Is what Jareth is saying true?”


    “I swear it’s not!” Gary, more resistant to pressure than Edith, insisted with a thick- denial, “I’ve always treated Edith like my own daughter, you know that. How could I possibly harm her? Besides, Jareth has been keeping Edith under guard in Aetheria li she’s a criminal-how could anyone get close to her? Even if I wanted to, I don’t have t means to stretch my hand that far!”


    Jareth mocked him leisurely, “Uncle, you’re being too modest. In the entire Fairhaven family, if you can’t pull something off, then nob*dy can. The shady things you’ve done over the years-I know all about them. You’re always lurking around our house like some weasel. What, are you looking to retire early? If that’s the case, no need to beat around the


    10:55


    bush, I could just go and let Grandpa know. Whether the Fairhaven Group has you or not makes no difference


    Mrs. Fairhaven looked at Gary, her eyes filled with aplex mix of emotions, but she remained silent.


    Gary, flushed with anger and embarrassment in equal measure, coughed awkwardly.


    He knew all too well how much his sister-inw cherished her children-they were her everything!


    Jareth’s words were undoubtedly undermining Mrs. Fairhaven’s trust in him. If she began to doubt his intentions, his maneuvering within the family would be significantly moreplicated.