Chapter 782 Rianne Wants A Bodyguard
When Ste heard it wasn’t about stopping Tempest, she let out a quict sigh of relief.
49 Pearls
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to help Rianne; it was just that… her first thought had been that it was impossible.
And there was the fact that Tempest, though from Rivermount, had influence in both Yalvoria and Falvaria’s underground worlds–power that was nothing <i>to </i>scoff at.
Put simply, Rianne’s decision now had likely been within Tempest’s grasp all along.
She had always been the bird in his hand; if he didn’t want to let her go, escaping his palm wouldn’t be so easy.
Rianne drew in a deep breath. “Even though I’ve left Rivermount, I know full well that things between Tempest and me aren’tpletely severed; those people still won’t let me go.”
Ste went quiet. <i>Those </i><i>people</i>? <i>The </i><i>Hale </i><i>family</i><i>? </i>
“His sister, Ariana, and his mother–they’ll probablye after me in Yalvoria,” Rianne said.
“What?”
“You need to help me stop them.” Rianne looked straight at Ste.
There was no mistaking it; she was asking Ste to protect her.
Her lips curved in a bitter smile. “I just want to leave Tempest; I’m not looking to die. Before I can truly cut ties with him, I have to make sure I can stay safe, right?”
She said it lightly, as though it cost her nothing.
But only someone who had lived through it could know the depth of that bitterness.
“Does Tempest even know his mother and sister would do this to you?” Ste asked.
“Him? Ha…”
At the mention of Tempest, that false lightness vanished from Rianne’s tone, reced with sharp, cutting irony.
“In his eyes, his mother is just a sheltered societydy, a simple, harmless noblewoman. And his sister? Pure kindness.”
Ste suddenly understood.
av<b>, </b>SEPT
Chapter 782 Rianne Wants A Bodyguard
For years, it had looked like Tempest cherished Rianne, taking her everywhere he went.
But in reality… he had no idea what she endured by his side.
48 Pearls
No–maybe he did know. He simply weighed things in his heart differently; and when it came down to it, Rianne was not his priority.
“I understand,” Ste said with a nod. “I’ll make sure everything is arranged for you in Yalvoria.”
“Thank you, Ste.”
“Don’t thank me.” Ste reached out, sped Rianne’s hand, and patted the back of it reassuringly.
She wanted to say somethingforting, but she knew words wouldn’t help now.
The sorrow radiating from Rianne was overwhelming; it felt like she had already reached her breaking point.
The buzz of a phone vibrating broke the moment. It was Rianne’s.
She nced down, Tempest.
She gave Ste a small smile. “I’ll just take this call.”
“Alright.”
Rianne stepped aside, answering.
The moment the line connected, Tempest’s voice came through, taut with suppressed fury. “Where are you?”
“Does it have anything to do with you?” Rianne countered.
“Rianne!”
His voice hardened, his anger crackling even across the line.
She closed her eyes briefly. “The moment you left me standing in the rain two nights ago, wherever I go for the rest of my life stopped having anything to do with you.”
Rianne’s back was to Ste, but she wasn’t far; Ste caught every word.
And when she heard her words–she could hardly believe it.
To outsiders, Tempest doted on Rianne. People often said he held her in the palm of his hand.
<i>2/3 </i>
11:18 <b>Sat</b>, <b>Sep </b><b>27 </b>
Chapter 782 Rianne Wants A Bodyguard
But now…
6:
77
48 Pearls
Whatever he said on the other end, Ste couldn’t hear; what she did hear was Rianne’s voice, sharp and ice–cold.
“That’s it. I have nothing left to say to you. Tempest, if you still care about the years we spent together, then don’te bothering me again.”
She hung up without hesitation.
Returning to the sofa across from Ste, she picked up her orange juice and downed arge gulp, as though to force down the knot in her chest.
The flicker of bitterness in her eyes did not escape Ste. “Rianne… Tempest, he-”
“You’re wondering <i>how </i><i>could </i><i>he</i><i>?</i>” Rianne asked.
<i>Yes</i>. <i>How </i><i>could </i><i>he</i>? <i>To </i><i>leave </i><i>her </i><i>in </i><i>the </i><i>rain</i><i>? </i><i>Since </i><i>when </i><i>had </i><i>their </i><i>fights </i><i>escted </i><i>that </i><i>far</i>?
All these years, when the Hale family refused to ept her, Tempest had always stood by her.
<i>So </i><i>why </i><i>now</i>? Rianne lowered her gaze, hiding the grief threatening to spill over. “For his sister- it’s not the first time.”
“His sister? Not Hailey?” Ste asked, startled.
She knew Tempest had a sister.
But back in Rivermount, hadn’t there been talk that Mrs. He favored a distant niece?
Because there was no blood rtion, she had wanted that niece to end up with Tempest. <i>So </i>why <i>was </i><i>his </i><i>sister </i><i>suddenly </i><i>part </i><i>of </i><i>this</i><i>? </i>
When it came to Tempest’s sister, Rianne had spoken very little in the past.
Send Gifts