Yeah.”


    Bradley chuckled, trying to smooth things over as he gestured toward the ornate box on the table. “She’s been swamped at work–just dropped off her gift and had to leave early.”


    Rowan’s gaze lingered on the box, his dark eyes betraying nothing, but something flickered beneath the surface.


    Just like that, the earlier scene faded into the background, the whole mess brushed aside without much fuss.


    Everyone rxed for the rest of the night, drinking andughing until they were thoroughly satisfied.


    Since Bradley was the man of the hour, he managed to hold onto enough sobriety to see his guests out.


    “Be honest with me–what was that about today?”


    After escorting the second–tost group to the door, Bradley returned to the private room to find Rowan lounging there, those jet–ck eyes


    regarding him with cool detachment.


    His voice was icy. “Well?”


    Bradley, unsteady on his feet, flopped down beside him, head swimming. “Rowan,e on. It’s nothing more than a couple of jealous girls causing


    drama.”


    He hesitated, then leaned in, his tone turning sincere. “But listen—if you still care about little Elissa at all, if you still see her as your kid sister, you should tell her to get out of that marriage. She deserves better. This whole thing–it’s pointless.”


    Rowan gave a short, humorlessugh, his voice edged with mockery. “She’s hell–bent on chasing after Frank. There’s no stopping her.”


    For a moment, Bradley’s bloodshot eyes grew clear.


    12-16


    “Did it ever ur to you,” he said quietly, “that maybe she never really had a choice?”


    Elissa’s situation in the Murphy family wasn’t exactly a secret among their inner circle. Outsiders might be fooled, but those who spent any real time with them knew Elissa never truly belonged.


    Take that scandal online, for example. Matriarch Paige Murphy always imed to dote on Elissa, but when it came down to it, the Murphys never said a word in her defense. Not even a hint of support.


    If she were really their precious granddaughter, with all the Murphy family’s influence, wouldn’t they have raised hell with the Atwaters? But the Murphys did nothing–didn’t even bother to make a statement.


    Bradley tried to remember exactly how Rowan had answered him then…


    The next morning, as he stared up at his bedroom ceiling, fragments of the night slowly came back to him until he managed to piece together most of it.


    Rowan had seemed calm, almost indifferent, though Bradley


    remembered the faintest tremor as Rowan set down his ss. Still, his voice was as cold and steady as ever, tinged with a trace of scorn.


    “She had choices, you know. She just doesn’t know her own worth.”


    Bradley frowned, uneasy. He had the nagging feeling that things between Rowan and Elissa weren’t as simple as a falling out. There was more–some knot neither of them could untangle.


    But whatever it was, it wasn’t his problem to solve.


    He shuffled downstairs in his slippers to open the rest of his birthday presents.


    Elissa’s gift was supposed to be a custom fountain pen–the one he’d spent months trying and failing to get. She always was thoughtful like that. She deserved the favoritism he’d shown her.


    But after unwrapping everything, there was no sign of the pen.


    213


    He turned to the housekeeper. “That blue box I brought home. yesterday–where is it?”


    The housekeeper thought for a moment, then shook her head. “I haven’t seen any blue box, sir.”


    “That’s impossible.” Bradley jumped to his feet, grabbing his car keys and ready to drive over to Cloud Peak. He must have left it in the private


    room.


    Just then, the driver came in from the back garden and, hearing themotion, hurried to stop him. “Sir, did you forget? Mr. Murphy took the box with himst night.”


    “He took it?”


    “Yeah. He asked you about it, but you didn’t answer. Mr. Murphy said your silence meant you agreed.”


    Bradley was speechless. “Agreed” was a stretch–he’d been too drunk to know his own name.


    Scratching his messy hair, Bradley knew there was no way he’d dare ask Rowan to give it back.


    Still, as he trudged upstairs, he paused, reconsidered, and finally picked up his phone to call Rowan.


    “Hey, Rowan. That box fromst night–there’s a peace charm inside that Elissa left behind. Make sure you give it back to her, okay?”


    12:16 <b>S </b>