?Chapter 214:


    Had Bryan really gone that far to get back at them?


    I blinked, taken aback. While it had been part of my n and somewhat expected, I hadn’t anticipated he would go so far as to seize their assets. My mind drifted back to the day Bryan assured me, promising that the man would no longer trouble me.


    My heart gave an unexpected lurch. Was he… doing this for me?


    The events of yesterday reyed in my mind, Bryan’s probing questions echoing in my ears. My emotions tangled into a knot. Could it be that… I had misunderstood him?


    My thoughts were a jumbled mess when Alice’s voice snapped me back to the present. “Makenna? Makenna!” She waved her hand in front of my face, worry evident in her eyes. “What’s wrong? Why are you zoning out? Are you still feeling unwell?”


    “No,” I replied quickly, shaking my head to clear the haze. “I’m fine, just got lost in thought.”


    Alice didn’t press further. After making sure I was alright, we shared breakfast and then headed off together for thest round of the assessment.


    Makenna’s POV:


    The location for thest round of the assessment was the hall where I had undergone my initial physical examination upon arriving at the pce.


    Alice and I arrived a bitter than nned, and by the time we got there, all the other women had already gathered, standing in neat, orderly rows, much like the first day we arrived. Leonardo and the three princes were seated above us, their gazes scrutinizing the assembly with varying expressions.


    When they noticed me, each of the princes’ eyes inevitably lingered a moment longer. yton, ever the gentleman, greeted me with a warm smile, his expression as gentle as always.


    Dominic, on the other hand, raised an eyebrow at me, his smileced with a suggestiveness that made me flush with embarrassment, a silent reminder of our wild night. I shot him a quick, discreet re, my cheeks burning.


    Bryan, however, was colder than usual. He spared me only a brief nce before looking away, his demeanor distant. My thoughts drifted back to what he had done for me and the tense confrontation in the hospital room. The memory stirred something uneasy within me, and I couldn’t bring myself to meet his eyes. Instead, I lowered my gaze, focusing on the uing assessment.


    The other women were a mix of tension and excitement, but when they saw me, their expressions shifted to wary suspicion. They cast furtive nces in my direction, quickly looking away whenever our eyes met.


    I overheard some of their whispers, cruel and cutting.


    “Makenna has been with all three princes, yet there’s no…”


    Makenna’s POV:


    After the servant announced the start of the assessment, the atmosphere in the hall grew even more charged with excitement and tension. Each woman was hopeful, eager to pass the assessment and prove herself a worthy candidate for motherhood.


    We were handed numbered tags for our physical examinations and instructed to enter the examination room in numerical order. My number was near the end, so I had to wait as the other women went in one after another, emerging with expressions ranging from relief to disappointment. With each passing moment, my anxiety only intensified.


    Finally, my turn arrived. I took a deep breath and entered the examination room. The doctor inside had a stern, no-nonsense demeanor, and she pointed to the bed without a word.


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