He was always an incredibly handsome man, and now with his hair damp from the rain and his eyes a little misty, he looked like some sort of water spirit under the


    dim light.


    Amara turned her face away, her voice cold as she said, "Now that you''re sober, you should leave. And maybey off the booze next time."


    She turned and opened the door, her back to Finnian, not wanting to see him.


    A warm presence came up behind her, and Finnian wrapped his arms around her waist again, murmuring, "I don''t want to leave. I want to stay."


    A surge of frustration welled up inside Amara, even stronger than before.


    Earlier, she could make excuses for Finnian, telling herself that he was just drunk and out of his senses. But now he was clearly sober, yet still lingering. How could she not be angry?


    "Mr. Everly, could you please calm down? Whether your words before were genuine or just drunken babble, think about Liliana, will you?"


    "You have Liliana, and the child she''s carrying. You should be marrying Ms. Porter soon and focusing on your future together as a family, not wasting time here with me."


    Amara pried his hands away, her voice icy.


    The man behind her fell silent, and he didn''t move. It felt like he had turned to stone.


    Amara sighed.


    She opened the door wider and said quietly, "Mr. Everly, please leave."


    She didn''t know what expression Finnian wore. She didn''t look up to see; it felt as


    if time itself had paused, with nothing around her changing.


    Then, the space around her suddenly felt emptier as he walked past her and out the door.


    She breathed a sigh of relief, closed the door, and leaned against it, resting for a moment before slowly heading back into her apartment.


    To be honest, Finnian showing up drunk at her ce had surprised her. But so what?


    She was slowly letting go of Finnian, and besides, Finnian had Liliana.


    Even without these obstacles, she doubted Finnian could truly love someone like her, someone who felt... damaged.


    He was probably just confused for some reason, and once he sobered up, everything would be back to normal.


    After leaving Amara''s apartment, Finnian called Will to drive him


    home. When they reached his ce, Finnian sent Will away and took the elevator upstairs. He found the lights on in his living room, and Dorian lounging on the couch with a book.


    Finnian paused, asking, "What are you doing here?"


    Dorian had a key to his ce, but he usually wouldn''te over without a heads-


    up. Today, he hadn''t even given a warning. What was up?


    "Nothing much, just feeling a bit off, so I came over," Dorian replied, leaning back on the couch and taking a sip of his drink.


    "After dropping you off, I went home and found Elysia wasn''t there. I tried calling her to see where she was, but she didn''t pick up."


    "Later, when she came back, I asked


    her where she''d been, and she wouldn''t give me a straight answer. She said since I went out without telling her, she didn''t owe mean exnation either."


    "I told her I was out with you, but she didn''t believe me. She insisted I must have been with Jessica and started throwing sarcastic


    how


    much I tried to exin, she didn''t buy it. It''s driving me nuts.


    Dorian downed his drink as he spoke, finishing it off before reaching for the bottle


    to pour another.


    Finnian stopped him. "That''s enough. You''ve had quite a bit already tonight. Keep going, and your stomach''s going to pay for it."