Ever since Finnian walked into the room, Elysia had been acting as cold as a winter morning.


    When she heard his question, her eyes widened in utter disbelief. The whole situation just seemed utterly ridiculous!


    She was about to retort, "You''ve already got Liliana, how can you even ask such a thing?" but she bit her tongue and held back.


    Elysia had no idea why Finnian would ask something like that, and frankly, she didn''t care to answer him properly.


    Her expression turned icy once again as she said, "Noment," before turning on her heel and heading into the kitchen without so much as a backward nce.


    As the kitchen door swung shut, Finnian''s face fell.


    Dorian, who had been quietly observing the exchange, walked over and murmured, "Finn, why''d you ask something like that? Has Amara been seeing someone else these past three years?"


    His tone was tinged with surprise. With Amara''s looks, he couldn''t imagine her finding someone else easily. But he thought better of voicing that thought aloud.


    Then again, he mused, despite the scar on her face, Amara could still look quite striking with a mask on. And her background, well, it was certainly more privileged than most.


    Plus, her figure was something to behold. If she truly wanted to find someone, she probably could, he admitted, frowning at the thought.


    "Nothing much, just a random question," Finnian said, not bothering to borate further. "I better head out."


    After Finnian left, Dorian headed to the kitchen, watching Elysia''s back as she busied herself at the stove. He frowned and said, "What was that attitude with Finn all about? Can''t you just talk to him properly?"


    Already annoyed, Elysia felt her temper re up again at his words.


    "What do you mean by that? You''re using me of being rude to your friend? That jerk''s been awful to Ama, and not chewing him out right there was me being nice. So what if I was a bit frosty?"


    "What, you want to get in his face and yell at him?"


    Dorian wasn''t exactly known for his patience, and his expression darkened.


    But Elysia had an even shorter fuse, and the two of them ended up in a full-blown argument right there in the kitchen. It ended with Elysia smashing a te and knocking over a shelf, leaving Dorian fuming.


    Not desired to see him anymore, Elysia grabbed her keys from the living room and stormed out, mming the door behind her.


    Once outside, Finnian called up Will. "I need you to dig into Amara''s social circle over the past three years."


    "Investigate Mrs. Everly?"


    Will sounded surprised, double-checking to make sure he''d heard right.


    Amara''s life had been pretty


    iel


    monotonous thesest three years, either writing scripts at home or working with her usual crew. She even made it a point to bring Finnian lunch at the Everly Group regrly. Her routine was as predictable as clockwork, no secrets to pry into, so what was there to investigate?


    Staring out at the city lights, Finnian couldn''t tell if it was Will''s question or the brisk night breeze that snapped him back to reality. A wave of irritation washed over him.


    "Forget it," he muttered. "No need to bother."


    Will was left speechless and


    bewildered. Finnian was a man of decisiveness and action, and taking back an order was unheard of for him. But Mr. Everly had already hung up, so there was nothing else to do but pack up and head home


    Back in his car, Finnian reyed his words to Wilkin his mind and


    ét


    regretted calling it off. Over twenty years, he''d always been a man of action, never one for


    elin


    second-guessing himself, and this


    newfound hesitation was frustrating.


    Frowning, he resolved to stop dithering. It was only just past ten-still early by a young man''s standards. With a determined push on the gas pedal, he headed straight for Amara''s apartmentplex.