When Edith saw the news, she was, unsurprisingly, furious. She tried calling Keith, but he didn''t answer. After thinking it over, she decided to call Emma and asked her


    to meet up.


    The two women met at a restaurant and spent their meal venting their anger about Amara.


    From Emma, Edith heard all kinds of stories about Amara. Edith knew that not everything Emma said was necessarily true, but the stories matched the image she already had of Amara, so she ended up believing most of it.


    Together, the two women tore into Amara, holding nothing back. As theyined, they both started thinking about what they could do to deal with her.


    Finnian hadn''t seen the news right away, but Will "identally" mentioned it to him. As soon as he found out, Finnian dropped what he was doing and rushed back to the family estate.


    Hadn''t Amara said she wouldn''t marry Keith? Why were they still meeting up—and so intimately, at that?


    When Finnian arrived at the estate, he lingered on the staircase, unable to work up the courage to knock on Amara''s door.


    They had both agreed not to have private contact anymore. Finnian had even moved out of the estate for her sake. If he just showed up at her door now, she would probably be upset.


    As he hesitated, Amara''s door suddenly opened. She seemed to being downstairs for something. When she saw Finnian on the staircase, her face went cold; she pretended not to see him and walked right past without a word.


    That moment was deeply painful for Finnian. The faint fragrance she left behind lingered in the air, and he had to fight the urge to reach out and stop her. But he restrained himself.


    He drifted to the kitchen doorway, quietly listening to the sounds inside. He had seen Amara go in.


    Amara, please don''t be with Keith, he pleaded silently in his heart. His parents are so old-fashioned-you''ll never be happy with him...


    He kept repeating these words in his mind, but in the end, he couldn''t bring himself to disturb her. He left the estate in silence.


    Amara heard footsteps slowly fading away outside. It seemed Finnian had gone. She lowered her head and pressed her lips together.


    Seeing Finnian on the stairs had truly hurt her.


    But she kept herposure, betraying none of her pain as she walked past him with a nk expression.


    After that, she went to the kitchen and busied herself.


    She knew Finnian was just outside the door—not just from the sound of his


    footsteps, but because of a strange, almost telepathic sense.


    A little whileter, Finnian finally left. Amara breathed a sigh of relief.


    She thought, Maybe Finnian will gradually let go too...


    Amara returned upstairs. She tried to read for a while but was interrupted by a text from Finnian:


    "I actually went to the estate just now to see you, but in the end, I didn''t want to disturb you, so left without saying anything I saw the news today. Are you still in contact with Keith?"


    th


    "Amara, I''m not trying to interfere in your life. I admit, I don''t want you to be with another man, but I''ve always told you want you to be happy you found someone who could give you real happiness, I''d be sad, but I wouldn''t stand in your way*


    "But Keith


    eally can''t make you


    bet


    happy. Unless he''s willing to cut ties


    with his parents which, honestly, do


    think he could ever do that?"


    "Amara, I believe you''re a clear-headed person. You know when it''s time to walk away..."


    Finnian sent several messages in a row. Amara read them all in silence.