?Chapter 273:


    Hailee bolted down the steps, tears streaking down her cheeks. Elliana’s revtion had shattered herposure, sending her emotions into a tailspin. She had been torn—half of her aching to confront Boris and demand answers, the other half paralyzed with worry for her father’s safety. Ultimately, she bit her tongue and chose silence over a storm.


    But moments ago, just outside that private room, she’d witnessed Boris speaking about messing with her without a hint of shame or gratitude for her year-long sacrifices. The fury that welled inside her had almost tipped her over the edge—she was seconds from bursting in and doing something reckless. If she hadn’t turned heel and run, she could’ve been tangled in a web far too dangerous to escape.


    With onest shred of reason, she knew she couldn’t afford to go down with a man like Boris. Not when her father still needed her. So, to keep herself from crossing a line she couldn’t uncross, she ran.


    Elliana didn’t immediately give chase. She stood still for a moment, letting Hailee put some distance between them. Hailee needed space to cool down, after all.


    As Hailee rounded the corner of the stairs, she mmed right into someone. Her tear-blurred eyes couldn’t make out his face, only his imposing frame and the chill that clung to him like a second skin. Whoever he was, he radiated a don’t-mess-with-me vibe and clearly wasn’t pleased with the collision.


    But Hailee, drowning in heartbreak, barely registered it. She muttered a quick apology and kept going, vanishing down the next flight of stairs. She never looked back. She never saw his face.


    Fate, however, had a strange sense of timing—it was Merlin. The jolt of someone crashing into him made his brow knit in irritation. He hated being touched unannounced. But when he turned to scold the clumsy person, recognition hit him like a sucker punch. It was Hailee. The same woman who’d sunk her teeth into his wrist, leaving behind a scar that hadn’t fully faded. The same woman who’d turned him down t, saying she already had a boyfriend. The same woman who haunted him with a quiet ache every time she crossed his mind. What were the odds of running into her here?


    He opened his mouth to speak, but the words withered when he saw her face—red eyes, cheeks slick with tears, pain etched into every feature. She didn’t even spare…


    His words got stuck in his throat. Whatever had happened, it had gutted her.


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    Before he could make sense of it, she was gone, her apology trailing behind her.


    Merlin stood frozen, staring after her, mind spinning. Then, Elliana came down the stairs. “You came here with Hailee?” he asked—surprisingly civil, given that he usually wouldn’t initiate a conversation with her.


    Elliana didn’t break stride. She gave a curt nod, eyes cold, and brushed past him without a word.


    Merlin watched her go. Then, after a moment’s hesitation, he followed. He kept his distance, careful not to be seen.


    Once Hailee burst out of the Royal Club, she didn’t stop. She ran until her legs gave out, lungs burning, heart pounding against her ribs like a war drum. A year of juggling jobs and skipping meals had taken its toll, and this sudden dash drained thest drops of energy she had.


    When she finally stopped, she found herself beside a circr fountain at a street corner. With the gentle ssh of water as her backdrop, she let gopletely. Her sobs erupted like a dam breaking, hidden behind the sound of the fountain. All the heartache, all the pressure, all the fear she’d bottled up for the past year—she poured it out like poison.


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