"No, thank you, Mr. Everly. I can find a ce to eat on my own. I should go now," Amara said immediately.


    "There''s a really good restaurant I know. I''m sure you''ll love it. I''ve been meaning to take you there. Let''s go try it."


    Ignoring her protest, Finnian released her, fastened her seatbelt for her, and then stepped on the gas, driving off.


    Amara was stunned. How could this man be so presumptuous? Couldn''t he see she wanted to leave? She was starting to get angry.


    But the car was already moving. Finnian drove with a calm, focused expression. Amara stared at his profile, thinking how infuriating he was, but there was nothing she could do.


    She sighed and resigned herself to it. She was, in fact, a little hungry. Since bing pregnant, she found herself feeling hungry more often, as if the baby inside was letting her know it was time to eat.


    Soon, they arrived at the restaurant Finnian had mentioned.


    It was a traditional Chinese restaurant, but instead of specializing in a single regional cuisine like Cantonese or Hunan, it offered a fusion of dishes from all over the country. Simply put, you could find almost any Chinese dish you wanted there.


    They were shown to a private room, and Finnian handed her the thick menu. "The ce is a bit in, but the food is very authentic. And the spicy dishes are perfectly seasoned—they won''t upset your stomach. Order a few of your favorites."


    Amara nced around. The restaurant was a standard eatery, its decor neither new nor old—just ordinary. It was hardly what she would call "in."


    Finnian was truly from a wealthy family; his standards werepletely different from an ordinary person''s.


    She pushed these useless thoughts aside and focused on the menu, checking off several dishes she liked.


    She passed the menu back to


    Finnian, indicating it was his turn to order, but he didn''t add anything. He simply handed it to the waiter making it clear that her choices were all that mattered.


    Amara felt a little awkward but didn''t say anything, resting her chin on her hand as she waited for the food.


    Finnian watched her profile, wanting to say a few more words to convince her to give up on marrying Keith, but he worried he would just annoy her. So he changed the subject.


    He steered the conversation to screenys, asking her what kinds


    of books and movies she en


    He carefully followed her lead, talking about things that interested her Amara being a perceptive person couldn''t fail to notice what he was doing.


    A bittersweet feeling washed over her.


    She used to think Finnian was a cold and distant person, someone who would be boring to be around. Hadn''t she justined to Dorian about his personality not long ago?


    But now, she found that he was


    actually quite a good


    conversationalist. He didn''t have


    that condescending air about him and was very attentive to her


    feelings during their chat She actually felt veryfortable talking with him.


    Amara was increasingly aware of how well Finnian was treating her. But the better


    he treated her, the more her heart ached.


    Why was he being so kind to her while he was engaged to Liliana?


    This man was truly awful. Aplete scoundrel.


    The bittersweet feeling slowly morphed into resentment. He was infuriating.


    As Finnian chatted with Amara, he carefully tailored the conversation to her interests


    to make her feel at ease. At first, it went well; Amara seemed less guarded and more willing to open up.


    But then, for no apparent reason, her expression turned cold, and she seemed to lose interest in talking.