The instant their lips met, a wild, pent-up emotion surged through Thaddeus''s chest—so fierce it threatened to drown him, pounding straight to his head.
Evadney beneath him, her body soft and yielding against the sheets. His kiss was clumsy, hungry, desperate, and she could feel heat rising up through her as his mouth imed hers. Tears shimmered in her eyes, glistening like dew.
At first, she struggled, her breathing in erratic gasps-yet it didn''t take long for her resistance to melt into longing. She arched her back, small hands clutching thepels of his sharp suit jacket, and surrendered, kissing him back with matching intensity.
Their mingled breaths formed a symphony of desire.
Thaddeus''s dark eyes traced the delicate bridge of her nose, lingered on those luminous eyes, growing deeper and more intense with every heartbeat.
In the hush of the night, their tangled bodies spoke in silent devotion.
Suddenly, the shrill ring of a cellphone shattered the spell.
Both of them startled as if waking from a dream. At that same moment, a jolt of blinding pain ripped through Thaddeus''s head, radiating down to his fingertips.
He tore himself away from her lips and sprang up, leaving the room without a backward nce.
Evadne, trembling, remained kneeling on the bed, her slender arm reaching after him, only to grasp at a handful of cold, empty air.
She pressed her lips together, still red and swollen from his kiss, fighting the ache in her chest as she picked up the ringing phone from the nightstand.
"Ellie? It''s early-what''s happened?" Evadne steadied her breath, voice gentle with concern.
Elsie''s voice was soft, apologetic. "Evadne, I''m sorry... did I wake you?"
Evadne forced a smile, quickly wiping away the tears at the corners of her eyes. "It''s fine, I was already awake. Come on, it''s just us-no need for formalities." "Evadne, are you... getting close to Mr. Thaddeus Chadtely?" Elsie''s tone suddenly sharpened, her worry evident.
Evadne sat up straight. "Not exactly close. He saved me once, so we''ve crossed paths a bit moretely, that''s all. Why do you ask?"
"I... I''m not sure. My mind''s a mess right now."
Elsie took a shaky breath.<fn976b> ?????? ???? find?novel</fn976b>
"Yesterday, was volunteering at the orphanage and ran into Mr.
Thaddeus. As I passed by him,
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overheard him speaking... and Ris voice it sounded exactly like that Sir who was pulling Avery strings from behind the scenes!"
Evadne''s eyes flew wide, the lingering warmth in the air vanishing, reced by a sudden chill.
"Ellie, are you sure?!"
"I-I can''t be one hundred percent certain. There are plenty of people with simr voices. But when I went with Avery to visit ''Sir'' in Country M, I happened to overhear a bit of their conversation. His voice was unforgettable distinctive. It stuck with me."
Elsie''s voice trembled. "And I heard Mr. Chad''s been staying in Country M for treatment too, right? Isn''t that too much of a coincidence? If Chad and ''S'' are the same person, Evadne, then his reasons for getting close to you... could be dangerous."
Evadne gripped the phone tightly, her eyes drawn to the sky outside, where dawn was just beginning to lighten the horizon.
Sir had been in Country M. Chad had been in Country M. And just as Avery fell,
the man who''d kept a low profile for two decades suddenly reappeared.
Why?
Was it really as simple as homesickness, or that he''d recovered enough toe home? Who''d believe that?
Perhaps he felt his power was finally strong enough time to return and reim what was rightfully his at the Abernathy Group.
Or maybe, with Avery gone and no one left to do his bidding, he''d been forced toe back and take control himself.
“Ellie, thank you. This is an important clue. If Chad really is ''Sir,'' then keeping my distance isn''t the answer. On the contrary, I need to get closer-only then can I uncover his true identity and expose whatever he''s plotting."