Wyatt’s expression darkened instantly.
“Aubrey!”
He grabbed my wrist with a force so strong it hurt.
“She’s my cousin–your future family. Can’t you just be reasonable?”
I let out a cold laugh and yanked my hand free.
“Who said I’m family with any of you?”
His pupils dilated, as if struck by my words.
“You’re throwing a tantrum over a hair clip? Olivia borrowed it, so what? Your jewelry fills an entire room–what’s the big deal if she wore one?”
Right on cue, Olivia began to sob.
Tears trembled at the edge of her lashes, threatening to fall.
“Wyatt, it’s fine… Miss Milton clearly looks down on me. I shouldn’t have asked–I never deserved it…”
I couldn’t be bothered to watch them act out their little play any longer.
“I said no, and I meant it.” With that, I turned and left.
Back in my room, I threw the covers over myself and tried to sleep.
The dizziness from being reborn still churned in my head, until a piercing phone ring. startled me awake.
“Miss!” My assistant’s panicked voice came through, choking with tears.
“Sir Wyatt broke into the villa with Miss Smith! I tried to stop them, but the bodyguards all listened to him-”
I shot upright in bed.
FSF = F = = 3 { ñ } ?
The memory of my past kidnapping flashed before my eyes–those very same bodyguards had followed Wyatt’s orders without hesitation, leaving me alone in the hands of the kidnappers.
When I rushed to the villa, a bodyguard had the audacity to block my path.
“Miss Milton, Sir Wyatt said no one is allowed to disturb-”
SLAP!
My hand struck his face with a loud crack.
“You eat my food but take orders from someone else?” My body trembled with rage. “Get
lost!”
I stormed into the inner chamber, and the sight before me froze my blood.
Steam curled around the hot spring.
Olivia leaned languidly against the edge of the pool, her skin was flushed unnaturally pink.
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“Wyatt, I feel so dizzy…” she murmured.
Before she could finish, her body went limp and slipped under the water. Without hesitation, Wyatt jumped in and scooped her up.
Droplets slid down his tense jawline, dripping onto her bare shoulder.
“Wyatt,” I said coldly, “I told you–you’re not welcome here.”
At that instant, he froze, while Olivia trembled faintly in his arms.
“Aubrey!” His voice wavered with panic, quickly replaced by anger. “Why are you being so aggressive? She nearly passed out! Must you be so cruel?”
Suddenly, Olivia wriggled free and dropped to her knees before me with a loud thud, her forehead hitting the floor hard.
“I’m sorry, Miss Milton! It’s all my fault!” Blood streaked down her pale face.
Then, she lunged forward and clung to my leg–only to suddenly flail backward and fall back into the water like she’d been pushed.
“Help! I’m cramping–help!” she screamed, thrashing in the water.
Once again, Wyatt jumped in and hauled her out.
When he looked at me, his eyes were filled with disgust. “Aubrey, you’ve gone too far.”
Then he shoved me hard–straight into the pool.
BANG!
My arm slammed into the edge of the pool, pain bursting through me in a wave of bruises. “If you keep bullying Olivia,” he said icily, holding her trembling figure close, “I won’t marry you.”
I clawed my way out of the pool, soaked and humiliated.
Watching their retreating backs, I spat out, “Everyone who let them in today–you’re all fired!”
As I changed out of my wet clothes, my assistant rushed in, breathless.
“Miss Milton! We found a lead on Aidan!”
That night, I left for Green Belt Village immediately.
The rain poured relentlessly, turning the washed–out mountain roads into a muddy trap.
Just as I settled down in the town, a pair of strong hands suddenly grabbed me, and I was yanked into a dark alley,
A warm, calloused palm clamped tightly over my mouth.
